1. Zechariah 9:9
1.1. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation: lowly, and riding upon ... a colt the foal of an ass" (Zech. 9:9).
1.1.1. Our question then is: One man in how many, who was born in Bethlehem and had a forerunner, did enter Jerusalem as a king riding on a colt the foal of an ass? This becomes so restrictive that we should consider an equivalent question: One man in how many, who has entered Jerusalem as a ruler, and was he riding on a donkey?
1.1.1.1. The students said that this was a very hard thing to place an estimate on. They knew of no one but Christ who had so entered. The students thought that at least in more modern times any one entering Jerusalem as a king would use a more dignified means of transportation. They agreed to place an estimate of 1 in 104. We will use 1 in 10^2.
1.1.1.1.1. 1 x 10^-2
2. Zechariah 13:6
2.1. "And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends"(Zech. 13:6).
2.1.1. Christ was betrayed by Judas, one of His disciples, causing Him to be put to death, wounds being made in His hands.
2.1.1.1. There seems to be no relation between the fulfillment of this prophecy and those which we have previously considered. We may then ask the question: One man in how many, the world over, has been betrayed by a friend, and that betrayal has resulted in his being wounded in his hands?
2.1.1.1.1. The students said that it was very rare to be betrayed by a friend, and still rarer for the betrayal to involve wounding in the hands. One in 1.000 was finally agreed upon, though most of the students would have preferred a larger number. So we will use the 1 in 10^3.
3. Zechariah 11:12
3.1. "And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver" (Zech. 11:12).
3.1.1. The question here is very simple: Of the people who have been betrayed, one in how many has been betrayed for exactly thirty pieces of silver?
3.1.1.1. The students thought this would be extremely rare and set their estimate as one in 10,000, or 1 in 10^4. We will us 1 in 10^3.
3.1.1.1.1. 1 x 10^-3
4. Zechariah 11:13
4.1. "And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord" (Zech. 11:13).
4.1.1. This is extremely specific. All thirty pieces of silver are not to be returned. They are to be cast down in the house of the Lord, and they are to go to the potter.
4.1.1.1. You will recall that Judas in remorse tried to return the thirty pieces of silver, but the chief priest would not accept them. So Judas threw them down on the floor of the temple and went and hanged himself. The chief priest then took the money and bought a field of the potter to bury strangers in.
4.1.1.1.1. Our question is: One man in how many, after receiving a bribe for the betrayal of a friend, had returned the money, had it refused, had thrown it on the floor in the house of the Lord, and then had it used to purchase a field from the potter?
5. Multiply probabilities together: 10^2 x 10^3 x 10^3 x 10^5 x 10^3 x 10^3 x 10^4 x 2.8* 10^5
5.1. Probability of one man fulfilling 8 prophecies: 2.8 x 10^28
6. Micah 5:2
6.1. "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2).
6.1.1. This prophecy predicts that the Christ is to be born in Bethlehem. Since this is the first prophecy to be considered there are no previously set restrictions, so our question is: One man in how many, the world over, has been born in Bethlehem?
6.1.1.1. The best estimate which we can make of this comes from the attempt to find out the average population of Bethlehem, from Micah down to the present time, and divide it by the average population of the earth during the same period.
6.1.1.1.1. Our answer may be expressed in the form that one man in 7,150/2,000,000,000 or one man in 2.8 x 10^5 was born in Bethlehem.
7. Malachi 3:1
7.1. "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me" (Mal. 3:1).
7.1.1. Of the men who have been born in Bethlehem, one man in how many has had a forerunner to prepare his way?
7.1.1.1. The students said that the prophecy apparently referred to a special messenger of God, whose one duty was to prepare the way for the work of Christ, so there is a further restriction added. The students finally agreed on one in 1,000 as being extremely conservative. Most of the members thought the estimate should be much larger. We will use the estimate as 1 in 103.
7.1.1.1.1. Probability: 1 x 10^-3
8. Isaiah 53:7
8.1. "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth" (Isa. 53:7).
8.1.1. One man in how many, after fulfilling the above prophecies, when he is oppressed and afflicted and is on trial for his life, though innocent, will make no defense for himself?
8.1.1.1. Again my students said they did not know that this had ever happened in any case other than Christ's. At least it is extremely rare, so they placed their estimate as one in 10,000 or 1 in 10^4. We will use 1 in 10^3.
8.1.1.1.1. 1 x 10^-3
9. Psalm 22:16
9.1. "For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet"(Ps. 22:16).
9.1.1. The Jews are still looking for the coming of Christ; in fact, He might have come any time after these prophecies were written up to the present time, or even on into the future. So our question is: One man in how many, from the time of David on, has been crucified?
9.1.1.1. After studying the methods of execution down through the ages and their frequency, the students agreed to estimate this probability at one in 10,000 or 1 in 10^4, which we will use.
9.1.1.1.1. 1 x 10^-4