Against All Odds - Part A

The Bible is filled with events. The historical record of the Scripture speaks about events that have occurred that were against all odds, including lightning falling from heaven at a precise moment, including hailstones coming out of the sky and targeting just the right people at the right time, including darkness that covered the land for three hours at the crucifixion. All of these events were against the odds. They defied the odds.

Our God is the God of the unlikely and the impossible. And today on Connect with Skip Heitig, Pastor Skip begins his series Against All Odds with a message that shows how events in the Bible often defy the odds. Right now, we want to let you know about a special opportunity you have to pursue biblical studies in a way that works with your schedule. If you're ready to study God's Word beyond going to church and personal Bible study, you're ready for Cal Calvary College. Take your learning and your life's purpose to the next level with an education in biblical studies.

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Fill out the form, pay the registration fee and start selecting classes to join us online this fall. Let me take you back to a classic moment in America's cinematography. The movie is Dumb and Dumber. And Lloyd, played by Jim Carrey, finds that he is in love with this beautiful girl.

Her character is Mary in the film and she is part of the scheme he's trying to rescue her from. And in one moment they're alone together and he says, so what do you think the chances are of a guy like me and a girl like you ending up together? And she says, not good.

And he persists, not good like one out of 100? She says, no, I'd say more like one out of a million. And there's that classic line, long pause and goes, so you're telling me there's a chance?

Yeah. It's a great moment. What she's trying to say is, ain't no chance.

But he sees a glimmer of hope. Whenever we talk about chance or odds, we are describing the possible unfolding of an event, a future event, the likeliness that an event will occur. There are just some things that are less likely to happen than others. For example, the odds that you would die in a plane crash are one in 12 million. The odds that you would be attacked and killed by a shark are one in 11,500,000.

That's five per year. There are other creatures that the odds would be much greater. You know how many people are killed every year by a hippopotamus?

2,900. So that's a lot higher on the list than a shark. But then there are events that you are more likely than other events to have happen. As an example, the odds of being a victim of a serious crime, one in 20. The odds of dying in a car accident, one in 100. And the odds of being audited by the IRS, one in 175.

So it's pretty high. Yet as believers, there's something we always have to consider when we talk about odds or chance. The big caveat for us is the God factor.

That changes everything. Because when you bring God into the situation, there's no chance, even though we kind of look at events that way. You remember when the angel announced to Mary, a virgin living in Nazareth, that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

That's against all odds. And she said, how can this be? And one of the things the angel said is, for with God, nothing will be impossible. The Bible is filled with events. The historical record of the scripture speaks about events that have occurred that were against all odds. Including lightning falling from heaven at a precise moment. Including hailstones coming out of the sky and targeting just the right people at the right time. Including darkness that covered the land for three hours at the crucifixion. All of these events were against the odds.

They defied the odds. But did you know that God actually predicts over and over again that he will defy the odds? You see, God is so sure about what he does that he will announce what he's going to do in advance and then layer it with detail upon detail upon detail so that the odds of that ever happening have been exponentially decreased. In fact, God says that's one of his calling cards. He announces that you could compare him to any other belief system, any other God, but they can't do what he can do.

Listen to this. This is Isaiah chapter 41. God says, present your case. Set forth your arguments. Bring in your idols to tell what is going to happen.

Tell us what the former things were so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come and tell us what the future holds so that we may know that you are God's. Now God's showing off. He's saying I can do what no one else can do.

I can tell the future with incredible detail and accuracy. Can anyone else or any other deity do that? Then Jesus said that fulfilled prophecy will actually bolster your faith. In the upper room he was with his disciples.

They were having the Passover together. And he made some predictions. He said, I'm going to die. Someone among you is going to betray me.

And Peter, you're going to deny me. And then Jesus said this. Now I have told you before it comes so that when it does come to pass, you may believe. I'm telling you this in advance so when it happens you go, oh yeah, he said that was going to happen.

Man, I believe now. There are three basic credentials of Jesus Christ. Number one, his impact on history.

No one, no person ever has impacted human history to the extent that that one solitary individual Jesus Christ has. Second credential, his physical bodily resurrection from the dead. He announced it before it happened.

It happened. Third credential, fulfilled prophecy, fulfilled prophecy. Most religions are based on the teachings of their founder, the philosophies, the philosophical postulates of the one who began the movement. There are about 25 or 26 books out in the world out there that claim to be scripture.

But there's something absent from all of them except one. Detailed prophecy. Now some of them will make vague general mystical predictions that you look at and go.

But when it comes to detailed prophecy, they're absent, whether it's the Quran, the writings of Buddha, Lao Tzu, Confucius, the Hindu Vedas, all of them lack what we're talking about in terms of detailed prophecy. Now I've asked you to turn to Luke chapter 24. And what I want to do is take you through a familiar passage of scripture, one of my favorite narratives in the New Testament, post resurrection narratives. And it's a couple of disciples who are at the low point of their lives, are taking a walk. Jesus shows up. They don't recognize him.

He's incognito. He has a conversation with him. And we follow their journey. It begins with a sorrowful walk. It moves to a scriptural talk. And we're left with a satisfied flock.

So I've even made it rhyme this week to make it more memorable. So let's just begin at the beginning. Luke 24, verse 13. Now, behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all the things which had happened. And so it was when they conversed and reasoned that Jesus drew near and went with them, but their eyes were restrained.

So they did not know him. And he said to them, What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? Then one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem?

And have you not known the things which happened there in these days? And he said to them, What things? So they said to him the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel.

Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us. When they did not find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the woman had said, but him they did not see. These two guys are pretty bummed out. It's after the death of Jesus.

They are unaware that there is a resurrection. And they're at a low point. This is very typical after any funeral. People get together and they vent. They talk out the situation. They talk out the loss.

They share with one another very freely. But they're at the low point. Jesus notices they're sad and he asks them about it.

Why are they at the low point? Because all of their expectations are over. They expected a conquering Messiah. What they got was a crucified man from their perspective. They expected a politician. They got a prophet from their perspective. What they really wanted was the glorious mighty lion of Judah. What they got was the meek, humble, gentle lamb of God who was slain. That is not what they expected.

That is not what they wanted. So Jesus comes up. They don't recognize him. And you go, well, why didn't they recognize him? Well, first of all, they're not expecting him.

Right? They're not thinking, oh, hi, Jesus. We kind of were waiting for you to show up. They just didn't. The whole resurrection thing was beyond them. So they didn't expect him. But we also find that when Jesus appeared to people after his resurrection, a lot of them didn't recognize him.

When Mary Magdalene was at the tomb, she thought he was a gardener. When our Lord shows up in Galilee from the shore and calls out to the disciples in the boat, they hear his voice and they can see his figure, but they don't recognize him. But here in our text, very specifically, we are told, notice, their eyes were restrained.

That means their eyes were blocked. They were unable. They couldn't. They were kept from recognizing that this was Jesus. Now, why is that?

We're not told why. But perhaps one of the reasons is because they could now express honestly their thoughts and feelings about Jesus and his claims. See, if Jesus showed up and went, da-da, they'd have been so freaked out. They would have said all the right things.

But they're really raw. And I heard a story once about one of the czars of Russia who wanted to find out what people really thought about his reign so he would dress up like a peasant and move around the people and just talk politics. He said, I could always get honest answers because they didn't know that I was who I was. So verse 19 is a little humorous. He said to them, what things? See, they just said, are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? You don't know the things that have happened? And Jesus goes, like, what?

I mean, you've got to laugh at that. He has been at the heart of everything that has happened in Jerusalem the last few days, but he wants them to tell him. And boy, did they tell him. They started talking about Jesus, but not in hopeful terms, but in past tense terms. He was a prophet.

We were hoping he was the one. You know why they said that? Because when Jesus died on that cross, their hopes died with him. When that tomb was sealed with that stone, they thought, this is the end. They didn't know it was just the beginning.

We were hoping in him. Now, watch how Jesus reveals himself in the next few verses. Here's what you're going to notice. He doesn't reveal himself visually to them. He reveals himself aurally to them, not through their eye gate, but through their ear gate, not through their seeing, but through their hearing. And that's a very important principle in Romans chapter 10. Now faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, not by seeing. He's going to reveal himself to them through the scripture. So we go from a sorrowful walk now to this little conversation, a scriptural talk, verse 25. Then he said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken.

Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? And here's the verse. Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Notice Jesus begins with an admonition, followed by an exposition. First he rebukes them, then he informs them. First he says, you're slow of heart, and then he fills their hearts with hope.

Now it's an interesting phrase. Do you notice it? Foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. I meet Christians all the time that are slow of heart to believe what the prophets have spoken. They're slow of heart to believe what the Bible says. It's not that they ditch the Bible.

It's just certain parts of the Bible. They're slow of heart to believe that Jesus is actually going to come back again. They're slow of heart to believe the Bible's description of what heaven is like.

They're slow of heart to believe what the Bible says about marriage or divorce or purity. They like the Bible, but I like Psalm 23 and that little red letter thing right there. I like that little verse. I call this Dalmatian theology. They believe the Bible's inspired in spots.

I like that spot and that spot and that spot, but not those spots. But if you are slow to believe God's promises, you'll be slow to receive God's benefits. Now, Jesus in verse 27 gives them a Bible study.

Now, think about this. The first Bible study Jesus ever gave after the resurrection was an exposition of biblical prophecy. I just got to tell you honestly, I'm always disappointed when I read this verse because it's not included in the Bible. If there's one discourse that I wish was included, it's that one.

It must have been a lengthy one because by the time he's done, the sun is setting and the evening comes. I mean, just imagine the greatest teacher explaining the greatest themes from the greatest book that bring the greatest blessings to us all. But it says, beginning at Moses, that's the first five books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. That's where he began. Moses, then all the prophets. So I imagine that he began probably around Genesis chapter three. And he said, hey, guys, remember that prediction that a seed is going to be born, a child is going to be born who's going to crush the head of the serpent?

That's me. He probably went over to Genesis 22. Remember when Abraham sacrificed almost his son Isaac on Mount Moriah? Well, the mountain he was almost sacrificed on, the very mountain I was sacrificed on.

And he may have even pointed out what we've pointed out to you. In Genesis 22, God says to Abraham, take now your son, your only son, Isaac. He had two sons by that time, not one. But he refers to him as his only son whom he loves.

The very first time love is ever used in the Bible, it is used of a father sacrificing his only son on the same mountain Jesus would be sacrificing. Imagine being a disciple and having that be unfolded to you. He would have stopped at Exodus chapter 12, the story of the Passover lamb, the blood covering the lintels and doorposts, all figurative of him. He would have mentioned the Levitical sacrifices of the Old Testament, the tabernacle layout, the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, all being fulfilled in him. Unquestionably, he would have mentioned Numbers 21, because he does in John chapter 3, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, the Son of Man must be lifted up. He would have mentioned, no doubt, Psalm 2 and Psalm 16 and Psalm 22, which gives a detailed description of death by crucifixion hundreds of years before crucifixion was even invented. Certainly, he would have mentioned Isaiah chapter 7. A virgin will conceive and bear a son and you will call his name Immanuel, which is God with us. And two chapters later, he would have made mention of Isaiah chapter 9, for unto us a child is born. Right? You know that one? Unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and his name will be Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

He would have unfolded that to all of them. Beginning in Moses and all the prophets, he expound all the things concerning himself. Let me ask you a question. How impressive is prophecy? See, that was a question that changed my life.

When I was a young believer, and I was attacked by agnostic and atheistic professors where I was going to school, and I was surrounded in the medical profession by all sorts of cynics and critics, it was this study that made my faith ironclad. First of all, do you know how much of your Bible is prophetic, is prophetic literature? You know how much is prophecy? One-fourth. One-fourth of that Bible you have is about things in the future that have been fulfilled or are still waiting for their fulfillment.

One-fourth. To be exact, 26.8% if you were to tally up all the verses is prophetic. Now anybody can make predictions. Getting them fulfilled is quite another category, especially as you add detail. See, if you predict something, and then you add a detail, and another detail, and another detail, now you are entering the realm of compound probability that that thing could ever come to pass. That concludes today's message from the series Against All Odds.

Find the full message as well as books, booklets, and full teaching series at connectwithskip.com. Now we want to tell you about a resource that will help you confidently answer questions about Jesus' life, ministry, and divinity. Is there archaeological proof that Jesus existed? Did Jesus ever actually claim to be God? Is Jesus really the only way? There's a good chance you'll be asked tough questions like these at some point.

You may ask these questions yourself. That's why we want to send you Josh and Sean McDowell's new book, Evidence for Jesus, to help you answer crucial questions about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Was that truth challenged in the presence of knowledgeable witnesses, especially antagonistic witnesses? Peter on the truth phone, he says, men of Israel, listen to these words, you leaders, Jesus of Nazarene, a man attested to you, not just to us. See, he threw it right back. And the antagonist's lap said, attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs, which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know.

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Did Jesus really rise from the dead, and why does that matter? Evidence for Jesus by Josh and Sean McDowell will join classics like More Than a Carpenter and Evidence That Demands a Verdict that have shaped Christian apologetics. We'll send you a copy of Evidence for Jesus as thanks for your gift of $50 or more this month to reach more people with the teaching and resources of Connect with Skip Heitzig. So be sure to request your copy of Evidence for Jesus today when you give online securely at connectwithskip.com slash offer, or call 800-922-1888. Be sure to tune in tomorrow as Pastor Skip shares just how unlikely it was for Jesus to fulfill even a handful of Old Testament prophecies. The odds of one man fulfilling just eight of those predictions is one in ten to the seventeenth power.

If you know math, you know that's a pretty sizable number. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast all burdens on His word. Make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.