Ask Your Preacher
Is Jesus Divine?
Friday, September 06, 2019It's a fact that Jesus did exist, but other than the Bible, how can anyone prove that He really is the Son Of God and not the son of a Roman soldier named Pantera, and how can anyone prove that He really did have divine powers such as healing the sick… and not doing magic activities or any other occult acts?
Sincerely,
Corroborative Evidence
Dear Corroborative Evidence,
The differences are in the details – the story of Jesus’ life has lots of them. History has lots of myths and fables of people performing otherworldly deeds, but when someone tells a myth, it never has specific details, and it never can be corroborated. Jesus’ life is exactly the opposite.
- We know exactly when He was born and in what city (Lk 2:1-4).
- We know His exact name and family lineage (Matt 1:1-17).
- We know how He died, where He died (Jhn 19:17), and where He was buried (Mk 15:43).
- There were eyewitnesses to the empty tomb (Mk 16:3-5).
- There were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Jesus (1 Cor 15:4-8).
Jesus was attested to by His followers and secular writers like Josephus and Tacitus. There is a clear and accurate historical record of Jesus’ life that was written within a generation of His lifetime and was undisputed by those most capable of presenting evidence against His resurrection. Early Christianity flourished because of Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and the ready and available evidence to corroborate the story. It is important to remember that Jesus’ followers died for their belief that He was raised from the dead and that the message of Jesus’ resurrection spread in the very same city where He was crucified. If they hadn’t really seen an empty tomb and a risen Jesus, the apostles would never have given their lives for the cause of Christ, and Christianity’s enemies would have quickly produced His dead body to refute the story of a risen Jesus. Unlike myths and fairy tales, Jesus’ life is detailed, documented, and corroborated by the historians and contemporaries of His day. For a more in-depth study on extra-biblical evidence for Jesus, we recommend reading The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel. SB