Did the New Testament writers get their picture of Jesus right?

Christians have believed for 2,000 years that Jesus was God. They claim that this human person who lived in Palestine in the first century AD was none other than the Creator of the universe, the Lord of heaven and earth.

They believe that God exists as three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit1 - and that Jesus, the Son, became human in the womb of Mary. He was born in a stable, lived till the age of 33, was crucified for his claims to be the promised messiah, rose from the dead, today reigns in heaven and will one day come back to judge the world. These things are clearly taught in the 27 books and letters of the New Testament, have been written into the Christian creeds down the centuries, and are believed by millions today [1].

It is natural in this modern world with its multiplicity of beliefs, and expectations of the ability of science to solve our problems, that many are going to be sceptical of such things. However, if we reject the truths of Christianity it raises an important question: How did such a remarkable collection of writings as the New Testament, which has had such an impact on world history, (and still has), come to be written?

One of the arguments used to discredit the truth that Jesus was God goes something like this. He was only an ordinary human being, though he obviously had some uncommon wisdom and courage, and perhaps some unusual gifts of healing. After his death about AD 30, stories about him were passed down by word of mouth. By the time the New Testament books and letters were written, all sorts of exaggerated stories had arisen about him - such as: the remarkable nature of his healing miracles and his miracles over nature; his claims to have come from heaven and to be the Saviour and Judge of human beings; and his resurrection from the dead. As a result of this distortion of the facts, his followers came to believe these things and have done so ever since.

Obviously such a view must accept that there is a sufficient time gap before things were written down for this to have happened, and must discredit any eyewitness claims in the New Testament.

There are some issues here that I have dealt with more fully in two other booklets, Is Jesus Really God? and Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead? In this booklet I want to focus on one issue: Is the gap between Jesus and the writers of the New Testament really sufficient to allow these distortions to take place?

[1] If you wish to explore further the Christian view of God as three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - may I recommend my booklet Understanding the Trinity: A Look at the God Revealed in Jesus Christ.