Jul 11
20
Evidence of the Historical Jesus
There is an unsettling trend in Christianity to try to discredit much of the Bible as exaggerated stories or to label the eyewitness accounts of Christ in the Scriptures as “pious myth.” If you think such charges may be true, I’ll ask if you’ve ever actually read one – a myth, I mean. Trust me, they don’t read like this:
“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberias Caesar – when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene – during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiphas, the word of God came…” (Luke 3:1-2).
Yes, that last phrase shimmers like a myth, yet it is firmly embedded in the rock-solid historical narrative that Luke provides. You see, Luke wasn’t convinced the first time he heard about Jesus either. He wasn’t one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. He had never walked with him or talked with him. He found out about Jesus from the apostles themselves. But even though their accounts seemed valid, Luke wanted proof. So he fully and carefully investigated everything the Apostles were telling him and found out it was all true.
Luke wanted everyone else to have the certainty he had. Here’s how he starts his account of Jesus life and ministry: “since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you…so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:3-4). Not myth. Verifiable history. Certainty.
At a specific time in history, at a specific place in the world, to a specific, historical peasant girl name Mary … it happened.
The truth is in the details. The Gospels carry that irresistible ring of authenticity that has been termed verisimilitude. Here’s what that means: If you were fabricating stories about Jesus in an attempt to make him out to be greater than he was, why would you record details of his life that didn’t make him look so great? Why record that he got tired (John 4:6) or that he ate with “sinners” (Mark 2:16). Why record the last words of John the Baptist, “Are you the one to come, or should we expect someone else?” I can’t think of a single reason. There are hundreds of other examples where the Gospel writers simply record what happened. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, they did not feel free to omit the troubling details.
This has caused the New Testament Scriptures to come under heavy scrutiny. But that’s okay. It’s the price we pay for that single, costly word of Luke: “certainty.”
The fact is that the New Testament is the most studied and most scrutinized ancient document in history. I could invite you over to my study and we could pore over hundreds and thousands of pages of historical and archaeological evidence that all lines up in support of the Christian faith. I’ll admit, it is exciting and gratifying to see history and science repeatedly verify the things in the Bible, such as the ancient census of Caesar Augustus that sent a young pregnant girl on an 80 mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem so that she – and her child –could be properly counted as a descendant from Royal David’s line.
But the best defense I could make for the eyewitness reports of Jesus’ life is to convince you to read them. During one of the 100º+ afternoons this summer, sit down and read Luke – or Matthew Mark or John. You’ll discover surprisingly honest and realistic accounts written in newpaper-like detail. You’ll find a Jesus who is not only historical, but loving and kind. You’ll find a Jesus who doesn’t leave you wallowing in your sin, but who comes to take your sins away.
If you do that, I think you’ll join me in being certain, even without all the supporting evidence.
