Are the Bible Records of Jesus True?
The basis for trusting the Gospel records about Jesus is twofold:
- Do the records have integrity? and
- Are they actual history?
Ancient writings with the earliest and greatest number of hand-written manuscripts have the greatest integrity. Most ancient works have fewer than 100 manuscripts, a scant few have several hundred. The New Testament, in stark contrast, has over 24,000.
Most documents from antiquity have no manuscripts within even one thousand years of the time of writing. This allows for the accumulation of copying errors. Again, consider that some New Testament manuscripts are within twenty-five years of the original composition; all are within 100 years of authorship.
The integrity of the eyewitness Gospel records of Jesus is head and shoulders above all other ancient writings.
Archaeological discoveries often confirm the historical reliability of people, places, and events mentioned in the writings. No other writing is even close to the historical confirmation of the New Testament. Evidence for people (e.g. Caiaphas, Pontius Pilate), places (e.g. Capernaum Synagogue, Peter’s home, pools of Bethesda and Siloam), and events (crucifixion with nails) have verified the truthfulness of New Testament history.
The Gospel records of Jesus have the greatest integrity and are the most historically reliable writings of antiquity, bar none.
The transmission to us over the centuries has been so good that when we read about Jesus in our Bible today, we can be assured we are reading what the eyewitness apostles saw, heard, and wrote in the first century!
