How Reliable is the New Testament?

Part 511/9/2014

• Last week we went through some archaeological finds that support the books of Luke and Acts

• We found that Luke was very accurate in his account of Jesus and the early church

• What other archaeological finds have been uncovered?

John 19:13 – The Pavement

13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha.

This court was discovered by William F. Albright

John 5:2 - The Pool of Bethesda

2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.

Evidence of this pool was excavated in the late 19th century.

“Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. John 9:7The Pool of Siloam was discovered in 2004-2005.

Crucifixion

• In 1968, a burial site was discovered in Jerusalem, which contained 35 bodies who likely died during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 70. One of the victims had a seven inch nail driven through both feet. Similar spikes were used on both arms. The victims legs were crushed, which was typical of victims of this type of punishment.

• All of these details fit with the crucifixion of Jesus explained in the Gospel accounts.

Cities of the New Testament

• Cities mentioned in the New Testament such as Bethsaida, Chorazin, Nazareth, Capernaum among others have been identified

Capernaum

• Findings that have been uncovered in Capernaum include:• First-century synagogue that Jesus would have taught in. Seen in Mark 1:21-

22, Luke 4:31-36, Luke 7:1-10• Roman-style buildings were found in Capernaum supporting the Roman

occupation in that area • The house of the apostle Peter

Was Nazareth a real town?

• It has been asserted that Nazareth never existed because the name of the town is not found in any ancient Jewish literature

• Archaeology has uncovered first-century tombs in the vicinity of Nazareth• An Aramaic list of priests includes mention of Nazareth after the fall

of Jerusalem in AD 70.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/34511072/ns/technology_and_science-science/#34523421

The Nazareth Decree

• A decree by Claudius (AD 41-54) was put into effect that stated that no graves should be disturbed or bodies extracted from them. Offenders would be sentenced to death.

• While this doesn’t confirm that Jesus’ tomb was empty, it does state how serious of an offense it would be for someone to try and steal a body from a grave. The disciples would not have wanted to risk their lives to steal the body of Jesus nor would they have been experienced enough to pull that off.

Pontius Pilate – Was he a real person?• In 1961, a stone slab was found in Caesarea Maritima that contained

the following lines:• Tiberium• Pontius Pilate• Prefect of Judea

• This is the only archaeological find that contains both Pilate’s name and his official title.

First-century fishing boat

• Known as the Sea of Galilee Boat or Jesus Boat • Was found in 1986 along the shore of the Sea of Galilee during a drought

season

• We need to remember not to put our faith in these findings. Even findings such as these can have errors associated with them.

• What we can trust in is God’s Word. It will not return to us void.

• Archaeology only gives us a tiny fraction of all there is to know about the ancient past

• From archaeology, we can see how the Biblical account fits in with history

• Based on all the types of evidence we have covered:• The New Testament is an accurate set of documents based on the reliable

manuscripts available, the eyewitness testimony, the testimony of non-Christian sources, and archaeological findings