If you wanted to share Jesus with a group of your friends who were rather skeptical, what approach could you take?
Let’s consider some of the things that you could share.
Firstly, you could share some of the references to Jesus that are found in the history books of that non-Christian Jewish and Roman historians. This would include the famous passage in Josephus’ book:
About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Christ. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease. He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared. Antiquities of the Jews, 18.3.3
and the comment by the Roman historian Tacitus:
Christus, whom the name [Christians] had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked of the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Annals, Book XV.
You could point to the comment by Luke Johnson, a New Testament scholar, who stated that:
Even the most critical historian can confidently assert that a Jew named Jesus worked as a teacher and wonder-worker in Palestine during the reign of Tiberius, was executed by crucifixion under the prefect Pontius Pilate and continued to have followers after his death. The Real Jesus, 1996, p123.
You could then list the five reasons why William Lane Craig holds that the gospels are historically reliable:
- There was insufficient time for legendary influences to erase the historical facts from the gospels.
- The gospels are not similar to fairly tales or contemporary “urban legends”.
- The way that Jewish teachers passed on sacred accounts was very well developed and reliable.
- There were significant ways to stop fictional material being introduced into the gospel accounts of Jesus, such as the fact that there were eyewitnesses and the supervision and teachings of the apostles.
- The Gospel writers have a proven track record of historical reliability.
http://www.reasonablefaith.org/the-evidence-for-jesus
You could point to the hundreds of prophecies found in the Hebrew Scriptures that pointed to and were fulfilled in the life of Jesus. These include His supernatural conception (Isaiah 7), His birthplace (Micah 5), His royal ancestry (2 Samuel 7), His Spirit-filled healing ministry (Isaiah 61), His experience on the Cross (Psalm 22), His death (Isaiah 53) and the timing of His death (Daniel 9). You could share the astonishing statistic that the probability that Jesus fulfilled just eight of these prophecies is only 1 in 100 quadrillion.
You could point to the radical things that Jesus did during His life on earth that showed that He understood Himself to the divine Son of God. How He forgave people there sins, which is something that only God can do. How He identified Himself in the role of God’s Son in parables that He taught, such as the parable of the wicked tenants. How He carried on a ministry of supernatural miracles, including healing people, driving out demons and raising the dead. How He was finally charged and convicted for claiming to be the Messiah and the Son of God.
But there is one piece of evidence that outshines them all, that is the cornerstone of our Christian faith and the key to knowing whether God exists. That piece of historical evidence is Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. You see, because Jesus actually rose from the dead, it follows that:
- God exists.
- God loves us and cares about us—He has not forgotten about us.
- There is hope beyond the death and the grave.
- Jesus’ ministry has the God’s divine seal of authentication and acceptance.
- We can have eternal life when we put our trust in Jesus.
- God has appointed Jesus as the Person who will judge everyone in the end.
Paul knew that this was the heart of the message that he was sharing around the Mediterranean. Whether he was preaching in Thessalonica, Berea or Athens, he focused on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. He told the Corinthians that “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
This was the message which Paul and his team turned the entire Mediterranean world upside down. It still has the same power today. Let’s share it here in Greater Sydney!
The book of Acts is drenched with the Holy Spirit. Reading it is like taking time to play out in the tropical rain! Read the full stories for today in:
Acts 17 ESV
Acts of the Apostles “Thessalonica”
Acts of the Apostles “Berea and Athens”
Invite your friends to join this journey with you! You can follow this journey on Facebook too.