An 11-Day Study On Challenges To Biblical Authorityنموونە

WHAT CAN WE REALLY KNOW ABOUT JESUS?

What if we didn’t rely on any of the accounts or source material that eventually are found in the Bible? This is a fair question. Without a single Bible verse, we know from history that there was a Jewish man who lived early in the 1st century by the name of Jesus who was born out of wedlock, whose life intersected with that of John the Baptist, who as an adult became a very popular teacher in Israel who worked wondrous feats—apparently miraculous signs of different kinds, who gathered a closer group of followers together that he called disciples—5 of them are named—who consistently challenged conventional Jewish teaching on key topics of the Law and because of that was eventually arrested, was crucified (a Roman form of execution) as ordered by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate (which narrows the time period down to his reign in Judea between AD 26–36) and that despite this horrible and shameful death, his followers believed he was the Jewish Messiah, or Christ, and they claimed to have seen Him resurrected from the dead. Within a couple of generations (at the latest) were singing hymns to him; worshiping him as if he were a god.

That is pretty remarkable! Amazingly, some people still claim that Jesus never existed.

THREE REASONS THE STORY OF JESUS WAS NOT BORROWED FROM PAGAN MYSTERY RELIGIONS

First, Christianity emerged out of first-century Judaism that was monotheistic and exclusive. The Jewish people had learned their lesson about worshiping other gods (cf. being judged by Assyria and Babylon). They were committed to one and only one God. The Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 makes this clear, declaring, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” The New Testament teachings were clear as well: “For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

Second, the alleged parallels disappear once the specifics of each myth are examined. A dying and rising Jesus is not a meaningful parallel with crops coming to life in the spring and dying off again in the winter. As Mary Jo Sharp notes, “The suggested ‘parallels’—such as themes of virgin birth, sacrificial death, and resurrection—are not paralleled in the content of the texts. There is no sound evidence of overlap within the details of these two types of texts. The biblical account of Jesus cannot be grouped into the genre of mythological literature based on either story details or structure.”

Lastly, if any borrowing was going on, it was the pagan mystery religions copying from Christianity. If anything, mystery religions were copying from and being influenced by Christianity in the first two centuries because they had to compete to gain new converts and survive. When you add all of the positive historical evidence for Jesus we have already discussed, it’s easy to see why professional New Testament historians and scholars have abandoned this theory.

A COMPELLING JESUS

My point in sharing this minimal Jesus is not to diminish him. If you are seeking to believe, I hope this gives you confidence that, at the very least, you still get a pretty compelling Jesus. And for my friends who are reading this from the more skeptical side of the spectrum, everyone must come to terms with the radical claims and life of Jesus of Nazareth. He cannot simply be dismissed as a mythic moral teacher. I think we can know far more than just this minimal Jesus, but if not, we still have preserved the core of Jesus without begging the question in the public conversation. The significance of this should not be understated.