Did the witers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?

EXPLORING CHRISTIANITY - EYEWITNESS

THE BIBLE
Can we trust a book written 2000 years ago?

EYEWITNESS
Did the writers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?

GOD - MAN
Is Jesus really God?

RESURRECTION
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

RELIGIONS
With so many religions, why Christianity?

SUFFERING
If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?

TRINITY
Understanding the Trinity.

SCIENCE
The complementary nature of Science & Christianity.

FORGIVENESS
What it is and why it matters?

GUIDANCE
How does God guide?

REPENTANCE
What it is and why you can't get to heaven without it.

BORN AGAIN
What does it mean to be converted and born again?

SAVING FAITH
The kind of faith that will get you to heaven

ASSURANCE
Can I know for sure that I am going to heaven?

TRUTH
What is truth and does it matter?

MORALITY
Does it matter how we live? A Christian view of morality.

THE CHURCH
God's vision for his family, the Church. A call to the churches of the new millennium.

PURPOSE
How can I find a great purpose for living?

IDENTITY
Who am I; Finding my true identity as a human being and as a child of God.

SELF-ESTEEM
How can I feel good about my self? The Christian basis for proper sel-esteem.

LIFE AFTER DEATHChristianity's Hope & Challenge.

THE CROSS
Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible says about the Cross.

Grace
The importance of grace in the New Testament.

Did the New Testament Writers get their picture of Jesus right?

Christians have believed for 2,000 years that Jesus was God. They claim that this human person who lived in Palestine in the first century AD was none other than the Creator of the universe, the Lord of heaven and earth. They believe that God exists as three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit* - and that Jesus, the Son, became human in the womb of Mary. He was born in a stable, lived till the age of 33, was crucified for his claims to be the promised messiah, rose from the dead, today reigns in heaven and will one day come back to judge the world. These things are clearly taught in the 27 books and letters of the New Testament, have been written into the Christian creeds down the centuries, and are believed by millions today.

It is natural in this modern world with its multiplicity of beliefs, and expectations of the ability of science to solve our problems, that many are going to be sceptical of such things. However, if we reject the truths of Christianity it raises an important question: How did such a remarkable collection of writings as the New Testament, which has had such an impact on world history, (and still has), come to be written?

One of the arguments used to discredit the truth that Jesus was God goes something like this. He was only an ordinary human being, though he obviously had some uncommon wisdom and courage, and perhaps some unusual gifts of healing. After his death about AD 30, stories about him were passed down by word of mouth. By the time the New Testament books and letters were written, all sorts of exaggerated stories had arisen about him - such as: the remarkable nature of his healing miracles and his miracles over nature; his claims to have come from heaven and to be the Saviour and Judge of human beings; and his resurrection from the dead. As a result of this distortion of the facts, his followers came to believe these things and have done so ever since.

Obviously such a view must accept that there is a sufficient time gap before things were written down for this to have happened, and must discredit any eyewitness claims in the New Testament.

There are some issues here that I have dealt with more fully in two other booklets, Is Jesus Really God? and Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead? In this booklet I want to focus on one issue: Is the gap between Jesus and the writers of the New Testament really sufficient to allow these distortions to take place?

*If you wish to explore further the Christian view of God as three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - may I recommend my booklet Understanding the Trinity: A Look at the God Revealed in Jesus Christ.