Can you believe the New Testament?
The External Evidence Test, part 1
A. Written evidence
Intro: Reference about the New Testament writers
Many references are made about Jesus and the early
Christians. Do these references corroborate what is written
in the New Testament or do they contradict it? Let us
discover this together.
i. Christian Evidence
a. The Apostolic Fathers
The church fathers, the earliest Christian writers after the
New Testament, wrote a lot about Jesus and the Christians.
They never questioned the authorship of the New Testament
books. Why would they? Mark and Luke were not even apostles,
and Matthew used to be a hated tax collector! Apocryphal
gospels, written many centuries later, chose well-known
names to be the authors of these fictitious writings, names
like Mary, Peter and James. The only well-known name is the
gospel written by the apostle John (the only disciple
present at Jesus' crucifixion!). But even his authorship is
not even questioned.
Let us read what the early church fathers had to say about
the authorship of the New Testament books. We will limit all
quotes from the apostolic fathers, as to quote them all
would take volumes and they all basically say the same
thing.
" For Matthew, who had at first preached to the Hebrews,
when he was about to go to other peoples, committed his
Gospel to writing in his native tongue, and thus compensated
those whom he was obliged to leave for the loss of his
presence. And when Mark and Luke had already published their
Gospels, they say that John, who had employed all his time
in proclaiming the Gospel orally, finally proceeded to write
for the following reason. The three Gospels already
mentioned having come into the hands of all and into his own
too, they say that he accepted them and bore witness to
their truthfulness; but that there was lacking in them an
account of the deeds done by Christ at the beginning of his
ministry." Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, III, chapter
XXIV.
"Matthew put together the oracles [of the Lord] in the
Hebrew language." Papias, Fragments of Papias, VI.
"That Paul preached to the Gentiles and laid the foundations
of the churches "from Jerusalem round about even unto
Illyricum," is evident both from his own words, and from
theaccount which Luke has given in the Acts. And in how many
provinces Peter preached Christ and taught the doctrine of
the new covenant to those of the circumcision is clear from
his own words in his epistle already mentioned as
undisputed, in which he writes to the Hebrews of the
dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia." Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, III, chapter
IV.
"So firm is the ground upon which these Gospels rest, that
the very heretics themselves bear witness to them, and,
starting from these [documents], each one of them endeavours
to establish his own peculiar doctrine." Irenaeus, Against
Heresies, Volume III, Chapter XI.
"Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews3 in
their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at
Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church. After their
departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did
also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by
Peter. Luke also, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book
the Gospel preached by him. Afterwards, John, the disciple
of the Lord, who also had leaned upon His breast, did
himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in
Asia." Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Volume III, Chapter I.
The church Fathers also validated the writings of the New
Testament, as confirmed by the following quote from
Ignatius. Jesus indeed came with the sole purpose to bring
us salvation.
"Jesus Christ, who was descended from David, and was also of
Mary; who was truly born, and did eat and drink. He was
truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate; He was truly
crucified, and [truly] died, in the sight of beings in
heaven, and on earth, and under the earth. He was also truly
raised from the dead, His Father quickening Him, even as
after the same manner His Father will so raise up us who
believe in Him by Christ Jesus, apart from whom we do not
possess the true life." Ignatius, The Epistle of Ignatius to
the Trallians, Chapter IX.
Question: Was there any question about the validity
of the authorship of the New Testament books among the
apostolic church fathers?
Your answer:
ii. Non-Christian Evidence
b. Jospehus
Jospehus, a renown Jewish historian from the first century,
wrote books like "Wars" and the "Antquities of the Jews". He
worked under Roman authority and took great care not to
offend the Romans. His writing about the Jewish wars proved
highly accurate and was corrobated by Tacitus and
archaeological excavations at Masada. He wrote concerning
the following New Testament topics:
· James
"He assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before
them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name
was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions];
and when he had formed an accusation against them as
breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned."
Antiquities of the Jews, book XX, Chapter 9.1
Jospehus confirms that Jesus was a real person. He was
called the "Christ" and had a brother James who died a
martyr's death under the hands of the high priest Albinus.
· 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, and
commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to
righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God,
and so to come to baptism." Antiquities of the Jews, book
XVIII, Chapter 5.2
This confirms John the Baptist's existence and his role of
encouraging Jews to repent and be baptized. He died a
martyr's death under Herod's hands.
· Jesus
"Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be
lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful
works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with
pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many
of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at
the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had
condemned him to the cross, (9) those that loved him at the
first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive
again the third day; (10) as the divine prophets had
foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things
concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from
him, are not extinct at this day." Antiquities of the Jews,
book XVIII, Chapter 3.3.
There are some controversies about this text. However this
text was quoted as is by Eusebius (325 A.D.) in
Ecclesiastical History, 1.11. It also exists in all the
existing copies of this text. Some considered this an
interpolation, since they think it is unbelievable that a
Jew would acknowledge Jesus to be the Messiah and fulfilling
Old Testament prophecies. Others consider this quote as a
mockery concerning Christian' beliefs.
In any case, Josephus acknowledged the existence of Jesus
and that he did marvelous work among the crowds, attracting
both Jews and gentiles. He was condemned by Pilate to die on
the cross. Christians, named after him, thrived and believed
he was resurrected.
c. Tacitus
Tacitus was a first-century Roman and is considered as one
of the most accurate historians of that time period. Giving
account about the fire of Rome, he wrote:
"Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the
guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class
hated for their abominations, called Christians by the
populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin,
suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at
the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a
most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment,
again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the
evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and
shameful from every part of the world find their centre and
become popular." The Annals, book XV 44.
Tacitus confirmed as well that Christians were named after
Jesus and that they were spreading even up to Rome. Tacitus
declares as well that Jesus died under the hands of Pontius
Pilate. The "mischievous superstition" probably refers to
Jesus' resurrection.
d. Pliny the Younger
He was a Roman writer and an administrator. He describes the
early Christian worship practices in a letter to the Emperor
Trajan.
"They (the Christians) asserted, however, that the sum and
substance of their fault or error had been that they were
accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing
responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind
themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit
fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to
refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When
this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble
again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food."
The Letters, 10:96.
Here Christians are referred to meet together on a regular
basis and acknowledging Jesus as being God. Following Jesus
meant to be a person of moral integrity ("not to some crime,
but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify
their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called
upon to do so").
e. Emperor Trajan
The emperor Trajan replied to Pliny the Younger with the
following guidelines for punishing Christians:
"They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and
proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this
reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and
really proves it--that is, by worshiping our gods--even
though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain
pardon through repentance." Pliny the Younger, The Letters,
10:97.
f. Thallus
He is a writer from the first century. However none of his
writings are still in existence. Only a few citations are
found in other writers' books. Julius Africanus (220 A.D.)
quoted Thallus when discussing the darkness that followed
Jesus' crucifixion.
"On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness,
and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in
Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness
Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears
to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun." Julius
Africanus, Chronography, 18.1 in Roberts, Alexander and
James Donaldson, ed. Ante-Nicene Christian Library:
Translations of the Writings of the Fathers. Vol. 1
Edingburgh: T & T Clark, 1867.
This confirms the darkness that enveloped the area where
Jesus died as mentioned in the gospels.
g. Suetonius
He was the chief secretary to the emperor Hadran. He wrote
the following, confirming Acts 18:2 that Claudius had
commanded all Jews to depart from Rome in 49 A.D.
"Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the
instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome." De
Vita Caesarum--Divus Claudius, XXV.
iii. Adverse Evidence
h. Talmud
The Talmud contains a vast collection of Jewish laws and
traditions. It also contains some quotes written by Jews who
were opposed to Christianity; and offers indirectly some
insights about Jesus, especially in its writing between 70
A.D. and 200 A.D., in the so-called Tannaitic Period. Their
most renowned text is:
"They hanged Yeshu on the Sabbath of the Passover. But for
forty days before that a herald went in front of him
(crying), "Yeshu is to be stoned because he practiced
sorcery and seduced Israel and lead them away from God.
Anyone who can provide evidence on his behalf should come
forward to defend him." When, however, nothing favorable
about him was found, he was hanged on the Sabbath of the
Passover." Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 43a.
It is amazing that those adverse to Jesus Christ could not
contradict what His followers were proclaiming. Instead they
called Jesus a sorcerer who led Jews astray, which in all
reality acknowledges that Jesus really performed wonders,
although they disputed the source of his power.
Nowhere can you find among the Jewish writings in the first
and secondary centuries that Jesus did not perform any
miracles. Nowhere can be found someone proclaiming that
Jesus' body was still in its tomb for all to see.
How could this Christian movement have started right in
Jerusalem, where so many were opposed to the teachings of
Jesus, and where so many people witnessed personally Jesus'
ministry, his arrest, his crucifixion, if people knew that
Jesus' disciples were exaggerating the facts? There would
have been no way. That movement would have died right in
it's tracks. This movement expanded so quickly, although
many persecutions arose. There had to be a reason for this.
Could it be that it was because what they proclaimed really
was true?
i. Lucian of Samosata
Lucian, a Greek writer from the second-century, loved to
offer sarcastic remarks about Christianity. Although he is
sarcastic, he confirms indirectly what is written in the
gospels.
"The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day-the
distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites,
and was crucified on that account.... You see, these
misguided creatures start with the general conviction that
they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt
of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common
among them; and then it was impressed on them by their
original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the
moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece,
and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All
this they take quite on faith, with the result that they
despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as
common property." Lucian of Samosata, Death of Pelegrine.
iv. Conclusion
We can conclude with a question from Lee Stroebel: "Let's
pretend we didn't have any of the New Testament or other
Christian writings…Even without them, what would we be able
to conclude about Jesus from ancient non-Christian sources,
such as Josephus, the Talmud, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger,
and others?"
And the answer being given from Dr. Edwin M. Yamauchi: "We
would still have a considerable amount of important
historical evidence; in fact, it would provide a kind of
outline for the life of Jesus…
We would know that first, Jesus was a Jewish teacher;
second, many people believed that he performed healings and
exorcisms; third, some people believed he was the Messiah;
fourth, he was rejected by the Jewish leaders; fifth, he was
crucified under Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius;
sixth, despite this shameful death, his followers, who
believed that he was still alive, spread beyond Palestine so
that there were multitudes of them in Rome by A.D. 64; and
seventh, all kinds of people from the cities and
countryside-men and women, slave and free-worshiped him as
God."
Lee Stroebel. The Case for Christ. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1998, p. 87.
Question: What was the worst that the first century
critics could write against Jesus and his followers?
Your answer:
Question: Do all of these external written documents
confirm or deny Jesus' existence? Why?
Your answer:
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