The eyewitness evidence. Can the biographies of Jesus be trusted?

Transcription

1 Book Name: The Case For Christ Lee Strobel CoH Member s Name: BOB Leader Name: Date: Score: Saturday Track BOB 6/6 Comm.Brk. 6/13 BOB 6/20 Lrg. Grp. 6/27 Wednesday Track BOB 6/3 BOB 6/10 BOB 6/17 Lrg. Grp. 6/24 1 st Wk. 2nd Wk. 3 rd Wk 4 th Wk. Reading Assignments Pg. 50 Pg. 100 Pg. 150 Pg. 200 NOTE: For Commissioning purposes you must read and answer the questions trough page 200. You may read the rest of the book, but through page 200 is required for commissioning. Part 1: Examining the Record The eyewitness evidence. Can the biographies of Jesus be trusted? EYEWITNESSES TO HISTORY Page 26 Question: Who was the author of the gospel of Luke? What title was he also known by and what other writing is he known for? 1. Page 23; Yes or No? Is an eyewitness testimony crucial in investigating historical matters? 2. Page 27: Which John wrote the gospel of John? 3. Page 33: Why would Matthew incorporate part of a gospel written by Mark? JESUS MOST AUDACIOUS CLAIM Page 35 John makes very explicit claims of Jesus being God. Think of the story of Jesus walking on the water, found in Matthew 14: and Mark 6: Most English translations hide the Greek by quoting Jesus as saying, Fear not, it is I. Actually, the Greek literally says, Fear not, I am. Those last two words are identical to what Jesus said in John 8: 58, when he took upon himself the divine name I AM, which is the way God revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush in Exodus 3: Question: Why is it important to know that Jesus is now revealing himself as the one who has the same divine power over nature as Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament? How does the title Son of Man in Daniel 7: back this up? 1

2 5. Page 37: Since Jesus claims to forgive sins who is he claiming to be? 6. Page 44: When did Paul first meet with the apostles in Jerusalem? 7. Testing the eyewitness evidence. Do the biographies of Jesus stand up to scrutiny? THE ABILITY TEST Page Question: Explain how can we be sure that the material about Jesus life and teachings was well preserved for thirty years before it was finally written down in the gospels? 9. Page 54: What were Rabbis famous for? 10. Page 56: Is memorizing something different from the telephone game? Yes or No? THE CONSISTENCY TEST Page Question: What standard should we use to understand that the gospels are extremely consistent with each other? What if the gospels were too consistent and why is this important? 12. Page 59: When Luke says the centurion sent the elders to do this, was it a contradiction? Yes or No? 13. Page 60: True or False? Matthew reflects Joseph s lineage and Luke reflects Mary s lineage. 14. Page 64: True or False? Is there embarrassing material written about the disciples? 15. Page 65: True or False? Can we learn though non-christian sources facts about Jesus? 16. The documentary evidence. Were Jesus biographies reliably preserved for us? 2

3 COPIES OF COPIES OF COPIES Page Question: If all we have are copies of copies of copies, how can we have any confidence that the New Testament we have today bears any resemblance whatsoever to what was originally written? What does the New Testament has in its favor, especially when compared with other ancient writings? 18. Page 76: True or False? Even if we had no Greek manuscripts today could we still reproduce the contents of the New Testament? 19. Page 77: With regards to the first century historian, we have nine Greek manuscripts of his works 20. Page 79: Of the entire New Testament the earliest portion we possess today if from the gospel of. A WEALTH OF EVIDENCE Page Question: How many copies of the New Testament manuscripts are in existence? How does the New Testament stack up against other well-known works of antiquity? 22. Page 83: Because of variations of early manuscripts can they be trusted? Yes or No? 23. Page 85: So the variations, when they occur, tend to be minor rather than substantive. True or False? 24. Page 86: What 3 criteria did the early church leaders use to determine which books would be authoritative? 1 st criteria 2 nd criteria 3 rd criteria The Corroborating Evidence AFFIRMING THE GOSPELS Page Question: Is there credible evidence for Jesus outside his biographies? 3

4 26. Page 101: True or False? Josephus was a very important Jewish historian of the first century. 27. Page 102: True or False? Was Josephus a priest and Pharisee? 28. Page 104: True False? Early Christian copyist s inserted some phrases that a Jewish writer like Josephus would not have written. THE IMPORTANCE OF JOSEPHUS Page Question: Why wouldn t a historian like Josephus have said more about such an important figure (Christ) of the first century? 30. Page 106: There is overwhelming that Jesus did exist Page 108: was the most abhorrent fate that anyone could undergo, and the fact that there was a movement based on a man has to be explained. 32. Page 113: True or False? Does the Talmud mention Jesus? The scientific evidence. Does archaeology confirm or contradict Jesus? LUKE S ACCURACY AS A HISTORIAN Page Question: When archaeologists check out the details of what Luke wrote, do they find that he was careful or sloppy? 34. Page 130: True or False? Was Luke correct when he refers to Lysanias being the tetrarch of Abilene in about A.D. 27? 35. Page 131: Luke says in his gospel that Jesus was walking into Jericho when he healed the blind man Bartimaeus, while Mark says he was coming out of Jericho. Isn t this a clear cut contradiction? Yes or No? 4

5 THE RELIABILITY OF JOHN AND MARK Page Question: What would scientists have to say about John, whose gospel was sometimes considered suspect because he talked about locations that couldn t be verified? 37. Page 133: If the gospel of John was written so long after Jesus can it be accurate? Yes or No? 38. Page 138: From the tombs. It can be concluded that was a strongly Jewish settlement in the Roman period. 39. The rebuttal evidence. Is the Jesus of history the same as the Jesus of Faith? CRITIQUING THE CRITERIA Page Question: To come up with their conclusion that Jesus never spoke most of the words in the gospels, members of the Jesus Seminar used their own set of assumptions and criteria. Are these standards reasonable and appropriate? Explain. 41. Page 157: True or False? If a writing is found in 5 sources then it is considered accurate. 42. Page 164: So secret Mark is a work cited by a now text by a late second century writer who s known for being naïve about these things. COMBINING HISTORY AND FAITH Page Question: Is Jesus both a Jesus of history and a Jesus of faith? Explain. 44. Page 168: To have a relationship with Jesus Christ goes beyond just knowing the facts about him, yet it s rooted in the historical facts about him. 45. Page 169: If the Jesus of faith is not also the Jesus of history, he is and. Part 2: Analyzing Jesus The identity evidence. Was Jesus really convinced he was the Son of God? 5

6 BY THE FINGER OF GOD Page Question: Why is it important how Jesus interprets his miracles? 47. Page 181: Jesus sees his miracles as bringing about something unprecedented ---- the coming of. 48. Page 182: True or False? Did Jesus consider himself to have authority above and beyond what the Old Testament prophets have? JOHN S PORTRAIT OF JESUS Page Question: Did Jesus believe in his deity himself? Did Jesus have an identity crisis? The psychological evidence. Was Jesus crazy when he claimed to be the Son of God? RAVING MAD Page Question: John 10:20 tells us that many Jews thought he (Jesus) was demon-possessed and raving mad. Is this true? Explain your answer. 51. Page 198: True or False? Do the miracles Jesus performed back up who he claimed to be? 52. Page 200: Yes or No? Could Jesus have been a hypnotist? THIS FINISHES THE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMISSIONING 6

7 The profile evidence. Did Jesus fulfill the attributes of God? LIVING AND FORGIVING LIKE GOD Page 211 Question: What evidence convinces us that Jesus Christ is divine? Page 212: When Jesus said I forgive you what was he saying about himself? Page 217: In Colossians 1 can Jesus be known as firstborn or Supreme Heir? Circle the correct answer. THE DISQUIETING QUESTION OF HELL Page 220 Question: Jesus teaches more about hell than anyone in the entire Bible. The Bible says that the Father is loving. The New Testament affirms the same about Jesus. But can they really be loving while at the same time sending people to hell? Explain your answer. Page 226: True or False? The overthrowing of slavery, then, is through the transformation of men and women through the gospel rather than through merely changing an economic system. The fingerprint evidence. Did Jesus ---- and Jesus alone ----match the identity of the Messiah? PIERCED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS Page 239 Question: In Isaiah 53 who was this speaking of? Why is it significant to us? Page 241: Was Jesus of Jewish descendants? Yes or No? Page 242: What two famous Jewish men was Jesus related to? The Coincidence Argument Page 246 Question: Is it possible that Jesus merely fulfilled the prophecies by accident? 7

8 Page 247: Yes or No? Did Jesus fulfill the Old Testament prophecies? Page 249: True or False? Was Jesus born at the right time according to prophecies and history? Part 3: Researching the Resurrection The medical evidence. Was Jesus death a sham and his resurrection a hoax? THE TORTURE BEFORE THE CROSS Page 259 Question: The gospels tell us he began to sweat blood at this point. Is this just a product of some overactive imaginations? Page 261: True or False? Roman floggings were easy to take and easy to go through. Page 263: Why were the nails driven through the wrists? ANSWERING THE SKEPTICS Page 267 Question: The gospels say the soldiers broke the legs of the two criminals being crucified with Jesus. Why would they have done that? Page 270: True or False? Is it possible that Jesus survived the crucifixion? Page 272: True or False? Did Jesus run away from his betrayer? The evidence of the missing body. Was Jesus body really absent from his Tomb? IS JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA HISTORICAL? Page 282 Question: Mark says that the entire Sanhedrin voted to condemn Jesus. If that s true, this means Joseph of Arimathea cast his ballot to kill Jesus. Isn t it highly unlikely that he would have then come to give Jesus an honorable burial? Page 280: Who was Jesus corpse given to? 8

9 PAGE 281: What is the four line formula of the creed? HOW SECURE WAS THE TOMB? Page 283 Question: How protected was Jesus tomb? Page 284: Could one man roll the stone back up to re-open the tomb? Yes of No? WERE ANY GUARDS PRESENT? Page 285 Question: Was there any evidence to back up Matthew s assertion about the guards at Jesus tomb? Page 289: True or False? Was Michael Martin a historian? Page 293: True or False? Were women high on the rung of the social ladder in first-century Palestine? The evidence of appearances. Was Jesus seen alive after his death on the cross? THE MYSTERY OF THE FIVE HUNDRED Page 312 Question: The creed in 1 Corinthians 15 is the only place in ancient literature where it is claimed that Jesus appeared to five hundred people at once. The gospels don t corroborate it. No secular historian mentions it. If this really happened, why doesn t anyone else talk about it? Page 314: In the creed why weren t the women mentioned? Page 318: True or False? The resurrection was undoubtedly the central proclamation of the early church from the very beginning. Possibility 1: The Appearances Are Legendary Page 320 Question: If it s true that the gospel of Mark originally ended before any appearances were reported, it could be argued that there s evolutionary development in the gospels: Mark records no appearances, 9

10 Matthew has some, Luke has more, and John has the most. Doesn t that demonstrate that the appearances (of a resurrected Jesus) are merely legends that grew up over time? Page 322: True or False? Are hallucinations an individual occurrence? The circumstantial evidence. Are there any supporting facts that point to the resurrection? EXHIBIT 1: THE DISCIPLES DIED FOR THEIR BELIEFS Page 332 When Jesus was crucified, Moreland began, his followers were discouraged and depressed and they no longer had confidence that Jesus had been sent by God. They believed anyone crucified was cursed by God. They also had been taught that God would not let his Messiah suffer death. So they dispersed. The Jesus movement was all but stopped in its tracks. Then, after a short period of time, we see them abandoning their occupations, regathering, and committing themselves to spreading a very specific message that Jesus Christ was the Messiah of God who died on a cross, returned to life, and was seen alive by them. And they were willing to spend the rest of their lives proclaiming this, without any payoff from a human point of view. It s not as though there were a mansion awaiting them on the Mediterranean. They faced a life of hardship. They often went without food, slept exposed to the elements, and were ridiculed, beaten, imprisoned. And finally, most of them were executed in torturous ways. Question: Why were the disciples ready to die for their beliefs? EXHIBIT 2: THE CONVERSION OF SKEPTICS Page 334 Question: Name two skeptics who later turned to faith in Jesus Christ and why did this happen? Page 336: True or False? Was Paul s conversion evidence of the resurrection? Conclusion: The Verdict of History. What does the evidence establish ---- and what does it mean today? Receive Page

11 Every other faith system I studied during my investigation was based on the do plan. In other words, it was necessary for people to do something for example, use a Tibetan prayer wheel, pay alms, go on pilgrimages, undergo reincarnations, work off karma from past misdeeds, reform their character to try to somehow earn their way back to God. Despite their best efforts, lots of sincere people just wouldn t make it. Question: What did receiving Christ mean to me? Become Page 364 After taking that step, I knew from John 1: 12 that I had crossed the threshold into a new experience. I had become something different: a child of God, forever adopted into his family through the historical, risen Jesus. Said the apostle Paul, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come (2 Cor. 5: 17). Question: What do I desire to become in this life based on my faith in Christ? REACHING YOUR OWN VERDICT Page 365 In the end the verdict is yours and yours alone. Nobody else can cast the ballot for you. Perhaps after reading expert after expert, listening to argument after argument, seeing the answers to question after question, and testing the evidence with your logic and common sense, you ve found, as I have, that the case for Christ is conclusive. Question: What will you do now? Did you read the book through page 200? Yes No If you answered no, are you reading the book now and do you intend to read the book through page 200? Yes No 11