Christmas Program Message

Thank you for joining us tonight. We appreciate that you took the time out of your evening to hear our families tell you a story. This is the story of Jesus and some of the things that he did during His life. But first one of the biggest things that come from something like this is ignoring the message because you might think that Jesus was a fictional character like spiderman or superman. But I want to give you a challenge, what if Jesus really did exist, what if there was proof that Jesus did live, and did teach and did do amazing things. Then we must believe that He is who He said He is. I want to get into a bit of history first.

Historicity of Jesus

He is specifically mentioned in TWO prominent non-Christian sources : the Roman historian Tacitus and the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, neither particularly sympathetic to Christianity. There are 4 facts to be drawn from these 2 sources: 1) Jesus existed,2) he had a following, 3) he was executed by the Roman authorities in Judea and 4) his following continued past his death.

The New Testament contains hundreds of references to Jesus Christ. There are those who date the writing of the Gospels to the second century A.D., more than 100 years after Jesus’ death. Even if this were the case (which we strongly dispute), in terms of ancient evidences, writings less than 200 years after events took place are considered very reliable evidences. Further, the vast majority of scholars (Christian and non-Christian) will grant that the Epistles of Paul (at least some of them) were in fact written by Paul in the middle of the first century A.D., less than 40 years after Jesus’ death. In terms of ancient manuscript evidence, this is extraordinarily strong proof of the existence of a man named Jesus in Israel in the early first century A.D.

It is also important to recognize that in A.D. 70, the Romans invaded and destroyed Jerusalem and most of Israel, slaughtering its inhabitants. Entire cities were literally burned to the ground. We should not be surprised, then, if much evidence of Jesus’ existence was destroyed. Many of the eyewitnesses of Jesus would have been killed. These facts likely limited the amount of surviving eyewitness testimony of Jesus.

Flavius Josephus is the most famous Jewish historian. In his Antiquities he refers to James, “the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ.” There is a controversial verse (18:3) that says, “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats....He was [the] Christ...he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him.” One version reads, “At this time there was a wise man named Jesus. His conduct was good and [he] was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who became his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive; accordingly he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.”

The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a) confirms Jesus’ crucifixion on the eve of Passover and the accusations against Christ of practicing sorcery and encouraging Jewish apostasy

Lucian of Samosata was a second-century Greek writer who admits that Jesus was worshiped by Christians, introduced new teachings, and was crucified for them. He said that Jesus’ teachings included the brotherhood of believers, the importance of conversion, and the importance of denying other gods. Christians lived according to Jesus’ laws, believed themselves to be immortal, and were characterized by contempt for death, and renunciation of material goods.

In fact, we can almost reconstruct the gospel just from early non-Christian sources: Jesus was called the Christ (Josephus), did “magic,” led Israel into new teachings, and was hanged on Passover for them (Babylonian Talmud) in Judea (Tacitus), but claimed to be God and would return (Eliezar), which his followers believed, worshiping Him as God (Pliny the Younger).

The Gospel

There have been thousands of people that have died believing that Jesus is who He said He is, and i am proud to say that i would be willing to be one of them. Or at least I hope I would be that brave. The message of Jesus is come follow me.

The birth of Jesus calls us to follow Him with our whole lives. Jesus pointed out to us that we where all separated from God, the creator, the ruler of all. That there is a pl;ace prepared for those that give their lives to God. But we live our lives seperated from God and if we are not careful we will die seperated from God.

Recognition of Sin: Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 CSB

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

Condemnation of Sin: Romans 3:10

Romans 3:10 CSB

10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.

Redemption through Christ: Romans 5:8

Romans 5:8 CSB

8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Payment for Sin: Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 CSB

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Salvation through Faith: Romans 10:9-10

Romans 10:9–10 CSB

9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

Eternal Life: Romans 5:1

Romans 5:1 CSB

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

By following the Romans Road, individuals can understand the clear and simple message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.