The Claims of Jesus Learning Set 7 Reasons For Christian Hope Chapter 10

Who is Jesus?

“During his earthly ministry 2000 years ago Jesus said, ‘I am God.’ He said that He was the Maker of the heaven and the earth and that only through Him could mankind experience true peace and be given eternal life.” Matthew 16:13,15 “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ [...] ‘But what about you?’ He asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’”

There is no other person in history more well-known than Jesus of Nazareth. There is no other person in history who made the claims he made and did the things he did.

Discussing Christianity without confronting the reality of Jesus is impossible.

Understanding Jesus

Despite the efforts of biblical scholars, church pastors and others to keep Jesus in his historical-cultural context, it seems almost like an American pastime to make Jesus something popular and culturally relevant Our job in apologetics is to paint the pictures of the real Jesus, the one who was the Jewish Messiah, the God-man, and the savior of the world.

The Jesus of Christianity

The Jesus of Fundamentalism: The focus is on the prophetic word and nature of Jesus in combination with His kingship, but lacks personal compassion (the priestly role of Jesus)

The Jesus of Evangelism: “people know that Jesus speaks the truth as their prophet and loves them as their priest. So when they sin, they know that Jesus will forgive them and still love them.”

The Jesus of Liberalism: Jesus is full of love, grace, mercy and tolerance as well as being our King who rules over all people and wishes to extend His kind hand over all.

The problem with each of these views is... that they are incomplete

However, what each of these views has in common is the undeniable assertion that Jesus is God.

According to Jesus, to know God and know his mission, we must know and accept Jesus

John records for us in his gospel a long conversation between Jesus and several irate Jews... Jesus begins to describe at great length just who he claims to be. -First, he calls himself the light of the world -Follows it up with the keeper of truth -Just to be sure they understood, Jesus enlightens his accusers that they are not children of Abraham as they have previously thought, but children of Satan! If such claims are not enough, Jesus lays on them a bomb of epic proportions... “I tell you the truth... before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58)

more than just a great moral teacher

The Resurrection

Most skeptics reject the idea of miracles altogether. How does establishing the historical context lend credibility to the miracle of the resurrection?

Saul of Tarsus was a persecutor of Christians until an encounter with the risen Christ on the Damascus road spurred his transformation to Paul the Apostle. How does the uniqueness of Paul’s experience lend credibility to the resurrection today?

Beyond scriptural implications of a physical resurrection, what are other potential problems with explaining the resurrection on purely psychological grounds?

The resurrection of Jesus is the most known and celebrated miracle in the history of the world. I Corinthians 15:3-8 “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all the appeared to m also, as to one abnormally born.”

Biblical Evidence for Jesus’ Resurrection

First, Jesus’ resurrection was prophesied in advance Isaiah 53:8-12

Second, Jesus predicted His own resurrection Matthew 12:38-40 Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:33 John 2:18-22

Extra-Biblical Evidence for Jesus’ Resurrection

The transformation of the disciples-- In the gospels, we see disciples who are timid and unsure of themselves and their role in Jesus’ entourage. However, post- ascension, we suddenly witness bold proclaimers of the gospel.

Women discovered the empty tomb-- The women who discovered the tomb were mentioned by name (Mark 15:40; 47; 16:1). The testimony of women was not respected in Jewish culture

The tomb was not enshrined-- It was common in Jesus’ day for the tombs of holy men, prophets or other religious figures to be enshrined as places of worship and veneration. If Jesus had really died and remained dead, then the disciples would have most likely followed suit and enshrined the tomb and worshiped at the site.

Non-Christian Historical Evidence for the Resurrection

The Jewish Explanation-- Some explanations within Jewish circles state that the body was stolen. However, consider the following before you assert such a fact. First, the tomb was sealed with a big rock. Second, the Roman government assigned guards around the clock. Third, if the disciples stole the body, then one might think all the torture and violent deaths would have been sufficient to discover the truth. Finally, over five hundred people saw him after the resurrection

Tacitus Suetonius Josephus

LunaticLiarLordLegend Made the claim to be God Didn’t make the claim to be God FalseTrue He knew it was false Didn’t know it was false

Conclusion? Get off the fence!!