JESUS: “MY TIME”

Judas Iscariot (right), retiring from the Last Supper, painting by Carl Bloch, late 19th century

By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min.

This lesson can be effective for high school and college students as they discover the accuracy of Biblical prophecy. A thousand-year-old prophecy and a five-hundred-year-old prophecy sat on the shelf of history patiently waiting for their exact time when Jesus the Messiah would die on a shamefully cruel cross. After waiting a millennium, the prophecies were fulfilled with one hundred percent accuracy.

————————————————-

“When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba Father.” So, you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir” (Galatians 4:4-7).

The Holy Spirit inspires the cry of “Abba Father” [Father Father] from every new believer, and the Father’s warmly felt reply comes speedily; welcome my beloved to the family of God. The result is every child of God feels adopted and accepted as a son and heir. Indeed, the value of the inheritance is without price. “Everything God has belongs to us” (Galatians 4:5-7, TLB).

The Right Time

In the divine patience of the Trinity, God waited a thousand years to fulfill King David’s prophecy regarding the death and resurrection of God’s Son and our Savior. If the birth of Jesus had occurred even twenty years earlier, it is doubtful everything would have been in place, including substitutes for such people as Caiaphas the high priest, and Judas. Would there have been another Mary in Nazareth, and Joseph? What about a substitute for Pilate? Or another John the Baptist? Or the twelve disciples, and Barnabas, and Saul of Tarsus? Or Silas? The list goes on and on. What about another Caesar Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) who would order a special tax that would get Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, the place where Jesus had to be born to fulfill prophecy? (Micah 5:2, 6).

God did not manipulate the people and their minds so that everything fell in place, fulfilling each of the prophecies regarding the birth of Jesus. Instead, God foreknew the people in the drama of the ages would come together naturally in a thirty-year window of time in first century Jerusalem, so that each of the participants freely and by their personal choice would fulfill their roles. God violated the free will of no one.

Trinitarian language is obvious in the incarnation, including God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God in Tri-Unity was active in the birth of Jesus the Messiah, and the inheritance of all believers is the result: “So, [we] are no longer slaves but God’s children. Since [we] are God’s children, God has also made [us] heirs” (Galatians 4:7 GW).

Perfect Timing – Prophecy Fulfilled

Thirty years had passed since Jesus’ birth. The time had come for Jesus to make the sacrifice for  the sins of the whole world. His glorious resurrection followed. He had also ascended majestically into heaven. Even Psalm 69:25 had been fulfilled, except for one fact.

“Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about 120) and said, ‘Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— he was one of our number and shared in this ministry…. With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language akeldama, that is, Field of Blood. For [said Peter], it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it and, may another take his place of leadership’” (Psalm 69:25; 109:8; Matthew 27:9-10; Acts 1:15-20).

Peter understood the Holy Spirit for which they were praying in the Upper Room was the same Spirit who led King David during his reign; David was very familiar with the Holy Spirit.  “The Holy Spirit spoke” this prophecy, Peter said. With his mind opened by the Spirit, Peter recognized in the hindsight of the cross that King David had in fact spoken by the Holy Spirit a millennium earlier. This is a classic case of the New Testament concealed in the Old Testament in an embedded prophecy that ultimately applied to one man, specifically Judas Iscariot, who would not even be born for a thousand years. Simply amazing.

In the perfect timing of the Holy Spirit, Peter blended Psalm 69:25 and 109:8 with Zechariah’s prophecy about Messiah’s price being set at thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13). These three prophecies sat on the shelf of prophetic history awaiting their moment. Two of the Psalms dated back to King David almost a thousand years earlier. Zechariah’s prophecy was about five hundred years old.

Judas was on the scene at just the right time as the foreknowledge of God knew he would be, and he acted on his own choice. Urged by the devil, Judas’ infamous deed set the stage to complete the three prophecies. Judas performed his reprehensible betrayal against one person, his Messiah. It had to take place at an hour in history known by Jesus as “my time” (John 2:4; 7:6; 13:1). Judas had to be paid thirty pieces of silver to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy (Zechariah 11:12-13). His kiss of betrayal had to occur at about midnight for Messiah to be crucified the next morning and become the Passover sacrifice of the New Covenant. The odds of all these prophetic details coming together by chance in those few hours of history are simply astronomical.

Let it be underscored. Peter linked Zechariah 11:12-13 with two Messianic Psalms of David, Psalm 69:25 and 109:8. They each found their fulfillment in the horror of Jesus’ death and the glow of His resurrection.

It is well known that prophecy can have layers of meaning. In Psalm 109:8, the king was literally torn up on the inside, but the Psalm does not identify the cause. Its first meaning could have applied to Absalom, or Saul, or Doeg the Edomite, or Ahithophel. Or was it some other unnamed person about whom David was crying out to God for relief? Who it was at the first layer cannot be answered.

The Apostle Peter said the real culprit for whom the Holy Spirit intended Psalm 109:8 was Judas Iscariot, although its fulfillment required a thousand years of patient waiting. It follows that the death and resurrection of Jesus are without question the Holy Spirit’s ultimate interpreters of both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

This kind of foresight shows in bold letters the Holy Spirit is indeed God, for no one can accurately predict a thousand years in advance an event so significant as the betrayal of the Son of God and our Savior.

The prophets had done their part, but one fact remained. The apostles chose Matthias to take Judas’ place in the twelve (Acts 1:15-26). Biblical prophecy is one hundred percent accurate. The Day of Pentecost was at hand. Guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, the gospel of Jesus Christ would go to the nations.

And it’s still going.

Related posts

SO

Dear Readers,  A lifetime friend asked me to add some remarks and comment about...

PASSING THE TORCH

By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min. “If you love me, you will obey what I...

A Hated Messiah?

By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min. The name, Jesus Christ, means Savior-Messiah. As Jesus neared...

UNEXPECTED JOY

  By: Frank Tunstall and Phil Larson Join us as we pray and study...

“CRAVING TO UNDERSTAND”

By: Frank Tunstall The prophets:  “yearning to understand Messiah’s suffering and glory” (1 Peter...

“But if Not”

By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min. All children of God sooner or later will need...

THE PRECIOUS RING

By: Frank G. Tunstall We all have our treasures that we hold to strongly....

Beth Moore: God Uses Your Mistakes for Good

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/january-web-only/beth-moore-god-uses-your-mistakes-for-good.html By: Beth Moore Years ago, when the number of attendees at Living Proof...

THE CROSS IS OUR STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

 ChristianityToday.com/ct/2019/November/cross-is-our-stairway-to-heaven.html Our salvation comes not from someone on our level, but from someone infinitely...

HOW BILLY GRAHAM LEARNED THE ART OF PREACHING

https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2019/august-web-exclusives/billy-graham-learned-art-of-preaching.html? The late evangelist called himself the “champion rambler.” By: Grant Wacker  When I...

YOUR PLAN B IS STILL GOD’S PLAN

christianitytoday.com/women/2019/january/church-planting-your-plan-b-is-still-gods-plan.html  By: Sandra Peoples In 2015, my husband and I moved from rural Pennsylvania...

THE MAGNIFICAT

By Frank Tunstall The Holy Spirit overshadowed the Virgin Mary in the miraculous and...

HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTION

BY: FRANK TUNSTALL, D. MIN. Three outstanding facts stand out regarding Peter’s bold preaching...

JESUS’ GLORIFIED BODY

 By Frank G. Tunstall  Cleopas and his unnamed friend had Jesus’ undivided attention on...

“JESUS WEPT!”

 By Frank G. Tunstall When Mary walked up to Jesus on the outskirts of...

OFFENDED BY JESUS?

By: Frank G. Tunstall  Luke records a story about Jesus paying a visit to...

ICEBERG COLD REJECTION

  By: Frank G. Tunstall  Jesus the Prophet deserved the highest adoration, but the...

THE SURPRISING REASON YOU ARE WHERE YOU ARE

https://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-mission/the-surprising-reason-you-are-where-you-are-8093 By: Ron Hutchcraft Some years ago, we took a delegation of teenagers to...

CAN THERE BE ONE RIGHT RELIGION?

http://seanmcdowell.org/blog/can-there-be-one-right-religion; Posted November 14, 2017   By: Sean McDowell Recently I was in a...

FAITH IS NOT BLIND!

BY: FRANK TUNSTALL Some critics’ claim Christians believe on blind faith, defined as belief...

HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE: CHRISTIAN HISTORY TIMELINE

 http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-43/how-we-got-our-bible-christian-history-timeline.html Have you ever wondered how the Bible has developed through the centuries, so...

THE MANY BENEFITS OF GRATITUDE

http://blog.thrivingpastor.com/the-many-benefits-of-gratitude/?refcd=504701&utm_campaign=The+Many+Benefits+of+Gratitude This well written article is excellent for focusing us on the grace of...

THE SOBBING SAVIOR

By: Frank G. Tunstall I thought about it hundreds of times over the years,...

HOSANNA

By: Frank G. Tunstall “The next day the great crowd that had come for...

“PRAY FIRST!”

Dr. Ron White serves as president of Emmanuel College. He assumed that role October...

ONE QUESTION YOU MUST NEVER ASK IN MINISTRY

classic.sermoncentral.com/pastors-preaching-articles/joe-mckeever-one-question-you-must-never-ask-in-ministry-2697.asp? “Sow your seed in the morning, and do not be idle in the...

“IT IS FINISHED!”

 By Frank G. Tunstall The ancient Greeks boasted about being able to say much...

RETHINKING DREAMS

By: Frank G. Tunstall  John 1:43 “The next day Jesus decided to leave for...

3 comments

  • Thank you Brother Frank Tunstall for all the Biblical messages you have delivered for many years. Your messages have been great blessings to me and to many others!

  • Christopher Kilpatrick

    Brother Frank you are one of my most important tutors in the Word of God, a mentor so valuable that my life would not be the same without you. May God richly bless your ministry for as long as he leaves you here with us.
    Chris Kilpatrick

    • Thanks so much, Chris, for your response. I am grateful you took the time to write.

      Would you please tell me some more about your ministry? I would love to hear what the Holy Spirit is doing in your life.

      Question: do you have a copy of my latest book, DISCOVERING THE JOB DESCRIPTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?

      FT

Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.




Top