Prelude to Historicity

It will seem unimaginable to many, but there are some who refuse to believe that Jesus Christ ever existed. Concerning this mindset, F.F. Bruce Rylands, professor of biblical criticism and exegesis at the University of Manchester, weighs in with the following:

Some writers may toy with the fancy of a “Christ-myth,” but they do not do so on the ground of historical evidence. The historicity of Christ is as axiomatic for an unbiased historian as the historicity of Julius Caesar. It is not historians who propagate the "Christ-myth" theories.

[End of quote]

This is the last session in the proof pattern and the questions posed by many are, “Was there really a Christ? Did Jesus Christ really live? Did Jesus Christ walk the Earth? Was it recorded by men in that day that He resurrected from the dead - is there a record? Is there a trail of history that would suggest or prove there actually was a Jesus Christ?”

This is titled “The Historicity of Jesus Christ.” There is more history that Jesus Christ walked the face of the earth than there is that George Washington lived. Nobody has a problem believing in George Washington, but some have problems believing that there was a Christ. Actually, there is more history that Jesus Christ lived than you or I could muster-up to prove our own existence.

In the days of Jesus Christ, the Jewish hierarchy had the most to gain by denying His existence, but they did not. Their official position was that Jesus Christ was a bastard (fatherless child) and a sorcerer. He was labeled a bastard because if indeed He was born of a virgin as prophesied by Isaiah 7:14, then He must indeed be the very Messiah. He was also called a sorcerer, otherwise the phenomenal miracles He performed would mean the very endorsement and validation of God.

This section of GodSaidManSaid will review various ancient historic archives. Jesus Christ was and is the Lord of Glory.

References

Authorized King James Version

Rylands, F.F.

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