Introduction to Jesus Christ part 2.

Although the date of my book is 1999 and new manuscripts have been found changing the counts, the ratio remains pretty much the same. As you can see the fragments and copies closer to the date of event for the new testament are closer than any other of the ancient works. Using the same criteria to judge the new testament writings as we do for any other ancient writings we see that we have far more documentation concerning Jesus than we do for Alexander the Great, any of the Caesars, and any other person of the Greco-Roman era. If you are interested in a discussion of the relability of modern bibles, textual criticism, and the New Testament a good video by Dr. Daniel B. Wallace on YouTube video is quite interesting: Dr.Wallace.

I think I have laid a fair case for the historical Jesus and the transmission of the early Christian writings above. You may look at the evidence and interpret the data differently but I think my case is strong.

Now that I have established Jesus as an historical figure the next question is what do we do with Him? Who is He and what did He teach? Without doing a doctrinal thesis I will lay out some of the high points.

Jesus made some very specific claims about himself. The chief claim that either validates or nullifies all of His teachings is that He is God come in the flesh. This is the claim that the Jewish religious leaders had Him put to death for. At His trial He was asked 'Are you then the Son of God? He replied, "You are right in saying that I am.' Then they said 'Why do we need anymore testimony? We have heard from His own lips.' (Luke 22: 70-72) The Jewish leaders understood this claim to be making himself equal to God.

In a confrontation with some questioning Him Jesus responded 'I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!' (The Greek for I am is the emphatic I and no other.) The use of the Old Testament name for God (Exodus 3:14) for himself was understood by the Jews as they proceded to try and stone Him.

In a quick search for the Deity of Christ I found the following 9 references where Jesus either directly or inderectly (Forgiving sins that only God can forgive.) claimed to be God: John 10:25-33, John 5:17,18, John 8:58, John 5:23,24, John 8:19, John 14:1, John 14: 8,9, Matthew 5:20, Matthew 8:2.

So, anyone claiming to be God has to be, as C. S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity, either Lord (Who He claimed to be.), Liar (knowingly deceiving), or a lunatic.

You would have to ask yourself, would someone be willingly to die on a cross to foster a lie? Death on the cross which was so painful that we get the word excrutiating from it. Ex: out of, stauroo: crucify. Also, if Jesus was a liar He was also a hypocrite as He told others to be honest despite the outcome. This would be in contrast to His living out a lie. Could He have lived the moral, blameless life and yet be a charlatan? It seems to much of a contrast to me as many of His followers also went to their deaths believing and promoting His teachings.

It is hard to imagine a lunatic putting forth the teachings Jesus did. Love your enemies, do to others as you would have them do to you, love your neighbor as yourself. As you read the gospel accounts of Jesus you see a picture painted of someone who is well reasoned, wise, able to read human hearts, has practical wisdom, and the list goes on. These attributes of Jesus are in stark contrast to the the lack in either the liar or lunatic.

If Jesus wasn't a liar or a lunatic the only option left is He is who He claims to be. Lord of all. As God come in the flesh He offers us foregiveness of our sins. He did this by taking our sins upon himself on the cross. His death was the sacrifice for our sins that we have no ability to pay. His resurrection is the testimony to this triumph over death. Those that trust in Jesus as their Lord and savior no longer fear death as their eternal destiny is with God.

An exclusionary claim that Jesus made is: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew me you would know my Father as well." John 14:6-7. Another is arguably the most famous verse in the bible: "For God so loved the world (you and me) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever (you and me) believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16. The following verse adds emphasis to this one. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world (you and me) but to save the world (you and me) through him." This gift of salvation is offered free to all who would accept it . It is similar to finding a $100 dollar bill in the forest. It is yours but it does you no good unless you pick it up and take hold of it. Put it to use. You have found Jesus here now you have to decide, do you take hold of Him or walk away. If you want to take hold of Him, confess to Him that you have been disobedient to God (everyone from Adam on has been), thank Him and accept His forgiveness He bought by dying on the cross for our sins. He will send His Spirit to dwell with you and you now have eternal life with God. I hope you have enjoyed my little thesis. I could go on a lot more but I think I have hit the high points. After all, there are over 138,000 words in the Greek New Testament that we derive our translations from. There are the four Gospels, Acts (the history of the early church), letters from the apostles (special messengers) Peter, John, and Paul (who persecuted the Christians before finding Christ himself), James,the brother of Jesus, (Who thought Jesus was a little off before Jesus was crucified. Mark 3:21), and Jude the brother of James (Who also thought Jesus was a little off. Mark 3:21). 23 books total so you can see I have been brief. If you are interested in more information, I would suggest starting out by reading the Gospel of John in the New Testament. A few good books I recommend are:

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis A thoughtful look at the Christian faith by a former atheist.

The case for Christ and The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel a former atheist.

More than a carpenter by Josh McDowell is another good book by a former agnostic as well.

More Evidence Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell.This is not a sit down and read it book (although I like to. :-) but a browse a topic of interest book. Mr. McDowell lays out a topic, gives the argument against the topic, refutation of the argument against, and then the support for the topic. I have cited this book several times.

As a side note, Josh McDowell started out as either an agnostic (One who doesn't think God is knowable if He exists) or an atheist. I'm not sure which but in his endeavour to stomp Christianity and prove it a lie he began to write a book debunking it and because of the evidence he found, became a Christian. This actually is a common theme amongst those that look at the evidence and judge with the same standards they judge other evidence. If you are serious about having a dialouge concerning what I have written you may contact me at:
sammy@sammyairlines.net
PO Box 68425
Tukwila, Wa. 98168
If you are sincere enough to invest a little time and money, (paper and postage. I will not accept nor seek contributions. That's not what this is about) I will spend all the time with you that you desire. Just as Jesus does not force himself on anyone, I won't force my opinions and beliefs on you. I present the data as I see it, you decide. Sammy