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Archive for November 30th, 2009

Historical Jesus and what early Christians believe he was

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What does history teach us about the man Jesus? What or who did people think Jesus was during his lifetime? Others claim that he was just a prophet, a good man, the Bible has been corrupted over the years to alter his identity as a God status, or that he didn’t exist at all. I’m going to provide solid evidence by addressing just the facts from within the Bible and outside of the Bible and their sources. You be the judge.

1. Are there any historical evidence of Jesus and what do they contain?

  • John Rylands fragment, Papyrus 19, written 125 AD, found in Egypt now located at the John Rylands Library, contains John 18:31–33, 37–38
  • Papyrus 90 written 150AD, located at Ashmolean Museum contains John 18-19
  • Papyrus 104 written 150AD located at Papyrology Rooms, Sackler Library, Oxford contains Matthew 21:34-37
  • Papyrus 98 written about 175 AD located at the French Institute of Oriental Archeology, contains Revelation 1:13-2:1
  • Papyrus 75 written 175 AD located Vatican Library, Rome contains Luke 3:18-24:53 and John 1-15
  • Papyrus 4 written 150AD located Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, contains Luke 1-6


Keep in mind, these fragments were in papyrus, were carbon dated, and now contained in museums. These were not originals but rather copies of the originals meaning they had to have been written PRIOR to 120-175AD. Upon reading the verses only contained in the multiple fragments above, we can see that:

  • The Jews convicted Jesus as a criminal by claiming to be the Son of God, betrayed by Judas and handed him to Pontius Pilate who believed Jesus was innocent
  • Jesus did confirm he was a King from another world
  • John the Baptist preached and was imprisoned by Herod
  • John had a vision of the resurrected Jesus
  • God called Jesus his Son
  • The Birth of Jesus was foretold and he was born of a Virgin

Some scholars even date John to be written around 60AD. That’s 30 years after the death of Jesus, not enough time for a myth or legend to be formed.

Some contenders will protest that its all hearsay. That is actually wrong. The book of John, a disciple and eye witness of Jesus was also a Gospel writer. In fact, Peter and James, the brother of Jesus were also eye witnesses and have many works in the New Testament. They all make claims that Jesus is God and witnessed his powers.


What did the early church fathers view Jesus as?

Polycarp 65-150 AD, disciple of John the Apostle

Polycarp Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians

Now may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal
High-priest Himself the [Son of God Jesus Christ, build you up in
faith and truth, and in all gentleness and in all avoidance of wrath
and in forbearance and long suffering and in patient endurance and in
purity; and may He grant unto you a lot and portion among His saints,
and to us with you, and to all that are under heaven, who shall
believe on our Lord and God Jesus Christ and on His Father that
raised him from the dead.

Ignatius of Antioch died 107 AD, disciple of John the apostle wrote this of Jesus to the church at Ephesus:

I pray for your happiness forever in our God, Jesus Christ, by whom continue ye in the unity and under the protection of God, I salute Alce, my dearly beloved. Fare ye well in the Lord.'Very Flesh, yet Spirit too; Uncreated, and yet born; God-and-Man in One agreed' (§ 7; Early Christian Writings, p. 63)

“Jesus Christ our God” Eph inscr, Eph 15:3, Eph 18:2, Tral 7, Ro inscr 2x, Ro 3:3, Smyr 10:1.
In Jesus “God was revealing himself as a man” Eph 19:3

For our God, Jesus the Christ, was conceived by Mary according to God’s plan . . .(Ephesians 18:2)

Consequently all magic and every kind of spell were dissolved, the ignorance so characteristic of wickedness vanished, and the ancient kingdom was abolished, when God appeared in human form to bring the newness of eternal life . . .(Ephesians 19:3)

"We have also as a Physician the Lord our God Jesus the Christ the only-begotten Son and Word, before time began, but who afterwards became also man, of Mary the virgin. For ‘the Word was made flesh.' Being incorporeal, He was in the body; being impassible, He was in a passable body; being immortal, He was in a mortal body; being life, He became subject to corruption, that He might free our souls from death and corruption, and heal them, and might restore them to health,when they were diseased with ungodliness and wicked lusts." (Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The ante-Nicene Fathers, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975 rpt., Vol. 1, p. 52, Ephesians 7.)`

Irenaeus (ca. 185) in his work Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies)

- Of Jesus he says "He is the holy Lord, the Wonderful, the Counselor, the Beautiful in appearance, and the Mighty God, coming on the clouds as the Judge of all men; --all these things did the Scriptures prophesy of Him." AH III.19.2 (Ante Nicene Fathers 1: 449). "He, therefore who was known, was not a different being from Him who declared, 'No man knoweth the Father,' but one and the same, the Father making all things subject to Him; while He received testimony from all that He was very [true] man, and that He was very [true] God, from the Father, from the Spirit, from angels, from the creation itself, from men, from apostate spirits and demons, from the enemy, and last of all, from death itself.” AH, IV, 6,7 (ANF, 46)

“he sent the Designer and Maker of the universe himself, by whom he created the heavens and confined the sea within its own bounds” (ca. 125 AD, Diognetus 7:2 )

“He sent him as God; he sent him as man to men.” (Diognetus 7:4)

Through these ancient works, we can confirm with confidence what the early Christians within 90-150 years of Jesus death actually believed in. It is less likely that the New Testaments beliefs of Jesus were altered contrary to what the Quran and other sources say. The early writings of the Church Fathers combined with the actual New Testament papyrus reaffirms and strengthens the validity that they believed that Jesus is the Son of God, The Messiah, and God. The beliefs of the early church fathers are also consistent with the beliefs of the New Testament writers. However, are there any external sources from these writers that make mentions of that?

2. Secular sources for the historical Jesus:

CORNELIUS TACITUS (55 – 120 A.D.) Tacitus was a 1st and 2nd century Roman historian who lived through the reigns of over half a dozen Roman emperors. Considered one of the greatest historians of ancient Rome, Tacitus verifies the Biblical account of Jesus’ execution at the hands of Pontius Pilate who governed Judea from26-36 A.D. during the reign of Tiberius.
“Christus, the founder of the [Christian] name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius. But the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time, broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, by through the city of Rome also.” Annals XV, 44

GAIUS SUETONIUS TRANQUILLUS (69 – 130 A.D.) Suetonius was a prominent Roman historian who recorded the lives of the Roman Caesars and the historical events surrounding their reigns. He served as a court official under Hadrian and as an annalist for the Imperial House. Suetonius records the expulsion of the Christian Jews from Rome (mentioned in Acts 18:2) and confirms the Christian faith being founded by Christ.
“As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, [Claudius] expelled them from Rome.” Life of Claudius 25.4

PLINY THE YOUNGER (63 – 113 A.D) Pliny the Younger admits to torturing and executing Christians who refused to deny Christ. Those who denied the charges were spared and ordered to exalt the Roman gods and curse the name of Christ. Pliny addresses his concerns to Emperor Trajan that too many citizens were being killed for their refusal to deny their faith.

“I asked them directly if they were Christians…those who persisted, I ordered away… Those who denied they were or ever had been Christians…worshiped both your image and the images of the gods and cursed Christ. They used to gather on a stated day before dawn and sing to Christ as if he were a god… All the more I believed it necessary to find out what was the truth from two servant maids, which were called deaconesses, by means of torture. Nothing more did I find than a disgusting, fanatical superstition. Therefore I stopped the examination, and hastened to consult you…on account of the number of people endangered. For many of all ages, all classes, and both sexes already are brought into danger…” Pliny’s letter to Emperor Trajan

Lucian of Samosate
The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day—the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account…” The Death of Peregrine, 11-13
These writings were from non-Christian sources written within 70 years of Jesus death! They confirm the following:
 

 

 

  • Jesus existed
  • He was called the Christ
  • His followers were called Christians
  • his followers were being persecuted
  • They sang about him as if he were God
  • It was a new belief in Judea all the way to Rome
  • He was the brother of James
  • He won many believers
  • He was believed to be the Savior

In summary, there are more convincing evidence to point out those believers in Christ with less than 175 years of his death died for their faith and were all convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, Son of God, and God. These sources derived from inside and outside of the Bible. With this amount of compelling evidence, it is up to the disbeliever to prove otherwise.

 

Written by herqlez253

November 30, 2009 at 9:01 am

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