Can We Trust Who He Claimed to Be

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These are bold, divine claims made by Jesus Himself—claims supported by those who personally walked with Him, heard His teachings, saw His miracles, and witnessed His resurrection with their own eyes. These were not distant followers repeating rumors—they were firsthand witnesses who testified to what they had seen and heard (1 John 1:1–3).

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The apostle Peter affirmed, “We did not follow cleverly devised myths…but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). The apostle Paul recorded that over 500 people saw the risen Christ—“most of whom are still alive”—when he wrote it around AD 55–57, merely two decades after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3–8). It wasn’t whispered in secret—it was an open claim that invited investigation.

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Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:32, proclaiming “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it,” was preached publicly in Jerusalem, the very city where Jesus had been crucified and buried just weeks earlier. If Jesus had remained in the tomb, the authorities could have easily silenced the movement. Instead, Christianity spread rapidly—because the tomb was empty and the risen Christ had been seen.

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Even Jesus’s death bears medical testimony. When a Roman soldier pierced His side with a spear, John records that blood and water flowed out (John 19:34). Medical experts recognize this detail—pericardial effusion and pleural fluid around the heart and lungs—as strong physical evidence of death by crucifixion and asphyxiation, not unconsciousness. Jesus’s death was real, witnessed by executioners trained to ensure it.

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The written record of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection is historically unmatched. The Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are not just religious texts, but ancient historical documents based on direct eyewitness accounts and written within the lifetime of those who knew Jesus. Today, we possess over 5,800 surviving Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and more than 24,000 total manuscripts in various languages. While there may be slight variations in wording, the core message remains consistent across all these manuscripts, with no contradictions that undermine the overall narrative. In contrast, the historical lives and deeds of figures like Alexander the Great are supported by fewer than 200 manuscripts, and Julius Caesar’s records come from fewer than 10 manuscripts, many of which were written much later. In the landscape of ancient history, the documentation supporting Jesus’s life is unparalleled, standing as a robust, well-preserved record that offers a foundation of truth not seen with any other historical figure.

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Beyond the New Testament itself, archaeology offers profound and undeniable confirmation. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, containing ancient copies of the Old Testament, proved that the prophecies we hold today were preserved unchanged centuries before Christ’s earthly life. Among them was the book of Daniel, whose astonishing 70 Weeks prophecy (Daniel 9:24–27) precisely foretold the coming of the “Anointed One” and His being "cut off"—a clear description of the Messiah’s death. The prophecy outlines seventy "weeks" of years (490 years total), with 69 weeks (483 years) leading to the appearance of the Messiah. Starting from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem around 457 BC, this timeline leads directly to the time of Jesus’s triumphal entry and His crucifixion around AD 30–33. Importantly, these texts were verified to exist before Jesus was ever born, leaving no possibility that the prophecy was altered after the fact. The fulfillment is so mathematically precise and historically verifiable that it removes the idea of blind faith altogether—this is faith built on solid, documented evidence.

 

Together with fulfilled prophecy and archaeological discovery, they form an unshakable foundation for the truth of who Jesus is, and why He alone fulfills the hope spoken of long before His arrival.

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As Paul declared, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:14). But Christ has been raised—and in Him, eternal life is offered to all who believe. The overwhelming evidence leads to a profound and personal question: Will we simply acknowledge these facts, or will we respond in faith to the One they point to?

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In the landscape of ancient history, the documentation supporting the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is unparalleled. 

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The invitation is still open today. Jesus, the crucified and risen Lord, calls each of us not merely to know about Him, but to know Him personally. Not through blind leaps, but through trust built on the solid ground of truth.