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Chapter 7 Overview In the last chapter you reflected on how you would answer six questions with significant implications for your life of faith and your relationship with Jesus Christ, who is Emmanuel — God with us in the flesh. In this chapter, we will turn our attention to the bountiful evidence that supports this claim. We will begin with evidence from outside the Bible, and then turn to the evidence we can find from the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. In this chapter you will learn that … ■ A preponderance of evidence exists both in Scripture, specifically the Gospels, and in non-scriptural sources that support Jesus’ claim to be divine. ■ The preaching of the Apostolic Church is remarkably consistent in its central claims about Jesus contained in the kerygmas. ■ The New Testament accounts of Jesus’ life are trustworthy and persuasive. ■ Most scholars conclude from the evidence that something happened to Jesus’ body after His death that is attributable to a supernatural cause. ■ Accounts of near-death experiences correlate with certain details of Jesus’ Resurrection. Bible Basics For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. —1 Corinthians 15:3–8 [I]f Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ ... If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. — 1 Corinthians 15:14–17 Connections to the Catechism ■ CCC 445 ■ CCC 464–478 ■ CCC 638–655 © Sophia Institute for Teachers 125
Chapter 7 Follow the Evidence Thus far in this unit we have considered six questions whose answers have significant implications not only for our own lives of faith, but also the way we interact with the central and most foundational truth of our Faith: that Jesus Christ is the Son of God become man — Emmanuel (“God with us”). Now we turn our attention to the preponderance of evidence that exists supporting this claim. Since evidence from the Bible may be least likely to convince skeptics of Christianity, we will begin this chapter with what we know about Jesus from outside the New Testament. Historical Works Outside of the Gospels, there are three notable sources from the period — sources that were not interested in Christ as the Messiah, and even hostile to Him, but which mention Him in their own historical works. The Roman historian, Cornelius Tacitus In his Annals (ca. AD 105–120), while recounting how Nero blamed the Christians for the burning of Rome, Tacitus provides a non-Christian historical reference to Jesus. It states that Christus was executed by crucifixion at the hands of Pontius Pilate during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (a Jewish historian writing a history of the Jewish people for a Roman audience in approximately AD 93) provides the most impressive and detailed evidence for the historical Jesus outside Christian scripture. Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jewish People cites Jesus’ Crucifixion under Pontius Pilate, and refers to Jesus as wise, having authority, a teacher and a wonder-worker (miracle-worker). This reference to miracles is rare in Josephus’ history. John the Baptist, for example, receives a long description but without any mention of miracles. The fact that a Jewish historian writing for the Romans would mention not only Jesus’ execution by crucifixion, but also the positive attributes of His wisdom, authority, teaching, and miracle-working indicates how well-known Jesus’ reputation was for these attributes. 126 Apologetics I: The Catholic Faith and Science © Magis Center
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