Some say Jesus Christ never existed.

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Some say Jesus Christ never existed.

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Others claim he was not God. Still others denied his humanness. JESUS CHRIST IS A MAN OF HISTORY Many critics argue that the only record of Jesus Christ is the New ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Some say Jesus Christ never existed.

1
Some say Jesus Christ never existed.

Others claim he was not God.
Still others denied his humanness.

2
JESUS CHRIST IS A MAN OF HISTORY

Many critics argue that the only record of Jesus
Christ is the New Testament.
With this assumption they conclude He was a
mythical character, fabricated from the
imaginations of the Apostles.
However, several historians have made references
to Him.

3
Darkness at Jesus' crucifixion

The darkness at Jesus' crucifixion is described
as occurring from the sixth to the ninth hour (
noon to 300 pm). Luke 2344
Several gentile historians tried to explain the
darkness as an eclipse of the sun.
This could not have happened because the Jewish
calendar is lunar in its base.
Jesus died on Passover.
It was a full moon and the moon was on the other
side of the earth at the time.

4
The point here is not what cause the darkness.

What is important is that the gentile historians
in an attempt discredit the miraculous,
unwittingly documented the darkness and the
existence of Christ!

5
Flavius Josephus

Born in 37 A.D.
Jewish historian of the New Testament times.
Worked for the Roman's.
In Antiquities xviii33, he wrote of Jesus'.
existence.
In Antiquities xx91, he wrote of James, the
brother of Jesus.

6
In 120 A.D., Suetonius, a Roman historian, wrote
about Christians.

In 112 A.D. Plinius Secundus, known as Pliny the
Younger, Governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor.
He wrote to emperor Trajan asking if he should
continue killing Christians.
He was killing Christian men, women, and
children.
They refused to worship Trajan and curse Christ.
Christians were guilty of meeting on certain days
before light, singing songs to Christ as a God.
They bound themselves by an oath not to commit
any wicked deed such as fraud, theft, adultery,
lying, and never to deny a trust when called upon
to deliver it up.

7
Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th Edition, 1974.

20,000 words were devoted to Christ. This is more
words than devoted to Aristotle, Alexander,
Julius Caesar, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, or
Napoleon Bonaparte.
It states "These Independent accounts prove
that in ancient times even the opponents of
Christianity never doubted the historicity of
Jesus, which was disputed for the first time and
on inadequate grounds by several authors at the
end of the 18th, and during the 19th and at the
beginning of the 20th centuries."

8
JESUS CLAIMED TO BE GOD

Jesus made direct claims to be the Son of God.
No other recognized religious leader ever claimed
to be God including Moses, Paul, Buddha,
Mohammed, and Confucius.
Jesus is the only one to claim to be deity.
He was the only one able to convince a large
portion of the world that He is God!
His teachings were ultimate and final, over and
above Moses and the prophets.
He never added any afterthoughts or revisions to
his words. Jesus never retracted or changed His
teachings.
He never guessed, supposed, or spoke with
uncertainty.
These qualities are very unlike any other human
teachers or teachings.

9
During the trial of Jesus

He admitted to His accusers, under oath, that He
is and was the Son of God.

10
Matthew 2662 - 68

And the high priest arose, and said unto him,
Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these
witness against thee? But Jesus held his
peace. And the high priest answered and said unto
him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou
tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of
God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said
nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye
see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of
power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He
hath spoken blasphemy what further need have we
of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his
blasphemy.

Christ used the phrase "Thou hast said"
In another place he used the phrase "Ye say that
I am" Luke 2270
This sounds evasive to our modern ears.
However, "Ye say" is a Greek idiom for "yes".
Jewish courtesy forbid a direct "yes" to an
accusation with such grave consequences.
The reaction of the priest shows he clearly
understood Jesus to be claiming to be God.

12
Mark 1461-64

But he held his peace, and answered nothing.
Again the high priest asked him, and said unto
him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
And Jesus said, I am and ye shall see the
Son of man sitting on the right hand of power,
and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the
high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What
need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard
the blasphemy what think ye? And they all
condemned him to be guilty of death.

John 194-7 is another example where the Jews
believed Jesus' claim to be God as blasphemous.
Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto
them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye
may know that I find no fault in him. Then came
Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the
purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold
the man! When the chief priests therefore and
officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify
him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye
him, and crucify him for I find no fault in him.
The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our
law he ought to die, because he made himself the
Son of God.

14
CLAIMED TO BE EQUAL TO THE FATHER

In John 1030-33
I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took
up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered
them, Many good works have I shewed you from my
Father for which of those works do ye stone me?
The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work
we stone thee not but for blasphemy and because
that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Jesus claims "I and my Father are one".

The Jews wanted to stone him for being a man and
claiming to be God. They never stopped to
consider if His claims were true. They assumed
them to be false and therefore thought He
deserved death by stoning.
Jesus does not say "Wait! You misunderstood me.
What I meant was....". Instead, He confirmed His
statement.

16
Jesus referred to God as "My Father"

In John 517-18 But Jesus answered them, My
Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore
the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he
not only had broken the sabbath, but said also
that God was his Father, making himself equal
with God.
A Jew would not use this term without suffixing
it with "in heaven". He made a claim the Jews
could not misinterpret when referring to God as
"My Father"

17
CLAIMS TO BE THE GREAT "I AM"

In John 858 Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.
The "verily, verily" implies that what follows
is certain and should be interpreted as the
strongest possible meaning. It is clear that
Christ did not want to be misunderstood.

Jesus was clearly referring to Exodus 314 where
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM" and the Jews
clearly understood Him to be claiming to be the
great "I AM" i.e. God.
A mere prophet would have humbled himself and
said, "Thus saith the Lord".
The Old Testament law required the death penalty
for any human claiming to be God.
Their actions of trying to stone Jesus clearly
shows they believed Him to be a blasphemer.

19
Leviticus 2416 states the penalty of a
blasphemer.

And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD,
he shall surely be put to death, and all the
congregation shall certainly stone him as well
the stranger, as he that is born in the land,
when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall
be put to death.

20
He spoke to them in plain words

Words the Jews understood and He made no attempt
to clarify, retract or temper His claim in any
way. The Jews understood His words as He
intended.
Jews believed there to be only one God. God
speaking through Moses said in Deuteronomy 3239
said ... There is no god besides me.
Isaiah 4310 God said"... Before me no god was
formed, nor will there be one after me...."

21
JESUS CLAIMS TO BE EQUAL TO GOD THE FATHER

The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we
stone thee not but for blasphemy and because
that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your
law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them
gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the
scripture cannot be broken Say ye of him, whom
the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the
world, Thou blasphemest because I said, I am the
Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father,
believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe
not me, believe the works that ye may know, and
believe, that the Father is in me, and I in
him.John 1033-38

22
JESUS DESERVES THE SAME HONOR AS GOD

That all men should honour the Son, even as
they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the
Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth
my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation but is passed from death unto life.
John 523
Christ said, "That all men should honor the Son,
even as they honor the Father...."
Jesus told the Jews that by insulting Him, they
are actually insulting God. It is God who is
outraged by their bad treatment of Jesus.

23
To know Jesus is to know the Father

- John 819 Then said they unto him, Where is
thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me,
nor my Father if ye had known me, ye should have
known my Father also.
John 149 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so
long time with you, and yet hast thou not known
me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the
Father and how sayest thou then, shew us the
Father?

24
Jesus made Himself an object of faith

Christ instructed his disciples to believe in Him
as they believe in God
He made Himself an object of faith.
In John 141 and following, Christ clearly states
that their eternal future depended on Him and His
work. He promised to prepare a place for them and
return to claim them.
He never hesitated, apologized, or contradicted
Himself. He never recanted or modified anything
He said. He spoke God's word as God would speak
to them.
Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will passaway but
My words will not passaway." Mark 1331

25
PEOPLE WORSHIPED JESUS AND HE ACCEPTED IT
26
A Leper worshiped Him

And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped
him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make
me clean. Matt 82

27
Jesus healed a blind man and he fell down and
worshiped Him.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out and when
he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou
believe on the Son of God?He answered and said,
Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen
him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And
he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
John 935-39

28
The disciples worshiped Him

Then they that were in the ship came and
worshipped him, saying, of a truth thou art the
Son of God. Matt. 1433

29
Thomas worshiped Him and believed him to be God.

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger,
and behold my hands and reach hither thy hand,
and thrust it into my side and be not faithless,
but believing. And Thomas answered and said
unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto
him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast
believed blessed are they that have not seen,
and yet have believed. John 2027-29

30
Jesus instructed Thomas to put his finger into
His wounds

So that he might believe.
Thomas' response was "My Lord and my God!".
Jesus added that Thomas believed because he saw.
Those that have not seen and still believe are
blessed.
He rebuked Thomas for his unbelief, NOT his
worship of Jesus.

31
LESSER BEINGS REFUSED TO RECEIVE WORSHIP

And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him,
and fell down at his feet, and worshiped him.
But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up I myself
also am a man. Acts 1025-26
John attempts to worships and angle . And I
fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto
me, See thou do it not I am thy fellowservant,
and of thy brethren that have the testimony of
Jesus worship God for the testimony of Jesus is
the spirit of prophecy. Rev 1910

32
OTHER SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

Paul said in Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name That at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of things in heaven, and things in
earth, and things under the earth And that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Phil 29-11
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ Titus 213

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,
Simon Barjona for flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in
heaven. Matthew 1615-17
Jesus blessed Peter instead of rebuking him as
Jesus always did when confronted with error.

Peter states, "Therefore let all Israel be
assured of this God has made this Jesus, whom
you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Acts 236

35
Paul called Jesus God

"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is
for ever and ever a sceptre of righteousness is
the sceptre of thy kingdom. Hebrews 18
This is an obvious reference to Psalm 456
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever the
sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre
The Son is called God i.e. Jesus Christ is
called God!
Paul believed Jesus to be God!

36
Stephen's prayer to Jesus

And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and
saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Acts 759
Stephen believed Jesus to be Deity!

37
Jesus addressed God as Abba

Means "father", more correctly "daddy" or some
other close, intimate, affectionate name.
No one before Jesus addressed God in this
manner.
Not even David used this term. The closest David
came was "... like as a father ..."
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the
LORD pitieth them that fear him. Psalms 10313

38
He claimed to be able to forgive sins

When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the
sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee
. Mark 25
When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the
sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven
thee. Luke 748
According to Jewish law only God could forgive
sins.

39
Jesus claimed to BE the way, the truth, and the
life.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth,
and the life no man cometh unto the Father, but
by me. John 146
He did not say He knew, or taught the way. He did
not show the way. He IS the Way!

40
Jesus is Life

And this is the record, that God hath given to us
eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He
that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not
the Son of God hath not life. I John 511,12

41
Jesus has all authority

And hath given him authority to execute judgment
also, because he is the Son of man. John 527
These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory,
and spake of him. John 1241
Christ is described as the one seen by Isaiah
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the
Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up,
and his train filled the temple. Isaiah 61

42
Holy Trinity

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus Who, being in the form of God, thought it
not robbery to be equal with God Phil 25-6
For there are three that bear record in heaven,
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost and
these three are one. 1 John 57

43
OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT COMPARISONS
44
(No Transcript)
45
Jesus Claimed to be God

" A man who can read the New Testament and not
see that Christ claims to be more than a man, can
look all over the sky at high noon on a clear day
and not see the sun."William Biederwolf

46
JESUS' MORAL INTEGRITY HAS NEVER BEEN SERIOUSLY
QUESTION BY CRITICS

J.S. Mill, a skeptic and opponent of
Christianity, wrote
"About the life and sayings of Jesus there is a
stamp of personal originality combined with
profundity of insight in the very first rank of
men of sublime genius of whom our species can
boast. When this pre-eminent genius is combined
with the qualities of probability the greatest
moral reformer and martyr to that mission who
ever existed upon the earth, religion cannot be
said to have made a bad choice in pitching upon
this man as an ideal representative and guide of
humanity nor even now would it be easy, even for
an unbeliever, to find a better translation of
the rule of virtue from the abstract into the
concrete than to endeavor to live so that Christ
would approve of our life."

William Lecky, a noted British historian and
hostile to Christianity, wrote in "History of
European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne"
"It is reserved for Christianity to present to
the world an ideal character which through all
the changes of eighteen centuries has inspired
the hearts of men with an impassioned love has
shown itself capable of acting on all ages,
nations, temperaments and conditions has been
not only the highest pattern of virtue, but the
strongest incentive to its practice.... The
simple record of these three short years of
active life has done more to regenerate and
soften mankind than all the disquisitions of
philosophers and all the exhortations of
moralists."

48
Napoleon once said

"I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is
not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblances
between Christ and the founders of empires, and
the gods of other religions. That resemblance
does not exist. There is between Christianity and
whatever other religions a distance of
infinity.... Everything in Christ astonishes me.
His spirit overawes me, and His will confounds
me. Between Him and whoever else in the world ,
there is no possible term of comparison. He is
truly a being by Himself. His ideas and
sentiments, the truth which He announces, His
manner of convincing, are not explained either by
human organization or by the nature of things....

The nearer I approach, the more carefully I
examine, everything is above me - everything
remains grand, of a grandeur which overpowers.
His religion is a revelation from an intelligence
which is certainly is not that of man.... One can
absolutely find nowhere , but in Him alone, the
imitation or the example of His life.... I search
in vain in history to find the similar to Jesus
Christ, or anything which can approach the
Gospel. Neither history, nor humanity, nor the
ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I
am able to compare it or to explain it. Here
everything is extraordinary."

50
OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE THAT JESUS IS LORD

In conclusion, some may reject Christ on moral
issues. When one accepts Jesus as their personal
Savior, the sin in their life becomes repugnant
to them and they must turn from their wickedness
or turn away from Christ. Those unwilling to give
up a sinful life style will choose to accept
arguments to reject Him without regard to the
true facts.

51
Jesus Christ was human

Jesus could have called Himself the Son of God,
instead most often He preferred to Identify with
His humaity by calling Himself the Son of Man
thorough out the Gospels

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
truth. John 114
And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the
angels of God ascending and descending upon the
Son of man. John 114,51

53
1 Corinthians 1521,47

21 For since by man came death, by man came
also the resurrection of the dead.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy the
second man is the Lord from heaven.

54
Romans 13

Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which
was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh

55
1 Timothy 25

For there is one God, and one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus

56
1 Timothy 316

And without controversy great is the mystery of
godliness God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached
unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world,
received up into glory.

57
1 John 42-3

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God Every spirit
that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the
flesh is of God
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh is not of God and
this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye
have heard that it should come and even now
already is it in the world.

58
2 John 17