Jesus: Only a myth?

100 jesus just a mythThe Advent and Christmas season is a reflective time. A time of reflection on Jesus and his incarnation, a time of joy, hope and promise. People around the world are announcing their birth. A carol after the other sounds over the air. In the churches, the festival is solemnly celebrated with nativity plays, cantatas and choral singing. It is the time of year that one would think the whole world would know the truth about Jesus, the Messiah.

But unfortunately many do not understand the full meaning of the Christmas season and they celebrate the festival only because of the associated festive mood. They miss so much because they either do not know Jesus or adhere to the lie that he is just a myth - a claim that holds since the dawn of Christianity.

It is commonplace at this time of the year for journalistic contributions to express "Jesus is a myth", and it is typically remarked that the Bible is implausible as a historical witness. But these claims do not take into account that they can look back on a much longer history than many "reliable" sources. Historians often cite the writings of the historian Herodotus as trustworthy testimonies. However, there are only eight known copies of his remarks, the most recent of which date back to 900 - about 1.300 years after his time.

You contrast this with the “degraded” New Testament, which was written shortly after Jesus' death and resurrection. Its earliest record (a fragment of the Gospel of John) dates back to between 125 and 130. There are more than 5.800 complete or fragmentary copies of the New Testament in Greek, about 10.000 in Latin and 9.300 in other languages. I would like to introduce you to three well-known quotes that emphasize the authenticity of the depictions of Jesus' life.

The first goes to the Jewish historian Flavius ​​Josephus from the 1. Century back: At this time Jesus lived, a wise man [...]. For he was the achiever of incredible deeds and the teacher of all people who joyfully received the truth. So he attracted many Jews and also many Gentiles. He was the Christ. And although Pilate, at the instigation of the most distinguished of our people, condemned him to death on the cross, his former followers were not unfaithful to him. [...] And the people of Christians who call themselves after him continue to exist to this day. [Antiquitates Judaicae, German: Jewish antiquities, Heinrich Clementz (transl.)].

FF Bruce, who translated the Latin Urtext into English, stated that "the historicity of Christ is as incontrovertible for an unbiased historian as the Julius Caesars."
The second quote goes back to the Roman historian Carius Cornelius Tacitus, who also wrote his writings in the first century. Regarding the allegations that Nero burnt down Rome and afterwards blamed the Christians, he wrote:

The third quote is from Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, the official historian of Rome during the reign of Trajan and Hadrian. In a work written in 125 on the life of the first twelve Caesars, he wrote about Claudius, who ruled from 41 to 54:

The Jews, who were incited by Chrestus and continually caused unrest, he drove out of Rome. (Sueton's Kaiserbiographien, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Caesar, 25.4; translated by Adolf Stahr; note the spelling “Chrestus” for Christ.)

The statement of Suetonius refers to the expansion of Christianity in Rome before 54, only two decades after Jesus' death. The British New Testament scholar I. Howard Marshall comes to the conclusion in his consideration of these and other references: "It is not possible to explain the advent of the Christian Church or the Gospel writings and the flow of tradition behind it, without at the same time recognizing that the founder of Christianity actually lived."

Although other scholars question the authenticity of the first two quotations and some even consider them to be forgeries by Christian hands, these references are based on solid ground. In this context I am pleased about a comment made by the historian Michael Grant in his book Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels: “When we look at the new Using the same criteria in the Wills as we did with other ancient writings that contain historical material - which we should do - we cannot deny the existence of Jesus any more than we can deny that of a number of pagan persons whose true existence as figures of contemporary history can never be denied was questioned. "

While skeptics are quick to dismiss what they do not want to believe, there are exceptions. The theologian John Shelby Spong, known as skeptical and liberal, wrote in Jesus for the Non-Religious: “Jesus was first and foremost a person who actually lived in a certain place at a certain time. The man Jesus was not a myth, but a historical figure from whom an enormous energy emanated - an energy that still demands an adequate explanation today. "
Even as an atheist, CS Lewis considered the depictions of the New Testament about Jesus to be mere legends. But after he had read them himself and compared them to the real old legends and myths he knew, he clearly recognized that these writings had nothing in common with them. Rather, they resembled in their form and format memories, which reflect the daily life of a real person. After he realized that, a belief barrier had fallen. From then on, Lewis no longer had a problem believing the historical reality of Jesus to be true.

Many skeptics argue that as an atheist Albert Einstein did not believe in Jesus. Although the latter did not believe in a “personal God”, he took care not to declare war on those who did so; because: "Such a belief seems to me to be more excellent than the lack of any transcendental view." Max Jammer, Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology; German: Einstein and religion: physics and theology) Einstein, who grew up as a Jew, admitted that he was “enthusiastic about the figure of light of the Nazarene”. When asked by one of the interlocutors whether he recognized the historical existence of Jesus, he replied: “Without a question. No one can read the Gospels without feeling the real presence of Jesus. His personality resonates in every word. No myth is imbued with such a life. How much different, for example, is the impression we get from a story by a legendary ancient hero like Theseus. Theseus and other heroes of this format lack the authentic vitality of Jesus. ”(George Sylvester Viereck, The Saturday Evening Post, October 26, 1929, What Life Means to Einstein: An Interview)

I could go on, but as Roman Catholic scholar Raymond Brown rightly observed, focusing on the question of whether Jesus is a myth causes many to lose sight of the true meaning of the gospel. In The Birth of the Messiah, Brown mentions that he is often approached around Christmas by those wanting to write an article on the historicity of Jesus' birth. “Then, with little success, I try to persuade them that they could better understand the stories of Jesus' birth by focusing on their message, rather than on a question that was far from the focus of the evangelists .”
If we focus on spreading the story of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, rather than trying to convince people that Jesus was not a myth, we are living proof of Jesus' reality. That living proof is the life it is now leading within us and our community. The main purpose of the Bible is not to prove the historical correctness of the incarnation of Jesus, but to share with others why he came and what his coming means to us. The Holy Spirit uses the Bible to bring us into actual contact with the incarnate and risen Lord who draws us to him so that we may believe in him and show glory to the Father through him. Jesus came into the world as evidence of God's love for each and every one of us (1 John 4,10). Below are a few more reasons for his coming:

  • To seek and save what is lost (Luke 19,10).
  • To save sinners and to call them to repentance (1 Timothy 1,15; Mark 2,17).
  • To give his life for the redemption of people (Matthew 20,28).
  • To testify to the truth (John 18,37).
  • To do the will of the Father and lead many children to glory (John 5,30; Hebrews 2,10).
  • To be the light of the world, the way, the truth and the life (John 8,12; 14,6).
  • To preach the good news of the kingdom of God (Luke 4,43).
  • To fulfill the law (Matthew 5,17).
  • Because the Father sent him: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be judged; but whoever does not believe is already judged, for he does not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3,16-18).

This month we celebrate the truth that God came into our world through Jesus. It is good to remind ourselves that not everyone knows this truth and we are called to share it with others. More than a figure in contemporary history, Jesus is the Son of God who came to reconcile all with the Father in the Holy Spirit.

This makes this time a time of joy, hope and promise.

Joseph Tkach
President GRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL


pdfJesus: Only a myth?