 The authors even documented these truths using a form of Greek that was popular in the region in the first century.
The claims of the Gospel authors were also preserved over time. My experience documenting the “chain of custody” for any piece of evidence in a criminal trial helped me to trace the claims of the New Testament authors over the centuries. The students of the Apostle John, for example (Ignatius, Papias and Polycarp), reiterate John’s claims without any modification. Ignatius and Polycarp then repeated the Gospel claims faithfully to their student, Irenaeus, without altering them. As I examined the ancient letters of these Church Fathers, I discovered that the truth about Jesus could be reconstructed from their letters to one another and to local congregations. The facts about Jesus were never altered along the way.
Finally, I investigated the motives of the Gospel authors. My experience investigating homicides taught me that there are only three reasons why anyone commits a murder, and these are the same three reasons why people lie: financial greed, sexual desire and the pursuit of power. As I examined the lives of the Gospel authors, I found that none of them had anything to gain in any of these areas. Christians in the first three centuries (prior to the Roman Edict of Milan), suffered for their commitment to Jesus. Christians were persecuted during this time. Many lost their possessions, their standing within their family and community, even their lives. If the claims related to Jesus were untrue, they would have been the most dangerous and consequential untruths anyone could utter.
The Gospel authors passed the four-part test I typically applied to eyewitnesses in my criminal cases. Their written accounts reliably and accurately described the resurrection of Jesus without ulterior motive. When I realized this was the case, everything changed for me. I’m inclined to assign a higher level of authority to someone who has demonstrated His divinity by rising from the grave. I reread the words of Jesus from a new perspective, and once I realized the New Testament was telling the truth about Him, I started to pay close attention to what it was saying about my predicament. It accurately described Jesus as God incarnate with the power to forgive sins and shoulder the cost of human rebellion. It accurately described me as a fallen, defiant sinner in need of that kind of Savior.
Jesus still answers that need today. Our sinful imperfection separates us from a perfect and Holy God, but our remedy can be found only in Jesus, if we profess Him as Savior and Lord. Jesus is the uniquely sinless, perfect Man who proved His deity, confirmed His authority and changed human history by rising from the grave. He’s changed the eternal fate of millions of lives along the way. If you’re ready to surrender your life to Christ, He can change yours as well. ©2021 J. Warner Wallace
J. Warner Wallace is a Christian apologist and former Los Angeles cold-case homicide detective who has been featured numerous times on NBC’s “Dateline” program for his crime scene expertise. He is a senior fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, adjunct professor of Christian apologetics at Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology and author of books such as “Cold-Case Christianity” and “Person of Interest” (coming fall 2021).
Above: The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem is one of the possible sites of the tomb in which Jesus was buried before His resurrection.
Photo: Chris Willemsen/Alamy Stock Photo