Authentic Mission 01

by | Jul 29, 2021 | Authentic | 0 comments

Discover Jesus’ Birthplace and Authenticate Him as a Real Historical Figure.

Your first mission, if you choose to accept it, is to launch an investigation into what the Bible claims to be the very first Christmas:

Mission 1: Discover Jesus’ Birthplace and Authenticate Him as a Real Historical Figure.

1. Eyewitness Testimony

Debriefing

After thinking through the questions, click the Answers tab to see our thoughts.

⇒ What is the real meaning of Christmas?

⇒ Why is this claim almost too good to be true?

⇒ How does this distinguish Christianity from other religions?

⇒ What is the real meaning of Christmas?

⇒ God came down to be with us and to save us.

⇒ Why is this claim almost too good to be true?

⇒ The almighty, all-knowing, infinite God of the Universe became a human baby boy out of love for us.

⇒ How does this distinguish Christianity from other religions?

⇒ Other religions tell us how we get up to God by being good. Christianity tells us that God came down to us because we couldn’t be good enough on our own.

11. Prophecy

Old Testament Prophecy Isaiah 7:14 (c. 750 B.C.) - “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Micah 5:2 (c. 740 B.C.) - “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Debriefing

After thinking through the questions, click the Answers tab to see our thoughts.

⇒ What do we learn from Micah and Isaiah’s prophecies?

⇒ Why do these two prophecies add validity to Jesus’ birth?

⇒ What do we learn from Micah and Isaiah’s prophecies?

⇒ Messiah had to come from Bethlehem and a virgin conception to be Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

⇒ Why do these two prophecies add validity to Jesus’ birth?

⇒ They were written 700+ years before He was born.

111. Ancient Non-Christian Historical Accounts

Flavius Josephus (1st Century Jewish-Roman Historian: Once a Jewish priest, circumstances led him to serve Rome as an expert Jewish documentarian.) "When, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority]. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned." (Antiquities 20.200 c. 93AD)
Mara bar Serapion (1st-2nd Century Thinker From Syria - This letter, promoting wisdom over tyranny, was written from prison after Rome destroyed his hometown.) "What advantage did the Athenians gain from putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as a judgment for their crime. What advantage did the men of Samos gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise King? It was just after that that their kingdom was abolished. God justly avenged these three wise men: the Athenians died of hunger; the Samians were overwhelmed by the sea; the Jews, ruined and driven from their land, live in complete dispersion. But Socrates did not die for good; he lived on in the statue of Hera. Nor did the wise King die for good; he lived on in the teaching which he had given." (Mara’s Letter to His Son c. 75AD)
Debriefing

After thinking through the questions, click the Answers tab to see our thoughts.

⇒ How do the accounts show Jesus to be a real person?

⇒ Why should we trust writers like Josephus and Mara?

⇒ How do the accounts show Jesus to be a real person?

⇒ He had a brother named James and is compared to other ancient figures like Socrates and Pythagoras.

⇒ Why should we trust writers like Josephus and Mara?

⇒ They had no reason to lie about his existence.

1V. Archeology

The Church of the Nativity No one knows for certain the exact place of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, but one site has been heralded as just that since the 1st century. Most modern stories tell of a manger located in a stable, but sources like Justin Martyr from the 2nd century refer to it as a specific grotto or cave. On that location, Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena, built the the Church of the Nativity in the 4th century. Though destroyed, it was rebuilt in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian, and remains as one of the oldest churches still in use today. A 14-point star, now marks what is believed to be the exact spot of the Messiah’s birth.
Debriefing

After thinking through the questions, click the Answers tab to see our thoughts.

⇒ What do we learn from the Church of the Nativity?

⇒ What do we learn from the Church of the Nativity?

⇒ While not 100% verifiable, Jesus’ actual birth in Bethlehem is backed by very early physical evidence.

Deductions The biblical testimony of Matthew clearly regards Jesus as a real person that was born in Bethlehem either right at or just before the 1st century AD. The prophets foretold that the Messiah would be a real baby boy, miraculously conceived, and born of a woman in the city of Bethlehem. Mara placed Jesus in a 1st century context and compared him to other famous historical figures. Josephus also referenced Jesus as having a brother named James, and fake people don’t have real siblings. While the precise location can’t be known for certain, the Church of the Nazarene offers very early evidence that substantiates the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem. Confirmed: Being born in Bethlehem, Israel, Jesus was a real person who really lived in the 1st century.
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