Jesus Accurately Predicted His Death — and His Resurrection as Well

Quite Remarkable — But Exactly What You’d Expect If He Were God

Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.
—Jesus, in John 10:17-18—

The Resurrection is the supreme vindication of Jesus’ divine identity and his inspired teaching. It’s the proof of his triumph over sin and death. It’s the foreshadowing of the resurrection of his followers. It’s the basis of Christian hope. It’s the miracle of all miracles.
—Lee Strobel—

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Special note: We will conclude the Word Foundations series titled “If Disney hasn’t yet overplayed its hand, then what must it do to overplay it?” next time. That, at least, is the plan.

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Key points: Anyone can predict that he or she will die, but Jesus accurately foretold not only that He would die, but also how He would die and numerous other details surrounding His death. Most importantly, He correctly foretold His resurrection and how long He would be dead before returning to life. While the idea that God would die for members of the human race is outrageous on its face, Jesus’ spot-on forecasts of His own death and resurrection — however unlikely they were to be true, given the fact that dead people stay dead — provide substantive evidence that He was and is God. (Further, Jesus’ statements about Himself during His ministry align with His predictions of His death and resurrection and their fulfillment.) If Jesus was right about these things (and the evidence indicates that He is), it is reasonable to conclude He also is right about everything else. Wise men and women, therefore, will follow, obey, and love Him supremely.

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Harry Houdini was born born Erik Weisz on March 24, 1874, and died at 52 years of age on Halloween in 1926. Houdini was a magician and an escape artist who performed in cities and venues worldwide: He started performing in 1891 but did not gain widespread notoriety at first. Then,

in 1899…he met [vaudeville] manager Martin Beck in St. Paul, Minnesota. Impressed by Houdini’s handcuffs act, Beck advised him to concentrate on escape acts [as opposed to magic acts] and booked him on the Orpheum vaudeville circuit. Within months, he was performing at the top vaudeville houses in the country. In 1900, Beck arranged for Houdini to tour Europe. After some days of unsuccessful interviews in London, Houdini’s British agent Harry Day helped him to get an interview with C. Dundas Slater, then manager of the Alhambra Theatre. He was introduced to William Melville and gave a demonstration of escape from handcuffs at Scotland Yard. He succeeded in baffling the police so effectively that he was booked at the Alhambra for six months. His show was an immediate hit and his salary rose to $300 a week (equivalent to $9,332 in 2020).

Between 1900 and 1920 he appeared in theatres all over Great Britain performing escape acts, illusions, card tricks and outdoor stunts, becoming one of the world’s highest paid entertainers. He also toured the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Russia and became widely known as “The Handcuff King.”

Houdini performed many amazing escapes, but his most sensational is purported to be his escape from the Chinese Water Torture Cell. You can read about that act here. A more concise description is available here. As amazing as this feat was, there were many who looked to Houdini to perform an even greater act after his death:

Houdini, himself, debunked mediums and proved most were frauds. [Still,] He promised his wife, Bess, that if it were possible to communicate with the dead, he would come back to her, should he die first. And he gave her a code to help prove it.

Houdini died in 1926, and Bess in 1943; she survived him by more than sixteen years. Every year for a decade beyond her husband’s death, on the anniversary of his death, Bess attempted to communicate with her deceased husband, but to no avail. She stopped trying after ten years and is credited with saying, “Ten years is long enough to wait for any man.”

A gentleman who would become an ardent fan of Houdini was a man named Sid Radner. Radner was born in 1919. After becoming intensely interested in the the escape artist and his career, Radner for many years “continued where Houdini’s wife left off.” In other words, he sought to communicate with Houdini on the anniversary of the performer’s death year after year. National Public Radio released a feature about Mr. Radner and his quest on October 29, 2010, when he was 90 years old. He would pass away on June 26 of the following year, at 91 years of age.

A few unusual things occurred during Sid’s attempts to communicate with Houdini. Sid stated, “One time the medium asked for Houdini to make his presence known, and a gal standing around, her beads broke and fell on the floor.…Another time, a book fell down off a shelf. We had some strange things happen.”

Even so, the man with a lifelong interest in Houdini apparently didn’t consider these incidents authentic or definitive. He went on to note, “If I can’t contact Houdini, and I’ve been trying for many, many years, maybe it can’t be done.” Then he added,  “But if it does come, I want to be there, believe me.”

Did “it” come? No, apparently not. During Sid Radnor’s last official attempt to communicate with the master escape artist on Halloween, “Houdini was not heard from.”

Contrast Houdini to Jesus Christ

Had attempts to contact Harry Houdini beyond the grave produced substantive results, we would rightly conclude that this feat had to be his greatest — even far more impressive than his repeated escapes from the Chinese water torture cell. However, it should not surprise us that Houdini did not succeed in bridging the gulf between the realm of death and the realm of the living. Why? Because experience has shown, and Scripture indicates, that death is binding and cannot be breached at will — certainly not by the will of any who have died. Moreover, attempting to communicate with the dead is sinful and playing fast and loose with the forces of evil in the spiritual realm.

But wait! Having said all of that, our statement about death’s being binding must be qualified. There is one Man for whom death was not binding. Not only did He communicate with the living after His death, but He  did so as a living person, one who had risen from the dead after having died and been buried. That person was Jesus Christ. While He was a man, He also was and is God.

There’s more. Jesus predicted His death and His resurrection. He spoke of it ahead of time, repeatedly and accurately. This is exactly what we would expect of Him if He were God.

Preposterous!

We’re going to begin looking at some of Jesus’ numerous and specific predictions from Jesus in a few moments in this article, but before we begin doing that, we should acknowledge that notions of a holy God’s dying, and of a holy God’s dying on behalf of those who had offended Him by sinning, are beyond preposterous. Yet the evidence indicates these things actually happened. The realities that

• • • Jesus is God, that
    • His death is central to Christianity and the salvation of those who would place their faith in Him, and that
    • all of this defies conventional wisdom

point to another powerful reality: Christianity Never Could Have Originated in the Human Imagination. It had to come from God.

Jesus Predicted His Death, and His Resurrection as Well

Let’s now examine some of the numerous times and ways Jesus foretold His suffering, death, and resurrection. We’ll divide these into several different categories.

Category One: The Sign of Jonah

On numerous occasions, Jesus spoke of what would happen to Him in light of the historical record of what happened to the Prophet Jonah. In Matthew 12:38-42, Matthew reports (emphasis added),

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

Not surprisingly, an important question arises regarding the phrase “three days and three nights.” The generally accepted timeline of the events of Holy Week place Jesus’ death by crucifixion on a Passover Friday and His resurrection from the dead on “the first day of the week,” a Sunday. How could the time between Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection possibly be “three days and three nights”? This article from Answers in Genesis provides extremely helpful insights and information.

Matthew 12:38-42 isn’t the only place in the Gospels Jesus mentioned Jonah. He also referred to him in Matthew 15:39-16:4.  Mark’s account in Mark 8:10-12 doesn’t mention Jonah, but we know Jesus did mention him because Matthew reported He did. Jesus also spoke of Jonah in in Luke 11:29-32.

Here is an important side note. Some doubt that the Book of Jonah is historically accurate, but according to Jesus, it was. If Jesus was wrong, He either was deceived Himself or an intentional liar. Were either of these the case, He couldn’t have been God. Since Jesus clearly assumed the Book of Jonah was accurate, if it isn’t, the ideas that Jesus is God’s Son and Savior to those trusting in Him cannot stand.

Category Two: Three Explicit Predictions from Jesus to His Disciples

Jesus explicitly predicted His death and events surrounding it to His disciples. These included references to His resurrection. Each of these instances is found in all three of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).

• • • The first incident occurred in Matthew 16:13-23, Mark 8:27-33, and Luke 9:18-22,
    • the second in Matthew 17:22-23, Mark 9:30-32, and Luke 9:43-45, and
    • the third in Matthew 20:17-19, Mark 10:32-34, and Luke 18:31-34.

Here we should note two things.

• • • First, in each of these three instances, Jesus explicitly mentioned, not only His death, but also His resurrection. While Luke’s summary of what Jesus said in the second instance (see Luke 9:43-45) does not say Jesus explicitly referred to His upcoming death and resurrection, the other passages do, so we know Jesus was explicit in all three instances. There is no contradiction between the Gospel writers here.
    • Second, it is abundantly clear that in all three situations, the disciples didn’t have any idea what Jesus was talking about when He spoke of the soon-to-occur events regarding Himself. This is an indication, and a strong one, that the disciples couldn’t have make up the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. They were totally bewildered. However, later, after Jesus had risen, they remembered what He’d said and they believed. We’ll highlight these realities shortly.

There’s something else of which we should be aware. Jesus’ claim that He would rise from the dead obviously was talked about among the people. In other words, His claim was not a well kept secret. Matthew 27:62-64 states, “On the next day” or the Sabbath, the day after Jesus was crucified,

^27:62 the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, ⁶³ saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”

Those who came to Pilate with this request were Jesus’ opponents. Thus, even Jesus’ enemies were keenly aware that Jesus had said “After three days I will rise.” It’s hard to imagine going more public than this. His enemies didn’t believe Him, but they had concluded that without guards at the tomb, Jesus’ disciples might “come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’” Had they only known just how bewildered and terrified the disciples were, they quickly would have dismissed the idea Jesus’ followers might steal the body and make such a fantastic claim. I suppose they breathed a bit easier when Pilate granted their request. Even so, they, just like the disciples and everyone else, were in for a titanic surprise.  

The point here it that Jesus’ claim that He would rise from the dead was well known — not just by Jesus’ followers, but also by His enemies. No one misunderstood the claim. Jesus’ disciples were bewildered by it, and Jesus’ enemies disbelieved it outright. Clearly, it had made an impression on everyone. So would the events that were about to unfold. These events would validate Jesus and ultimately shake the world.

Category Three: John’s References to Jesus’ Predictions to Die and to Be Raised Back to Life

So far we’ve mentioned Jesus claims as presented in the Synoptic Gospels — Matthew, Mark, and Luke. What about John? In John, we see additional instances in which Jesus predicted His suffering, death, and resurrection, but typically these are more subtle. Here are several passages in John that report Jesus’ making these claims. See 1) John 2:13-22; 2) John 12:1-8; 3). John 12:20-33; 4) John 13:31-35; 5) John 14:25-29). In these portions of Scripture:

• • 1. Jesus told the Jewish leaders, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” They didn’t understand. For his readers’ benefit, the Gospel writer, John, explained, “But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.” It is noteworthy that Jesus made His statement about the temple — and thus about His own death and resurrection — early in His ministry. Keep John 2:13-22 in mind; we’ll refer to it again in just a bit.
    2. Jesus defended Mary for her extravagant expression of devotion: Mary “took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” When Judas criticized her, “Jesus said, ‘Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.’”
    3. Jesus declared, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” He also said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” John added, “This He said, signifying by what death He would die.”
       
    4. In a statement that we might say were among Jesus’ last words of instructions to His disciples, the Lord said, “Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” 
    5. Jesus gave additional instructions to His disciples just before He died, and He shared words of encouragement with them. He told them, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because  said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.”

The Impact: After Jesus Rose from the Dead, His Disciples Remembered He’d Predicted His Death and Resurrection Ahead of Time, and They Began to Understand and Believe

The effect of Jesus’ predictions on the disciples was powerful. We see this, or we see the stage set for it, in Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:2-8, and Luke 24:1-8. (Emphases are added.)

• • • In Matthew 28:1-8, consider verses 5-6: “But the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.'”
    • In Mark 16:2-8 consider verse 7:”But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”
    • In Luke 24:1-8, understand the significance of verses 6-8: Angels told the women who came to pay their respects to Jesus at His tomb, “He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'” Luke went on to add, “And they remembered His words.”

Recall as well John 2:13-22, which we cited above. In that passage, the Jewish leaders asked for a sign and Jesus responded by saying, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John, the Gospel writer, explained, “He was speaking of the temple of His body.” No one understood Jesus then; but later, after “He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.”

The Bottom Line

No wonder Jesus began His Great Commission with a reminder to His followers that “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Jesus has conquered death, so to His followers, His authority over everything else is obvious.

Still, the disciples’ faith had to grow and become stronger. It was a process. Key factors in this process were that Jesus had foretold His suffering, death, and subsequent resurrection both frequently and accurately. He predicted these events both subtly and explicitly. Initially, His enemies sought to prove Him wrong and His disciples were bewildered. Yet after Jesus’ resurrection, His enemies couldn’t do anything about it and His disciples came to understand and believe.

We should respond as the disciples did. The accuracy of Jesus’ predictions proves this carpenter from Nazareth was no ordinary carpenter. He was and is God, and the substance of His predictions about His death and resurrection emphasizes His power over death and His ability to give eternal life to all who trust Him to save them.

Don’t be misled or deceived. Death is binding — on everyone but One.

And the One on whom it is not binding has proved His authority over death by rising from death Himself.

If you haven’t yet trusted Him to save you, you can declare your belief in Him today.

This, after all, is ultimately what Easter is all about!

 

 

Additional Word Foundations articles on Easter are available here.

Copyright © 2022 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture has been taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.