If you missed the beginning of the series you might want to go back and catch up.
Start from the beginning in the Intro Article here.
If you have not read article 1, you can read that here.
Our modern world has been wrecked by a postmodern world which lacks any handle on truth. The children of this worldview are conspiracy theorists. Many denied modern science: they denied a round Earth with their flat Earth conspiracy. Likewise, many people with their Jesus mythicist theory denied the testimony of the historians. But the evidence of our Lord is overwhelming. Let’s proceed from weak arguments to strong arguments in making our case.
The British Arthurian legends tell of Joseph of Arimathea gaining his wealth and even bringing the teenaged Christ as a squire to Britain. Archaeology is starting to back this up, and if so, then Jesus existed. The gnostic gospels and New Testament apocrypha claim Jesus existed; and if Jesus never existed, then why not pick from dozens of messianic pretenders in that century? The ante-nicene fathers claimed Christ existed and often died for the claim. Jewish historian Josephus and Roman historian Tacitus recorded Christ as a historical figure. The rabbis of the Talmud and even heathen philosophers recorded him as well.
Archaeology has claims too. I believe the following artifacts are genuine: the garden tomb, the great stone (tomb door) of Mt. Nebo, the nails (cross nails) of Caiphus, the record of Pontus Pilate, the shroud of turin, the sudarium (facecloth), and the bone box of James (believed to be Jesus’s brother).
Not only do we end up with a historical Jesus, but also, we see a Christ of Faith. Musician Keith Green was a hippie in the sixties, and as he sought out a variety of gurus, he noticed a pattern that every religious cult or occult would have to develop a spiritual doctrine regarding Christ.
Now, if these extra-biblical works historically verify the existence of Christ, then the implication is that the New Testament Gospels will be authenticated as the historical record of Christ. After all, they are the best evidenced documents.
But was Jesus truly a supernatural entity?
Many historical figures may claim a miraculous experience, but what would verify a miracle in the natural world? Well, we can start with a significant sign for the world. We have evidence of such in Jesus’s birth and death. In the east, astrologers found an appearance of a star at his birth, and at his death, gentile historians have record of the sky turning to darkness in mid day.
But the greatest physical miracle verified in the life of Christ is the resurrection.
Now, the naturalist scholars will be negative on all miracles, but scholar of the resurrection Gary Habermas developed a strategy called “the Minimal Facts Approach.” In that approach, he surveyed the works of critical scholars who deny supernatural content and determined how many of them agreed to various parts of the death and resurrection narrative in the Gospels; from there, he considered what minimal facts are verified and whether they pointed to a resurrection. Examples of those facts include Paul's 1st Corinthians 15 account of the resurrection, the women at the empty tomb, Jesus’s claims of Deity, and Jesus’s death (which verified the 12 apostles' testimony).
The apostles would have known if Christ were a liar. Several of them died for their beliefs in Christ. If something were a lie, why die for something you know is a lie?
So what options are there? Did Jesus swoon? Could he have after the passion whipping, the walk with the cross, hanging on the cross, and then being speared and stuffed with 70 pounds of herbs? Then he threw a four-thousand-pound door open?
Did the apostles steal the body of Jesus? Could 12 untrained men beat highly trained up to 16 centurions under strict orders? Even if they could, why didn't Rome destroy them? Was it dogs? Who could bite through 4,000 guards and block the centurion swords?
Do we explain everything away with the idea that the disciples suffered from mass hysteria? If that were true, then what about the empty tomb? Did they arrive at the wrong tomb? Even if that happened, surely, the Jewish leadership and Romans could find the real tomb! If they paid off the soldiers, then why didn't they bribe the court?
Now, let's consider Bible prophecy. It is said that there are between 300-400 examples of prophecies.
Read this list of verses and see if you can see something about Jesus in them:
Genesis 1:26: Man is made in God’s image
Genesis 15:5: “Descendants” of Abraham shall be as the stars
Genesis 49:10: Scepter shall not depart until Christ comes
Exodus 3:6: God of the forefathers
Psalm 110: Enemies of David’s Lord to be put under footstool
Psalm 2: There is the Anointed of the Lord who is His Son
Psalm 69: The zeal for God’s house has eaten Him up
Micah 5:2: The ruler of Israel to be born in Bethlehem
Deuteronomy 18: A new prophet like Moses to arise
Psalm 22:16: Christ crucified
Zechariah 3:8: God’s Servant the Branch
Now, let's go further. The Dead Sea Scrolls included a copy of the Book of Isaiah which was remarkably similar to the Masoretic manuscript of the Book of Isaiah. This was carbon-dated between 150-300 B.C. Consequently, there was no tampering with the prophecies in the text, all of which pre-date the birth of Jesus. That includes
Isaiah 2: Rule of the Lord when weapons of war are repurposed
Isaiah 7:15: He will refuse the evil and choose the good
Isaiah 9:6: He shall be called Divine and the Prince of Peace
Isaiah 11: Descendant of Jesse
Isaiah 28:16: The spiritual cornerstone
Isaiah 40: The forerunner to the Christ
Isaiah 42: The suffering servant will bring justice to the nations
Isaiah 53: Man of sorrows bruised for our transgressions
In terms of mathematical probability, if only 8 prophecies were fulfilled in one man, the probability would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (or, one out of 100 quadrillion)! Remember: there are around 400 prophetic details!
Finally, was Christ a liar, a Lord, or a lunatic? Here is what Einstein said,
“As a child, I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene... No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.”
H.G. Wells stated,
“I am an historian. I am not a believer, but I must confess as an historian that this penniless teacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”
Gandhi stated,
“A man who was completely innocent offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others including His enemies and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.”
Could a liar or lunatic convince such men?
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
—Matthew 16:15
Continue to Article 7 here
Endnotes
"As a child, I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, But I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene... No one can read the gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life." Albert Einstein "What life means to Einstein: An interview by George Sylvestor Viereck.” The Saturday Evening Post
The central figure of the Bible, Jesus Christ is Historically affirmed.
Once metaphysics is confirmed as a part of reality, The figure of Jesus Christ is affirmed as the key figure in metaphysic Legal Application
Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 143 U.S.457 (1892) This court case by implication recognized the historic religious identity of the American people is unabashedly christian. While America is religiously inclusive of it’s citizens. “We the People” which is the sovereign force behind the United States of America is identified as predominantly christian. “Brewer added that a legislature representing a religious people would certainly not take action against religion. He provided an overview of references to God in official documents from U.S. history, beginning with the commission to Christopher Columbus and continuing through colonial charters, state constitutions, and oaths of office.Turning to the Constitution, he offered the First Amendment and the “Sundays excepted” provision in Article 1 as evidence of the importance of religion in the United States. He also found throughout American life — from its laws to its businesses, customs, and multitudes of churches, charitable organizations, and missionary associations — further evidence that “this is a Christian nation.””Brewer added that a legislature representing a religious people would certainly not take action against religion. He provided an overview of references to God in official documents from U.S. history, beginning with the commission to Christopher Columbus and continuing through colonial charters, state constitutions, and oaths of office.Turning to the Constitution, he offered the First Amendment and the “Sundays excepted” provision in Article 1 as evidence of the importance of religion in the United States. He also found throughout American life — from its laws to its businesses, customs, and multitudes of churches, charitable organizations, and missionary associations — further evidence that “this is a Christian nation.” https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/724/church-of-the-holy-trinity-v-united-states#:~:text=Congress%2C%20public%20domain)-,Church%20of%20the%20Holy%20Trinity%20v.,is%20a%20%E2%80%9CChristian%20nation.%E2%80%9D Since the government is beholden to “We the People” the Government has no power to banish or censor the public worship of Christ. This principle is evidence in the historic national holidays of Christmas and thanksgiving
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