Did Jesus exist?

• Evidence outside the New Testament about Jesus includes:
• Tacitus and Suetonius (Roman historians)
• Josephus (Jewish historian)
• Evidence within the New Testament

How do we know that what was written down in the New Testament has not been changed over the years?

Was Jesus fully human?

He had a human body

• tired (John 4:6)
• hungry (Matthew 4:2)

He had human emotions

• anger (Mark 11:15–17)
• love (Mark 10:21)
• sadness (John 11:32–36)

He had human experiences

• temptation (Mark 1:13)
• learning (Luke 2:46–52)
• work (Mark 6:3)
• obedience (Luke 2:51)

Was He more than a man, a great human, a religious teacher?

(Matthew 16:13–16)

Bono, the leader singer of the band U2 has said:

"I don't think you're let off easily by saying [he was] a great thinker or philosopher because, actually, he went around saying he was the Messiah. That's why he was crucified. He was crucified because he said he was the Son of God. So, he either, in my view, was the Son of God or he was nuts...And I find it hard to accept that all the millions and millions of lives, half the Earth, for 2,000 years have felt their lives touched and inspired by some nutter. I don't believe it...I believe that Jesus was the Son of God"

Teaching centered on himself

• “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35)
• “If the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” (John 8:36, NLT)
• “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12)
• “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)
• “Come to me....” (Matthew 11:28–29)
• Receive me—receive God. (Matthew 10:40)
• Welcome me—welcome God. (Mark 9:37)
• “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

His indirect claims

• To forgive sins (Mark 2:5)
• To judge the world (Matthew 25:31, 32, 40, 45)

His direct claims

• Messiah (Mark 14:61–62)
• Son of God (Mark 14:61)
• God the Son (John 20:26–29)
• “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)

Author of The Chronicles of Narnia and Oxford historian C. S. Lewis wrote:

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be (insane)... or else he would be ‘the Devil of Hell.’ You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else (insane) or something worse... but let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

• His teaching (Mark 12:31; Luke 6:31; Matthew 5:44)
• His life/works (John 2:1–11; 10:37–38)
• His character (Luke 23:34)
• His fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy
• His conquest of death

Four Pieces of Evidence for Jesus's Resurrection:

1) His absence from the tomb

• Theories:
• Jesus did not die (John 19:33–34)
• Disciples stole the body
• Authorities stole the body
• Robbers stole the body (John 20:1–9)

2) His presence with the disciples

• Did they hallucinate?
• Number of appearances over a six-week period
• 11+ appearances
• 500+ people
• Nature of appearances (Luke 24:36–43)

3) Immediate effect

• Birth and growth of Christian church

4) Effect down the ages

• Experience of Christians down the ages
• Over 2,300 million Christians in the world today

1. What did you think (or feel) about the talk tonight?
2. This question was asked, “What makes you happy?” What sorts of things make you happy in life?
3. What do you think about Jesus? What thoughts do you have about him?
4. If you had a chance to meet Jesus, how would you feel and what would you say to him? What would you want that encounter to be like?

1. Before you heard the talk tonight, what was your concept of Jesus? Has it changed? If so, in what way?
2. What aspects of the evidence presented tonight did you find convincing/not convincing?

• Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
• The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
• Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton
• Jesus Is ______ by Judah Smith