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Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000067S
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00:01 - Travel just about anywhere on this planet
00:02 and you're going to find people who are familiar 00:05 with Jesus of Nazareth because, well, he's hands down 00:08 the most well-known character in the history 00:11 of the entire human race. 00:13 So today on "Authentic," we're gonna explore why that is. 00:18 [gentle Western music] 00:39 Today we're gonna look at something 00:40 I've talked about several times before, 00:42 but I'm convinced it's important enough 00:44 that we should probably come back at least one more time. 00:48 Why is Jesus of Nazareth so important? 00:51 I mean, here we are nearly 2000 years after his ministry 00:55 and the whole world is still talking about him. 00:58 He never wrote a book, and apart from his early childhood 01:01 in Egypt, he never really traveled anywhere. 01:04 And yet today, out of what, eight billion people, 01:07 almost 2 1/2 billion claim to be Christians 01:11 and nearly two billion Muslims 01:13 still revere Jesus as a prophet. 01:16 That means that more than half the people 01:18 living on this planet claim to have respect 01:21 for this humble peasant carpenter who lived 2000 years ago. 01:26 And I'm guessing the number 01:27 is actually probably higher than that. 01:30 Nobody else has had that kind of impact on our culture. 01:35 Walk into just about any bookstore 01:37 almost anywhere on the planet 01:39 and you're pretty much guaranteed 01:41 to defined books about Jesus, 01:42 or at least books that mention Him. 01:46 I mean, even some of these weird flying saucer cults 01:49 you find in places like Southern California, 01:52 they can't seem to help themselves. 01:54 Somehow, the so-called aliens making contact 01:58 with these people always seem 01:59 to bring up the subject of Jesus, 02:01 which means that no matter how strange their beliefs, 02:05 no matter how convinced they are that they're speaking 02:07 to extraterrestrials, they still kind of realize 02:10 that Jesus is important enough to our human history 02:13 that any new religious idea is going to have to try 02:17 and explain who He was or just explain Him away. 02:22 So why is that? 02:24 What exactly is it about this man that has arrested 02:27 our collective attention for two millennia? 02:31 I suppose you might explain it by referring to the fact 02:34 that Rome was the dominant world power of the first century 02:38 and by the fourth century, 02:40 the Roman emperor had adopted Christianity 02:42 as the official religion of state. 02:45 Now, if they had adopted the faith of Zoroaster at the time, 02:49 you could argue then Zarathustra would hold the position 02:52 of honor that is now bestowed on Jesus. 02:55 We still have Jesus in our culture today 02:58 because in many ways we are still living 03:00 in what is really the remnants of the Roman Empire. 03:04 But honestly, that's an explanation 03:06 I don't find very convincing because a lot 03:09 of notable emperors were very fond of pagan deities 03:13 and paganism today, as you've likely noticed, 03:15 is more of a specialty boutique religion 03:18 for a handful of people. 03:20 It's not a global phenomenon. 03:23 I mean, don't get me wrong, 03:24 I actually have friends who are practicing pagans, 03:26 so it is a real thing, but it hasn't captivated 03:30 the world's imagination the way that Jesus has. 03:34 So yes, there is an argument to be made 03:37 that putting the power of the state behind a religion 03:39 ensures its longevity, 03:42 but it's not the only factor here by a long shot. 03:45 I remember back in college 03:47 when I was not a practicing Christian. 03:49 I went to some kind of town hall meeting 03:52 where a heated debate broke out 03:53 after they opened the mics to the public. 03:56 Now, to be honest, I don't really remember what the topic 03:59 of that conference was, 04:00 but it was almost certainly political because, 04:03 well, that was my whole world at the time. 04:06 And whatever the topic was, 04:08 I do remember this angry man who stood up and made a speech 04:11 about Christians that was not very flattering, 04:14 and when he was finished berating them, he said, 04:17 "It seems obvious to me 04:18 that Christianity's going to disappear 04:20 from the earth in the next generation." 04:23 In fact, I think he might have said 20 years. 04:26 Now, that was 35 years ago 04:28 and there are very few signs of Jesus going anywhere. 04:31 I mean, yeah, there has been a small decline 04:34 in organized Christian churches during that time, 04:36 at least here in North America, but globally, 04:41 Christianity's as big as it ever has been. 04:43 In fact, it's even bigger and it's growing. 04:47 And the question we need to think about is why. 04:51 And I realize millions of people have tackled this question 04:54 and there's just no chance 04:56 that a half hour show can do this justice, 04:58 so maybe I'll just narrow the focus a little bit 05:01 and look at something I'm convinced is not the reason 05:05 for Jesus' popularity. 05:07 And this is something I started thinking 05:09 about when I was reading Eunapius, 05:12 a rather well-known stoic philosopher 05:14 who lived during the fourth century 05:16 at about the time that Rome was transitioning 05:19 from Pagan to Christian. 05:21 After Constantine died, 05:23 one of his sons, Constantius II, took his place. 05:27 And then when he died, we got Constantine's nephew, 05:30 a man by the name of Julian. 05:33 And Julian was determined to reverse the Christianization 05:36 of the Empire of Rome and return Rome to its pagan roots, 05:40 which is why we call him today Julian the Apostate, 05:45 and of course he failed because Rome 05:47 became more and more Christian as time went along, 05:50 to the point where Christians 05:52 started openly persecuting pagans, 05:55 which is the part of the story that doesn't often get told 05:58 from Christian pulpits. 06:00 So Eunapius the Stoic was living during that time 06:04 and his writings, at least what's left of them, 06:06 give us a glimpse into this rapidly-changing world. 06:10 His most famous work is actually a biography 06:12 of other philosophers, and at one point, 06:15 he discusses a man by the name of Iamblichus 06:17 and what I find fascinating is the fact that Iamblichus 06:21 had a reputation as a miracle worker. 06:25 Of course, Jesus also had a reputation as a miracle worker, 06:28 but most of you have never heard of Iamblichus, 06:31 so let me read you a little bit 06:33 from this account of the ancient philosopher, 06:35 and this is a story where his students 06:37 come to ask him a question. 06:40 "Nevertheless, they say, a rumor has reached us 06:43 through your slaves that when you pray to the gods, 06:47 you soar aloft from the earth 06:49 more than 10 cubits to all appearance, 06:51 that your body and your garments change 06:53 to a beautiful golden hue, 06:56 and presently, when your prayer is ended, 06:58 your body becomes as it was before you prayed 07:00 and then you come down to earth and associate with us." 07:04 Apparently this philosopher would float 07:07 in the sky when he prayed, 07:08 which is a much different scenario 07:10 than the picture we get of Jesus when He prays. 07:14 In John 17, we have the words 07:16 of an actual prayer that Christ prayed, 07:19 a conversation He had with his Heavenly Father 07:21 and there's no mention 07:23 of an altered appearance or levitation. 07:26 I mean, we do find a transfigured Jesus 07:29 on the Mount in Matthew 18, 07:31 but but that's a different kind of story. 07:34 For the most part, Jesus looked perfectly human. 07:37 And when Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, 07:41 he was a profoundly tortured man, sweating blood. 07:44 He wasn't levitating above the ground. 07:47 Of course, Iamblichus never levitated either 07:50 and he quickly dispelled the rumor when he heard about it, 07:53 but then we get a story from the city of Gadara 07:56 where the great philosopher appeared 07:58 to produce living people out of thin air 08:01 like a magic trick, or maybe I should say 08:03 out of thin water because that's how the story goes. 08:06 Here's what it says. 08:08 "He at once touched the water with his hand. 08:11 He happened to be sitting on the ledge 08:12 of the spring where the overflow runs off, 08:15 and uttering a brief summons, 08:17 he called for a boy from the depth of the spring. 08:20 He was white-skinned and of medium height. 08:22 His locks were golden and his back and breast shone 08:25 and he exactly resembled one who was bathing 08:28 or had just bathed." 08:30 A few minutes later, according to this story, 08:32 Iamblichus has touched another spring 08:34 and he pulled another boy out of the water. 08:36 And then when the story's finished, 08:37 he puts the boys back and I guess they 08:40 either dissolved in the water or magically disappeared. 08:43 And you know what else has magically disappeared? 08:46 My time, so here's what we're going to do. 08:48 We're gonna take a quick break 08:50 and I'll be right back to tell you why 08:51 that very strange story got me thinking. 08:59 - [Narrator] Life can throw a lot at us. 09:01 Sometimes we don't have all the answers, 09:05 but that's where the Bible comes in. 09:07 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 09:10 Here at "The Voice of Prophecy," 09:12 we've created the "Discover Bible Guides" 09:14 to be your guide to the Bible. 09:15 They're designed to be simple, easy to use, 09:18 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions, 09:21 and they're absolutely free, 09:23 so jump online now or give us a call 09:25 and start your journey of discovery. 09:29 - One of the few things we know about Eunapius or Eunapius, 09:32 I've never really known how to pronounce that, 09:34 but we know that his history is not exactly airtight. 09:38 Well, it's more or less a reliable account, 09:41 or at least an honest retelling of stories 09:43 the way he understood them, 09:45 scholars have noticed a few mistaken details here and there. 09:49 So, like with most ancient sources, 09:51 you've got to take what he says with the grain of salt. 09:54 Just because he says that one of these ancient philosophers 09:57 was pulling boys out of the water like a stage magician, 10:01 it doesn't mean that anybody actually saw that happen, 10:03 it just means that Eunapius heard about it. 10:07 But it's these miracle stories that really got me thinking. 10:10 We know that the teachings of Iamblichus were influential 10:13 because the Emperor Julian was a fan of his 10:16 and kept company with some of his disciples. 10:20 And we know some of what he taught 10:22 because of the fragments of his writings that survived 10:25 and because he is sometimes quoted by others, 10:29 but what really struck me as odd is the way 10:32 that Eunapius provides us with none of his teachings. 10:36 The entire account is almost purely 10:38 about those signs and wonders. 10:41 I mean, we have one brief story about a tricky question 10:45 another philosopher asked Iamblichus and it went like this: 10:49 "Tell me, philosopher, is a rich man either 10:52 unjust or the heir of the unjust, yes or no? 10:55 For there is no middle course." 10:58 According to the story, Iamblichus deflected that question 11:00 and just ended the meeting. 11:03 I suppose it might be a little like Jesus 11:05 deflecting some of the questions the Pharisees 11:07 used to try and trap Him, but in that case, 11:11 the questioners were trying to ruin Jesus, 11:13 not trying to learn something, and that's it. 11:16 That's all the Iamblichus teaching we have. 11:19 And honestly, I find that kind of frustrating 11:21 because if an historical character 11:24 is known for unusual wisdom, I'd like to read some of that. 11:28 And whether or not he could perform a miracle 11:30 is neither here or there as far as I'm concerned. 11:33 And while Eunapius probably had good reasons 11:36 for the way he chose to tell the story, 11:39 I find it frustrating that he never gets to the part 11:41 I think is most important, 11:44 what the great philosopher taught, 11:46 because that would give me a glimpse of his character 11:49 and give me some kind of idea who he really was, 11:53 whether or not he's worth listening to. 11:56 Now, it's entirely possible that the author 11:59 thought everybody already knew what Iamblichus taught, 12:01 so he didn't feel the need to repeat anything 12:04 and we do have enough material left over from other sources 12:08 to kind of piece together some of what he believed. 12:11 But again, Eunapius only focuses on the miracles, 12:17 which brings me back to Jesus. 12:19 As most of you were aware, 12:20 because Jesus is still so popular 2000 years later, 12:24 the gospels have more than a few miracle stories. 12:28 Jesus turned water into wine. 12:30 He healed the sick and restored sight to the blind. 12:33 He multiplied the loaves and fishes 12:35 and he even raised the dead. 12:38 There's no question that Jesus worked a lot of miracles, 12:42 but I want you to think about this. 12:45 Are those miracles the foundation of the Christian faith? 12:49 And the answer is no. 12:52 I would argue that if the Bible didn't record 12:54 a single miracle from Jesus, 12:55 He would still command the attention 12:57 of the whole world today. 12:59 Of course, there's one miracle that has to happen 13:03 to make the faith work 13:04 and that's the resurrection of Christ. 13:06 Paul makes a very convincing argument 13:08 in 1 Corinthians 15 that if Jesus didn't actually come back 13:12 from the dead, there would be no Christian faith. 13:16 Here's what he says in 1 Corinthians 15: 13:20 "But if there is no resurrection of the dead, 13:23 then Christ is not risen. 13:25 And if Christ is not risen, 13:26 then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty." 13:31 So yeah, without the resurrection, 13:33 there's no Christian faith, and I'd be a fool to argue 13:36 that the other miracles Jesus performed weren't important 13:40 because, well, the disciples found them important enough 13:43 to tell us about them. 13:45 But are all those signs and wonders the foundation 13:49 of the Christian faith? 13:51 Absolutely not. 13:52 I'd argue that the faith is based on something much deeper. 13:58 Let me take you over to the real Lord's Prayer now 14:01 in John 17, and I call this the real Lord's Prayer 14:05 because, well, Jesus actually prayed it. 14:08 What we usually call the Lord's Prayer 14:10 is actually a model prayer that Jesus gave us as a template. 14:14 But in John 17, we actually get to eavesdrop on Jesus 14:18 as He talks to His Heavenly Father 14:20 and here's what He says starting in verse four: 14:24 "I have glorified You on the earth. 14:26 I have finished the work which You have given Me to do, 14:29 and now, oh Father, glorify Me together with Yourself 14:33 with the glory which I had with You before the world was. 14:37 I have manifested Your name." 14:40 That's another way of saying your character. 14:44 "I have manifested Your name to the men 14:47 whom You have given Me out of the world. 14:49 They were Yours, You gave them to Me, 14:51 and they have kept Your Word. 14:53 Now they have known that all things 14:55 which You have given Me are from you." 14:58 So in this prayer, 15:00 what does Jesus say the purpose of His mission was? 15:03 He says "He came to show us the character of God." 15:07 What we have in the person of Christ according to the Bible 15:10 is the one and only human being 15:12 who ever lived a perfect human life. 15:15 While, all of us were originally made in the image of God, 15:18 Jesus is the only one who's ever pulled it off. 15:21 He lived a life that perfectly reflected 15:24 the character of God. 15:26 You might call it the only authentic human life 15:30 in the history of humanity. 15:33 And I would argue that this 15:35 is one of the biggest reasons the name of Jesus 15:37 is still in circulation to this day. 15:40 He was different from the rest of us 15:41 in a very compelling way. 15:44 And when you're confronted with Jesus 15:46 like Pontius Pilate was, 15:48 you quickly get the sense that He represents 15:50 what you and I are supposed to be. 15:54 I think I've mentioned this on another show, 15:55 but even Thomas Jefferson, who actually took a razor blade 15:59 to the New Testament to get rid of the miracles, 16:02 was still astonished with the picture of Jesus left over 16:06 when he was finished. 16:08 In a letter to William Short, back in 1820, 16:11 Jefferson expressed deep admiration 16:14 for what he called the "innocence of Jesus' character, 16:17 the purity and sublimity of his moral precepts, 16:20 the eloquence of his inculcates, 16:22 the beauty of the epilogues in which he conveys them." 16:27 In another letter he wrote when he was president 16:29 he said this: 16:30 "The Christian religion, when divested of the rags 16:33 in which they have enveloped it 16:35 and brought to the original purity 16:37 and simplicity of its benevolent institutor, 16:40 is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, 16:42 science and the freest expansion of the human mind." 16:47 What Jefferson was doing was trying to make a philosopher 16:50 out of Jesus and he used some of Jesus' teachings 16:52 to help create the American Republic 16:56 and what he discovered was that you can take away 16:58 all of the miracles, 16:59 all of the supernatural parts of the story, 17:02 and you still have a very compelling Jesus. 17:07 I'll be right back after this. 17:12 - [Narrator] Here at the "Voice of Prophecy," 17:13 we're committed to creating top-quality programming 17:16 for the whole family, 17:17 like our audio adventure series, "Discovery Mountain." 17:20 "Discovery Mountain" is a Bible-based program 17:23 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 17:25 Your family will enjoy the faith-building stories 17:28 from this small mountain summer camp and town. 17:31 With 24 seasonal episodes every year 17:33 and fresh content every week, 17:36 there's always a new adventure just on the horizon. 17:42 - Just before the break, 17:44 I was talking about Thomas Jefferson who was a deist. 17:48 He believed there was a God of some kind out there, 17:51 but that God probably kickstarted this universe 17:54 and then didn't bother with us after that. 17:56 Of course, while I certainly respect the intelligence 18:00 of Jefferson, I mean, he was clearly smarter than me, 18:03 I find myself in a much different camp 18:06 because I do believe in a personal God who does intervene 18:12 in the affairs of humanity, but the real point is this. 18:15 It's not the miracles that have put Jesus 18:18 at the apex of history because, 18:20 whether or not a lame man walked 2000 years ago 18:24 isn't really gonna change how I live my life today. 18:27 The person of Jesus, however, 18:30 certainly does have an impact on who I want to be. 18:34 I mean history, it's full of miracle stories, 18:37 and you'll find supernatural tales 18:39 connected to the lives of all kinds of famous people, 18:43 but Jesus is something well beyond that. 18:47 In fact, the Bible actually cautions 18:50 against using miracles as proof of anything. 18:54 Take for example, the strange parable that you find 18:57 in Luke 16 where Jesus tells the now-famous story 19:01 of the rich man and Lazarus. 19:04 Today some well-meaning Christians have taken that story 19:07 to be a literal historical account 19:09 as if a man living in hell and a man living in heaven 19:13 were actually able to talk to each other, 19:16 but the context reveals very clearly 19:18 that this story is a parable. 19:21 I mean, just look at the language you find 19:22 at the top of the story where Jesus says: 19:25 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple 19:28 and fine linen and fared sumptuous every day." 19:32 Now, if you go back through the previous chapters, 19:35 you'll find Jesus starting a lot of parables 19:37 with that very same language. 19:39 "There was a certain man who did this or that." 19:43 And the fact that this story comes after a long string 19:46 of similar parables tells you this is not a literal account. 19:52 But now let's get back to the matter at hand 19:54 and that's miracles. 19:56 At the end of this parable, 19:58 the beggar, Lazarus, is with Abraham 20:01 and the rich man is in torment. 20:03 It's really a parable about the nation of Israel 20:06 who laid claim to Abraham as their father, 20:09 and it's a story about the Gentiles who were treated 20:12 as if they were unclean dogs. 20:14 And what Jesus is doing with this story 20:17 is warning the Pharisees 20:18 that they could quickly lose their chosen people status 20:22 if they continued the path they were walking. 20:25 At the end of the story, 20:26 Jesus has the rich man begging Abraham to raise Lazarus 20:31 from the dead and send him out to warn his relatives. 20:34 So, now listen to how Abraham responds, 20:38 and I don't want you to miss the point. 20:39 It says, "Abraham said to him, 20:43 'They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them.' 20:46 And he said, 'No, father Abraham, 20:48 but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'" 20:53 So what would that be? 20:55 That would be a miracle. 20:57 It continues: 20:58 "But he said to him, if they do not hear Moses 21:01 and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded 21:04 though one rise from the dead." 21:08 So here's what I'm getting at. 21:10 The New Testament illustrates 21:12 the deity of Christ with miracles, 21:14 but it doesn't use those miracles to defend his deity. 21:18 I mean, just consider the fact that Jesus 21:20 later literally raised a man named Lazarus from the dead, 21:25 but the people who saw him do that still wanted to kill him. 21:29 The miracles didn't cause the religious authorities 21:32 to believe, in fact, they only deepen their resistance. 21:37 The New Testament does not appeal 21:40 to Jesus' miracles to prove He's Messiah. 21:44 It appeals to the Old Testament to do that. 21:46 It points to fulfilled prophecy. 21:49 You'll find this especially in the writings of Paul. 21:52 Over and over and over and over, 21:54 he refers to the Old Testament 21:57 as proof that Jesus is what he claimed to be. 22:00 That's why I insist that you can discover the deity 22:04 and the importance of Christ quite apart from the miracles. 22:08 In fact, you actually have Jesus 22:11 rebuking the authorities when they ask for one. 22:14 I mean, just listen to this, Matthew 16. 22:17 This is a very pointed statement. 22:19 It says, "Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, 22:23 and testing Him, asked that He would show them 22:25 a sign from heaven. 22:27 He answered and said to them, 22:29 'When it is evening, you say it will be fair weather, 22:32 for the sky is red. 22:34 And in the morning it will be foul weather today, 22:36 for the sky is red and threatening. 22:39 Hypocrites, you know how to discern the face of the sky, 22:42 but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 22:45 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign 22:49 and no sign shall be given to it 22:52 except the sign of the prophet Jonah.' 22:54 And He left them and departed." 22:58 Instead of working a miracle to convince these guys, 23:01 Jesus points them to the fulfillment of prophecy. 23:04 He refers to the signs of the times 23:07 and tells them that they should know who He is 23:11 the same way they can read the change of the weather. 23:14 And then He finishes by telling them 23:16 that only wicked people demand miracles. 23:20 So again, I don't, for one minute, doubt the importance 23:24 of the miracles and I really do believe they happened, 23:28 but they are not the foundation of my faith. 23:31 They only serve to illustrate it. 23:33 My faith is rooted in the person of Christ 23:36 because He is utterly unlike anybody 23:40 in the history of humanity, 23:42 and the more you get to know who He is 23:45 the more you comprehend the character of God. 23:49 I'll be right back after this. 23:55 - [Narrator] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues. 23:59 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid and confusing. 24:03 If you've ever read Daniel or Revelation 24:06 and come away scratching your head, you're not alone. 24:09 Our free "Focus on Prophecy Guides" 24:11 are designed to help you unlock the mysteries of the Bible 24:14 and deepen your understanding of God's plan 24:16 for you and our world. 24:18 Study online or request them by mail 24:20 and start bringing prophecy into focus today. 24:25 - All right, I'm completely out of time yet again this week, 24:28 but let me just take one moment to underline 24:30 why I find this subject so compelling. 24:34 There's a tendency for people to believe in the miraculous, 24:37 but according to the Bible, 24:39 that can actually get you into trouble. 24:41 I mean, never forget that Pharaoh's magicians 24:43 were also able to change walking sticks into snakes 24:47 like Moses did and there's no question 24:49 those guys were playing for the wrong team. 24:52 In the Book of Revelation, 24:54 it's the second beast who performs the miracles, 24:57 which serves as a warning that not everything 24:59 in this world is the way it appears to be. 25:03 In his first letter to the Church of Corinth, 25:05 Paul says something that every Christian 25:07 should take to heart. 25:09 He writes, "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 25:13 but we preach Christ crucified, 25:15 a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles." 25:20 For the Jews, Jesus seemed like a bad fit from Messiah 25:23 because they assumed that a messianic king 25:25 would dispense with the Romans 25:28 and a man who died a humiliating death 25:30 that was usually reserved for criminals, 25:33 well, he couldn't possibly have the power of God, 25:35 not as far as they were concerned. 25:37 The Greeks, on the other hand, 25:39 were looking for a great philosopher, like Jefferson was, 25:43 and to them there was no way, 25:44 that a deity would become a mere physical human being 25:47 and then die a physical death. 25:49 What the Greeks wanted was rationality 25:53 and it occurs to me that we still have both kinds of people 25:55 in the Christian world today. 25:57 We have those who love to dwell on miracles, 26:00 who love a big show of power, and they fill the airwaves 26:04 with wonder-working preachers who appear to heal the sick. 26:08 These people want signs and wonders. 26:11 But then on the other hand, 26:12 we also have Christians who reduce the faith 26:14 to a matter of rationality and you'll find some of this 26:18 in the older mainstream churches. 26:20 These are people who want to philosophies, 26:23 they wanna rationalize everything, 26:25 and naturally, I am kind of attracted to that side 26:28 of the equation, but the cross of Christ doesn't really fit 26:34 and it demands that we dig a little deeper. 26:36 You can't easily explain a God 26:38 who becomes a flesh and blood human being and then dies 26:42 in a way that, well, it doesn't make sense to most people. 26:46 This is just not a simple concept. 26:49 When you read the words of Christ, 26:51 the ones preserved here in the pages of the Bible, 26:54 you're going to find that there's nothing facile, 26:56 nothing easy about His teaching. 26:59 It's not easy, and it runs against the grain 27:02 of conventional wisdom in a very oddly compelling way, 27:07 which is why I urge you to put aside the books you've read 27:10 about Jesus and the movies you've watched about His life 27:15 and just read the Bible. 27:18 Read the source document for yourself. 27:21 This is not a simplistic faith 27:24 and there's a reason that people have clung 27:26 to this book now for thousands of years. 27:30 Something like four billion people still respect 27:32 and even revere this humble carpenter from Nazareth 27:35 and there's a really good reason for that. 27:38 And like Elijah waiting for God in a cave, 27:40 you're not gonna find that reason in the spectacular. 27:42 You're gonna find it the small, still voice 27:46 that continues to speak through the most memorable man 27:49 in the history of the world. 27:52 I'm Shawn Boostra. 27:53 You've been watching "Authentic." 27:55 Thanks for joining me. 27:57 [gentle Western music] |
Revised 2023-02-14