There are so many different faiths! It is hard to know which one to believe in. There are hundreds of religions, and they all claim to have the “real” truth. Should I put my trust in Christ, or Mohammed, or Buddha, or Joseph Smith, or some other religious leader? Are they all the same, or is one better than the rest? If one of them is actually worth following how would I know which one that is?
One convincing proof that a leader was worth following would be if he could see into the future and tell ahead of time what was going to happen. Jesus Christ did that. I’d like to tell you about one of His predictions that sounded crazy to those who heard it. Yet now, as we look back, we know that it happened exactly the way He said it would.
Usually predictions happen the other way around. They sound reasonable at the time, but become laughable when we look back at them later. For example, in 1943 Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM said, “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” Popular Mechanics magazine made this prediction in 1949: “Where a calculator on the ENIAC Jesus Christ, on the other hand, made many predictions. For example, He told His followers that He would be arrested, beaten, executed, and then come back to life three days later. That sounded so crazy that even the disciples didn’t believe Him until it actually happened. Another preposterous sounding prediction that Jesus made had to do with the Jewish Temple. One day, as Jesus was walking out of the Jewish Temple with His disciples, one of them turned to Him and said, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” (Mark 13:1). Jesus then shocked them all when He said, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down” (Mark 13:2). Why was that so shocking? That Temple was planned by Herod the Great who began construction in 20 B.C. It was a magnificent structure and was still being expanded with new construction in Christ’s day. That temple became one of the great wonders of its day. It was built of white marble that was covered with gold. When the sun shone on it, a person could hardly look at it because it was so bright. Some of the temple’s large supporting stones were forty feet long and weighed over one hundred tons each. How those stones were cut and moved remains a mystery to this day. For Jesus to say that no two stones would remain on top of each other seemed unthinkable to those who were listening to Him. Jesus’ prediction, though, came true in 70 A.D., just as He said it would. Titus, the Roman general, built large wooden scaffolds around the walls of the temple buildings. He then piled them high with wood and other flammable items, and set them on fire. The heat was so intense that the stones actually crumbled. The conquering soldiers then sifted through the rubble to retrieve the melted gold. Many of the stones were then thrown over the temple mount, some of which remain there today. The same Jesus who made that amazing prediction also said, “I will come again” (John 14:3). He didn’t say when He would come back, but it could be any time. In light of the accuracy of Christ’s predictions, you need to be ready for His return. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). Yes, there are hundreds of religious leaders, but Jesus is the only One whose predictions have always been reliable. So, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed ” (Romans 10:9–11).
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