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1. Matthew 16:13
A. Who do you personally say Jesus is?
B. Jesus claimed to be the son of God (John 5:24; 8:23-24; 10:30;
14:6-7).
C. What are the possibilities? Was that claim true or false?
1) If false, then either:
a) Was a mythical character that didn't exist. Legend
b) Knew that his claims were false: Liar
c) He didn't know that his claims were false: Lunatic
2) If true, then Jesus is Lord.
3) Comments:
a) Extra-biblical manuscripts prove Jesus to be a historical
figure, therefore he was not a legend
b) Jesus' teachings and the impact of his life make it
impossible to entertain the possibility that Jesus was
either a liar or a lunatic. Would the greatest ethical
teachings in the world have come from
a liar or a lunatic?
c) We must not conclude that Jesus was simply a good moral
teacher. That option is not open to us, because it would
mean that he lied when he said that he was the son of
God.
d) There is strong evidence to support the fact that Jesus
is clearly Lord, the Son of God as he claimed. Let's look
at the evidence.
2. Evidences
A. Miracles: Attested to by numerous eyewitnesses (John 20:30-31)
B. Prophecies fulfilled
1) Born of a virgin: Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 24, 25
2) House of David: Jeremiah 23:5; Luke 3:23,31
3) Born in Bethlehem: Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1
4) Ministry to begin in Galilee: Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:12-13,17
5) Betrayed by a friend: Psalm 41:9; Matthew 26:15
6) Sold for 30 pieces of silver: Zecheriah 11:12; Matthew
26:49-50
7) Wounded and bruised: Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:12-13,17
8) Bones not broken: Psalm 34:20; John 19:32-33
9) Crucified with thieves: Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 27:38
10) Resurrection: Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:31
11) There are more than 400 Messianic prophecies. Jesus fulfills
them all! The probability that any man might have lived and
fulfilled just 8 prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 17th power or
1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.
C. Jesus' life and teaching: His teachings surpass human wisdom
while his life exemplifies them perfectly (John 7:17)
D. The Resurrection: This is perhaps the most convincing of all of
the evidences. Was Jesus raised from the dead? The response is
critically important. Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
1) The Prediction: Matthew 27:62-66. Jesus' prediction about
his own resureection were so well known that guards were
posted at the tomb. This raised the question: Did he really
die? Perhaps he passed out on the cross and was later
revived...
2) The Death: John 19:31-34. Professional executioners would
not make such a basic error as to think a live person was
dead. Medical experts indicate that the water that flowed
from Jesus' pierced side would be from the pericardium, a
sac around the heart that fills with water when the heart
ruptures. Jesus was clearly dead. But perhaps they visited
the wrong tomb and mistakenly thought he was raised.
3) The Wrong Tomb:
a) The tomb was near the cross: John 19:39-42
b) Mary saw where he was buried. Pilate knew where to send
the guards: Matthew 27:61-66. They didn't visit the weong
tomb. So let's visit the tomb.
4) The Empty Tomb: Matthew 28:11-15. Was the tomb empty? If
not, the Jews would have produced the body. The fact that
they tried to explain away the empty tomb shows that it was
empty. So, was the body stolen as they claimed?
5) The Stolen Body: It would have been incredibly dificult for
anyone to steal the body considering the huge stone and the
Roman guards in front of the tomb. In any case, there are
two possiblilities: someone other than the disciples stole
the body; therefore, the disciples were deceieved and
wistfully hallucinated the risen Christ. OR the disciples
stole the body and hoaxed the ressurection. Let's consider
the first possibility:
a) Someone other than the disciples stole the body. John
20:19-29. Disciples are scared and hiding, having earlier
fled at Jesus' arrest. Was this a mass hallucination?
Thomas, the skeptic, touched Jesus. This was no
hallucination to Thomas. But perhaps the resurrection was
all a hoax, the second possibility...
b) The disciples stole the body. Acts 4:12-13. Remember the
cowardly disciples? (Matthew 26:56). Peter who denied
Jesus? They are now men of remarkable courage. Something
has happened. In fact, according to early church history,
each of the disciples died a martyr's death, except John:
Peter-crucified head downwards Thomas-speared to death
James-beheaded by Herod Matthew-Martyred
(Acts 12:1-2)
James-crucified Andrew-crucified
Jude-shot with arrows Phillip-martyred
Bartholomew-flogged to death Simon the Zealot-crucified
Matthias-axed to death
6) These men had seen Jesus raised from the dead: 1 Corinthians
15:1-6. In fact, over 500 people at once saw the resurrected
Jesus .
Indeed, Jesus has been raised. The proof is logical and
overwhelming.
3. Conclusion: Christianity is true and reasonable. Acts 26:24-29.
Jesus is the son of God! Now what remains is the decision to follow
him.
Contact: Daniel de Sailles
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