John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you
and peace …from Him who is and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne…
Revelation 1:4
Jesus was a historical figure. The fact that He existed and was crucified by Pontius Pilate is almost universally accepted by all serious historians. Flavius Josephus mentioned Him in his Antiquities of the Jews, written for the Emperor Domitian in AD 93, and the effect of Christ’s life and teachings on the Roman Empire and Western Civilization are undeniable. Obviously, Christ is Him Who Was.
Yet there is great debate on exactly who He was. Many refused to believe that the founder of one of world’s biggest religions was God incarnate, the Son of God, King of kings, or the High and Lofty One. So, beginning in the 1700s, scholars have pursued “quests for the historical Jesus.” They discounted the thousands of ancient manuscripts of the New Testament as biased and unreliable, instead embracing any piece of secular commentary to form their opinion. Views of who Jesus really was range from heretic to healer to charismatic teacher, but none of these extra-biblical searches concluded that He was anyone capable of changing the known world or someone worthy to die for.
Herein lies the fallacy of their conclusions. Christ did change the world, and millions of martyrs preferred death to denying their Lord of lords.
Those who reject who Jesus says He was reject Him Who Was. World scholars never undertook quests to find the historical Buddha or historical Muhammad. Why would they? The leaders of these religions also discount the deity of Christ, so they are basically in agreement.
The miraculous and supernatural aspects of the Lord Jesus can never be proved to someone who refuses to believe, and “historical facts” are really myths if they are written by critics of the Jewish Messiah or to counter the Christian faith.
The gospels declare the life and teachings of the Christ, Him Who was. Everyone eventually either accepts Him or rejects Him.
January 29
