"Gospel" means "Good News"
The Good News is that God, through His Son Jesus Christ's birth, death, and resurrection,
has made it possible for you to spend eternity in Heaven.
The Good News is that God, through His Son Jesus Christ's birth, death, and resurrection,
has made it possible for you to spend eternity in Heaven.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Good News that
Jesus's death on the cross and resurrection from the dead
makes possible the reconciliation between people and God.
People are born separated from God due to sin.
God makes reconciliation available to ALL people.
But God does not force people to be reconciled with Him.
God gives people a choice to accept this reconciliation.
People who chose to reconcile with God spend eternity with God in Heaven.
People who do not choose to reconcile with God spend eternity separated from God in Hell.
Jesus's death on the cross and resurrection from the dead
makes possible the reconciliation between people and God.
People are born separated from God due to sin.
God makes reconciliation available to ALL people.
But God does not force people to be reconciled with Him.
God gives people a choice to accept this reconciliation.
People who chose to reconcile with God spend eternity with God in Heaven.
People who do not choose to reconcile with God spend eternity separated from God in Hell.
Videos for Quick Learning
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An Entertaining Version
What is the Gospel? (4:05)
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A Traditional Version
Dr. Billy Graham: Who is Jesus? (42:36)
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A Really Cool Version
The Four Minute Gospel (5:09)
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Got Questions?
- Was Jesus a real person?
- Is the Bible trustworthy?
- Was Jesus really executed?
- Was Jesus really resurrected?
- Is Jesus really the Messiah?
Get Answers ...
Q: Was Jesus a real person?
A: Both historians and scholars agree that Jesus was a real person and there is non-Biblical evidence proving Jesus' existence.
Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman senator and historian, mentions Jesus in his major work Annals saying, “Chrestians.” The founder of this name, Christ, had been executed in the reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate". (1) Also, the Roman politician Pliny "contributes the information that, where he was governor in northern Turkey, Christians worshiped Christ as a god" and had “pig-headed obstinacy”. (6) "Among pagans, the satirist Lucian and philosopher Celsus dismissed Jesus as a scoundrel". (6)
Flavius Josephus, a Jewish priest and historian living in Rome, mentions Jesus twice by name in his work Jewish Antiquities. (1, 6) Current day Judaism acknowledges Jesus walked the earth. Dr. Amy-Jill Levine of Vanderbilt University Divinity School writes, “there is no single Jewish view about Jesus of Nazareth: some Jews regard him as a wise rabbi, others view him as a heretic; some find inspiration in his teachings, others take offense at his claims.” (2)
The Muslim faith also recognizes Jesus. "Muslims respect and revere Jesus (peace be upon him). They consider him one of the greatest of God’s messengers to mankind. The Quran confirms his virgin birth" (3) and contains approximately 71 versus that refer to "Prophet Jesus". (7)
Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman senator and historian, mentions Jesus in his major work Annals saying, “Chrestians.” The founder of this name, Christ, had been executed in the reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate". (1) Also, the Roman politician Pliny "contributes the information that, where he was governor in northern Turkey, Christians worshiped Christ as a god" and had “pig-headed obstinacy”. (6) "Among pagans, the satirist Lucian and philosopher Celsus dismissed Jesus as a scoundrel". (6)
Flavius Josephus, a Jewish priest and historian living in Rome, mentions Jesus twice by name in his work Jewish Antiquities. (1, 6) Current day Judaism acknowledges Jesus walked the earth. Dr. Amy-Jill Levine of Vanderbilt University Divinity School writes, “there is no single Jewish view about Jesus of Nazareth: some Jews regard him as a wise rabbi, others view him as a heretic; some find inspiration in his teachings, others take offense at his claims.” (2)
The Muslim faith also recognizes Jesus. "Muslims respect and revere Jesus (peace be upon him). They consider him one of the greatest of God’s messengers to mankind. The Quran confirms his virgin birth" (3) and contains approximately 71 versus that refer to "Prophet Jesus". (7)
Q: Is the Bible trustworthy?
Yes, the Bible is trustworthy in that it is the most authenticated book of antiquity. A procedure called Textual Criticism demonstrates the historical reliability of The Bible through its three examination areas of 1) "the number of existing manuscripts", 2) "the dating of the manuscripts" and 3) "the proportion of variant readings". (4)
Harvard University reports, "The primary goal of textual criticism has traditionally been to establish the actual text that the author wrote, so far as this is possible. This needs to be done because, in the case of Classical and biblical authors (and sometimes in the case of more recent texts), the autograph, or author’s original manuscript, no longer exists. In its place there are surviving manuscripts, each of which is a copy of an earlier manuscript, often at an unknown number of steps removed from the autograph." (5)
Here is a Textual Criticism of the New Testament
1. "The number of existing manuscripts
There are more than 5,300 known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, over 10,000 in Latin and over 9,300 other early versions totaling 24,000+ manuscript copies of portions of the New Testament in existence today, ranking it first in manuscript evidence. Second place goes to The Iliad, by Homer ... with 643 surviving manuscripts." (4)
2. The dating of the manuscripts
The New Testament autographs date to between 40-100 A.D. Until 1995, the earliest extant manuscripts dated to the fourth century (a 250-300 year difference). Norman Geisler states that the average gap between an original composition and the earliest available copy is over 1,000 years for other works of antiquity. (4)
3. Variant readings
Through the proper application of textual criticism, comparing all the available manuscripts with one another, we are able to confidently reconstruct the original reading. Let's briefly compare the numbers on variant readings. The New Testament contains approximately 20,000 lines, of which 40 lines are in question. This equals .5% (one half of one percent).
The Iliad contains approximately 15,600 lines, of which 764 lines are in question. This equals five percent. That's ten times more variants than the New Testament in a document which is only three-quarters its length. The sheer number of extant NT manuscripts we possess narrows tremendously the margin of doubt on the correct reading of the original documents (known as autographs)." (4)
Chart: Manuscript Evidence for Ancient Writings (8)
Harvard University reports, "The primary goal of textual criticism has traditionally been to establish the actual text that the author wrote, so far as this is possible. This needs to be done because, in the case of Classical and biblical authors (and sometimes in the case of more recent texts), the autograph, or author’s original manuscript, no longer exists. In its place there are surviving manuscripts, each of which is a copy of an earlier manuscript, often at an unknown number of steps removed from the autograph." (5)
Here is a Textual Criticism of the New Testament
1. "The number of existing manuscripts
There are more than 5,300 known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, over 10,000 in Latin and over 9,300 other early versions totaling 24,000+ manuscript copies of portions of the New Testament in existence today, ranking it first in manuscript evidence. Second place goes to The Iliad, by Homer ... with 643 surviving manuscripts." (4)
2. The dating of the manuscripts
The New Testament autographs date to between 40-100 A.D. Until 1995, the earliest extant manuscripts dated to the fourth century (a 250-300 year difference). Norman Geisler states that the average gap between an original composition and the earliest available copy is over 1,000 years for other works of antiquity. (4)
3. Variant readings
Through the proper application of textual criticism, comparing all the available manuscripts with one another, we are able to confidently reconstruct the original reading. Let's briefly compare the numbers on variant readings. The New Testament contains approximately 20,000 lines, of which 40 lines are in question. This equals .5% (one half of one percent).
The Iliad contains approximately 15,600 lines, of which 764 lines are in question. This equals five percent. That's ten times more variants than the New Testament in a document which is only three-quarters its length. The sheer number of extant NT manuscripts we possess narrows tremendously the margin of doubt on the correct reading of the original documents (known as autographs)." (4)
Chart: Manuscript Evidence for Ancient Writings (8)
Q: Was Jesus really executed?
A: Yes, Jesus was executed. In fact, He was publicly executed in front of many Christian, Jewish and Roman witnesses. Jesus' execution has never been disputed by these involved parties. We have already established the reliability of the New Testament, which records His death at the hands of the Roman government in order to appease the Jewish leadership. (9)
Modern day Judaism agrees with the Christian Bible in saying that, "Jesus was executed by the Romans. Crucifixion was a Roman form of execution, not a Jewish one." (16)
As mentioned earlier, the Roman historian Tacitus wrote of Jesus' execution. He reported, "Nero fastened the guilt ... 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 ... Pontius Pilatus"... (9)
A collection of Jewish rabbinical writings called the Babylonian Talmud states, "On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged." Yeshu is the pronunciation of Jesus in Hebrew and "hanged" is a synonym for crucifixion. (10)
The second century Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata wrote, "The Christians ... worship a man to this day – the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account.... [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." (10)
Modern day Judaism agrees with the Christian Bible in saying that, "Jesus was executed by the Romans. Crucifixion was a Roman form of execution, not a Jewish one." (16)
As mentioned earlier, the Roman historian Tacitus wrote of Jesus' execution. He reported, "Nero fastened the guilt ... 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 ... Pontius Pilatus"... (9)
A collection of Jewish rabbinical writings called the Babylonian Talmud states, "On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged." Yeshu is the pronunciation of Jesus in Hebrew and "hanged" is a synonym for crucifixion. (10)
The second century Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata wrote, "The Christians ... worship a man to this day – the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account.... [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." (10)
Q: Was Jesus really resurrected?
A: Yes, Jesus was resurrected and lives today at the right Hand of God! This is Good News as the Gospel hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. "If Christ did not rise bodily from the grave, then Christianity is false, we are still in our sins and there is no hope beyond the grave." (11) Proof of the resurrection comes from multiple perspectives.
Firstly, modern day Judaism admits Jesus was missing form the tomb. For example, the Jews for Judaism website states, "They cannot attest to the reason for its disappearance or what was the nature of its final disposition. They knew nothing more than that on Sunday morning a few of Jesus’ disciples claimed the tomb he had been placed in on the late afternoon of his death was found empty. No one saw Jesus rise from the dead. The disappearance of the body does not mean that there was a resurrection. The empty tomb explains nothing."
Secondly, a non-Biblical source corroborates the resurrection of Jesus. The 2nd century secular Greek historian, Phlegon of Tralles, wrote, “Jesus, while alive, was of no assistance to himself, but that he arose after death, and exhibited the marks of his punishment, and showed how his hands had been pierced by nails.” (12)
Thirdly, the conversion of the Jewish Pharisee Saul of Tarsus (aka Apostle Paul) to Christianity is considered to be proof of Jesus' resurrection. Paul was persecuting supporters of Jesus and was present during the stoning of Stephen. The Bible tells the story of Paul's encounter with a resurrected Jesus and subsequent conversion. Multiple ancient writers confirm the Bible's account of the Apostle Paul's conversion and his Christian ministry. Clement of Rome mentions Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth (c. 95 C.E.) and Bishop Irenaeus of Lyons (140-202 C.E.) cites Paul in his work "Against Heresies." (23)
Eusebius of Caesarea (260 AD to 340 AD), The Father of Church History, mentions both Paul's persecution of the church and his ministry as a Christian. In Church History (Book II), he says, "During this time Paul was still persecuting the church, and entering the houses of believers was dragging men and women away and committing them to prison." In Eusebius' Ecclesiastical Histories he writes, "What do we need to say concerning Paul, who preached the Gospel of Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum, and afterwards suffered martyrdom in Rome under Nero?"(21) The bottom line is that it makes no sense for Paul to convert to Christianity after Jesus' death unless he truly believed he encountered a living Jesus.
Fourthly, the conversion of Jesus' half brother, James, is considered proof of the resurrection. "In the Gospels, James is mentioned a couple of times, but at that time he misunderstood Jesus’ ministry and was not a believer ( John 7:2-5). James becomes one of the earliest witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7). He then stays in Jerusalem and forms part of the group of believers who pray in the upper room (Acts 1:14). From that time forward, James’ status within the Jerusalem church begins to grow." (24) Again, it makes no sense for James to convert to Christianity after his brother's death unless James truly believed he saw his brother alive after being crucified and buried.
Non-Biblical sources corroborate the Biblical accounts of Jesus' brother James and even provide details not included in Scripture. Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, writes about how the Sanhedrin accused James of being a law breaker for his belief in Christ and sentenced to be stoned. (25) Both Clement of Rome, a future Pope, and Eusebius, the fourth-century church historian, write that James was "thrown from a wing of the temple, [to be stoned] and beaten to death with a club”. (25)
Lastly, an article by Matt Perman states, "Virtually all scholars who deal with the resurrection, whatever their school of thought, assent to these three truths"
Perman asks a good question that undermines the Jewish argument that the apostles stole Jesus' body.
"Why would they go through all of this for a deliberate lie?"
Firstly, modern day Judaism admits Jesus was missing form the tomb. For example, the Jews for Judaism website states, "They cannot attest to the reason for its disappearance or what was the nature of its final disposition. They knew nothing more than that on Sunday morning a few of Jesus’ disciples claimed the tomb he had been placed in on the late afternoon of his death was found empty. No one saw Jesus rise from the dead. The disappearance of the body does not mean that there was a resurrection. The empty tomb explains nothing."
Secondly, a non-Biblical source corroborates the resurrection of Jesus. The 2nd century secular Greek historian, Phlegon of Tralles, wrote, “Jesus, while alive, was of no assistance to himself, but that he arose after death, and exhibited the marks of his punishment, and showed how his hands had been pierced by nails.” (12)
Thirdly, the conversion of the Jewish Pharisee Saul of Tarsus (aka Apostle Paul) to Christianity is considered to be proof of Jesus' resurrection. Paul was persecuting supporters of Jesus and was present during the stoning of Stephen. The Bible tells the story of Paul's encounter with a resurrected Jesus and subsequent conversion. Multiple ancient writers confirm the Bible's account of the Apostle Paul's conversion and his Christian ministry. Clement of Rome mentions Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth (c. 95 C.E.) and Bishop Irenaeus of Lyons (140-202 C.E.) cites Paul in his work "Against Heresies." (23)
Eusebius of Caesarea (260 AD to 340 AD), The Father of Church History, mentions both Paul's persecution of the church and his ministry as a Christian. In Church History (Book II), he says, "During this time Paul was still persecuting the church, and entering the houses of believers was dragging men and women away and committing them to prison." In Eusebius' Ecclesiastical Histories he writes, "What do we need to say concerning Paul, who preached the Gospel of Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum, and afterwards suffered martyrdom in Rome under Nero?"(21) The bottom line is that it makes no sense for Paul to convert to Christianity after Jesus' death unless he truly believed he encountered a living Jesus.
Fourthly, the conversion of Jesus' half brother, James, is considered proof of the resurrection. "In the Gospels, James is mentioned a couple of times, but at that time he misunderstood Jesus’ ministry and was not a believer ( John 7:2-5). James becomes one of the earliest witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7). He then stays in Jerusalem and forms part of the group of believers who pray in the upper room (Acts 1:14). From that time forward, James’ status within the Jerusalem church begins to grow." (24) Again, it makes no sense for James to convert to Christianity after his brother's death unless James truly believed he saw his brother alive after being crucified and buried.
Non-Biblical sources corroborate the Biblical accounts of Jesus' brother James and even provide details not included in Scripture. Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, writes about how the Sanhedrin accused James of being a law breaker for his belief in Christ and sentenced to be stoned. (25) Both Clement of Rome, a future Pope, and Eusebius, the fourth-century church historian, write that James was "thrown from a wing of the temple, [to be stoned] and beaten to death with a club”. (25)
Lastly, an article by Matt Perman states, "Virtually all scholars who deal with the resurrection, whatever their school of thought, assent to these three truths"
- "The tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered empty by a group of women on the Sunday following the crucifixion.
- Jesus' disciples had real experiences with one whom they believed was the risen Christ.
- As a result of the preaching of these disciples, which had the resurrection at its center, the Christian church was established and grew."
Perman asks a good question that undermines the Jewish argument that the apostles stole Jesus' body.
"Why would they go through all of this for a deliberate lie?"
Chart: Reported Cause of Death (17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 27, 28)
Q: Is Jesus really the Messiah?
A: The most compelling confirmation that Jesus is the Messiah is the statistical improbability that one person could fulfill ALL Messianic Old Testament prophecies.
"Bible scholars tell us that nearly 300 references to 61 specific prophecies of the Messiah were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The odds against one person fulfilling that many prophecies would be beyond all mathematical possibility." (30)
To keep things mathematically simple, let's look at Jesus' fulfillment of just eight prophecies. "The odds against one person fulfilling all eight prophecies are astronomical - one in ten to the 21st power." (30)
This equals: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Keep in mind that the prophecies "were written by men from different times and places between about 500 and 1,000 years before Jesus was born. Thus there was no opportunity for collusion among them. Notice too, the specificity." (30)
"Bible scholars tell us that nearly 300 references to 61 specific prophecies of the Messiah were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The odds against one person fulfilling that many prophecies would be beyond all mathematical possibility." (30)
To keep things mathematically simple, let's look at Jesus' fulfillment of just eight prophecies. "The odds against one person fulfilling all eight prophecies are astronomical - one in ten to the 21st power." (30)
This equals: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Keep in mind that the prophecies "were written by men from different times and places between about 500 and 1,000 years before Jesus was born. Thus there was no opportunity for collusion among them. Notice too, the specificity." (30)
8 Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus Christ
To see a table of 365 fulfilled prophecies, visit 365 Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled AMAZING
Videos: Statistical Probability of Jesus being the Messiah
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Case for Christ Fulfilling Prophecies (1:34)
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Is Jesus as Reliable as a Fingerprint? (3:30)
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300 Prophecies that Jesus Fulfilled (8:08)
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The Bottom Line
FACT: Non-Biblical sources and the Jewish and Muslim faiths corroborate Jesus was a real person.
FACT: The Bible is the most scientifically authenticated book of antiquity.
FACT: Non-Biblical sources confirm Jesus was executed. The Jewish faith cites Romans as executor.
FACT: A non-Biblical source corroborates Jesus was seen alive after His death. No one had anything to gain by faking a resurrection ... not the Jewish leadership, the Roman government, or the Disciples. Resurrection is the only rational explanation for the radical conversions, ministries, and martyrdom of Paul and James and the only reason Jesus' Disciples were willing to die for the Gospel.
FACT: Jesus fulfilled ALL Messianic Prophecies in the Bible thus statistically proving He is the Messiah.
FACT: The Bible is the most scientifically authenticated book of antiquity.
FACT: Non-Biblical sources confirm Jesus was executed. The Jewish faith cites Romans as executor.
FACT: A non-Biblical source corroborates Jesus was seen alive after His death. No one had anything to gain by faking a resurrection ... not the Jewish leadership, the Roman government, or the Disciples. Resurrection is the only rational explanation for the radical conversions, ministries, and martyrdom of Paul and James and the only reason Jesus' Disciples were willing to die for the Gospel.
FACT: Jesus fulfilled ALL Messianic Prophecies in the Bible thus statistically proving He is the Messiah.
Jesus lived, died and resurrected ...
and that changes everything!
References
1. Did Jesus Exist? Searching for Evidence Beyond the Bible
2. Ask the Expert: Who Was Jesus? A man, a myth or a God?
3. What Do Muslims Believe about Jesus?
4. Why the Bible is the Word of God. Can I Trust the Bible?
5. Chapter 1: Textual Criticism as Applied to Classical and Biblical Texts
6. What is the historical evidence that Jesus Christ lived and died?
7. Jesus in the Quran
8. The Bible — Can We Trust It?
9. Historical Evidence of the Crucifixion
10. Ancient Evidence for Jesus from Non-Christian Sources
11. The Resurrection: Myth or History
12. The Sacred Writings of Origen (Annotated Edition) (CHAP: LIX.)
13. 10 Reasons to Accept the Resurrection of Jesus as an Historical Fact
14. Historical Evidence for the Resurrection
15. Resurrection of Jesus as fact
16. What Do Jews Believe About Jesus?
17. Whatever Happened to the Twelve Apostles?
18. How Did the Apostles Die?
19. Apostles
20. Does the Bible record the death of the apostles? How did each of the apostles die?
21. Eusebius on the History of Peter and Paul, and their writings.
22. Church History (Book II)
23. In Search of the Historical Paul
24. What can we learn from the life of James, the brother of Jesus?
25. Surprising Archaeological Find
26. The 12 Apostles: Skinned, Stoned, Sawed, Burned and Beheaded
27. Do You Know How the Apostles Dies?
28. Who were the 12 disciples?
29. 365 Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled AMAZING
30. What are the Odds?
