Christianity 101 - Class Schedule and Homework

Session 1 - What does it mean to become a Christian? Apostle’s Creed September 20, 2009

Teaching: What is faith? How does one become a Christians? Can we lose our salvation?

Homework Topic: Why believe in the Bible? (Due: September 27, 2009)

HW Assignment 1: Read ‘The Case for Christ Notes’ by Lee Strobel

HW Assignment 2: Read The Fight, Chapter 1 & 3, ‘Beginning’ & ‘God Still Speaks’

HW Assignment 3: (Optional) Read “Summary Fact about the Bible & Intro to the books of the Bible

HW Assignment 4: Write a one page essay on ‘what, in your opinion, is the most compelling evidence

that the Bible is true and why?’

Session 2 - Why Believe in the Bible? September 27, 2009

Teaching: Is the Bible historically valid? Does it matter? What does it take to believe?

Homework Topic: Answering Tough Questions about Christianity? (Due: October 4, 2009)

HW Assignment 1: Read excerpts from ‘Seven Questions most often asked’ by Paul Little

HW Assignment 2: Write a one page essay on ‘Which of the questions have you struggled with?’ and ‘How has

the excerpts help you (or not) with answering questions?’

Session 3 – Who is God? October 4, 2009

Teaching: Is God a stern judge or tenderhearted master? How does Christianity’s view of God

compare with other religions?

Homework Topic: Presbyterian Church Fathers (Due: October 11, 2009)

HW Assignment 1: Read ‘Background History of the Church’

HW Assignment 2: Write a one page essay on ‘which of the three figures (Luther, Calvin, or Knox) do you

respect the most and why?’

Session 4 – Who is Jesus Christ (Part 1)? October 11, 2009

Teaching: Who was Jesus? Why was he so extraordinary? Why should we worship Him?

Homework Topic: The Work of the Cross (Due: October 18, 2009)

HW Assignment 1: Read ‘The Problem of God’s Forgiveness/ Salvation of Sinners’ by John Stott

HW Assignment 2: Read The Fight, Chapter 5 & 6, ‘His Infernal Majesty’ and ‘Faith’

HW Assignment 3: Write a one page essay on ‘which of the four ways of describing salvation (Propitiation,

Redemption, Justification, or Reconciliation) is most meaningful to you and why?’

Session 5 – Who is Jesus Christ (Part 2)? October 18, 2009

Teaching: What was the Work of the Cross?

Homework Topic: How do we Pray? (Due: October 25, 2009)

HW Assignment 1: Read The Fight, Chapter 2, ‘Prayer’

HW Assignment 2: Write a one page essay on ‘What is some things that you have learned about prayer from

the reading and discuss?’

Session 6 – Who is the Holy Spirit? October 25, 2009

Teaching: Our love life with God. How do we walk with integrity, forgiveness, and gratitude?

Homework Topic: Church and Presbyterian beliefs? (Due: November 1, 2009)

HW Assignment 1: Read ‘My In-the-body Experience’ & ‘Calvinism vs. Arminianism’ & ‘Reformed Theology’

HW Assignment 2: Read The Fight, Chapter 7, ‘Changed Relationships’

HW Assignment 3: Write a one page essay on 1) ‘Why do you believe going to church is important?’ 2) ‘How

can you give back to God through going to church?’

HW Assignment 4: Write down any question you might have about Christianity for the panel discussion

Session 7 – What is the Church? November 1, 2009

Teaching: Why should we go to church? History of Presbyterianism.

Homework Topic: How do we Share our Faith with Others? (Due: November 8, 2009)

HW Assignment 1: Read The Fight, Chapter 4, ‘On being a Signpost’

HW Assignment 2: Write a one page essay on ‘Share an experience that you have about being a ‘witness’ for

Christ.’ Or, ‘What have you learned about being a witness for Christ from the reading?’

Session 8 – Panel Discussion (Questions from the Class) November 8, 2009

Teaching: Any questions from the class

Homework Topic: How to find God’s Will & Holiness (Due: November 15, 2009)

HW Assignment 1: Read The Fight, Chapter 8 & 9, ‘Guidance’ & ‘Holiness’

Session 9 –Sharing our Faith and God’s Ministry for Us November 15, 2009

Teaching: Sharing our Faith and Ministry

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Christianity 101 – Class 1 Lecture Notes

1. Class Specifics

a. Class is meant to be challenging and applicable b. Format of class

i. Apostle Creed as a framework ii. Practical topics

iii. Presbyterian topics iv. Book (The Fight) and Homework in the form of 1 page essays

c. Goal – It is good to have a goal or standard to achieve i. Criteria for Graduation

1. Attendance - You are allowed to miss two but will need to do makeup work (see me for makeup work).

2. Homework – Reading and Essays. d. Sign up list for phone numbers/email address e. I want you to ask questions f. Take Picture

2. Lecture a. How does one become a Christian? What does ‘believing in Christ’ mean?

i. It is ____________________

1. Intellectual assent. The Apostle Creed is a good example.

ii. Intellectual Assent is necessary but not sufficient

Gregory Chao

Sept 20, 2009

Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God the Father Almightysession3, maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buriedSession4; He descended into hades; the third day rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the deadSession5. I believe in the Holy SpiritSession6, the holy Christian church, the communion of saintsSession7, the forgiveness of sinsSession5, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9-10

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iii. It is ___________________

1. Accepting God’s offer. Repenting of our sins and changing our ways. Giving over control of our lives to God. Trusting our lives into his care.

iv. It is ___________________

1. God comes to us and dwells with us. We become transformed

2. It can be dramatic or gradual

b. What happens when we are saved?

i. We are justified

ii. We are regenerated and sanctified

iii. We have new relationships with God (reconciled) and others

iv. We are on God’s side of a war between good and evil

c. Some examples

i. Nicodemus (John 3) – ‘you must be born again’

ii. Women at the Well (John 4) – “Whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst”

iii. Blind man (John 9) – ‘whether his is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!...Lord, I believe and he worshipped him.”

iv. Peter (Luke 5) – After the miracle of the fish, Peter declares “Lord, I am a sinful man…so they pulled their boats and followed him.”

v. Rich Young Ruler/Zacchaeus (Luke 18-19) – Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house”

d. Can we lose our salvation?

i. ________, it is a work of God not by our merit

‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.’ Ephesians 2:8-9

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

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ii. We are forever his _____________ (but we can be good children or bad children)

Appendix on the Apostle’s Creed (Wikipedia)

The Apostles' Creed (Latin: Symbolum Apostolorum or Symbolum Apostolicum), sometimes titled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief, a creed or "symbol".[1] It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western tradition, including the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheranism, the Anglican Communion, and Western Orthodoxy. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists.

The theological specifics of this creed appear to have been originally formulated as a refutation of Gnosticism, an early heresy. This can be seen in almost every phrase. For example, the creed states that Christ, Jesus, was born, suffered, and died on the cross. This seems to be a statement directly against the heretical teaching that Christ only appeared to become man and that he did not truly suffer and die but only appeared to do so. The Apostles' Creed, as well as other baptismal creeds, is esteemed as an example of the apostles' teachings and a defense of the Gospel of Christ.

The title, Symbolum Apostolicum (Symbol or Creed of the Apostles), appears for the first time in a letter from a Council in Milan (probably written by Ambrose himself) to Pope Siricius in about 390: "Let them give credit to the Creed of the Apostles, which the Roman Church has always kept and preserved undefiled".[3][4] But what existed at that time was not what is now known as the Apostles' Creed but a shorter statement of belief that, for instance, did not include the phrase "maker of heaven and earth", a phrase that may have been inserted only in the seventh century.[5]

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Summary Facts about the Bible (Catholic Source)

http://home.inreach.com/bstanley/bibintro.htm

A. THE LAYOUT OF THE BIBLE: 1. 'Bible' in Greek is 'biblion', meaning 'the book'. 2. It has 2 major sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. 3. The word, 'Testament' is one synonym for 'Covenant'. The O.T. is the 'Old Covenant' with GOD, and the N.T. is the 'New Covenant'. 4. All books in the Bible were written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 5. The O.T. in the front, is about 4/5 of the whole Bible. It has 46 books, by many different authors, and covers many centuries, from creation until about 50 B.C.. 6. The N.T. in the back, is about 1/5 of the total. It has 27 books written by various authors. The first book was written about 48 A.D. and the last about 98. The NT covers about 100 years beginning with the birth of Christ.

B. The Old Testament (O.T.): 39 books: 1. In Genesis, GOD created man. Man fouled up, and GOD will send a redeemer to atone for mans sins. 2. The rest of the O.T. is mainly devoted to the history of GODS' chosen people, the Jewish nation, from its inception to the coming of the 'Redeemer'. Many colorful people, and stories are presented, and GOD is often involved directly. 3. There are many prophesies in the O.T., by many prophets, that relate to the coming of a 'Messiah', who will redeem the human race and 'atone' for the offense made against GOD by Adam and Eve. 4. The 'Messiah' did come, but most of the Jewish people rejected Him as a 'false prophet'. They are still waiting for him to come. The Jewish Bible is similar to the O.T. that Christians use. The number and arrangement of the books are different.

C. The New Testament (N.T.): 27 books: 1. The N.T. picks up where the O.T. ends. The 'Messiah', Jesus Christ, arrived. His birth, life, 3 year ministry, words, crucifixion, resurrection, and His Church are documented. 2. It begins with the 4 'Gospels' (meaning 'good news'), of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which are of His life and what He said and taught. 3. It has many books concerning the 50 to 60 years after His death, mainly about the beginning of His Church, His teachings, and of the works of His Apostles. 4. It ends with 'Revelation', which is prophetic about things which have already been fulfilled and of things to come. It is highly symbolic. 5. Hundreds of prophesies about 'the Christ' from the O.T. were fulfilled by Him in the N.T.. Some are quite startling as to their accuracy. When comparing the O.T. and N.T. it leaves little doubt, that the Bible is truly the 'WORD Of GOD'.

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D. History of the Bible: Old Testament 1. The first books of the O.T. were probably written by Moses. Since he wrote of Adam and Eve, and others before his time, it is agreed that 'tradition' played a role in the text. 2. O.T. books were written in Hebrew 3. The O.T. is divided into 3 main sections. a. Law...The first 5 books, are the Jewish law. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, are called the 'Torah' by the Jews and the 'Pentateuch' by Christians. b. Prophets...From a Greek word meaning, 'to speak on behalf of', are divided into 2 groups. 'Former Prophets', Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings. 'Latter Prophets', Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and 12 more shorter books. Christians call these 12, the 'Minor Prophets'. c. Writings...These are all the rest of the books and include, songs, hymns, poetry, stories, and wisdom.

E. History of the Bible: New Testament 1. The Church existed for many years before the first book of the N.T. was written. Mt 16:18 2. The first books were St Paul's earlier 'Epistles', probably 1Thessalonians written about 48-52 A.D. 3. Revelation appeared about 96 A.D. The Gospel of John about 98 A.D. 4. All N.T. books were written in Greek 5. The N.T. is divided into 4 sections: a. The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The words of Christ. b. Acts: The history and formation of the early Church. c. Epistles: Letters to various persons and Churches. d. Revelation: 'The Apocalypse', a prophetic work.

F. The Bible as we know it today: 1. The list of 27 books of the N.T., called the canon, was settled by the Catholic Church. In 367, Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria Egypt, made a list of the N.T. books, and later this list was accepted by the Church. All Catholic Bibles use this list. The Old Testament canon was set at the 46 books we use today, by Pope St. Damasus I, in a decree which he issued in 382. 2. The Latin 'Vulgate', a translation from Greek and Hebrew, was completed by St. Jerome in about 404 A.D., and was the main Bible in use until the 16th century. 3. Bibles were copied by hand, by Monks, and were very cost prohibitive, until the invention of the printing press. It would take one monk up to twenty years to hand copy just one Bible. The printing press produced the first printed copies of the Bible in 1455. It was called the Gutenburg Bible. 4. Bibles were without chapters until 1228, when Cardinal Stephen Langton divided the books into chapters. The O.T. chapters had no division into verses until 1448, and the N.T was divided into verses in 1551. 5. The Bible is the most widely translated and distributed book ever, with over 1100 languages and dialects and about 30,000,000 distributed every year.

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Introduction to the Books of the Bible

(American Bible Society website)

Most books fall into one particular category of literature or another. An instruction booklet for making something uses technical language. A novel will use some kind of fictional narrative language. A book of poetry may use rhymed or non-rhymed verse. A book of history uses factual narrative writing. The type of book almost always determines the kind of literature used. The Bible is bound as one large book, but it is really made up of many different books written using many different kinds of literature. This makes the Bible both challenging and exciting to read. When studying the books of the Bible, it is important to look not only at the information a book contains, but also at the literary form that the author has used.

Laws & Rules: Many ancient Near Eastern cultures developed law codes. One of the most famous was the Code developed by the Babylonian leader named Hammurabi (died around 1686 B.C.). The first five books of the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) make up the section known as the Law, or "Torah." Not all of the literature in these five books includes laws, but much does. These laws include both laws that forbid things ("Do not...") and laws that encourage things ("Do..."), and were given to the people of Israel in order to help them worship correctly and treat one another with respect and care. The most well-known law literature in the Bible is the Ten Commandments Exod 20.1-17; Deut 5.6-12. Other examples are found in Exod 21.1-23.19; Lev 1.1-7.36; Num 6.1-21; Num 35.16-34; Deut 14.3-17.7; James 4.11,12.

Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

History: In the Old Testament, history writings tell the story of Israel's history from the settlement of Canaan in 1250 B.C. to the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. These books describe the activities of such important figures as the prophets Elijah and Eilsha, and the kings of Israel and Judah, including King David and King Solomon. These books also include information about the events of the two Israelite kingdoms after the split in 931 B.C. Examples of history books in the Old Testament are Joshua and 1 and 2 Kings. In the New Testament, Acts tells the history of the early church.

Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel, I & II Kings, I & II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel

New Testament: Acts

Poetry & Songs: This is a large category that includes different forms. Poetry is used especially in Psalms, Job, and the Song of Songs. But poetry can be found in many books of the Bible. Some of the poems

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in the Bible are examples of old hymns or songs. Many of the Psalms were meant for use in worship and prayer. The speeches of the prophets include poetic forms of language. Translating Hebrew poetry into English is not simple, and sometimes special techniques that are effective in the original language cannot be meaningfully carried over into English. One important feature of Hebrew poetry is the repeating of a single idea in two similar but different ways. This is called "parallelism" and an example is Ps 22.9,10. Some other examples of poetry in the Old Testament are Exod 15.1-18; Job 22.1-17; Ps 23; Isa 5.1-7; and John 2.2-9. Poetry is also used in the New Testament. Some examples are Luke 1.46-55; Phil 2.6-11; Rev 15.3,4.

Old Testament: Psalms, Song of Solomon, Job

Wisdom sayings & Proverbs: The large division of the Old Testament called "Wisdom and Worship" literature includes poetry, psalms, stories, and more. Here, wisdom sayings and proverbs have a unique style which makes them read like common sense sayings, and reflections about the world, God, and the place of human beings. Wisdom sayings fill a book like Proverbs, but they can also be found in other books. Books like Ecclesiastes and Job offer wisdom along with the kinds of philosophic reflections listed above. Wisdom writings usually do not give much direct information about Israel's history. Instead, they raise questions about moral issues, and ask hard questions about life. Some of these Wisdom writings are attributed to Solomon because he was known as Israel's wisest king, but were probably written after his time and credited to him as a way of honoring him. Besides the books already mentioned, Ps 1 and Ps 37 are good examples of wisdom literature. Wisdom sayings are also an important part of the New Testament. Examples can be found in Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" Matt 5-7 and in Jas 3.2-8; 4.13-17.

Old Testament: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes

Prophetic Books: During the history of Israel on the Old Testament, God raised up individuals to encourage the people to stay faithful to God and warn them if they did not. These prophets were the mouthpiece of God and wrote down prophetic words that applied to their time and also to future history especially foretelling of a Messiah who would deliver the people from captivity and usher in the Kingdom of God.

Old Testament: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentation, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Hahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the four books of the New Testament which tell about the life and teachings of Jesus. These books are called "Gospels." The word "gospel" comes from the Greek word euangelion, meaning "good news."

New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

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Letters: A number of books in the New Testament are letters written by the apostle Paul or others. These letters are written in the formal Greek letter-writing style of the first century A.D. The person writing a letter is identified first (Rom 1.1-6). This is followed by the name of the persons being written to, and a greeting (Rom 1.15). The largest section of a letter is the "body" (Rom 1.15-15.33). In most of Paul's letters, a prayer of thanksgiving follows the greeting (Rom 1.8-15), and a final greeting and blessing closes the letter (Rom 16.1-27). Within each letter a number of different kinds of literature can be found, including prayers, instructions, teaching, wisdom, warnings, hymns or songs, and personal news.

New Testament: Romans, I & II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon

Some writings in the New Testament that have also been called "letters" deal with more general questions that would be of concern to Christian communities almost anywhere. Hebrews is an example of this type. Brief letters to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor appear in Rev 2,3. The Bible books that are letters or written in the style of letters can be found after Acts and before Revelation.

New Testament: Hebrews, James, I & II Peter, I & II & III John, Revelations, Jude

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1) Why study the historical evidence of Jesus Christ?a) The Christian faith is based on the historical fact of Jesus Christ and the claims of

the Bible. Refute it and Christianity falls.

Paul, in I Cor. 15 puts it, For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the 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 if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

b) This either puts Christians in a very precarious position (if the evidence is weak) or, it firmly plants Christians as people who can seek object truth about their own faith.

c) The goal of this class is to expose to you the various object proofs there are concerning Christianity in the area of history, archeology, and logic. We will cover these topics in a overview fashion but I will delve deeper at times. We will poke holes in the ground to mine for gold.

d) To know that your faith is based on fact is an exciting revelation. It strengthens one faith, supporting it like the frame of a house. Ultimately, we are people who seek the truth and that truth will set us free.

2) Is it enough to study the evidence? To know the truth is not necessarily to commit oneself to it. I may know the facts about the need to exercise and stay fit but that does not mean I will do it. It is the same way with Christianity. Belief is a funny thing. If a person is determined to believe in something illogical or irrational, he can. Studying the facts behind Christianity can bring one to the edge of a cliff. Knowing that he has a parachute, he will be safe. It is his faith, informed faith, not blind faith that will allow him to jump

The Case for Christ - Introduction

Why study the facts about Jesus Christ?

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By Lee Strobel1) Eyewitness Evidence

i) Background: The authors of the gospels are anonymous but it is generally agreed that the authors were Matthew (one of the twelve), John Mark (a companion of Peter), Luke (Paul’s beloved physician), and John (one of the twelve, beloved by Jesus). Except for John, these were unlikely characters to author the gospels.

ii) Question: (1) The oldest and most significant testimony comes from Papias (125 AD) affirming

Mark’s gospel that he “made no mistake” and “did not include any false statement”

(2) Irenaeus (180 AD) said, “Matthew published his own Gospel among the Hebrews in their own tongue, when Peter and Paul were preaching the Gospel in Rome and founding the church there. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, himself handed down to us in writing the substance of Peter's preaching. Luke, the follower of Paul, set down in a book the Gospel preached by his teacher. Then John, the disciple of the Lend, who also leaned on his breast, himself produced his Gospel while he was living at Ephesus in Asia.”

iii) Conclusion: Very early evidence shows direct or indirect eyewitness testimony

i) Literary – This is in the style of the biographies of the ancient world. Chronology was not as important, nor verbatim test but essence was emphasized. Ancient Greek and Hebrew has no quotation marks.

ii) Theological – Gospel were written to tell a message that is based on the historically

fact of Christ death and resurrection.

i) Q is a hypothesis. German scholar in the 1800’s tried to isolate the source material for the gospels by studying the common material. They found all of Mark contained in Matthew and Luke. Common material in Luke and Matthew that they called Q. Material unique to Matthew (M) and material unique to (L). This, in and of itself, not that remarkable. It leads one to believe that Mark was the earliest gospel. However, these german scholars (Bultmann) went further to conclude that only Q is valid and the rest is fabrication. Even if you limit your knowledge to Q, you do not get a substantially different picture of Jesus.

i) The use of the term “Son of Man” is not a term of humanity but a direct reference to Daniel 7:13-14. "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” This is someone who approaches God directly with universal dominion

The Case for Christ

a) W hat do we k now about t he eye wit nesses of Christ ?

W hat specif ic evidence do you have t hat about aut hors of t he gos pels?

b) W hen someone writ es a biography t hese days, t hey delve int o t he person’s lif e but t he

gospels aren’t writ t en lik e t hat . T hey only f ocus on about 3 years of J esus’ lif e. W hy?

c) W hat is Q ?

d) I s J ohn’s very ex plicit claims of J esus as God consist ent wit h t he ot her gospels?

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ii) Jesus claims forgiveness of sin (Mark 2, Matt 9). Jesus says “Whoever acknowledges me, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” (Matt 10, Luke 12) Final judgment is based on one’s reaction to Him. There are many more examples.

i) The standard scholarly dating of Mark (70 AD), Matthew and Luke (80 AD), and John (90 AD) are within a lifetime of the actual events.

ii) Compared to other documents of antiquity, the NT greater than 10 times more text and 10 times closer time gap (see table below)

Table 1 – Comparison between NT manuscripts and other accepted factual documents of Antiquity.

iii) A strong case for an even earlier dating can be made for Luke. Based on Acts, Paul had not died yet which means that it would be dated earlier than 62 AD. Since Act is a second of a two part book, the book of Luke was written even earlier. This would put Mark at about 50-60 AD, 30 year after the death of Jesus.

iv) The gospel were written after almost all the letters of Paul which probably began in the 40’s. In addition, we find in Philippian 2:6-11 and Colossians 1:15-20 creeds that were even earlier than Paul’s writings. Another creed in I Corinthian 15:3 is very significant. “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the 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 he

e) How do you respond t o t he crit ics t hat say t hat t he gospels where writ t en so f ar af t er

t he event t hat legends developed and d ist ort ed J esus who was act ually only a wise

t eacher?

Author Book Date Written

Earliest Copies Time Gap No. of Copies

Homer 800 BC c, 400 BC 400 yrs 643Herodotus 480-425 BC c. 900 AD 1350 yrs 8Thucydides 460-400 BC c. 900 AD 1300 yrs 8Plato 400 BC c. 900 AD 1300 yrs 7Demosthenes 300 BC c. 1100 AD 1400 yrs 200Caesar 100-44 BC c. 900 AD 1000 yrs 10

Livy 59 BC-17 AD

4th century (partial) mostly 10th century

400 yrs 1000 yrs

1 partial 19 copies

Tacitus 100 AD c. 1100 AD 1000 yrs 20Pliny Secundus

61-113 AD c. 850 AD 1000 yrs 7

New Testament

50-100 AD c 114 AD (fragment)c. 200 AD (books) c. 250 AD (most of NT) c. 325 AD (complete NT)

50 yrs 100 yrs 150 yrs 225 yrs

5366

IliadHistoryHistory

Gallic Wars

History of Rome

AnnalsNatural History

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appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” Paul is using these creeds during his ministry in the 40’s which means that they must have been developed in the 30’s.

2) Testing the Eyewitness Evidence

i) Luke was explicitly states that he tried to get the fact correct in Luke 1. Mark and Matthew do not explicit states this intent but are clearly of the same genre and style. John states in 20:31, “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

i) Jewish culture was built up on preserving the scripture of the OT. Rabbis became famous for having the entire OT committed to memory. The oral tradition was not like playing telephone. In telephone, half the fun is to have the next person not get it right. In the oral tradition, you take great care to pass on the exact information from person to person. And, the word for word memorization is constantly checked

by the community.

i) There are numerous points at which the gospels appear to disagree ranging from minor variations in wording to more famous contradictions. Some amount of discrepancies actually help the case of independent witnesses. The discrepancies have to be dealt with on a case by case basis. Some examples: Luke says the centurion sent elders while Matt said that he himself went to see Jesus. (Answer: This might have been an acceptable practice back then.) Jesus sent demons into the swine at Gerasa in Mark and Luke while Matt says it was Gadara (Answer: one is a town and one is a province). The point is that there are rational explanations for the differences in the accounts.

i) Although there is this possibility, the disciples had nothing to gain except criticism, ostracism and martyrdom. They certainly had nothing to win financially. If anything, this would have provided pressure to keep quiet and deny Jesus yet, because of their integrity, they proclaimed what they saw even though it resulted in suffering and death.

i) There are actually quite a bit. There are a large body of “hard saying” of Jesus. There is much embarrassing material about the disciples

i) The more people explore this, the more details get confirmed. Within the last 100 years, archaeology has repeatedly unearthed discoveries that have confirmed specific references in the gospels, particularly the gospel of John.

a) I nt ent ion Test : W er e t he f irst cent ury writ ers even int erest ed in record ing what

act ually happened?

b) A bilit y Test : W ere t he f irst cent ury writ ers able t o writ e a r eliable record of hist ory?

c) Consist ency Test : A ren’t t her e irreconcilable d iscrepancies among t he various gospels?

d) Bias Test : Did t he gospel writ ers sk ew t he mat erial since t hey were biased t oward

J esus?

e) Cover up t est : W hen people t est if y, t hey of t en leave out embarrassing or hard t o ex plain

f act s. A re t here such f act s in t he gospels?

f ) Corroborat ion t est : W hen t he gospels ment ion people, places and event s, do t hey c heck

out t o be correct in cases in whic h t hey can be independent ly verif ied?

g) Adverse W it ness T est : W er e ot her pr esent who would have cont rad ict ed or correct ed

t he gospels if t hey had be en d ist ort ed or f alse?

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i) Many people had reason for wanting to discredit this movement and would have done so if they could. This was especially so among the Jew. Yet, the Christian movement took root in Jerusalem, the very heart of the Jewish faith.

3) The Documentary Evidence

i) This isn’t an issue with the NT. The NT is far more verifiable than any other document of antiquity in terms of numbers of manuscripts and closeness in time to the original.

ii) We have copies commencing within a couple of generations from the writing of the original compared to 5 to 10 centuries of other documents.

iii) We have translations of the gospels into other languages (Latin, Syriac, and Coptic) and secondary translations (Armenian and Gothic).

iv) Even if we lost all the greek manuscripts, we could piece together the gospel from all the quotations in commentaries. The following are some (not all) of the earlier

manuscripts.

a) I f all we have are copies of copies, how can we have conf idence t hat t he N T bear

resemblance t o t he original t ex t s?

Manuscript Location Date Written

CommentDescription

John Rylands's MS

Fragment of John

Manchester, England

130 AD Defuncts earlier School of NT criticism belief lead of Christian Baur that could not have been written until 160 AD

Bodmer Papyrus II

Most of John's Gospel, Jude, I&II Peter, Luke

Geneva 200 AD (John)175-225 AD (Luke, Peter, Jude)

104 leaves of John 1:1 - 6:11; 6:35-14:26, earliest copy of Jude and I & II Peter, earliest copy of Luke

Chester Beatty Papyri

Major portion of NT

Dublin 200 AD This discovery in 1930 reduced the gap between earlier manuscripts and traditional dating to the point of negligible

Diatessaron Harmony of Gospels by Tatian

160 AD Written by Tatian, an early church father

Codex Vaticanus

Entire Bible Vatican 325-350 AD After a 100 years of textual criticism, many consider Vaticanus as one of the most trustworthy manuscripts of the NT

Codex Sinaiticus

All of NT, half of OT

British Museum

350 AD Discovered in Mount Sinai Monstery in 1859

Codex Alexandrinus

Entire Bible British Museum

400 AD Written in greek in Egypt

Codex Ephraemi

Entire Bible except 2 Thess

Paris 400 AD Original writing has been erased and written over. Scholar have

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Table 2 – Summary of earliest known manuscripts of the NT

i) The early church had three criteria: 1) The books must have apostolic authority –that is, written by apostles or by followers of apostles. 2) conformity to the rule of faith. 3) acceptance and usage by the church at large.

ii) There was an agreement of the greater part of the NT within the first two centuries. The NT canon is very clearly obvious when studying the discarded texts. They are written later that the four gospels in the second, -sixth century. They carry names like Gospel of Peter and the Gospel of Mary that are unrelated to their

real authorship.iii) The NT canon was not a result of a series of contest involving church politics. The

canon is rather the separation that came about because of the intuitive insight of Christian believers. The canon is a list of authoritative books more than it is an authoritative list of books.

i) The quotations of the NT from the early church fathers are so numerous that they give overwhelming support to the existence of the 27 books of the NT and reproduce the NT text itself.

ii) If no manuscript of the NT existed, we could reproduce it from the quotations of the early church fathers alone?

Table 3 – Extra-biblical NT references from Church Fathers

iii) The table above is a partial list of quotation but serves to illustrate the vast amount of cross-checking scholar are able to perform on the NT accuracy. Other notable sources are (New Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell):

and 2 John been able to see originals

Codex Bezai Gospels, Acts in Greek and Latin

Cambridge Library

450 AD

Codex Washingtonensis

Gospels Washington DC

450 AD

Justin Martyr (133 AD) 268 10 43 6 3 330Irenaeus (170 AD) 1038 194 499 23 65 1819Clement of Alex. (150-212 AD)

1107 44 1127 207 11 2406

Origen (185-253 AD) 9231 349 7778 399 165 17992Tertullian (160-220 AD) 3822 502 2609 120 205 7258Hippolytus (170-235 AD) 734 42 387 27 188 1378Eusebius (325 AD) 3258 211 1592 88 27 5176

b) How d id t he early churc h leaders det ermine which book s would be considered

aut horit at ive and which would be d iscarded?

W hat out side sources of t he N T do we have by Early Churc h Fat her sc) ?

Writer Gospel Acts Pauline Epistles

General Epistles

Revelations

Totals

Grand Totals 19368 1352 14035 870 664 36289

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Origen, in De Principus, Book 11, Chapter 3, calls him a disciple of the apostles. (Anderson, BWG, 28). Tertullian, in Against Heresies, Chapter 23, writes that he (Clement) was appointed by Peter.

continues in Against Heresies Book 111, Chapter 3, that he "had the preaching of the Apostles still echoing in his ears and their doctrine in front of his eyes." He quote, from: Matthew, 1 Corinthians, Mark, Titus, Luke, Hebrews, Acts, 1 Peter

(A.D. 70-110) was Bishop of Antioch and was martyred. He knew well the apostles. His seven epistles contain quotations, from Matthew, Philippians, John, Colossians, Acts, I and 2 Thessalonians, Romans, 1 and 2 Timothy, 1 Corinthians, James, Galatians, I Peter, Ephesians

(A.D. 70-156), martyred at eighty-six years of age, was Bishop of Smyrna and a disciple of the apostle John. Among others who quoted from the New Testament were Barnabas (c. A.D. 70), Hermas (C. A.D. 95), Tatian (C. AD. 170), and Irenaeus (C. A.D. 170).

(A.D. 150-212). 2,400 of his quotes are from all but three books of the New Testament.

(A.D. 160-220) was a presbyter of the church in Carthage, and quotes the New Testament more than seven thousand times, of which 3,800 are from the Gospels.

(A.D. 170-235) has more than 1,300 references.(A.D. 133) battled the heretic Marcion.

(A.D. 185-253 or 254). This vociferous writer compiled more than six thousand works. He lists more than eighteen thousand New Testament quotes. (Geissler, GIB, 353)

(died Am. 258) was bishop of Carthage. Use, approximately 740 Old Testament citations and 1,030 from the New Testament.

i) Michael Wilkins and J.P. Moreland conclude that even if we did not have any Christian writings, “we would be able to conclude from such non-Christian writings as Josephus, the Talmud, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger that: (1) Jesus was a Jewish teacher; (2) many people believed that he performed healing and exorcisms; (3) he was crucified under Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberious; (5) despite this shameful death, his followers, who believed that he was still alive, spread beyond Palestine so that there were multitudes of them in Rome by 64 AD; (6) all kinds of people from the cities and countryside-men and women, slave and free- worshiped him as God by the beginning of the second century.”

Clement of Rome (A .D, 95 ).

I renaeus

I gnat ius

Polycarp

Clement of A lex andria

Tert ullian

Hippolyt us

J ust in Mart yr,

Origen

Cyprian

d) W hat out side sources of t he N T do we have f rom N on-Christ ians?

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Table 4 – Extra-biblical references of NT from Non-Christians

Quotations are given below for the reader to investigate the source.

Tacitus, A, 15.44 – “Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular.” (treatment of Christians by Nero)

Writer Who was he? Reference to NT

Tacitus 1st century Roman historian. Considered one of the more accurate historian of the ancient world

In his description of Nero's burning of Roman, reference is made to the Christians as his vehicle for blame.

Suetonius Chief secretary of Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD)

He confirms the report on Act 18:2 that Claudius commanded all the Jews (among them Priscilla and Aquila) to leave Rome in 49 AD.)

Josephus Lived 37-100 AD. Was a Pharisee and Jewish historian working under Roman authority.

Made many statements verifying the historical nature of the Old and New Testament. Among the references 1) confirmed James, the brother of Jesus' death, 2) confirmed the death of John the Baptist, and 3) described Jesus himself.

Thallus Wrote around 52 AD. Fragments of his work exists from quotation of others. Confirms the darkness described in Luke 23:44-45

Pliny the Younger Roman author and administrator at 112 AD

Description of the Christian gatherings and practices

Emperor Trajan Emperor to Pliny (112 AD) Response to Pliny's letter about the Christians

Talmud Jewish writings Description of the crucifixation of JesusLucian Second century greek writer Sarcastic critiques of ChristianityMara Bar Serapion Syrian who wrote sometime

between late first century to early third.

Letter containing reference to Jesus

Valentinus Gnostic who lived from 135 -160 AD

References to Jesus and his crucifixation

The Acts of Pontius Pilate

Document was lost but mentioned by Justin Martyr (150AD) and Tertullian (200AD)

Description of the crucifixation of Jesus

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Suetonius – “As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome.” (Suetonius, Life of Claudius, 25.4). (confirmation of Acts 18:2)

Suetonius – “Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a body of people addicted to a novel and mischeivous superstition.” (Suetonius, Life of Nero, 16) (reference after the burning of Rome)

Josephus on James – “… he assembled the Sanhedrin of the judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or some of his companions], and when he had formed an accusations against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned “ (Josephus, AJ, 20.9.1)

Josephus on John the Baptist - “Now, some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod’s arym came from God, and very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, who was called the Baptist; for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism.” (Josephus, AJ, 18.5.2)

Josephus on Jesus (version 1) – “Now there was about this time, Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him. For he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct to this day. (Josephus, AJ, 18.3.3)”

Josephus on Jesus (4th century arabic version) - At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good and [he] was known to be virtuous. Many people from among the Jews and other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders. (This passage is found in the Arabic manuscript entitled Kitab Al-Unwan AI-Mukallal Bi-Fadail AI-Hikma Al-Mutawwaj Bi-Anwa Al-Falsafa AI-Manduh Bi-Haqaq Al-Marifa.)

Julius Africanus quoting Thallus on crucifixation – “On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness, and the rocks were rent by an earth quake, and many places in Judea and othe districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun.” (Julius Afrcanus, Chronography, 18.1 in Roberts, ANF)

Pliny the Younger on early Christians - They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to do any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to

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deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food-but food of an ordinary and innocent kind. (Pliny the Younger, L, 10:96)

Emperor Trajan’s response to Pliny - In reply to Pliny's letter, Emperor Trajan gave the following guidelines for punishing Christians: "No search should be made for these people, when they are denounced and found guilty they must be punished, with the restriction, however, that when the party denies himself to be a Christian, and shall give proof that he is not (that is, by adoring our gods) he shall be pardoned on the ground of repentance even though he may have formerly incurred suspicion." (Pliny the Younger, L, 10:97)

Talmud on Jesus - Talmudic writings of most value concerning the historical Jesus are those compiled between A.D. 70 and 200 during the so-called Tannaitic Period. The most significant text is Sanhedrin 43a: "On the eve of Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, 'He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy. Any one who can say anything in his favour let him come forward and plead on his behalf.' But since nothing was brought forward in his

favour he was hanged on the eve of the Passover!" (Babylonian Talmud)

Lucian on Christians - “The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day – the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account.... You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from themoment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property. (Lucian of Samosata, DP, 11-13)

Mara Bar-Serapion - What advantage did the Athenians gain from putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as a judgment for their crime. What advantage did the men of Samon gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise King? It was just after that their kingdom was abolished. God justly avenged these three wise men: the Athenians died of hunger; the Samians were overwhelmed by the sea; the Jews, ruined and driven from their land, live in dispersion. But Socrates did not die for good; he lived on in the statue of Hera. Nor did the wise king die for good; he lived on in the teaching which he had given. (British Museum, Syriac ms, add. 14, 658; cited in Habermas, HJ, 200)

Valentinus – "For when they had seen him and heard him, he granted them to taste him and to smell him and to touch the beloved Son. When he had appeared instructing them about the Father.... For he came by means of fleshly appearance." (Robinson, NHL, 30:27-33; 31:4-6)

"Jesus was patient in accepting sufferings since he knows that his death is life for many. ... He was nailed to a tree; he published the edict of the Father on the cross.... He draws himself down to death through life. Having stripped himself of the perishable rags, he put on imperishability, which no one can possibly take away from him." (Robinson, NHL, 20:11-14,25-34)

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Justin Martyr quotes the Acts of Pontius Pilate – “"And the expression, 'They pierced my hands and my Feet,'was used in reference to the nails of the cross which were fixed in his hands and feet. And after he was crucified, they cast lots upon his vesture, and they that crucified him parted it among them. And that these things did happen you can ascertain from the 'Acts'of Pontius Pilate. " (Mar-tyr, FA, 35) Justin also claims that the miracles of Jesus can be confirmed in this document. (Martyr, FA, 48)

1) Archaeology

It will show that the ancient sites are consistent with the record and that the history and geography is correct but it does not confirm what Jesus Christ said is right. Spiritual truths cannot be proved or disproved by archaeological discoveries. It has the role of enhancing the credibility.

Luke has been proven over and over again to be a very accurate historian. He’s eloquent, his Greek approaches classical quality, and he writes as an educated man. There have been several instances where scholar start off claiming he is wrong and later it is proven that he is right through archaeological discoveries. See table for examples.

Archaeological Support for the NT

a) W hat is t he role of arc haeology in est ablis hing t he valid it y of t he N T?

i)

b) W hen arc haeologist check out t he det ails of Luk e, what do t hey f ind?

i)

Passage Description Dispute Archaeological Discovery

Luke 3:1 Lysanias is the tetrarch of Abilene

Lysanias was ruler of Chalcis half century earlier (36 BC)

An inscription was found from the time of Tiberius (14-37AD) naming Lysanias as tetrarch in Abila near Damascus. There were two Lysanias' (Bruce, ACNT,321)

Acts 17:6 Luke uses to

denote the civil authorities of Thessalonica

Term is not used in classical literature, therefore Luke is wrong

19 inscription have been found using the title. Five of these are specific to Thessalonica. (Bruce, ACNT 325)

politarchs

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Table 1 - Disputed issues clarified through Archaeology

There have been a number of discoveries that prove out details of Luke’s records. Geiser reveals, “In all, Luke manes 32 countries, 54 cities, and 9 islands without an error.”

Acts 19:23-29 – Luke records that the riot in Ephesus takes place in a theater. This theater was unearthed and proved to have room for 25000 people. (Bruce ACNT,326)Acts 21:28 – Luke records a riot broke out in Jerusalem over taking a gentile in temple. An Inscription was found reading, "No foreigner may enter within the barrier which surrounds the temple and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will be personally responsible for his ensuing death." (Bruce, ACNT,326)Act 18:4-7 – Luke records Paul debating in the synagogue. Fragment found with inscription “Synagogue of the Hebrews.” (Bruce, NTD 95)Act 18:12 – Luke’s use of the word procusul is correct, as evidenced by the Delphi inscription that states “As Lucius Junius Gallio, my friend and Proconsul of Achaia…” (Vos, CITB, 180). This inscription also gives us a fixed time period for establishing Paul’s ministry in Corinth since Gallio took office in July 1, 52 AD for only one year.Acts 28:7 – Luke give to Publius, the chief man in Malta, the title “first man of the island.” Inscriptions have been unearthed that do give him the title of “first man.” (Bruce, ACNT, 325)

Sir William Ramsay, regarded as one of the greatest archaeologists, started out

believing Luke was fabricated. In his research, he was forced to do a complete

Luke 2:1-3 Census with governor Quirinius of Syria

There was no census, no Quirinius

1) Roman tax record show census' every 14 years. 2) Found an inscription in Antioch ascribing Quirinius was governor of Syria (7 BC) Therefore, he was probably governor twice, once in 6 AD 3) Papyrus in Egypt reads: "Because of the approaching census it is necessary that all those residing for any cause away from their homes should at once prepare to return to their own government in order that they may complete the family registration of the enrollment and that the tilled lands may retain those belonging to them." (Elder, PID, 159,160)

Acts 16 Luke describes Philippi as "meris" or "part" of Macedonia

Hort believed Luke erred in this usage, poor word usage

Excavations show that "meris" is the very word used to describe the divisions of districts. (Free, ABH, 320)

Acts 18:12 Luke uses "praetors" as Philippian rulers

Scholars believed that two "duumuirs" would have ruled

Finding has shown that the title of "praetor" was employed by the magistrates of a Roman colony (Free, ABH 321)

ii)

(1)

(2 )

(3 )

(4 )

(5 )

iii)

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reversal of his belief due to the overwhelming evidence. He states “Luke’s history is unsurpassed in respect to trustworthiness” (Ramsay, SPTRC, 81)Colin Hemer, a noted Roman historian, has catalogued numerous archaeological and historical confirmations of Luke’s accuracy summarizes by saying (Hemer, BASHH, 104-107):Specialized details, which would not have been widely known except to a contemporary researcher such as Luke who traveled widely. These details include exact titles of officials, identification of army units, and information about major routes. Details archaeologists know are accurate but can't verify as to the precise time period. Some of these are unlikely to have been known except to a writer who had visited the districts. Correlation of dates of known kings and governors with the chronology of the narrative.Facts appropriate to the date of Paul or his immediate contemporary in the church but not to a date earlier or later.

"Undesigned coincidents" between Acts and the Pauline Epistles. Internal correlations within Acts. Off-hand geographical references that bespeak familiarity with common knowledge. Differences in formulation within Acts that indicate the different categories of sources he used. Peculiarities in the selection of detail, as in theology, that are explainable in the context of what is now known of first-century church life. Materials the "immediacy" of which suggests that the author was recounting a recent experience, rather than shaping or editing a text long after it had been written. Cultural or idiomatic items now known to be peculiar to the first century atmosphere.

i) There have been several discoveries that have proved other records to be very accurate.(1) Roman 16:23 – Paul identifies Erastus as city treasurer. During an excavation of

Corinth in 1929, a pavement was found incribed with “Erastus, crator of public buildings, laid this pavement at his own expense” (Bruce, NTD, 95)

(2) John 5:1-15 – John records Jesus healed an invalid by the Pool of Bethesda. John provides details that the pool had five porticoes (walkways). Scholars have claimed that John is inaccurate because no such place was found. However, recently the Pool has been excavated 40 feet below ground with 5 porticoes! (Bruce ACNT, 329)

(3) John 19:13 – John records the court where Jesus met Pilate. For centuries, there has been no record of this site. Recently, this court was found as the court of the Tower of Antonia, the Roman Military Headquarters in Jerusalem. It was left buried when the city was rebuilt in the time of Hadrian (Albright, AP, 141)

(4) Pilate Inscription – In 1961, Antonio Frova discovered an inscription in Caesarea on a stone slab which had three lines roughly translated “Tiberium, Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea.” (Dockery FBI, 360)

iv)

c) A rchaeology may support t he cred ibilit y of Luk e, but what about t he ot her r ecords?

•

•

•

•

••••

•

•

•

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(5) NT Coins – The tribute penny (Matt 22:17-21, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26), the thirty pieces of silver (Matt 26:14-15), and the widow’s mite (Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4) have all been found. (Dockery FBI, 362)

(6) Other sites have been found recently like Pool of Siloam (John 9:7), Jacob’s Well (John 4:12), and the probable location of the Stone Pavement near the Jaffa Gate where Jesus appeared before Pilate (John 19:13) (Strobel, CFC, 99)

References – Bruce, F. F. Archaeological Confirmation of the New Testament, 1969Bruce, F.F. The NT Document: Are they Reliable?, 1964Free, Joseph P., Archaeology and Bible History, 1969Elder, John. Prophets, Idos, and Diggers. 1960Vos, Howard F., Can I Trust the Bible, 1963,Ramsay, W, St. Paul the Traveller and Roman Citizen, 1962Hemer, C,The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History,1990Dockery, D Foundations for Biblical Interpretation, 1994Albright, W The Archaeology of Palestine, 1960

Strobel, The Case for Christ, 1998

1) Analyzing Jesusa) The Identity Evidence

(1) No. Jesus could not simply announce that he was God since it would be seen as clear-cut blasphemy? This would have been counterproductive to Jesus’ effort. The gospels record that Jesus was very different in disciples.

(1) Jesus’ discussion concerning John the Baptist is revealing. Jesus says in Matt 11, “of all people born of woman, John the Baptist is the greatest.” Then he goes on to describe himself as higher

(2) Jesus relationship with the 12 disciples. He is not apart of the 12 but higher like God to the 12 tribes of Israel.Jesus’ relationship with religious leaders was in constant tension. Jesus contradict them to the point where push to crucify him.

(4) Jesus relationship with the Roman authority executed him with the sign “This is the King of the Jews”

iii)(1) Gospel records have Jesus claim divinity

(a) John 10 - “I and my Father are one” John 9 – Jesus accepts worship(b) Mark 3 – Jesus forgives sins(c) Matt 16:15-17 – Peter declaration “You are the Christ, the Son of God

(2) Jesus says that his miracles usher in the Kingdom of God. Jesus claims that he is responsible for this.

(3) Jesus’ teaching was different. It had the force of authority.

The Person of Jesus

i) J esus t ended t o shy away f rom f ort hright ly proclaiming hims elf t o be t he Messiah or

S on of God . W as t hat because he d idn’t t hink of himself in t hose t erms?

ii) W hat clues can we f ind about J esus’ self -underst and ing f rom t he way he relat ed t o

ot hers?

(3 )

Do J esus’ deed and words provide clues on what he t hought of himself ?

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(4) Jesus called God “abba,” radically new in its intimacyb) The Psychological Evidence

(1) delusional psychosis is characterized by extreme emotion such as a) frequently show inappropriate depression or b) might be vehemently angry or c) might be plagued with anxiety. Jesus never demonstrated this. He cried at the death of his friend Lazarus; he got angry at appropriate times when people were taken advantage of

(2) Delusional people will have misperceptions. They think people are watching them or trying to get them when they are not. They are out of contact with reality. They misperceive the actions other people and accuse them of doing things they have no intention of ever doing. Jesus wasn’t paranoid and had a good understanding of reality.

(3) Or, they have thinking disorders. They cannot carry on a conversation. They jump to faulty conclusions. They’re irrational. Jesus was clear, powerful, and eloquent. He was brilliant and had absolutely amazing insights into human nature.

(4) Or, they have unsuitable behavior like dressing oddly or being unable to relate socially to others. Jesus’ behavior was in line with what would be expected and he had deep and abiding relationships.

(5) Jesus was balanced. Jesus was loving but didn’t let his compassion immobilize him. He didn’t have a bloated ego, even though he was often surrounded by adoring crowds; He maintained balance despite an often demanding lifestyle; He always knew what he was doing where he was going; he cared deeply about people, including women and children, he was able to accept people while not merely winking at their sin; he responded to people based on where they were at and what they uniquely needed.

(6) The Fingerprint Evidence(a) Does Jesus match the predictions given in the OT concerning the Messiah?The sheer amount of prophecies and the nature of them make them impossible to be engineered. Many of the prophesies are depend on a number of events happening outside of Jesus’ control such as place of birth, time of birth, manner of birth, betrayal, manner of death, people’s reaction (mocking, spitting, staring), piercing, and burial.

i) W as J esus insane in his claims t o be God?

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1 Born of the Seed of Woman (Gen 3:15) Jesus was born in to human parents (Matt 1:20, Gal

4:4)

2 Born of a Virgin (Isaiah 7:14) Mary concieved by HS (Matt 1:18,24,25)

3 Son of God (Ps 2:7) At Jesus' baptism, a voice say "this is my beloved

son" (Matt 3:17, Matt 16:16; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35;

22:70, Acts 13:30-33; John 1:34,49)

4 Seed of Abraham (Gen 22:18) Jesus' geneology (Matt 1)

5 Son of Isaac (Gen 21:12) Jesus' genealogy (Luke 3:23,34)

6 Son of Jacob (Gen 35:10-12) Jesus' genealogy (Luke 3:23,34)

7 Tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10) Jesus' genealogy (Luke 3:23,34)

8 Family line of Jesse (Is 11:1) Jesus' genealogy (Luke 3:23,32)

9 House of David (Jer. 23:5) Jesus' genealogy (Luke 3:23,31)

10 Born of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Matt 2:1)

11 Presented with Gifts (Ps 72:10, Is 60:6) Wise men (Matt 2:1,11)

12 Killing of children (Jer 31:15) Herod kill children (Matt 2:16)

13 His Pre-Existence (Micah 5:2) He is before all things (Col 1:17, John 17:5.24)

14 He shall be called Lord (Ps 110:1, Jer 23:6) Called Lord (Luke 2:11, Matt 22:43-45)

15 Shall be called Immanuel (Is 7:14) Called Immanuel (Matt 1:23, Luke 7:16)

16 Shall be a prophet (Deut 18:18) Multitude called him a prophet (Matt 21:11, Luke

7:16; John 4:19; 6:14; 7:40)

17 Priest (Ps 110:4) Jesus is the priest (Heb 3:1,5:5,6)

18 Judge (Is. 33:22) Jesus claim ability to judge (John 5:30)

19 King (Ps 2:6, Jer 23:5; Zech 9:9) King of the Jews (Matt 27:37, Matt 21:15, John

18:33)

20 Special Anointing of the Holy Spirit (Ps

45:7; Is 42:1; 61:1,2)

Jesus Baptism (Matt 3:16,17; Matt 12:17-21; Mark

1:10,11; Luke 4:15-21,43; John 1:32)

21 His Zeal for God (Ps 69:9) Temple (John 2:15,16)

22 Preceded by Messenger (Is 40:3) John the Baptist (Matt 3:3:1,2)

23 Ministry to begin in Galilee (Is 9:1) Start there (Matt 4:12,13,17)

24 Ministry of Miracles (Is 35:5,6) Jesus performs miracles (Matt 9:35, John 5:5; 9:6,

11:43, 44:47)

25 Teacher of Parables (Ps 78:2) Jesus uses parables (Matt 13:34)

26 Enter the Temple (Mal 3:1) Jesus and money changers (Matt 21:12)

27 Jerusalem on Donkey (Zech 9:9) Jesus enters Jer (Luke 19:35-37)

28 Stone of Stumbling to Jews (Ps 118:22, Is

8:14, 28:1)

I Peter 2:7, Rom 9:32,33

29 Light to Gentiles (Is 60:3) Acts 13:47,48, 26:23; 28:28

30 Resurrection (Ps 16:10) Acts 2:31; Matt 28:6; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:46; Acts

13:33

31 Ascension (Ps 68:18) Jesus taken up (Acts 1:9)

32 Seated at the Right hand of God (Ps 110:1) Heb 1:3, Mark 16:19; Acts 2:34,35

Aft

er Dea

thB

irth

Nat

ure

Min

istr

yNo. Prophesy Fulfillment

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33 Betrayed by a friend (Ps 55:12-14) Judas Iscariot (Matt 10:4)

34 Sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zech 11:12) Matt 26:15

35 Money to be thrown into God's house (Zech

11:13)

Matt 27:5

36 Price given for Potter's field (Zech 11:13) Matt 27:7

37 Forsaken by His diciples (Zech 13:7) Mark 14:50; Matt 26:31; Mark 14:27

38 Accused by false witness (Ps 35:11) Matt 26:59,60

39 Silent before accusers (Is 53:7) Matt 27:12

40 Wounded and bruised (Is 53:5, Zech 13,6) Matt 27:26

41 Smitten and spit upon (Is 50:6, Mic 5:1) Matt 26:67; Luke 22:63

42 Mocked (Ps 22:7,8) Matt 27:29, Matt 27:41-43

43 Fell under the Cross (Ps 109:24,25) John 19:17; Luke 23:26

44 Hands and feet pierced (Ps 22:16) Luke 23:33

45 Crucified with thieves (Is 53:12) Matt 27:38

46 Made Intercession for his persecutors (Is

53:12)

Luke 23:34

47 Rejected by his own people (Is 53:3) John 7:5,48; Matt 21:42; John 1:11

48 Hated without cause (Ps 69:4) John 15:25

49 Friends stood afar off (Ps 38:11) Luke 23:49

50 People shook their heads (Ps 109:25) Matt 27:39

51 Stared upon (Ps 22:17) Luke 23:35

52 Garment parted and cast lots (Ps 22:18) John 19:23

53 To suffer thirst (Ps 69:21) John 19:28

54 Gall and Vinegar offered to him (Ps 69:21) Matt 27:34

55 His Forsaken Cry (Ps 22:1) Matt 27:46

56 Committed Himself to God (Ps 31:5) Luke 23:46

57 Bones not broken (Ps 34:20) John 19:33

58 Heartbroken (Ps 22:14) John 19:34

59 His side pierced (Zech 12:10) John 19:34

60 Darkness in the Land (Amos 8:9) Matt 27:45

61 Buried in a rich man's tomb (Is 53:9) Matt 27:57-60

Ful

fille

d in

one

day

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3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.10 Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied ; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Fulfulled Prophesy in Isaiah 53

J esus was rej ect ed by t he leader s of people, even his brot hers d id not believe .

J esus was scourged and crucif ied

W as silent bef ore accusers and Pilat e

Buried in a rich man’s t omb

J esus was crucif ied wit h t hieve s“Fat her , f orgive t hem f or t hey know not what t hey do”

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1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast.10 From birth I was cast upon you; from my

mother's womb you have been my God.11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.13 Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

Prophesy Fulfill in Ps 22W ords of Chr ist on t he Cross

I nsult s were hurled at J esus on t he cross. S hak ing heads is cont empt uous sneer

T aunt ed wit h “Come down of f t he cross if you are t he S on of God”

Crucif ix ion pulls t he bones out of j oint

J esus was t hir st y

J esus was crucif ied by nail on his hands and f eet (crucif ix ion was not invent ed during David’s t ime).

People st ood look ing on (Luke 23 )

Guard gambled f or J esus’ t unic since it was wit hout seams.

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2) The Medical Evidence

i) No, this is a known medical condition called “hematidrosis.” It is not common but is associated with a high degree of psychological stress. Sever anxiety causes the release of chemicals that break down the capillaries in the sweat glands. We’re not talking about a lot of blood; it’s just a very, very small amount.

i) Roman floggings were known to be terribly brutal. They usually consisted of 39 lashes but frequently were a lot more depending on the mood of the soldier applying the blows. The soldier would use a whip of braided leather thongs with metal balls woven into them. When the whip would strike, these balls would cause deep bruises or contusions, which would break open with further blows. And the whip had pieces of sharp bone as well, which would cut the flesh severely. The whipping would have gone all the way from the shoulders down to the back, the buttocks, and the back of

the legs.ii) We know that many people would die from this kind of beating even before they

could be crucified or the victim would experience tremendous pain and go into hypovolemic shock.

iii) Hypovolemic shock is the effects of a person losing large amounts of blood. (1) The heart races to try to pump blood that isn’t there. (2) The blood pressure drops, causing fainting or collapse. (3) The kidneys stop producing urine to maintain what volume is left. (4) The person becomes very thirsty as the body craves fluids to replace the lost blood.

iv) Jesus showed evidence of this as he staggered up the road to the execution site at Calvary when he collapsed carrying the beam. Later, we read that he said “I thirst.” Jesus was in serious critical condition before the nails where driven through his hands and feet.

v) The hypovolemic shock would have cuased a sustained rapid heart rate that would have contributed to heart failure, resulting in the collection of fluid in the membrane around the heart, called the pericardial fluid. When the spear entered his lung, this clear fluid would have escaped looking like water. Since John had no knowledge of modern medicine, John description of “blood and water” is especially convincing.

c)

i) The Romans used spikes that were five to seven inches long. They were driven through the wrists. The palm could not support the weight of the body. This was considered part of the hand in the language of the day. The nail would go through the median nerve, the largest nerve of the hand, causing extreme pain. The nails were also driven into Jesus’ feet. Again, the nerves in the feet would be crushed causing a similar type of pain.

ii) His arms would have immediately been stretched about six inches and both shoulders would have been dislocated fulfilling the OT prophesy in Ps 22 “My bones are out of joint.”

a) In the Garden of Gethsemane, it records that Jesus sweat blood, is this possible from a medical perspective?

b) Does our medical knowledge support the after effects of flogging recorded in the Gospels?

How can our understanding of medicine help us in verifying Jesus’ crucifixion?

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iii) Once the person is hanging in a vertical position, crucifixion is essentially an agonizingly slow death by asphyxiation. The victim would have to push up on his feet on inhale. In time, complete exhaustion would take over.

iv) Respiratory acidosis due to too high concentration of carbon dioxide would cause acidity of the blood to increase leading to irregular heartbeat. Jesus would have known that he was at the moment of death giving him the opportunity to say, “Lord, into your hands I commit my spirit.” He would die of cardiac arrest.

i) If they wanted to speed up death, the Roman soldiers would use a steel shaft to shatter the leg bones so that the victims could not push up to breath thereby accelerating death by asphyxiation to a matter of minutes.

i) Roman soldiers were experts at killing people. That was their job.ii) It isn’t that difficult to establish deathiii) If a prisoner escaped, the responsible soldier would be put to death.

3) The Evidence of the Missing Body (The Resurrection)a) The resurrection is the ultimate representation of Jesus’ claim to being God. Paul, in I

Corinthians 15:17, understood it as the linchpin of the Christian faith “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sin.”

i) The burial was mention by Paul in I Corinthians 15:3-7, which he passes on a very early creed of the church. It’s incredibly early and is a four-line formula. (1) line one talks about the crucifixion, (2) line two about the burial, (3) line 3 about the resurrection, and line 4 about the appearances.

ii) In the gospels, we find multiple independent attestations of this burial story and Joseph of Arimathea is specifically mentioned in all four accounts. Mark is so extremely early that it’s simply not possible for it to have been subject to legendary corruption.

i) The empty tomb is definitely implicit in the early tradition that is passed along by Paul in I Corinthians 15, which is a very old and reliable source of historical information about Jesus.

ii) Christians and Jews alike knew the site of Jesus. So if it weren’t empty, it would be impossible for a movement founded on belief in the Resurrection to have come into existence in the same city where this man had been publicly executed and buried.

iii) We can tell from the language, grammar, and style that Mark got his empty tomb story from an earlier source. The stylistic form of the whole passion narrative is different.

iv) The simplicity of the empty tomb story in Mark is counter to the flowery narratives of the fictional apocryphal accounts from the second century. It is unadorned by theological reflection

v) The unanimous testimony that the empty tomb was discovered by women argues for the authenticity of the story, because this would have been embarrassing for the disciples to admit and most certainly would have been covered up if this were a legend

d) What is the point of the Roman soldiers breaking the legs of the victims?

e) How did the soldier know for certain that Jesus was dead with their primitive understanding of medicine and anatomy?

b) Was Jesus really buried in the tomb?

c) What are the four or five reasons why the empty tomb is a historical fact?

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vi) The earliest Jewish polemic presupposes the historicity of the empty tomb. There was nobody who was claimed that the tomb still contained Jesus’ body. They proposed the ridiculous story that the guards had fallen asleep. This starts with the assumption that the tomb was empty.

4) The Evidence of the Appearances

i) Paul wrote in I Cor. 15 that he appeared to the twelve, more than 500 of the brothers at the same time, James, and to Paul personally. We know that I Cor. Was written between 55-57AD and that the creed in I Cor. 15 was already in circulation setting it even earlier. This is only 20 years after the fact. It is likely that Paul received this creed in 32-38 AD in Damascus or Jerusalem.

ii) There are several different appearance in the Gospel;(1) To Mary Magdalene in John 20:10-18(2) To the other women, in Matthew 28:8-10(3) To Cleopas and another disciple on the road to Emmaus, in Luke 24:13(4) To eleven disciples and others in Luke 24:33-49

(5) To ten apostles and other, with Thomas absent, in John 20:19-23(6) To Thomas and the other apostles in John 20:26-30(7) To seven apostles in John 21:1-14(8) To the disciples in Matthew 28:16-20(9) And he was with the apostles at the Mount of Olives before his ascension in Luke

24:50-52 and Acts 1:4-9According to scholars (Dodd), several are based on earlier material including Jesus’ encounter with the women (Matt. 28_8-10), his meeting with the 11 apostles (Matt 28:16-20), and his meeting with the disciples in John 20:19-23. There are a wealth of sightings.

iii) In Acts, Jesus’ appearances are mentioned regularly with details provided. Accounts in Acts 1-5, 10, 13 also include some creeds that report some very early data. Examples are:(1) “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact” (Acts

2:32)(2) “You killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead. We are all

witness of this.” (Acts 3:15)(3) “Ate and drank with him after he rose from dead” (Acts 10:41)

iv) The Resurrection was the central proclamation of the early church from the beginning.

5) The Circumstantial Evidence

i) The disciples died for their beliefs. They were willing to abandon their old life and spend the rest of their days proclaiming that JC was the Messiah who died on the cross, returned to life, and was seen alive by them. There was no payoff from a human point of view. They faced a life of hardship and most were executed in torturous ways. They must have been convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had seen JC alive from the dead. People will die for their religious beliefs if they sincerely believe they’re true, but people won’t die for their religious beliefs if

a) What evidence do we have that people saw Jesus after his death?

a) What is some circumstantial evidence that supports the fact that Jesus rose from the dead?

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they know their beliefs are false. Most people can have faith that their beliefs are true, the disciples were in a position to know without a doubt whether or not Jesus had risen from the dead.

ii) There were the conversion of hard skeptics who didn’t believe in Jesus before his crucifixion. Two, in particular, are James the brother of Jesus and Saul of Tarsus. James was recorded in the gospel as being embarrassed by Jesus during his life and, after his death, became a leader in the church. Jesus appeared before him. Paul was an enemy to the faith and turned 180 degrees because he saw the risen Christ.

iii) Christianity converted Jews steep in Jewish customs number 1000’s. These adjustments were not minor. (1) There was no longer a need for animal sacrifices since Christ was the ultimate sacrifice, (2) Obeying the law was not the key method for righteousness rather a belief in JC and a relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit. (3) Worship on the Sabbath was changed to worship on Sunday because that’s when Jesus rose from the dead. (4) Christian equated JC with God thereby developing the understanding of the trinity. (5) The Messiah was not a political leader but a suffering servant.

iv) The sacrament of communion and baptism support the true of the gospel. Communion celebrates the death of Jesus in a regular way, an odd way to remember a leader unless that leader has resurrected. Baptism was in the name of the God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, a blasphemous doctrine to the Jews. Baptism was a celebration of the death and resurrection of JC. These sacrament are dated back to the earliest Christian community.

v) The emergence of the church within 20 years after the death of Christ is witness to its truth. The movement triumphed over a number of competing ideologies and eventually overwhelmed the entire Roman Empire.

vi) The ongoing encounter with the resurrected Christ that happens all over the world to people of different personalities and cultures. People who claim to have a personal encounter with JC today