I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (40 page)

Third, even if some of those 500 average people did write down what they saw, why would skeptics expect their testimony to survive for 2,000 years? The New Testament survives intact because of the thousands of manuscripts copied by scribes for a growing church over the centuries. Historical works from the major ancient historians such as Josephus, Tacitus, and Pliny survive on just a handful of copies, and those copies are hundreds of years from the originals. Why do the skeptics think anything is going to be written, much less survive, from an ancient group of illiterate Galilean peasants?
³⁸

Finally, we do know the names of many of the 500, and their testimony is written down in the New Testament. They include Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, and James—plus nine who are named elsewhere as apostles (Matthew 10 and Acts 1).

So we shouldn’t expect more testimony than what we have about Jesus. And what we do have is more than enough to establish historicity.

S
UMMARY AND
C
ONCLUSION

We have much more to investigate regarding the historicity of the New Testament. But we can draw two major conclusions at this point:

1. We have an accurate copy of the original New Testament documents:

a. While the original New Testament documents do not survive or have not yet been found, we have abundant and accurate copies of the original New Testament documents—many more than that for the ten best pieces of ancient literature combined. Moreover, nearly perfect reconstruction of the originals can be accomplished by comparing the thousands of manuscript copies that do survive. We have discovered manuscript fragments from the early second century and perhaps as early as the mid-first century. There are
no
works from the ancient world that even come close to the New Testament in terms of manuscript support.

b. Reconstruction is further authenticated by the thousands of quotations from the early church fathers. In fact, the entire New Testament, except for eleven verses, can be reconstructed just from their quotations of it.

2. The New Testament documents are early and contain even earlier source material:

a. Since the New Testament documents are referenced by other writers by about A.D. 100, they had to have been composed before then.

b. Since the New Testament documents speak as if the temple and the city were still standing at the time of their writing—and there is no mention of the onset of the Jewish war or the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem—most of the New Testament documents are probably earlier than A.D. 70.

c. We have very strong evidence that Acts was written by 62, which means Luke is even earlier.

d. We have source material that goes back into the 30s. Nearly all scholars agree that the death, burial, and resurrection testimony found in 1 Corinthians 15 comes from the time of those events or within a few years of them. Furthermore, there are at least 40 other creeds in the New Testament that appear to be of very early origin.

So the documents are early and the sources are even earlier. But that’s not enough to prove historicity beyond a reasonable doubt. To prove historicity, we need to be sure that these documents really contain
eyewitness
testimony. Do they? That’s the question we’ll investigate next.

10

Do We Have Eyewitness
Testimony About Jesus?

“We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we
told you about the power and coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his
majesty.”

—SIMON PETER

WE HAVE SEEN good evidence that the New Testament documents are early, so they meet historical test #1. But what about historical test #2? Do the New Testament documents contain eyewitness testimony? Let’s begin by taking a look at the eyewitness claims of the New Testament writers.

If you accept the plain reading of the text, the New Testament certainly contains eyewitness testimony. Notice how many times various apostles claim to be eyewitnesses:

God has raised this Jesus to life, and
we are all witnesses
of the fact (Acts 2:32).

You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead.
We
are witnesses
of this (Acts 3:15).

Then [the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law] called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about
what we have seen and heard”
(Acts 4:18-20).

The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
We are witnesses
of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him (Acts 5:30-32).

We are witnesses
of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen (Acts 10:39-40).

. . . Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he
appeared
to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he
appeared
to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he
appeared
to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he
appeared
to me also, as to one abnormally born (1 Cor. 15:3-8).

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder,
a witness
of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed (1 Pet. 5:1).

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but
we were eyewitnesses
of his majesty (2 Pet. 1:16).

But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man
who
saw it
has given testimony, and his testimony is true (John 19:33-35).

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him,
“We have
seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas,
“Put your finger here; see my hands.

Reach out your hand and put it into my side.
Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him,
“Because you have seen me,
you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus did many other
miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples,
which are not recorded in this book (John 20:24-30).

That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which
we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands
have touched—
this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared;
we have seen it
and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and
has appeared to
us
(1 John 1:1-2).

You get the impression that these folks wanted everyone to know they actually saw something, don’t you? Furthermore, Luke and the writer of Hebrews claim to be informed by eyewitnesses:

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first
were eyewitnesses
and servants of the word (Luke 1:1-2).

This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord,
was confirmed
to us by those who heard him.
God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will (Heb. 2:3-4).

In short, Peter, Paul, and John all claim to be eyewitnesses, and Luke and the writer of Hebrews claim to be informed by eyewitnesses. In addition, the New Testament writers name others who saw the Resurrection. Paul specifically lists 14 people whose names are known as eyewitnesses of the Resurrection (the 12 apostles, James, and himself) and claims that there were more than 500 others. Matthew and Luke confirm the appearances to the apostles. All four Gospels mention the women as witnesses, with Mark identifying them as Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. Luke adds Joanna. That’s four more. Acts 1 also reveals that Joseph called Barsabbas was an eyewitness (Acts 1:23).

Not only do the apostles claim to be eyewitnesses, on several occasions they tell their audiences that everyone knows what they’re saying is true. These are not offhanded comments but bold proclamations to powerful people.

Perhaps the boldest eyewitness claim comes from Paul as he stands trial before King Agrippa and Governor Festus. Paul has just begun to tell Agrippa and Festus why he has been converted to Christianity and how Christ rose from the dead as predicted by the Old Testament, when suddenly Festus interrupts and calls Paul insane! The dramatic exchange is recorded by Luke in Acts 26:24-28:

At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.”

“I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

Do you see how brave, almost brash, Paul is? He not only boldly witnesses to the king and the governor, but he has the audacity to tell the king that he already knows Paul is telling the truth! Why is Paul so confident of this? Because the events of Christianity were “not done in a corner.” They were common knowledge and surely had not “escaped [the king’s] notice.” Imagine a defendant challenging a ruler or judge in that way! Such a witness must know that the events he describes are well-known.

This provocative approach is taken by several New Testament characters, who are not shy about challenging their hearers to test the truth of their testimony. For example, the other apostles, led by Peter, are just as brash and confident when they are questioned by angry Jewish authorities. Luke records the incident in Acts 5:27-32:

Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

The account goes on to say that the Jewish authorities “were furious and wanted to put [the apostles] to death,” but a well-respected Pharisee named Gamaliel talked them out of it.

The risk Paul, Peter, and the other apostles took to claim that they were providing eyewitness testimony certainly suggests that they were telling the truth. If these accounts are true, the apostles’ unwavering testimony and provocative challenges demonstrate that they were eyewitnesses who really believed Jesus rose from the dead.

But are these accounts true? After all, why should we trust that Luke is telling us the truth about these events? It’s one thing to claim that you’re an eyewitness or have eyewitness testimony, and it’s another thing to prove it. What evidence do we have that the New Testament writers were really eyewitnesses or had access to eyewitness testimony? Much more than you might think.

W
ERE
T
HEY
R
EALLY
E
YEWITNESSES
?

Eyewitness Evidence: Luke

Suppose someone wrote a book in 1980 describing your hometown as it was that year. In the book, the author correctly describes: your town’s politicians, its unique laws and penal codes, the local industry, local weather patterns, local slang, the town’s roads and geography, its unusual topography, local houses of worship, area hotels, town statutes and sculptures, the depth of the water in the town harbor, and numerous other unique details about your town that year. Question: If the author claimed he had visited your town that year—or said he had gotten good information from people who had been there—would you think he was telling the truth? Of course, because he provides details that only an eyewitness could provide. That’s the type of testimony we have throughout much of the New Testament.

Luke includes the most eyewitness details. (While Luke may not have been an eyewitness to the Resurrection itself, he certainly was an eyewitness to many New Testament events.) In the second half of Acts, for example, Luke displays an incredible array of knowledge of local places, names, environmental conditions, customs, and circumstances that befit only an eyewitness contemporary of the time and events.

Classical scholar and historian Colin Hemer chronicles Luke’s accuracy in the book of Acts verse by verse. With painstaking detail, Hemer identifies 84 facts in the last 16 chapters of Acts that have been confirmed by historical and archaeological research.
¹
As you read the following list, keep in mind that Luke did not have access to modern-day maps or nautical charts. Luke accurately records: