As we turn the chapter in God’s divine story, we wait with eager anticipation the hope of finally seeing Messiah. That is, the story of Jesus.
Act 1: God had established a good and beautiful kingdom (Gen 1). He had given his creation everything it needed for life (Gen 2).
Act 2: Creation rebelled, and sin was unleashed throughout the kingdom (Gen 3-11).
Act 3: So God responded to the sin being unleashed by calling Abraham and setting apart a people who would be a blessing to the nations not only by showing them how to live out God’s design, but by also bringing forth the Messiah who would come and restore the broken Kingdom (Gen 12, 15; Is 53; Jer 31).
Here in Act 4 the Messiah shows up on the scene: Jesus Christ, the Anointed one
In this article, we’re going to delve into fifteen questions we might have as we consider Jesus and his significance to the over-arching story of God’s divine message.
1. Why is the story of Jesus “good news”?
The story of Jesus is good news because until he showed up in the story, creation was bound by corruption. No matter how hard anyone tried, they could not live out God’s design.
We as humans lived for ourselves instead of for God. We decided what was good and what was evil for ourselves instead of trusting God’s good to be good and his evil to be evil. Only, that made the world an ugly and chaotic place to live.
Jesus comes and frees us from bondage by crushing the serpent (Gen 3:15) through his death and resurrection on the cross (Heb 2:14-15).
Now, for the first time in the story, creation has a way of escape. Through faith we can live into the freedom God intends for us because of what Jesus has done on our behalf (Eph. 2:1-10).
2. How can I know Jesus actually existed?
William Lane Craig is perhaps one of the best historians on the life of Christ, today. He lays out five reasons we ought to assume the gospels are reliable until proven wrong:
First, there was insufficient time (between the lifespan of Jesus and the recorded writings of Jesus) for legendary influences to expunge the historical facts.
Second, the gospels are not analogous to folk tales or contemporary “urban legends.”
Third, the Jewish transmission of sacred traditions was highly developed and reliable.
Fourth, there were significant restraints on the embellishment of traditions about Jesus, such as the presence of eyewitnesses and the apostles’ supervision.
Fifth, the Gospel writers have a proven track record of historical reliability.
He expounds on these further and goes on to address a few of the important aspects of Jesus in the gospels and their historical credibility on his website Reasonable Faith. You can read the article in full, here.
3. How can I know Jesus is the son of God?
In Matthew 16:15-16, Peter confesses Jesus as “the Christ, the son of the living God.” Not only does Jesus not correct or rebuke Peter for saying this—indicating agreement with his statement—but Jesus goes on to say, “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (vs. 17).
4. Is Jesus truly God?
There are kind of two parts to this question: (1) did Jesus, himself, ever claim to be God, and (2) if he did, was he telling the truth?
The book of John starts by saying “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . .And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John is speaking of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Later, in John 10:30, John records Jesus himself saying that he and the Father are one, making him equal with God.
However, some skeptics don’t accept what John tells us in his gospel because it was written much later than all the other gospels. It was written seventy years after Jesus, meaning there was plenty of time for those who loved Jesus to create narratives about him that he never claimed of himself. The question, then, is whether Jesus ever claimed to be God in one of the earlier gospels?
Nabeel Qureshi, former Muslim turned Christian apologist, looked to Mark, the earliest gospel recorded, to see if Jesus ever claimed to be God. He found that in Mark 14:61, the high priest asked Jesus when he stood before the Sanhedrin, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus responded in verse 62 by saying, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
Qureshi tells us that in this one verse, Jesus is making allusions to Daniel 7 and Psalm 110. “Daniel gives a prophetic vision of one like a Son of Man who was worshiped for all eternity by men of every language. This son of Man was given authority and sovereign power over an everlasting kingdom. Psalm 110 speeks of another lord, someone who would sit on God’s throne alongside God and serve his heir.”[1]
Here in the earliest record of Jesus’ life, he not only claims to be God’s son, but he claims to be God also, one who will reign over all the earth. So then we are left with part two of this question: is he right?
Former homicide detective, J. Warner Wallace, wrote the book Cold Cast Christianity where he shares his journey of coming to faith in Christ by looking at all the evidence for Jesus as he would have looked at a “cold case.” He discusses this question further on his website. You can read various articles on the topic, here.
In short, he answers this question by saying, “If you believe what history tells us about Caesar (who was just a man), why wouldn’t you believe what history tells us about Jesus (who was described as God incarnate)?”
5. How can I know Jesus actually died?
There’s actually very little controversy over whether Jesus existed and died. Even non-Christian historians testify of the overwhelming historical evidence that Jesus existed, and that he died.
The bigger question is whether Jesus actually died on the cross. However, when you consider the flogging Jesus received before his crucifixion, and then the piercing of his side that happened during his crucifixion, there’s no way Jesus could have physically survived the cross.
I recommend the movie, The Case for Christ, as a fascinating drama account of journalist Lee Strobel researching the validity of Jesus’s death and resurrection. This movie interviews actual historians and scientists as it plays out Strobel’s journey. One of the most irrefutable historical facts about the life of Christ is that he indeed died on the cross.
6. How can I know Jesus actually rose from the dead?
Most scholars (75%) who study the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ acknowledge the fact that the tomb was empty three days after his death.[2]
Some reasons to believe the tomb was indeed empty include:
- The Christian movement was founded on the principle that Jesus had been raised from the dead.
- Jews believed in bodily resurrection and that the very body that died and was buried would be raised on the day of resurrection and transformed into an immortal body.
- The fact that the Jewish leaders believed the disciples had stolen the body—acknowledging that the tomb was indeed empty.[3]
But even beyond the admittance that the tomb was empty, we can be sure Jesus actually rose from the dead because of all the testimonies given about seeing him after the crucifixion. Not only did Jesus’ disciples testify to seeing him after the crucifixion, but some of Jesus’ foes testified of it as well.[4]
The early church was built upon the teaching that Jesus was risen. Furthermore, the disciples died for their belief that he was indeed alive and had ushered in a new era.
A movement doesn’t last as long as the Christian church has if it was founded on a lie. People aren’t willing to give up their lives for something they know isn’t actually true. Why would disciples say they saw Jesus and die for that testimony if in fact they never had seen him?
Because of these things, we can be sure Jesus truly died and rose again. If you would like an even more in-depth look at this topic, however, I recommend the following books:
- Cold Case Christianity
- The Case for Christ
- Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?
- More Than a Carpenter
- Jesus Among Other Gods
- Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus
7. What does it mean that Jesus is the “Messiah”?
In Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve are deceived by the serpent and have eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God tells them and the serpent what the consequences of their actions will be. When addressing the serpent, he says someone from the woman’s seed will come and crush his head.
In other words, a savior is coming who will free creation from the grip of this deceiver.
That’s what it means to be the “Messiah.” Jesus is our savior from the grip of the deceiver. Christ has crushed the serpent’s head by being the perfect sacrifice once for all. In the process, he laid down his life and was “bruised” for our iniquity.
Check out the Bible Project’s video on the Messiah for a further, more in-depth look at what Jesus being Messiah means.
8. What were the Jews expecting from a “Messiah” and how did Jesus match up to their expectations?
By the time Jesus showed up on the scene, there were five main perspectives within Jewish thought of how God would reestablish his kingdom on the earth.
The Maccabean revolt had already taken place. This was when Maccabees entered Jerusalem to shouts of “hosanna” and people waving palm branches. He cleansed the temple, removed the images of Greek gods, and rededicated the whole of the temple to the Lord.[5] In the end, however, Maccabees died and Israel was still under the oppression of the Roman empire.
This event worked to divide the Jewish religious community even further. The Pharisees believed the Kingdom of God would be brought about by complete separation from the ideas and practices of pagans through national reform in Israel and through radical obedience to the Torah. Once the nation of Israel was purified from paganism and living in obedience with the Torah again, the Messiah would come and restore Israel’s fortunes.
The Essenes agreed with the Pharisees that Israel needed to completely separate itself from pagan thought and practice, but instead of working within the system, as the Pharisees did, they chose complete withdrawal. Those who had assimilated would be lost. Those who withdrew and lived according to the Torah would be saved by God who would come to restore the fortunes of Israel.
The Sadducees and priests had drunken the cool aid of the Romans. They had resigned to the ways of the Roman empire. Their power and authority had been established because they collaborated with the Romans. Therefore, they had no desire to reform. Neither were they too anxious to see any Messiah.
The Zealots were people who made up a subculture within the nation of Israel who believed God would restore Israel by forceful overthrow of the Roman empire. Therefore, these people were prone to revolts and violent outbursts. As a result, the Romans would crush any band of rebels, crucify the “messiah,” and fiercely punish his followers.
The common people, most of the Jews, were just desperate and eagerly waiting for a day when God would return to redeem his people from their oppressors. They didn’t know when he would come or how he would redeem his people, but they would wait in hope.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for setting up rules the Torah didn’t even require. Jesus disappointed the Essenes because his ministry was very active and engaged in the greater culture of Israel, within the Roman world. He embarrassed the Sadducees by calling their bluff and angered the zealots because he refused to take up arms.
Jesus redeemed the nation of Israel. But he did so by fulfilling the Torah without adding things to it or taking anything from it, refusing to align himself with the powers of this world, yet also refusing to violently overthrow them.
Jesus was the Messiah few religious Jews saw coming.
For an even better understanding of Jewish thought concerning the Messiah and God restoring his kingdom, I recommend the following Bible Project Video: Gospel of the Kingdom.
9. How did Jesus change the story, or the trajectory, of history?
I’m not sure it is proper to say Jesus “changed” the story, as I believe this was God’s plan all along. But within God’s narrative, we see the trajectory of creation spirally further and further into chaos. We see God pursuing his people, calling them back to himself. But they continue to walk away.
Jesus comes face-to-face with humanity. He fulfills the law—making a way for us to know God. He sacrifices his life—freeing us from the grip of corruption. And he rises again—empowering us to live in alignment with God’s design while in the middle of a corrupted world.
10. Are the words of Jesus more important than the words of the apostles?
If the words of Jesus are more important than the words of the apostles, we need to take seriously Jesus’ words to the apostles when he said,
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. . . All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-15).
11. Why should I believe Jesus?
First of all, the stack of evidence for his validity far outweighs the stack of evidence against his validity—he’s believable!
Secondly, the Biblical narrative of Jesus is the most hopeful, beautiful story you will ever read of life and eternity—why wouldn’t you want to believe him?
Thirdly, if the Biblical narrative of Jesus is true, then without trusting him fully with our lives, we cannot experience the life and glory he promises.
12. What does it mean to “put my faith in” Jesus?
This is Christian lingo to accept Jesus as not only a historical figure, but the divine son of God who offers us grace through his life, death, and resurrection—without which we could not have everlasting life. When I trust Jesus as being who he says he is and doing for me what he says he did, I have “put my faith in” him.
13. Does Jesus “come into my heart” when I put my faith in him?
Again, this is Christian lingo for God giving us the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. That Spirit begins to completely transform our hearts, and it testifies to God that we are his children (Ro. 8:11, 16).
14. Is what we see of Jesus in the scriptures accurately representative of God?
Absolutely!
Hebrews 1:3 – “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
Colossians 1:15 – “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
John 5:19-23 – “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.”
15. Why do so few Christians act like Jesus?
“For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Ro. 8:22-23)
Reflecting Jesus through our lives because of deep oneness with the Father is the ultimate goal of Christianity (Ro 8:29). It is by God’s Spirit that we experience this oneness. Yet, even as we experience tastes of oneness with God through his Spirit, we still face the inner brokenness of our fleshly bodies.
Maintaining our gaze on Jesus is the trick, you could say (2 Co. 3:18). As we “behold the glory of the Lord,” we are “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”
What is sad is when people who claim Jesus (“Christians”) stop gazing on Jesus and instead gaze on the things of this world.
What are your thoughts as you read over these questions and responses? Do you have other questions that didn’t get addressed? Does this article raise some new questions you hadn’t thought of asking before? Feel free to share your thoughts, questions, or concerns in the comments below.
[1] Nabeel Qureshi, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014) p. 183
[2] Ibid., 164
[3] Ibid.
[4] Paul claimed that, not only had he seen the risen Christ, but that five hundred others had seen him also, and many were still alive when he made this public claim. “Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep” (1 Co. 15:6). What makes this so relevant is that this was written to Greeks who were skeptical of such claims when many of these witnesses were still alive. So it was a risky claim if it could be disproved by a little firsthand research. (Eight Reasons Why I Believe That Jesus Rose from the Dead)
[5] Craig G. Bartholomew & Michael W. Goheen, The Drama of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004) p. 120
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