Introduction
Was Jesus an imposter or was He the Messiah, the Son of God? This is the vital question we all need to answer for ourselves, for it could make the difference between life and death. One thing is sure, Jesus has created more controversy than any other founder of the religious systems of the world. He also made some astounding claims that would make Him the sole source of salvation to fallen man, thus creating tension between the various religious systems which cannot be readily resolved without compromise. Either He was right, or He was not; compromise seems impossible. If He was right, then this controversy will escalate to its final conclusion culminating in the glorious return of Christ to this earth to reclaim His dominion and to judge the living and the dead. If He was wrong, then the Messiah, according to the various belief systems, has not yet come, or he has come a number of times in the form of world teachers, or he will not come at all.
Buddhism and Hinduism teach that the Christ, the world teacher, has experienced numerous reincarnations at different stages of human progression. The Muslims teach that Jesus Christ was a prophet, but that he was not the Son of God. However, they also teach that He was �born of a virgin, worked miracles, was the Messiah, lived a sinless life, went up to heaven, 
and is coming again before the end of the world.�1 The Jews, excluding the Messianic Jews, reject Jesus outright. To them He is an imposter.
Christians themselves are divided in their attitudes toward Jesus. Some see Him as God, Saviour, Lord and Messiah while others refuse to accept His divinity, choosing to see Him as a special created being. Who is right? Let us consider the evidence.
Did He Ever Exist?
A. The Christian Sources
1. The 27 different New Testament documents.
2. The writings of the Church Fathers (Polycarp, Eusebius, Irenaeus, Origen, etc.). It is also noteworthy that Christians throughout the ages were prepared to suffer persecution and even death for His name's sake, and the entire human history has been divided into a pre- and post- Christ era, which has been entrenched in our calendar for centuries.
B. The Non-Biblical Sources
1. Tacitus, the Roman historian writing in about 115 AD, speaks about Nero�s persecution of Christians in the year 64 AD:
But all the endeavours of men, all the emperor�s largesse and the propitiations of the gods, did not suffice to allay the scandal or banish the belief that the fire had been ordered. And so, to get rid of this rumour, Nero set as the culprits and punished with the utmost refinery of cruelty, a class hated for their abominations, who are commonly called Christians. Christus, from whom their name is derived, was executed at the hands of the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. Checked for the moment, this pernicious superstition again broke out, not only in Judea, the source of the evil, but even in Rome, that receptacle for everything that is sordid and degrading from every quarter of the globe, which there finds a following.2
2. Suetonius, the Roman historian, refers to "Chrestus" (which is probably a confusion of �Christus�, i.e. Christ) in his Life of Claudius (the emperor from 41 to 54), which was written about 120 AD. He is probably referring to quarrels between Jews and Christians about Jesus.
Since the Jews were continually making disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he (Claudius) expelled them from Rome.
3. The Talmud is a collection of Jewish traditions which dates from the third century.
On the eve of Passover, they hanged Yeshu of Nazareth, and the herald went before him for forty days, saying, �Yeshu of Nazareth is going forth to be stoned in that he hath practiced sorcery and beguiled and led astray Israel. Let everyone knowing aught in his defense come and plead for him.' But they found naught in his defense and hanged him on the eve of Passover.
Was He the Messiah?
His Claims
The High Priest asked Him,...�Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed ?� And Jesus said, �I am; and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of Power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.� Mark 14:6162
The Claims of Others
He [Andrew] first found his own brother Simon and said to him, �We have found the Messiah� (which is translated, the Christ). John 1:41 NKJV
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The Old Testament Messianic Prophecies
According to the authorities, there are more than 300 references to the Messiah in the Old Testament, and these were written over a 1500-year period. Some sceptics object to the use of these prophecies as support for Christ�s Messiahship, claiming that they were written at or after the time of Jesus. Here something important must be borne in mind. Conservative scholars estimate that the last Old Testament book was written around 450 BC. But those claiming a later date cannot possibly push that date closer than about 250 BC - the reason for this being the Greek translation of the Old Testament which was completed during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus (285246 BC). This is an historical fact and it places a span of at least 250 years between the Old Testament predictions and their fulfilment in Christ. |
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1. The Virgin Birth Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name lmmanuel. Isaiah 7:14 And Joseph... kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son: and he called His name Jesus. Matthew 1:18, 2425 NASB |
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2. Bethlehem But thou Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2 ...Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea... Matthew 2:1 |
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3. Ministry of Miracles And Jesus went about all the cities and villages ...healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Matthew 9:35
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4. Into Jerusalem On a Donkey |
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped... Isaiah 35:56
by Professor Walter J. Veith Phd.