Stories make the world go round (or so we are told). They communicate knowledge and build trust. They speak of life and death and love and hope. They are powerful and at times exciting. ‘Anthropologists tell us that storytelling is central to human existence … We use stories to make sense of our world and to share that understanding with others’. The Bible is written as a call to faith and worship because it is the greatest story ever told, namely, the story of Jesus.
Biblical history is the door which opens personal salvation. God has given a written record of the life, death and resurrection of his Son who came into the world, born of a virgin. This is His-story. God has made sure all who are alive know the truth about Jesus Christ, which is essential when death beckons to remove weary pilgrims away. In the Bible God speaks to us in a way that is clear and understandable. William Tyndale (the man who translated most of the Bible into English) said a plough boy would be able to understand it in the vernacular and he gave his life in that pursuit. The gospel story of the coming of Jesus Christ was witnessed by reliable observers and his birth, ministry, miracles, passions and resurrection are recorded for us accurately in the New Testament. The ancient scribes have preserved His-story for us in thousands of ancient manuscripts (this is a miracle in itself). Since the invention of the printing press publishers have produced millions of copies of Scripture for us to read in many languages. Surely this story – His-story – is the greatest story ever told!
The Historical Jesus
Who was Jesus Christ? All four New Testament Gospels reveal the historical Jesus. They were written in order that the world would know who Jesus Christ really was and is and what he came to earth to achieve. Ancient historians such as the Jewish Titus Flavius Josephus (AD 37–c.100) and the Roman Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (AD 56–120) both acknowledged in their writings the historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth. The Bible does more; it records Jesus’s works of power, his vicarious atonement and his Godman nature in a historical context in a distinct epoch of history. At birth, Jesus was laid in a manger in Bethlehem in Judea; yet, no other birth of man or woman or of demigod, general, king or queen in the history of the world has had an impact like the Son of God who became man by the virgin birth. The incarnation account of God becoming man is surrounded by historic dates and figures: consider King Herod I of Judea (d. c.4 BC,); Archelaus who reigned as Herod’s successor; Caesar Augustus (27 BC – AD 14); Quirinius Governor of Syria (c.6 BC) and Jesus Christ himself (4 BC – AD 30).
Pontius Pilate the Prefect of Judea (AD 26/27–36/37), who is known for adjudicating at the trial and crucifixion of Jesus, confirms the authenticity of the Man from Galilee. Pilate is one of 23 New Testament figures whose existence has been confirmed by archaeology and they are added to over 50 Old Testament characters that have been identified as historical persons from outside of the Bible. One thing is for sure, these numbers only continues to grow. With the passage of time the Bible is not receding into myth, but is increasingly confirmed as history. Outside [extrabiblical] of literary references (the Gospels, Josephus, Tacitus and Philo) and a few coins bearing his name, there was no archaeological evidence for Pilate until 1961. Archaeologists excavating at Caesarea, on the Mediterranean coast, found a large monumental stone 68 cm high bearing the inscription ‘Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea’. Pilate had an official residence here, but the stone had been broken down and used as filler in a later building. It was quite ‘accidental’ that such a record was preserved for modern times.
God’s Timeline
Jesus came into history at a time when the Messiah would be paid attention to and his followers would spread his words and teachings to the Gentile nations. God sent his Son, ‘when the fullness of the time had come’ on a mission of mercy and on a mission of love:
• God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. (Gal. 4:4b-5)
This ‘fullness of the time’ speaks of God’s providential moment in world’s history for the Messianic plan of redemption to be enacted as foretold:
• The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (Isa. 7:14)
• For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isa. 9:6-7)
This was done so that ‘in the dispensation of the fullness of the times God might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, in Him’ (Eph. 1:9–10). As Martin LloydJones put it, ‘The whole span of time has been divided by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the world. That is the division that is emphasised in the New Testament. The times in which we live are called the last times, “the last days.”’ This theme of the dividing of time is repeated again throughout the New Testament,
• Now all these things happened to them [Israel] as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. (1 Cor. 10:11)
• God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son. (Heb. 1:1–2)
The moment the historical Jesus came into this world, the ends of the world have come. Time is divided once and forever by his first coming. His mediatorial work in heavenly session will go on until the Second Coming. This is God’s original plan of redemption and it will come to completion in the ‘last day’ (2 Tim. 4:8; 2 Peter 3:12–13; Rev. 6:16–17).
Scepticism
Can the story as recorded in the Gospels be believed? There have been recent attempts to discredit it. Jeremy Hardy, in an article in the London Times wrote, ‘Christmas is a mis-mash of stolen festivals’; ‘It is largely a German import’; ‘Even the virgin birth was nicked’. A Times editorial, on 24 December said that Santa Claus ‘is the most famous celebrity in the world. Millions who would not recognise the Queen or the Pope recognise him at once.’ That, sadly, is probably true.
On Christmas day 2008, Channel 4 (TV) put on a two-hour documentary on the virgin birth called ‘The Nativity Decoded’. It was researched and narrated by Robert Beckford and was advertised as being a ‘new’ programme which tried to ‘discover the meaning behind the Christmas story’. In this documentary Beckford set up spurious hypotheses which he rejected as impossible, leaving the impression that the Bible account of the nativity is at best unreliable and at worst total fiction. It was academic dishonesty pretending to be rational and believable. The issue, of course, is that of the veracity of the Bible. The point of the programme was to promote the liberal understanding of the birth event. Without denying the historicity of the person of Jesus, they wish to promote it as a ‘faith story’, which although not factual in their opinion, nevertheless does convey a central truth – that Joseph and Mary’s escape into Egypt from the tyranny and murdering intentions of Herod the Great showed courage and fortitude which was an example to all modern refugees who face similar threats to their lives.
However, Luke’s Gospel reveals the true uniqueness of the event by recording the historical facts of the virgin birth. For example, in chapter two, Caesar Augustus is identified as the great-grandnephew of Julius Caesar. He was known to secular historians as Octavian; he ruled the Roman Empire for nearly 42 years (27 BC-14 AD). These people were real and the Bible has accurately spoken about them and so we believe that the biblical story of the birth of Jesus is real too.
His-story as Truth
What should Christians say to negative attacks against the incarnation of Jesus? All four Gospels reveal the history and passion of Jesus written under the inspiration of God (2 Tim. 3:16). They were written in order that the world would know who Jesus Christ really was, and is, and what he came to earth to achieve (John 20:31). So Christians proclaim His-story. In John 17:17 Jesus makes a memorable statement about what truth is: ‘Your word is truth.’ Christians accept his definition. This truth is to be understood as being the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments but not the apocryphal books; they form no part of the canon of Scripture and have no authority in the churches. The biblical canon is (now) complete and no addition can be made nor needs to be made to it (2 Tim. 3:16; Gal. 1:8-9). Tradition and human presumptions have no authority to overthrow God’s Word; nor does tradition hold equal status, as this would result in the subordination of Scripture to the dogmas of fallible men. We must not be reluctant to accept the written history as well as the theology of the Holy Scriptures. J I Packer put it this way, ‘What the Bible says, God says, without error.’
The Bible asks those who believe to be ‘always be ready to give a defence (apologia) to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear’ (1 Peter 3:15b). His-story is for us to believe and defend and Peter certainly implies that the Christian faith is capable of reasonable defence. This means that His-story is true and God is pleased with it and the children of God are to embrace it by faith and repeat it with joy. Bible prophecy teaches that in the future Jesus Christ will come again a second time; then every eye will see him; then no one will doubt and all will know the truth of the gospel at the Judgement Day when the door of salvation will be closed. Today is the day of salvation! Today you must choose. The story of the incarnation of Jesus Christ has been written down that we might believe and become right with God.
His-story is for us to
believe and defend