Jesus?

2. Who is this Jesus?

3. Who is this Jesus? History

4. Who is this Jesus?

5. Who is this Jesus?

6. Who is this Jesus?

7. Who is this Jesus?

8. Who is this Jesus?

9. Who is this Jesus? Jesus … “a mythical figure who never existed” a communist Russian dictionary Our purpose … to examine the historical evidence

10. Evidence from historical writings Who is this Jesus? “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

11. Evidence from historical writings Who is this Jesus? “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)

12. Evidence from the Bible Who is this Jesus? How can we know that what was written down in the Bible has not been changed over the years?

13. Evidence from the Bible Who is this Jesus?

14. Evidence from the Bible Who is this Jesus? “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

15. Evidence from the Bible Who is this Jesus? “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

16. Evidence from the Bible Who is this Jesus? Qumran: where the “Dead Sea Scrolls” were found

17. Evidence from the Bible Who is this Jesus? The Shrine of the Book, Jerusalem

18. Historical conclusion Who is this Jesus? • 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

19. Who is this Jesus? But was Jesus onlyhuman? “ I can’t believe in Christianity, but I think Jesus was a wonderful man” Billy Connolly

20. What Jesus claimed: Who is this Jesus? 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”

21. What Jesus claimed: Who is this 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

22. What Jesus claimed: Who is this Jesus? • 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

23. What Jesus claimed: Who is this Jesus? • 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

24. Who is this Jesus? Logical explanations for Jesus’ claims: • They were in fact untrue, but he was deluded and thought that they were • He knew they were untrue, and was a con-man • The stories are a fictional embellishment of the life of a good but ordinary man • They were true

25. What the Bible writers claim: Who is this Jesus? • 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

26. What the critics say: Who is this Jesus? • the greatest teaching to have come from human lips • the foundation of civilisation on the West

27. What the critics say: Who is this Jesus? 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”

28. The crunch question: Who is this Jesus? The Garden Tomb, Jerusalem

29. The crunch question: Who is this Jesus? The Garden Tomb, Jerusalem

30. The crunch question: Who is this Jesus? Inside the tomb

31. The crunch question: Who is this Jesus? Inside the tomb