The Historical Records

Since we don't have the originals of any ancient writings, including the biblical Gospels, scholars must examine hand-written copies made prior to the 15th century printing press to determine their integrity, asking two key questions.

1. How early are the first known manuscripts?

The John Rylands fragment of the Gospel of John is dated about A.D. 120, within about 20 years of living eyewitnesses of Jesus. Recently, the Magdalen manuscript (a fragment of Matthew) was dated by Dr. Carston Thiede to A.D. 55-60, within 25 years of Jesus Himself!

Conclusion: The Gospel records were written within the eyewitness generation of Jesus. The theory that they are legends is without merit.

2. How many manuscripts are there from authorship to the printing press?

The number of hand-copied manuscripts of other ancient literature ranges from 1-643. But archaeologists have found over 24,000 New Testament manuscripts from many sources and languages. And they are from every century from the 1st to the 15th.

Conclusion: The Gospel records we have today are not substantially changed from what eyewitnesses wrote.

The biblical Gospels are the genuine articles--the most reliable writings of antiquity!

Jesus: The Focus and Fulfillment of Prophecy

There are at least 456 Old Testament prophetic references that pertain to a future person that all were fulfilled in the life of Jesus. Many of these had to do with JesusÕ trial, death and resurrection:

• He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13 / Matthew 26:14-16; 27:3-10)
• His hands and feet would be pierced--written before crucifixion was ever used (Psalm 22:16 / John 20:25)
• He would be crucified with criminals (Isaiah 53:12 / Luke 22:37)
• He would be resurrected from the dead (Psalm 16:10 / Acts 2:24-32)

As a result of these details in His life, many eyewitness Jews became convinced that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah and the Son of God.

There are those today who object to fulfilled prophecy by saying that they were written at or after the time of Jesus, and therefore, fulfill themselves. Not so! Old Testament writings found in the Dead Sea Scrolls date to about 150 years before Jesus, and also include the prophecies.