Some say Jesus is a myth and that biblical texts are fantasies. Much physical and circumstantial evidence exists to the contrary. So, I wonder what would fuel such a rejection of YHVH (God), Jesus or the Bible’s contents.
Regardless, I’m writing not about intentional spiritual blindness to truth, but to share reasons to be confident in YHVH, Jesus and biblical writings. In this first of a two-part series, we’ll consider people, places and stuff of the Bible. In the second part, we’ll dig into why we can believe the Bible. People first.
People
My wife has a cousin who has an ex-wife. They have kids. The kids have significant ‘others.’ I don’t know the cousin, the exwife, the kids or the ‘others.’ But I know my wife.
She knows the cousin, who knows the ex-wife, who knows the kids and so on. Through this relational chain of custody, I am confident that the cousin, the ex, the kids and the others are real people, even though I’ve never met them. So, it is with Jesus and the disciples and apostles.
Irenaeus was a Roman Christian who lived from 120-200 AD. He was a student of Polycarp, who lived from 69-155 AD.
From Polycarp, Irenaeus learned about the apostle Matthew and the Hebrew version of the gospel that bears his name. He (and Ignatius of Antioch) quoted from the Acts, that eventually became a Bible book. They knew about John Zebedee, one of Jesus’ disciples, because Polycarp had been John’s disciple. And, of course, apostles Matthew and John knew Jesus personally and were so sure of His death and resurrection that they willingly died for this belief. Let’s look at this chain of custody the other way around.
Jesus knew John. John knew Polycarp. Polycarp knew Irenaeus. Irenaeus, therefore, attests to at least Jesus, John, Matthew, Polycarp, and Ignatius’ existence besides validating what would become biblical texts. But, in case that’s not enough, historian Josephus wrote about Jesus, His half-brother James, and John the Baptist. If you need more, let’s consider confidencebuilding places and stuff.
Places and stuff
The pools of Bethesda from biblical texts are a real thing. An Assyrian obelisk validates Jewish King Jehu mentioned in the Old Testament. Also written in the testament, 2 Kings 20:20, is mention of existing Hezekiah’s tunnels. Jesus and the disciples (all Jews) understood the texts as true. And real people like the treasurer Erastus (Romans 16:23) corroborate those biblical texts. There’s more, so much more. But, alas, I only get 500 words.
Summary
Real people validated by history and eyewitnesses attest to Jesus, His disciples and biblical texts. Perhaps we should take seriously what they said about God and morality. In the second part of this two-parter, I’ll focus more on the believability of those biblical texts we call ‘the scriptures.’
Meanwhile, love God, not religion. Questions or comments? Email [email protected].
Blessings and peace, Dr. Ron Braley, MDiv, DMin.
