Jesus?Whois this Who is this Jesus? History

Jesus?Jesus?

WhoWhoisis

thisthis

Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus?

HistoryHistory






Jesus … “a

mythical figure who never

existed”a communist Russian dictionaryOur purpose … to examine the historical

evidence


“Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he [Claudius] expelled them from Rome” Suetonius, Life of Claudius, 69 CE - 140 CE

“ … 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 deadly superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but also in the City, where all things shameful from every part of the world meet and become popular …” Tacitus, Annals, 55 CE - 120 CE

Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus? Evidence from Evidence from historical writingshistorical writings

“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 among 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 foretold this and ten thousand other

wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians so named after him, are

not extinct at this day.”

Flavius Josephus (?

37CE - 101CE)

Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus? Evidence from Evidence from historical writingshistorical writings

How can we know that what was

written down in the Bible has not been changed over the

years?

Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus? Evidence from Evidence from the Biblethe Bible

WorkWork WrittenWritten Earliest CopyEarliest Copy Time Time spanspan

Number of Number of copiescopies

Herodotus 488-428 BCE

900 CE 1300 8

Thcydides 460-400 BCE

1100 CE 1300 8

Tacitus 100 CE 900 CE 1000 20

Caesar’s Gallic War

58 - 50 BCE

900 CE 950 9 or 10

Livy’s Roman History

59 BCE - 17 CE

900 CE 900 20

New Testament

40 - 100 CE

130 CE (parts) 350 CE (whole)

< 100 300

>5000 Greek 10000 Latin


“In the variety and fullness of the evidence on which it rests, the text of the New

Testament stands absolutely and unapproachably alone among ancient prose

writings”F.J.A. Hort


“The interval then between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any

doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has

now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of

the New Testament may be regarded as finally established”

Sir Frederick Kenyon


Qumran: where the “Dead Sea Scrolls”

were found



The Shrine of the Book, Jerusalem

Evidence from Evidence from the Biblethe Bible

Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus? Historical Historical conclusioconclusio

nn

Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish teacher, lived in Israel in the first century

he was executed by the Romans in around 30 AD

the records of his life in the New Testament are historically well attested

But was Jesus But was Jesus onlyonly human?human?

“ I can’t believe in Christianity, but I think Jesus

was a wonderful man”

Billy Connolly


Freud: “People are hungry for love”

Jung: “People are hungry for security”

Adler: “People are hungry for significance”

Jesus: “I am the bread of life”

What Jesus What Jesus claimed:claimed:Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus?

“I am the bread of life”

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die …”

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”

Jesus also said that to receive him was to receive God; to welcome him was to welcome God; to have seen him was

to have seen God

Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus? What Jesus What Jesus claimed:claimed:

Jesus also

claimed that he could forgive sins

said that he would judge the world

said that he himself would be the criterion by which the world would be judged

when asked if he was the Christ, said “I am”

when addressed by Thomas as “My Lord and my God”, accepted this as true



Jesus said that his miracles were evidence that “the Father is in me, and I in the Father”

He turned water into wine

He multiplied a picnic

He had control over the elements

He carried out remarkable healings

He was motivated by an extraordinary love

Logical explanations Logical explanations for Jesus’ claims:for Jesus’ claims:

1. They were in fact untrue, but he was deluded and thought that they were

2. He knew they were untrue, and was a con-man

3. The stories are a fictional embellishment of the life of a good but ordinary man

4. They were true


Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus? What the What the Bible writers Bible writers

claim:claim:

more than 300 prophecies made about Jesus, written in Bible books over 500 years before he was born

29 just on the day he died

many outside his control

Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus? What the What the critics say:critics say:

the greatest teaching to have come from human lips

the foundation of civilisation on the West

Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus? What the What the critics say:critics say:

Bernard Levin: “Is not the nature of Christ, in the words of the New Testament, enough to pierce to the soul anyone with a soul to be pierced? … he still looms over the world, his message still clear, his pity still infinite, his consolation still effective, his words still full of glory, wisdom and love”

Lord Hailsham: “… irresistably attractive as a man”

The Garden Tomb,

Jerusalem

Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus? The crunch The crunch question:question:

The Garden Tomb,

Jerusalem

Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus? The crunch The crunch question:question:

Inside the tomb

The crunch The crunch question:question:Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus?

Inside the tomb

The crunch The crunch question:question:Who is this Who is this Jesus?Jesus?

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Jesus?Whois this Who is this Jesus? History