How can Luke 24:40 strengthen our understanding of fulfilled prophecy? Setting the Scene: Luke 24:40 “And having said this, He showed them His hands and feet.” Prophecy Echoes in the Pierced Hands and Feet • Psalm 22:16 — “…they pierced My hands and My feet.” • Zechariah 12:10 — “…they will look on Me, the One they have pierced.” • Isaiah 53:5 — “He was pierced for our transgressions…” • Luke 24:46 — “Thus it is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.” When Jesus shows the disciples His wounds, He is not only proving He is alive; He is matching precise prophetic details spoken centuries earlier. Fulfilled Predictions: A Quick Survey 1. Messiah’s Suffering – Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 both detail bodily affliction, fulfilled in crucifixion. 2. Piercing Specifically in Hands and Feet – Unique among ancient execution methods, crucifixion aligns with Psalm 22:16. 3. Public Display After Resurrection – Zechariah 12:10 anticipates people physically beholding the pierced One, echoed in Luke 24:40 and again in John 20:27. 4. Resurrection on the Third Day – Hosea 6:2; Jonah’s sign (Jonah 1:17; cf. Matthew 12:40); explicitly affirmed in Luke 24:46. Why Physical Evidence Matters for Prophecy • Tangible wounds transform prophecy from abstract prediction into observable reality. • The disciples become eyewitnesses (Luke 24:48; Acts 3:15), grounding their preaching in fact, not myth. • Physical fulfillment safeguards against purely “spiritualized” readings, underscoring God’s reliability in literal details. Strengthening Our Confidence Today • The same God who precisely fulfilled Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 will keep every remaining promise (2 Corinthians 1:20). • Prophecy validated in Christ’s body assures the believer that Scripture’s future forecasts (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 21:1-4) are equally certain. • Luke 24:40 invites personal trust: if God orchestrated the smallest detail of Messiah’s wounds, He can be trusted with the details of our lives. Living by Fulfilled Prophecy • Rest in the finished work: “It is finished” (John 19:30). • Proclaim with confidence: “Christ died for our sins… He was raised” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). • Await future glory with assurance: “When Christ appears, we also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). |
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