“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to Father except through me.” – John 14:6

 According to the Scriptures in Colossians, Jesus didn’t first appear in the world as a “sweet little baby.”  He has always existed as part of the God-head of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Corinthians 13:14).  Like water (H₂0), the essential component of life that exists in three phases – gas, liquid, and ice – each of which are distinct yet contain the same properties, so is our God (Genesis 1:26)!  There are over 400 Messianic prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament alone!  Consider just 10 of the following prophecies that He 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 10:4; Matthew 26:49-50

6)      Sold for 30 pieces of silver:  Zechariah 11:12; Matthew 26:15

7)      Wounded and bruised:  Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 27:26

8)      Bones not broken:  Psalm 24:20; John 19:32-33

9)      Crucified with thieves:  Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 27:38

10)      Resurrection:  Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:31

There are more than 400 Messianic prophecies, and Jesus fulfills them all!  The probability that any man might have lived and fulfilled just 8 prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 17^th power or 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000!  As a result, Jesus calls all men to follow Him and be saved from their sins – to give up everything, by making Him the Lord of our lives (Luke 14:33).  As we examine the evidence for Jesus, we must come to the realization that Jesus is not just a teacher or a “good prophet”, but the image of the invisible God and the only way for salvation!

Through this study we’re going to examine three major issues:

1.  The Deity of Christ – Legend, Liar, Lunatic or Lord!

2.  Did He Physically Rise From the Dead?

3.  Testimony of the Apostles

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give reason for the hope that you have.” -1 Peter 3:15

The name “Jesus” is derived from the Greek form of name “Jeshua” or “Joshua” meaning “Jehovah-Savior” or “the Lord saves.”  The title “Christ” is derived from the Greek word for “Messiah” or Hebrew word “Mashiah” – and means “anointed one”.

Almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus entered the human race in a small Jewish community.  He was a member of a poor family, and minority group, and resided in one of the smallest countries in the world.  He lived approximately thirty-three years, of which only the last three comprised his public ministry.  We are told by non-Christian and Christian historians that this man healed the sick, raised the dead, caused the blind to see, helped the mute speak, walked on water, fed thousands of people, drove out demons, and performed many miracles.  The following are some noteworthy historical references:

1)      H.G. Wells – an atheist, wrote of Jesus in his book, “Outline of History.”  He wrote, “…one is obliged to say, ‘here was a man.  This part of the tale could not have been invented.’”

2)      Will Durant – former professor of philosophy and history at Columbia University.  He spent two chapters in “The Story of Civilization” depicting Jesus as a historical figure right along with the Caesars and Alexander the Great.

3)      The Encyclopedia Britannica uses over 20,000 words to describe Jesus.  That is more than Aristotle, Cicero, Alexander, Julius Caesar, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, or Napoleon.

He was crucified and His example led to thousands of martyrs because they believed that He proved He was the Son of God by rising from the dead in three days.  They said He was the only way to heaven and that He is God in the flesh.  They said He is the Son of God.  Consider these interesting facts:

• He is by far the most influential man that ever lived.
• Our time and calendar system is calculated by his birth.
• He never wrote a book, but more books were written about him than anyone else.
• He never wrote any songs but more songs are written about him than any other person.
• He never traveled more than 100 miles from his home town yet the name Jesus is known all around the world.
• John said in his gospel that if all the things that Jesus did were written down than I don’t even suppose that all the whole world would not have enough room for the books that would have been written.
• No other prophet has risen from the dead!  Neither Muhammad, Confucius, Moses, Buddha or any other prophet has claimed to be God in the flesh!

1.  Was Jesus A Real Person In History? – A Legend?

“No serious scholar has ventured to claim that Jesus was a non-historical character.” – Otto Betz

Historical references from secular (non-Christian or anti-Christian) authorities speaking of Jesus’ existence:

Cornelius Tacitus (AD 55-120), was a Roman historian who lived through the reign of over a half a dozen Roman emperors.  He was called the greatest Historian of ancient Rome.  His misspelling of Christ – “Christus” was a common error made by pagan writers.

“The persons called Christians, who were hated for their enormities.  Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius.”

Lucian of Samosata, a Greek satirist of the latter half of the second century spoke scornfully of Christ and the Christians, never assuming or arguing that they were unreal.

“The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day—the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and who was crucified on that account… You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them.  All these they take quite on faith, with the results that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property.”

Josephus ben Mattathias (born 37/38 AD, died after 100 AD), was a Jewish Historian who did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God.  He actually later left his Jewish rebel troops and joined the emperors inner circle.

He writes in his Jewish Antiquities, a passage occurs that has created heated debates among scholars.  Josephus, a non-Christian Jew, makes statements about Jesus that an orthodox Jew could not affirm.

“Now there was a about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure.  He drew to him both many of the Jews, and many Gentiles.  He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at suggestion of the principal men among us, has condemned him to the cross, those who loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as a divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousands other wonderful things concerning him.  And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.” (Antiquities, XVIII, 33)

There are many other Christian and non-Christian sources as well!

2.  Lord, Liar, Lunatic!

John 14:6 – “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to Father except through me.”

Here are some of the other scriptures where Jesus claims to be the son of God!

John 5:17-25 – Jesus Deity & Judgment.

John 10:30-33 – People picked up stones to stone him because he claimed to be God.

John 12:45 – He says whenever you see me you see the Father

Mark 14:60-64 – Jesus claims that he is the son of God

The popular explanation of Jesus is that he was a good moral teacher or a prophet who said a lot of profound things.  To say what Jesus said and to claim what he claimed about himself, one couldn’t conclude he was just a good moral man or prophet.  It is only by ignorance that people could confuse the fact that He was the Son of God!  The Pharisees were right that either he is Lord or a Demon!

If he really did claim to God in the flesh we can only come to three of the following conclusions:

1. Lord – He is who He says He is.  He is God in the flesh!  He is the only way to heaven, He is the truth and the life and no one can come to the Father except through him.  He truly is the son of God and all people must and should follow him!
2. Lunatic – He is crazy person, as many people have claimed to be God.  He needed to check himself into a mental hospital.  He was mistaken and had visions that were not true.
3. Liar – He lied about who he was and wanted the fame and prestige from it.  He died for a lie and so did many of his followers.  Thousands of people died for a lie about Jesus being the son of God and rising from the dead on the third day.

A great apologetic writer, C.S Lewis, said that: “A man who was merely a man and said the kind of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would with either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—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 a madman or something worse.”

Lewis later says: “You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call him Lord and God.  But let us not come up with any nonsense about his being a great human teacher.  He has not left that open to us.  He did not intend to.”

First let us consider that his claim to be God was false.  If it was false, then we have two and only two alternatives.  He either knew it was false or he didn’t know it was false.  We will consider each one separately.

If Jesus did know that his claims of being the son of God was false than he was deliberately lying.

Was Jesus a Liar?  Why or why not?

• If Jesus made this claim and was lying, then he was a hypocrite because he told others to be honest, whatever the cost, while he himself lived a lie.  Does that make sense?
• How could a liar do all these miracles to back up his claim?
• Why did he die on the cross for a lie?
• Historians say that he died by crucifixion.
• Why did he go to a Jewish Nation, where it was more difficult, why not go other nations like Egypt and Greece where the belief of many gods was common and his message could be received better?
• His lie and claims and sayings have changed the lives of millions in every nation in history for the better.

If he wasn’t a liar, and we can deductively conclude that he was not a liar, than he didn’t know that he was lying and therefore was a lunatic.  After all, it is possible to be sincerely wrong, right?  Someone who believes he is God sounds like someone today believing himself to be Napoleon.  He would be deluded and self-deceived and probably he would be locked up so he wouldn’t hurt himself or anyone else.

Was Jesus a Lunatic, why or why not?

• Yet in Jesus we don’t see or observe the abnormalities and imbalance that usually go along with being deranged.  Usually when someone is mentally ill they display an inconsistent life.  (One day up or down.  One day say this, another say this.)
• Noyes and Kolb in a medical text describe the schizophrenic as a person who is more autistic than realistic.  The schizophrenic desires to escape from the world of reality.  Let’s face it; claiming to be God would certainly be a retreat from reality.

In light of what we understand about Jesus it’s hard to imagine that he was mentally disturbed.  Here is a man who spoke some of the most incredible sayings ever recorded.  The skill and the depth and consistency of his teachings support the case only for his total mental soundness and health.  Consider the sayings of the Sermon on the Mount!

I cannot conceive that Jesus was a liar or lunatic.  The only other alternative is that he was the Christ, the son of God, as he claimed.

Most people would agree that Jesus is not a liar or lunatic.  But they quickly disagree for Jesus being the son of God and Lord.  Deciding that Jesus is the Christ must not be an idle exercise.  We cannot put him away as a great moral teacher.  It is not a valid option.  Jesus is either a liar, lunatic, or Lord.  You have to make that choice!

3.  Did His Followers Die For A Lie?  – The Apostles!

The apostles were with Jesus during the three years of his public ministry and saw Jesus crucified and rose from the dead on the third day.  They became some of the most transformed men of this world!

Eleven of Jesus’ apostles died martyr’s deaths on the basis of two things;  the resurrection of Christ, and their belief in him as the Son of God.  They were tortured and flogged, and finally faced death by some of the cruelest methods then known:

1. Peter – crucified upside down
2. Andrew – crucified
3. Matthew – beheaded by the sword
4. John – boiled alive, survived, then a natural death exiled on the island of Patmos.
5. James, son of Alphaeus – crucified
6. Philip – crucified
7. Simon – crucified
8. Thaddaeus –killed by arrows
9. James, brother of Jesus – stoned
10. Thomas – spear thrust
11. Bartholomew – crucified
12. James son of Zebedee – the sword

The response is that a lot of people have died for a lie, so what does that prove.

Yes, a lot of people died for a lie but they thought it was the truth!  If the apostles knew that the resurrection did not happen what would possess them to do what they did?

It is hard to find eleven people that would die for a lie that they knew was a lie.  These people were eye witnesses of everything that happened.  And they backed it up being martyred on their faith of their testimony.

Here are three testimonies that I believe will make you think about this more.

“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  By this gospel you are saved if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.  Otherwise, you have believed in vain.  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and than to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” – 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Paul speaks as an eyewitness of his resurrection!  Consider the facts of his statement:

• First the Old Testament scriptures prophecy more than 400 prophecies about Jesus and his death and resurrection on the third day.
• He was buried and then rose again on the third day.
• Then he appeared by Peter – or Cephas, then to the twelve.
• After that He was seen by over 500 brothers at once, of whom the greater part remain alive, but some have fallen asleep.
• After that he was seen by James then by the apostles.
• Then at last Paul says he appeared to him.

These were the people that were willing to bet their lives on the fact that they saw the resurrection.  These are the men and women that we can trust before any other person who gives their testimony of who Jesus is hundreds of years later.

In order to have faith in Jesus’ resurrection you must know how he was buried!  In order to know who moved the stone we must know how the stone was placed!

In Matthew 27:57-66, we notice three things about the burial of Jesus:

1. The Pharisees knew that Jesus said he would rise from the dead.
2. The Guards – 4 men – each one who watched in turn while the others rested beside him as to be roused by the least alarm, but in this case the guards have been more numerous!
3. Putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard!

While the apostle Peter denied Jesus in fear of his death, he later went on to become a fearless man.   What caused the change?  The Resurrection of Jesus!  Peter testified that he saw Jesus.  This is not a cunningly devised fable, it is true.  Peter says we were eye witnesses of His majesty! (2 Peter 1:16-18)

The apostle John was also an eye witness.  In John 1:1 he states “That which we have heard and seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the word of life.” John saw, heard and touched him!

4.  Conclusion

So what do you think?
There is no doubt that Jesus existed on earth and was sentence to be crucified.
He either is liar, lunatic, or Lord!
Consider the Eye Witnesses.

Consider the options:

1. Jesus is he a liar – than why would he die like he did?
2. Jesus is he a lunatic – than why are his teachings so consistent and incredible.
3. Jesus is he Lord – That is what every man and woman must find out for themselves.

What is your decision?  Jesus is Lord!  Study the Scriptures and become a true disciple of Jesus!  Luke 9:23, 1 John 2:3-6

Andrew Smellie
Evangelist

Written by Andrew Smellie on October 25, 2009

Last Sunday, Danielle’s mom, Lupe Savedra (pictured with the women who studied with her), was baptized into God’s Kingdom

This was like a great plan, because Moses would be able to stand the strain, and all the people would all be taken care of! In our church, for the past 5 years, we have really only had “leaders over tens,” or what we call BibleTalk leaders. We have not had leaders of fifties or hundreds. In following the model of the Bible, we selected couples to be “leaders over fifties,” or house church leaders! These couples will help take care of the needs of the people and make sure that everyone ”goes home satisfied!” As we continue to grow, we will appoint leaders over hundreds and thousands as well!

The concept of a “house church” is very biblical, (Romans 16:3-5, Colossians 4:14-16, Acts 20:20) in fact, there is quite a bit of evidence that this is how the church in the first century was organized! A house church is pretty much exactly what it sounds like – a church that meets in a house! We have decided to assign four house churches based on the geographic regions of the city. So we will meet as a congregation on Sunday the majority of the time, but we will meet in our respective regions of the city, in house churches about once every 5-6 weeks. Here is an illustration of the geographic regions of the house churches and the leaders of each house churches:

South

Scott and Sandy Lunde

West

Mark and Keri Garrido

North

Jason and Susan Bond

East

Luke and Brandyn Speckman

Each house church leader is given the responsibility of overseeing multiple BibleTalks within the House Church, planning new BibleTalks strategically to effectively expand throughout that region of the city, training new BibleTalk leaders, ensuring that all of the people in the House Church are taken care of, and evangelizing that area of the Phoenix Valley! This is certainly a high calling and a great responsibility! Each house church has the responsibility to evangelize a region of the Phoenix Metro area 1-2 million people in population! This will take much hard work, and we will all need to share in our portion of the load! Also, we thought it would be best to have a strong married couple to oversee the different ministries in the church (Singles, Marrieds, Campus, etc.). The charge of the couple leading the ministry would be to shepherd over the people in the ministry and strengthen that ministry, to plan events and lead the way in the evangelistic growth of that ministry, and to forge unity between the members of that group and unity in the church. We currentlyhave the following ministry leaders:

Kids Kingdom / Children’s Ministry

Scott and Sandy Lunde

Pre-Teen / Middle School Ministry

Rob and Jenny Bolton

Last week, we appointed the following couples as ministry leaders:

Teen / High School Ministry

Richie and Elizabeth McDonnell

Campus Ministry

Luke and Brandyn Speckman

Singles Ministry

Robb and Teresa Hamblin

Marrieds Ministry

Brian and Dawn Terry

Last Sunday, Angelica Lopez (pictured with her mom, Melissa), became our Sister in Christ!

Proverbs 16:3 simply states, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” These plans we commit to the Lord as we do our best to be humble, accept guidance, and work hard for the Lord. I believe He will multiply our church many times over! And to God be the Glory!

Luke Speckman