Introduction

What will You do with Jesus Christ?

This is the most important question that you will ever answer: Did Jesus Christ actually live? What will I do with Jesus Christ? Who is He and what are His claims? Should who He is even matter to me? Should what He has done in His life have any real importance for me? – Who is Jesus Christ?

The Cambridge University professor and British philosopher/mathematician Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) stated in his book – Why I Am Not a Christian, page 16 – “Historically it is quite doubtful whether Christ ever existed at all, and if he did we do not know anything about him.”

Could this be true? Did Jesus Christ exist or not and if He did can we know anything about him? I would like to look at these questions in this limited presentation with an examination into the historical evidence regarding the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ – the most significant Man in all of human history. If Jesus Christ is Who He claims to be, it changes everything. Could these statements be true? Regardless of your view of Jesus Christ, it must be acknowledged that there is no one like Him in human history. He has affected civilization both on a national and personal level like no other person. If Jesus Christ is Who He claims to be as presented in the New Testament documents, then everything really important in life is centered in Him. If however, He is not who He claims to be but is rather an imposter or the product of first-fourth century imagination and creativity then He certainly should be exposed as such.

In this presentation on the person of Jesus Christ, we will look at the evidence of both the non-Gospel records from the first and second century and the Gospel documents of the New Testament for information to help us answer these questions.If we can trust these accounts (which is my sincerely held position) then the case for Christ and His exceptional claims will be supported. If however, they are found to be lacking then we need to acknowledge these flaws and reject any great importance to Christ. He would need to be exposed as a lie. He is either the Lord of all creation or a Liar of the lowest order or a well-crafted Legend. He is one of these choices and nothing else! It must be understood that the Gospel record of Jesus Christ is rooted in history and is open to both examination and falsification. Sincerity and belief is not enough but rather evidence that supports the alleged facts upon which one’s faith rests is the position that we must take. This is not a new “Christian idea” but rather this is the approach that the disciples of Jesus Christ used in their presentation of the Gospel message as recorded throughout the book of Acts. Biblical faith is a faith based on facts and evidence never “blind” in nature. With this understanding as the basis of our examination, let’s look at the Person of Jesus Christ.