Claims Evidence

Background

My article, The Case for Christ, was condensed from my original research for readability, but the additional information is important. Therefore, I created several pieces so that I could share the extra content with readers. This is one of those articles. Click the link above to see the original post on The Case for Christ.

Note: The following information fills out the content from the various sections in the original paper to give a more complete case. I have not repeated the content, except in limited amounts, unless it was necessary for understanding.

Introduction

Next, we will look at the evidence supporting Jesus’ claims, which are in three categories: 1) His fulfillment of messianic prophecy; 2) His miraculous and sinless life; and, 3) His resurrection from the dead. This paper looks at the first two categories. The third category is covered in my article Jesus’ Resurrection from the Dead.

His fulfillment of Messianic Prophecy

Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, many prophecies were written about Him and recorded in the Old Testament (OT). “Even the most liberal critic of the OT admits to the completion of the prophetic books by some four hundred years before Christ. When there are dozens of these prophecies converging in the lifetime of one man, it becomes nothing less than miraculous.”1 Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled these prophecies as one of the lines of evidence to prove that He is the Son of God (Lord) and Son of Man (Savior). Some of these are:2

  1. The Christ (Messiah) will be born of a woman (Genesis 3:15).
  2. He will be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14).
  3. He will be of the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 22:18).
  4. He will be of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; Luke 3:23, 33).
  5. He will be of the House of David (2 Samuel 7:12; Matthew 1:1).
  6. His birthplace will be Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1).
  7. He will be anointed by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; Matthew 3:16-17).
  8. He will be heralded by a messenger of God (Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:1-2).
  9. He will perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 9:35).
  10. He will cleanse the temple (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 21:12).
  11. He will be rejected by His own people (Psalm 118:22; 1 Peter 2:7).
  12. He will die a humiliating death (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53; Matthew 27), involving:
    1. Rejection by Israel (Isaiah 53:3; John 1:10-11; 7:5, 48).
    2. Silence before His accusers (Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 27:12-19).
    3. Humiliation-being mocked (Psalm 22:7-8; Matthew 27:31).
    4. Piercing of His hands and feet (Psalm 22:16; John 20:25).
    5. Being crucified with thieves (Isaiah 53:12; Luke 23:33).
    6. Praying for His persecutors (Isaiah 53:12; Luke 23:34).
    7. Piercing of His side (Zechariah 12:10; John 19:34).
    8. Burial in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57-60).
    9. Casting lots for His garments (Psalm 22:18; John 19:23-24).
  13. He will rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10; Mark 16:6; Acts 2:31).
  14. He will ascend into heaven (Psalm 68:18; Acts 1:9).
  15. He will sit at the right hand of God (Psalm 110:1; Hebrews 1:3).

All these and many more prophecies (nearly two hundred!) were fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who claimed to be the Jewish Messiah, “the Christ, the Son of God” (Matthew 26:63-64). In fact, He claimed to be the central theme of the entire OT, saying to two of His disciples, “ ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself” (Luke 24:25-27, emphasis added).

His Miraculous and Sinless Life

“Simply living a sinless life, as difficult as that would be, wouldn’t necessarily prove someone to be God. However, if someone both claims to be God and offers a sinless life as evidence, it is an entirely different matter.”3 Those who knew Him best, who lived with Him for several years, offered outstanding testimonies. Here are just a few:

  • Peter- “A lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:19)
  • Peter- “No deceit was found in His mouth.” (1 Peter 2:22)
  • Paul- “[Jesus] knew no sin.” (Corinthians 5:21)
  • John- “He is pure.” (1 John 3:3)
  • Jesus- “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (He directed this question to those looking for a reason to convict Him.) (John 8:46)4

When John the Baptist sent an inquiry to find out if Jesus was truly the Messiah, Jesus offered His miracles as evidence, saying, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up” (Matthew 11:4-5). This report to John confirmed to him that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. Here are some additional miracles performed by Jesus:

  • He turned water into wine (John 2:7);
  • He walked on water (Matthew 14:25);
  • He multiplied bread (John 6:11);
  • He opened the eyes of the blind (John 9:7);
  • He made the lame walk (Mark 2:3);
  • He cast out demons (Mark 1:34);
  • He healed the multitudes of all kinds of sickness (Matthew 9:35);
  • He raised the dead to life (John 11:43-44);
  • He knew what men were thinking in their hearts (John 2:25).

I listed a small sampling of the miracles, spotless character, and deeds of Jesus, and would bring to your attention the observation given by the apostle John. He says, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books which were written.” (John 21:25) You might think that John is using hyperbole, but I submit to you that because Jesus was fully Man and fully God, -and God being infinite- how many books could be written about an infinite God?!

Miraculous Life Conclusion

In addition to that stated above, the Jews of Jesus’ day knew that if someone came to them performing miracles, it was a sign that the person was from God and verified the legitimacy of the person’s ministry. The Jews freely acknowledged that Jesus performed amazing signs and wonders among them. As Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, states in John 3:2, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Even though the Jewish religious leadership knew this about Jesus, many of them rejected Him as their Messiah. They would qualify as reluctant witnesses as I talked about earlier -they were antagonistic to the message and the messenger, but from them we get confirmation of the miraculous deeds of Jesus.

1 Norman Geisler & Peter Bocchino, Unshakable Foundations (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2001), 302

2 This section is based on the work by Norman Geisler, Christian Apologetics (Baker, 1988), 339-51

3 Geisler & Bocchino, 303

4 Geisler & Bocchino, 304. Italics in the original.