John 18:37-38
What is Truth
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate.
John 14:6
I AM Truth
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 8:31-32
The Truth Shall Set You Free
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
As Paul Writes Most of Whom Are Still Living Who Saw Him After His Resurrection
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Luke 1:1-4
Introduction to Luke
1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
Acts 4:8-22
Peter and John Lead the Way Right After Jesus' Death
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is
“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
When Jesus stood up two thousand years ago and spoke, He got people's attention...He stood up and said He is Truth...He said He came into this world to testify to the Truth...And if we follow Him, then this Truth shall set us free...These things He said about Truth (and many other things He taught) are different from the way any other man has ever taught...He as a different Teacher...Today, still no one teaches as He did...
Some people think the four gospels are myth and Jesus was a myth and has become a legend...And His story lives on two thousand years later, only out of a legend...The gospels were written, as I read them, and in my opinion as eyewitness accounts of a Man who did some extra-remarkable things...He healed people, He did other miracles, and He was completely focused on God...He was Divine...God sent Jesus to dwell among us so that He would be a testimony to God, knowing that man is marred by sin...
Josephus was a historian and writer in the first century and knew and heard of Jesus...His book The Antiquities of the Jews was written 93-94 a.d. around the same time John wrote the Gospel According to John...Josephus a historian wrote these words about Jesus not to many years after Jesus' death...He was not a follower of Jesus, but he did write about Him...Josephus wrote: "At this time there appeared Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one should call him a man...For He was a doer of startling deeds, a Teacher of people who receive the truth with pleasure...And He gained a following both among many Jews and among many of Greek origin...He was the Messiah. And when Pilate, because of an accusation made by the leading men among us, condemned Him to the cross, those who had loved Him previously did not cease to do so...For He appeared to them on the third day, living again, just as the divine prophets had spoken of these and countless other wondrous things about Him...And up until this very day the tribe of Christians, named after Him, has not died out."...
Josephus also wrote about James, the half brother of Jesus, and an early leader in the Christian Church after Jesus passed away and then rose again...Josephus said this about James: "And now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus into Judea, as procurator...But the king deprived Joseph of the high priesthood, and bestowed the succession to that dignity on the son of Ananus, who was also himself called Ananus...Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned."...
Josephus also wrote about John the Baptist...And Josephus wrote this about John the Baptist: "Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man...Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion...Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death."...
Another Romans Historian was named Tacitus...Tacitus was also a Roman Senator...He referred to Jesus in his writings called Annals, which were completed in 116 a.d....In his writings Tacitus writes that governor Pilate executed Christ and also writes about early Christian persecutions by Nero...
Pliny the Younger also wrote about Jesus...Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome...Pliny the Younger also wrote about the persecutions of Jesus followers, after Jesus death and resurrection...
All the Four Gospels have reference points that could be checked, such as people, places, the miracles, and things could have been cross-referenced by the early readers...The author Luke of the Gospel According to Luke wanted, it seems to me, to do his best to prove that Jesus was not a myth or Legend...Luke goes out of his way to tell us that he carefully investigated everything he can about Jesus from the beginning, and writes an orderly account of what he has found, so that Theophilus and his readers may know the certainty of the things that have been taught...And when Luke was investigating these truths and facts, he often uses events, places, and people as reference points for us so we can check his writings...He writes about the Caesar Augustus and his census...He writes about Pilate...Luke writes that Quirinius was governor of Syria...And Luke has many more...All these things can be verified by the early reader of his Gospel...All his references could have been checked by the early readers, and if they were lies, why could anyone have believed his Gospel and how would have gotten through the canonization process to be included in the New Testament...
And Mark's gospel was written probably around 50 a.d. which was shortly after Jesus' death which would mean that many people were alive and would have seen and known Jesus...So the Gospel of Mark would have been subject to scrutiny by Jesus' followers...And if there were lies in his Gospel, it would have lost credibility and Jesus would have have lost followers...The same can be said for Matthew and John, and their Gospels...These authors would have went out of the way to talk about their Teacher in a Truthful way, because He is Truth...They would not want to talk about Jesus in an untruthful way or in a way not truthful...In fact, the Book of John, seems to put much emphasis on telling us that Jesus is the honest to goodness Truth of the universe...How could one have wrote about Truth, while believing He was a lie or a myth?...And again how could these Gospels have gotten through the canonization process and made it into the New Testament?...
And St. Paul, who wrote thirteen epistles, after Jesus' resurrection, even tells us that people are still alive that have met Jesus...Paul was originally against Jesus and His Ways...So these books could have been checked by personal people who attended and were fed by the miracles of Jesus feeding the five thousand...The literary writing is written in a way myth is not...For example, Luke writes after Jesus' death and resurrection that He ate broiled fish...And the women are the first to see Jesus after His death...Women cannot testify in court, yet they are the first to see Him...Incredible witnesses for an Incredible Man...
And before these Gospels and St. Paul's letters were canonized, the persecution of the early Christians was very common...Why would so many people die for a legend, before the religious authorities made these Gospels part of the Bible?...The people who knew Jesus, and followed Him, did not need a ceremony to know the Truth...He was and is the Truth, and His immediate followers knew that and taught that...They would not be dying for a myth, they would be dying for a Divine Man...They would die for One of Truth...
C. S. Lewis says this about Jesus and Him being a myth..."I have been reading poems, romances, vision literature, legends, and myths all my life...I know what they are like...I know none of them are like this...Of this text, there are only two possible views...either this is reportage...or else, someone unknown writer...without known predecessors or successors, suddenly anticipated the whole technique of modern novelistic, realistic narrative...The reader who doesn't see this has simply not learned how to read."...I use Lewis as the example, because when one is looking for someone who knew much about myths and a myth's authorship, who better to turn to than him...
The history of Jesus is important to all His followers for the past two thousand years...The people reading the first manuscripts of the four gospels could have called these books lies and myths if they were -many were there and knew Jesus...And the Twelve most important men that people went on to read these manuscripts were the Twelve original disciples (which now included Matthias -Luke 1:23-26)...The literary style and the way the four gospels are written are detailed in a such a way legend is not...The books feel and seem sacred and holy, and are about a Holy Man...One who, is in fact, Divine...The Gospel of St. John, for me even, stands out as a Sacred Book on Truth...And St. John, as well as his brother St. James were fishermen...So were the Disciples and brothers St. Peter and St. Andrew...How could four fisherman, a tax collector, and the other uneducated disciples and non-writers write the most incredible books in the history of mankind...How could this particular group of Disciples have the writing skills to turn myth into non-fiction?...How could these men, who were not authors, turn a myth into the Truth of the world?...It is because the Man they met completely overwhelmed them and inspired them...He is Truth...He was someone they would always remember, and they could never forget...He was someone they would want to tell everyone about...It is because He is real, and Someone, no one could have just made up -then or today...
When one looks back in history and people who have impacted the world the most, whom do you see as the center of mankind's history...I believe Jesus is the center of not only our history, but the center of the universe...Jesus, I believe, is the most influential and unique Person in the history of mankind and the world...