WHO IS THIS JESUS?
First words: Most teenagers have an opinion about Jesus. A lot of these opinions have been shaped by what they have heard in and outside church or what they have seen older Christians/leaders do. In fact, at times, they subconsciously come out with a “Jesus” of their own; independent of all these. Some have a “Father Christmas” opinion about him: The God that man uses (only there to solve problems in times of need); The “Joy-killer” opinion; some think He never really existed, but just a fairy tale to keep people away from sin and “enjoyment”, these are the ones that think no one can meet up with the standards of Jesus – the “we are all like fish in water” mentality, none can claim not to be drinking water. Where do you think you belong? Thank God that there is the real Jesus – the Son of God, fully revealed to us through the Bible, with a lot said about Him in other historical books, which largely confirms the things written in the Bible about Him.
JESUS IN THE BIBLE
Getting to discover Jesus through the Bible, the first logical thing to do is to try to establish the authenticity of the scriptures. Is it just a fairy tale or is it a book that has enough evidence to show that it is really true?
- The Eyewitness evidence: An eyewitness is the most compelling evidence in any
matter. When a witness has had ample opportunity to observe an event, there is no bias or ulterior motive and the witness is truthful and fair, the testimony is usually compelling. All the four gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They wrote as firsthand witnesses – Luke 1:1-4; I Jn. 1:1-4. The earliest evidence that supports the authorship and claims of the authors of the four gospels is a Christian writer named Papias dated about AD 125. At about this time, he specifically affirmed that Mark had carefully and accurately recorded Peter’s eyewitness observations. In fact, he said Mark “made no mistake” and “did not include any false statement”. Papias also said Matthew had preserved teachings of Jesus as well. Another author writing about AD180 – Ireaneus, confirmed the traditional authorship: Matthew published his own gospel among the Hebrews in their own tongue, when Peter and Paul were preaching the Gospel in Rome and founding the church there. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, handed down to us in writing the substance of Peter’s preaching. Luke, the follower of Paul, set down in a book the gospel preached by his teacher. Then John, the disciple of the Lord, who also leaned on his breast, himself, produced his gospel while he was living at Ephesus in Asia. These go to show that there is enough historical evidence proving that not only was the Bible, particularly, the four gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, but that the facts were not distorted at all. The uniqueness of the Bible itself written by about fifty (educated and non-educated) authors, over a period of 1600 years, telling the same central message, resisted every attempt to exterminate it, sold much more than any other book in history, has many testimonies of changed lives, speaks volume about the central figure – Jesus
… to be continued.
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