On Jesus

On Jesus

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.”
I am not a great scholar by any means. I am a simple follower of Christ.
I know there are many people out there who deny there is a God and claim Jesus is a myth.
Still no credible historian today denies that Jesus walked the earth. Quite the contrary more and more archeology is slowly starting to prove more and more how accurate the gospels are.
Sir William Ramsay one of the greatest Archaeologist of the first half of the twentieth century was a liberal who tried to refute to validity of the gospel of Luke. Ramsay however became persuaded that Luke was a scholar of the first order.
He was so convinced that he became an evangelist making arguments for the teachings of Christ based on his readings of the Gospel and his archaeological findings.
Another reputable archaeologist Stephen Neil notes the point that Luke get's all of the titles correct in Acts, all the minor officials in every little localities, even titles which were thought previously to have been wrong archaeology has proven Luke right.
Those who deny that Christ existed are not objective. They are not looking at the evidence that is slowly accumulating from outside the bible by reputable historians and archaeologist both Christian and non-Christian.
Those same people who deny that Jesus existed would not deny Alexander the great existed yet the first records we have for Alexander was 300 years after he died.
It wasn’t until 1961 that archaeologist discovered Pontius Pilate’s name inscribed on block referring to him as prefect of Judea.
In 1990 that an ossuary (bone box) was discovered and has been authenticated with the name of Caiphas the name of the high priest was discovered.
World historian Will Durant notes that no Jew or Gentile from the first-century ever denied the existence of Jesus.
Here’s another statistic,
Within 150 years of Christ’s death there were the same number of secular writers who mention both Tiberius and Jesus.
 Thirty-six thousand complete and partial writings about Jesus have been discovered from the first century.
These are works from outside the bible, but from them you can reconstruct almost the entire new testament.
Such works are within living memory of Jesus which shows he existed.
Throughout history however there have be doubters the difference today is that those doubters have a high tech soap box to stand on.
There is one thing I am certain of in all of this. If I am right, which I am convinced I am, and Jesus and God truly exist, then I have no fears. For I will one day stand before Christ and meet him as my Lord and Saviour. If I am wrong I have lived a good moral and happy life.
To those who would doubt the existence of God and Jesus I would say if you are right you have nothing to fear.
But if you are wrong you have a big surprise coming and will one day prove right the words of Jesus who said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 
John 3:16-18
Think about it.