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Who is Jesus?
Introductory Information
“The person of Jesus Christ is of central importance to Christian theology. Whereas ‘theology’ could be defined as ‘talk about God’ in general, ‘Christian theology’ accords a central role to Jesus Christ” (Alister McGrath, p. 347).
Introductory Information
“A central element of Christian theology centers upon the idea of revelatory presence of God in Christ. Jesus Christ is regarded as making God known in a particular and specific manner, distinctive to Christianity” (McGrath, p. 349).
Biography
“Jesus” is his name.
“Christ” is his title.
“The Greek word Christos translates the Hebrew term mashiah, most familiar in its anglicized form of ‘Messiah’ with the root meaning ‘one who has been anointed’” (McGrath, p. 351).
Messiah means, “anointed one”.
Born in Bethlehem of Judea
Biography
Raised in Nazareth of Galilee
He had a public ministry of healing.
He was ridiculed for reaching out to society’s downtrodden (“a friend of sinners”).
He traveled around Palestine with a group of lower-class men and women (who were considered second-class citizens).
His Teaching
Jesus taught about the kingdom of God.
He taught that entrance into the kingdom of God was contingent upon one being “born again” (John 3:3).
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
His Teaching
He taught that entrance into the kingdom of God was contingent upon one being “born again” (John 3:3).
This is not a reference to a second physical birth but to a spiritual birth.
He taught that a person is “born again” by believing in him (John 11:25-26).
John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
His Teaching
“A central theme of mainstream Christian thought is that salvation, in the Christian sense of the term, is manifested in and through, and constituted on the basis of, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ” (McGrath, p. 349).
His Claim
Jesus claimed to be God (John 8:58-59).
John 8:58-59
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
His Death
The Jewish religious leaders viewed Jesus as a threat to their authority.
They turned him over to Roman authorities on charges that he was fomenting sedition (advocating rebellion against Rome).
He was executed by crucifixion sometime between AD 26 and AD 36 (Peter J. Williams, Can We Trust the Gospels?, P. 37).
His Death
“The crucifixion of Christ took place, it is generally agreed, about AD 30” (F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents, p. 10).
The word “excruciating” comes from a Latin word meaning out of the cross.
His Death
The body of Jesus was placed in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea.
On the Sunday following his crucifixion, the tomb of Jesus was discovered to be empty by a group of his women followers.
Multiple people (individuals and groups) claimed to have seen Jesus alive following his death.
His Resurrection?
Followers of Jesus believe that God raised him from the dead.
Followers of Jesus believe that Jesus is God.
If Jesus is God, then God personally entered into human grief and suffering.
Vicarious Atonement
The Bible teaches that Jesus died for the sins of every human being so that whoever believes in him can have eternal life.
“What Jesus is for us as Christians is both the fullest expression of divinity and the highest realization of humanity” (Fischer & Hart, pp. 78-79).
The Resurrection of Jesus
“. . . Were it not for the many miraculous reports in the Gospels, most historians would be very happy to treat their accounts as generally historically reliable” (Peter J. Williams, p. 132).
The Resurrection of Jesus
“We may begin with two facts generally accepted even by those who doubt the resurrection: (1) that Jesus was buried and that the tomb was later found empty; (2) that a wide range of people believed that they had seen Jesus risen from the dead” (Peter J. Williams, p. 133).
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
Post-mortem appearances
Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and the other women (Matthew 28:10; Mark 16:9-10; John 20:11-18).
Jesus appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 5:15).
Jesus appeared to two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:13-32).
Jesus appeared to his disciples (excluding Thomas) in the upper room (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25).
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
Post-mortem appearances
Jesus appeared to seven of his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 21:24).
Jesus appeared to the apostles, more than 500 people, and James his half brother (1 Corinthians 15:6-7).
Jesus appeared to all those who witnessed his ascension (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:3-12).
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
The Empty Tomb
The disciples saw that the tomb was empty (Luke 24:1-3).
The men guarding the tomb saw that it was empty (Matthew 28:11-15).
The disciples could not have gone to the wrong tomb because there were guards present at the tomb.
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
The Empty Tomb
The disciples of Jesus did not go to a distant land to preach that he had risen from the dead.
They preached the message of Jesus’ resurrection in the very city where he was crucified.
Had there been any viable evidence that the tomb was not empty, the disciples’ message would have been instantly falsified.
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
The Empty Tomb
German theologian Paul Althaus holds that the resurrection “could not have been maintained in Jerusalem for a single day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb had not been established as fact for all concerned.”
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
The Empty Tomb
Historian Paul Maier points out that the “sepulcher of Joseph of Arimathea, in which Jesus was buried, was actually empty on the morning of the first Easter . . . No shred of evidence has yet been discovered in literary sources, epigraphy, or archeology that would disprove this statement.”
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
The Empty Tomb
The empty tomb was discovered by women.
In first-century Palestine, the testimony of women was not considered to be reliable.
Women were not permitted to serve as witnesses in a Jewish court of law.
If the resurrection of Jesus was fabricated, the fabricators would certainly have made the discoveries of the empty tomb one of the male disciples.
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
The Empty Tomb
The empty tomb was discovered by women.
It stands to reason that the motivation for the Gospel writers to attribute the discovery of the empty tomb to women is because it was women who discovered the empty tomb.
The Resurrection of Jesus
“The empty tomb could be explained in terms of some people having removed the body, which would have been bizarre, but might have been part of a strategic deceit by a small number. Yet that would not explain the many claims by different people to have seen Jesus risen from the dead” (Peter J. Williams, p. 134).
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
The Broken Seal
When the Roman guards were stationed at the tomb, they placed a Roman seal on the tomb (Matthew 27:62-66).
The seal stood for the power and authority of Rome.
The consequences of breaking the seal were severe.
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
The Broken Seal
If such a seal was broken, the Roman authorities diligently sought out the perpetrator who, when apprehended was crucified upside down.
On the night of Jesus’ arrest, his disciples ran away in fear.
One of his disciples, Peter, denied knowing Jesus three times.
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
The Broken Seal
It seems the last thing these terrified disciples would have done was risk such an execution by breaking the Roman seal and stealing the body of Jesus.
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
Moving the Large Stone
The stone that was positioned in front of the tomb of Jesus weighed between 1.5 and 2 tons.
Levers were used to move these stones in and out of place.
When the women went to the tomb on Sunday morning, the large stone had been moved.
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
Moving the Large Stone
It seems highly improbable that the disciples snuck to the tomb, removed the 3000–4000-pound stone, removed Jesus’ body that was wrapped in linen cloth with about 100 pounds of spices mixed with a gummy substance without waking four highly trained disciplined Roman guards.
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
Living Witnesses
“The New Testament accounts of the resurrection were being circulated within the lifetimes of men and women alive at the time of the resurrection” (Josh McDowell).
It would have been easy for people at that time to confirm or deny the resurrection accounts.
The apostles did not demonstrate any fear in publically proclaiming that Jesus rose from the dead.