Notes on Jesus
From Flavius Josephus,
Flavius Josephus became a Pharisee at 19. He at one time was commander of the Jewish forces in Galilee. Captured by the Romans he was attached to their headquarters where he served as an historian. He lived from 37AD to 100AD.
Josephus wrote,
“Now there was 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 over to him both many Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first, did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.”
Flavius Josephus
Here is proof of Jesus outside the Bible. Josephus even hints that he was the Christ, the Messiah. Attributing to him “ten thousand...wonderful things”
Now I know that there are many people out there who deny Jesus even existed and don’t believe the account of Josephus. That doesn’t bother me. The fact is people can believe anything they want about Jesus. It doesn’t mean they are right.
Julian the Apostate, Roman emperor from 361AD to 363AD one of the fiercest foes of Christianity in his a work against Christianity wrote,
“Jesus…has now been celebrated about three hundred years having done nothing in his lifetime worthy of fame, unless anyone thinks it is a very great work to heal lame and blind people and exorcise demoniacs in the villages of Bethsaida and Bethany.”
At the end of his life however Julian wrote,
“Thou has conquered, O Galilean!”
I believe firmly that Jesus is the Son of God the Saviour of mankind. That He is the way to heaven. I am convinced because I have read the Bible with a critical eye, looking for truth about Jesus.
I have read reports outside the Bible about Jesus. These are reports, at times from opponents of Christianity. These reports that have strengthened by belief.
I like what Napoleon wrote about Jesus he said,
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
Napoleon Bonaparte,
C. S. Lewis made an important comment about Christianity when he said,
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
C. S. Lewis
The gospel of John records this interaction between Martha the sister of Lazarus and Jesus,
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes Lord” she told Him, “I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world,
John 11:25,26.
This is the question every person confronted with the life of Jesus must make.
Thus the question to you the reader is do you believe Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind.
Please think about it.
Showing posts with label who is Jesus?. Show all posts
Showing posts with label who is Jesus?. Show all posts
Friday, 9 October 2015
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
Jesus
Jesus
There are people today who say Jesus is a myth. To say Jesus is a myth is a kin to believing the earth is flat and if you sail far enough you’ll sail off the edge.
No credible historian will say Jesus is a myth. Jesus changed history. Myths don’t change history.
Kenneth Scott Latourette, former President of American Historic Society
In A History of Christianity wrote,
“It is evidence of His importance, of the effect that He has had upon history and presumably, of the baffling mystery of His being that no other life ever lived on this planet has evoked so huge a volume of literature among so many people and languages, and that, far from ebbing, the flood continues to mount.”
“As the centuries pass by, the evidence is accumulating that measured by its effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet. The influence appears to be mounting.”
“No other life lived on this planet has so widely and deeply affected mankind.”
Kenneth Scott Latourette,
One man who had exceptional insight into Jesus was not a Christian. He was a Jew working as an historian for the Romans shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus. His name, Flavius Josephus, he became a Pharisee at 19, later commander, of the Jewish forces in Galilee. Captured by Romans and attached to their headquarters. He was born: 34AD.
Josephus wrote,
“Now there was 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 over to him both many Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first, did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.”
Flavius Josephus
Note here Josephus said Jesus rose from the dead and that he won over both Jew and Gentile. That, “he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure.”
Jesus is a very real person no one can deny that. The question is who do you believe Jesus to be. Jesus himself said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6.
“I and the Father are one.”
John 10:30.
For Jesus to say that He was equal to the father was a crime punishable by death at the time. In fact John 10:31 one says,
“ Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,”
John 10:31.
Jesus was well educated with respect to the scriptures. In his early teens he was found by his parents in the temple listening to the wise men and asking questions of them (Luke 2:46-52) Luke 2:47 recording
“Every one who heard him was amazed at his understanding and answers.”
Luke 2:47
C. S. Lewis said of Jesus,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. 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 a lunatic — on the 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. 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 with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
Therefore the choice is yours dear reader. Who do you think Jesus is?
Please think carefully about it.
There are people today who say Jesus is a myth. To say Jesus is a myth is a kin to believing the earth is flat and if you sail far enough you’ll sail off the edge.
No credible historian will say Jesus is a myth. Jesus changed history. Myths don’t change history.
Kenneth Scott Latourette, former President of American Historic Society
In A History of Christianity wrote,
“It is evidence of His importance, of the effect that He has had upon history and presumably, of the baffling mystery of His being that no other life ever lived on this planet has evoked so huge a volume of literature among so many people and languages, and that, far from ebbing, the flood continues to mount.”
“As the centuries pass by, the evidence is accumulating that measured by its effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet. The influence appears to be mounting.”
“No other life lived on this planet has so widely and deeply affected mankind.”
Kenneth Scott Latourette,
One man who had exceptional insight into Jesus was not a Christian. He was a Jew working as an historian for the Romans shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus. His name, Flavius Josephus, he became a Pharisee at 19, later commander, of the Jewish forces in Galilee. Captured by Romans and attached to their headquarters. He was born: 34AD.
Josephus wrote,
“Now there was 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 over to him both many Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first, did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.”
Flavius Josephus
Note here Josephus said Jesus rose from the dead and that he won over both Jew and Gentile. That, “he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure.”
Jesus is a very real person no one can deny that. The question is who do you believe Jesus to be. Jesus himself said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6.
“I and the Father are one.”
John 10:30.
For Jesus to say that He was equal to the father was a crime punishable by death at the time. In fact John 10:31 one says,
“ Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,”
John 10:31.
Jesus was well educated with respect to the scriptures. In his early teens he was found by his parents in the temple listening to the wise men and asking questions of them (Luke 2:46-52) Luke 2:47 recording
“Every one who heard him was amazed at his understanding and answers.”
Luke 2:47
C. S. Lewis said of Jesus,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. 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 a lunatic — on the 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. 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 with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
Therefore the choice is yours dear reader. Who do you think Jesus is?
Please think carefully about it.
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