In our "Good Question" devotional series, we are examining the evidence for the divinity of Jesus Christ. After looking at the historical accounts outside of the Bible, we now turn to consider the reliability of the New Testament documents themselves.
The pastor provides four key reasons to trust the credibility of the New Testament:
- The texts read like authentic first-century historical accounts, not mythological stories. They are grounded in verifiable details and do not try to gloss over difficulties.
- The documents were written very close to the actual events they describe, often within the lifetimes of eyewitnesses. This limits the time for mythological embellishments to develop.
- Most of the apostles and disciples were willing to suffer persecution and even martyrdom for their claims about Jesus, indicating they genuinely believed the accounts to be true.
- The "bibliographic evidence" - the time between the original writings and existing manuscript copies, as well as the sheer number of manuscript copies we possess - is unparalleled among ancient texts. This demonstrates the text was widely circulated and faithfully transmitted.
The pastor cites the research of scholar Peter J. Williams and his book "Can We Trust the Gospels?" to show how the New Testament compares favorably to other ancient historical writings in terms of dating, manuscript evidence, and textual accuracy.
Ultimately, the pastor encourages the audience to simply read the New Testament itself, noting that "the best way to defend a caged lion is to open the cage and let the lion defend himself." The power and authenticity of the texts speak for themselves.
Join us tomorrow as we continue exploring the basics of the Christian faith.
