Rachel’s Reviews > Finding the Real Jesus: A Guide for Curious Christians and Skeptical Seekers > Status Update

his disciples believed
he rose and appeared to them; the conversion of
the church persecutor Paul; the conversion of the
skeptie James, who was Jesus half-brother; and
Jesus empty tomb.? The best explanation for these
facis is that Jesus did, indeed, conquer the grave.

The Deceased Jesus? No, a persuasive case for
Jesus rising from the dead can be made by using
five facts that are well-evidenced and which
the vast majority of today's scholars on the sub-
ject - including skeptics--accept as true: Jesus
was killed by crucifixion;

The Uncrucified Jesus? No, the historical evi-
dence-
- both in the New Testament and in sources
outside the Bible- clearly confirms that Jesus was
dead when he was taken down from the cross. The
Quran's claim that Jesus wasn't executed simply
lacks historical credibility.

The Failed Jesus? No, Jesus succeeded in fulfill-
ing all of the messianic prophecies that had to have
been accomplished prior to the fall of the Jewish temple in AD TO. Consequently, if Jesus isn't the
predicted Messiah, then there will never be one.
What's more, his fulfillment of these time-sensitive
prophecies makes it rational to conclude that he
will fulfill the final ones when the time is right.

Only about
one percent of the manuscript variants affect the
meaning of the text to any degree, and not a single
cardinal doctrine is at stake. Actually, the unri-
valed wealth of New Testament manuscripts greatly
enhances the credibility of the Bible's portrayal of
Jesus.

8 The Gnostic
depiction of Jesus as a revealer of hidden knowl-
edge- including the teaching that we all possess
the divine light that he embodied--lacks any con-
nection to the historical Jesus.

The Misquoted Jesus? No, there are no new disclo-
sures that have cast any doubt on the essential reli-
ability of the text of the New Testament.

The Gnostic Jesus? No, the mystical texts touted
in liberal circles are too late to be historically
credible --for instance, the Gospel of Thomas was
written after AD 175 and probably closer to 200.
According to eminent New Testament scholar I.
Howard Marshall of the University of Aberdeen,
the Thomas gospel has
"'no significant new light
to shed on the historical Jesus."

At the cross, the love and justice of God were mutually satisfied, making it possible for us to be reconciled to the Almighty. Love wanted to redeem us, but Justice demanded that we pay first sin, which for sinners is impossible. This God chose to take the initiative and satisfy his own dominance. Crucifixion of Jesus was God‘s finest hour so far as we sinners are concerned.

Islamic catch 22

If Jesus did not die a violent death, then that makes him a false prophet. But the Quran says that he’s a great prophet, and so the Quran would be wrong and that’s discredited. On the other hand, if Jesus did die a violent and eminent death as he predicted, then he is indeed a great profit - but this contradicts the Quran which said he didn’t die on the cross. So either way it’s discredited.

Yes you are, as the great high priest, prays for us and then literally carries our sins on his shoulders as Peter expresses – “he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.” He takes guilt, punishment, and the suffering that we all deserve, and bears them himself.


The terms second coming and Trinity are not used in the Hebrew Scriptures. The resurrection isn’t going to happen unless God does it.