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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 1/21
Talk Notes:
Areas highlighted in blue are Personal Stories or Testimonies
that Jamie Haith tells in the classic Alpha talk. These may be
replaced with a live speakers personal story or the speaker may
tell the story about Jamie in the same way Nicky tells stories
about others.
Areas in green are bible verses.
Areas in purple are key quotes.
*Key elements of this script are the personal stories, humour,
and reference to media/poplular culture to draw the guests in to
engage with the talk. Parts of the talk may need to be
contextualised for other contexts or cultures but make sure you
maintain the key elements of humour and personal testimony. Notice
how quotes, and stories are used throughout to add emphasis to the
main points of the talk (theology and testimony).
These scripts are complimented by media 'Prezi's' that can be
downloaded from studentalpha.org The cues for the presentation are
marked on the script denoted by the camera symbol. At each cue
press the right arrow on your keyboard to advance to the next
image. Some of the cues are close up stills, some are overviews (2
or more polaroids), some are close up moving videos or animations.
The presentation for 'Who is Jesus?' contains 5 moving videos. One
of which has an audio track. These videos start automatically as
soon as they are 'moved to'. Top tip: For this talk, timing the
'Textual Criticism' animation to the spoken text is key. Move to
the first 'Textual Criticism' animation on the words '1300 year
gap' and then practice timing the rest of the words to the video
[after the 3rd arrows appears you have 33 seconds to read the next
section of text before the arrow of 30 years appears]. Don't worry
if it goes wrong but it can look really slick if you practice
before! Presentation Tip: On some monitors when you activate full
screen areas of the prezi are cropped. To rectify this simply make
the prezi window the size and shape of the screen manually (by
stretching the bottom right hand corner) rather than using the full
screen button. Be sure to check before you start that the Bible
verses & references can all be read. Be sure to run through the
presentation with the person giving the talk before hand and check
all the media works correctly. To learn more about how the prezi's
work visit: www.prezi.com/learn or email the Student Alpha team at
[email protected] with any questions that you have.
Alpha Course Alpha International 2011
THE ALPHA COURSE SCRIPT: WHO IS JESUS? TALK: 1 DURATION: 20
MINUTES
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 2/21
WEEK 1: WHO IS JESUS? (Play Vox Pops Who Is Jesus?)
(Introduction) Millions dont believe inJesus....millions
do...everyone seems to believe different
things about him. So whos right?
When a Christian says the gospel all about Jesus is true....how
do they
know?....how can they be so sure?.... is it just a matter of
blind faith?
What is the evidence for Christianity?
Is Jesus just a myth? Did he even exist?
Regardless of their religious belief, no serious historian would
deny that Jesus
existedall would agree that there is simply too much evidence
that Jesus
lived on earth.
There's evidence first outside the New Testament.
For example, the Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius speak
about him.
(Key Quote)
The Jewish historian Josephus, writing very close to Jesus' time
said this:
`Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man if it is
lawful to call
him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of
such men
as receive the truth with pleasure.He drew over to him both many
of the
Jews and many of the Gentiles.'
and he goes on to speak about his crucifixion, and his alleged
resurrection.
So there's evidence outside the New Testament from credible
historical
sources.
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 3/21
Then there's the evidence inside the New Testament.
Some people say "Well, the Bible was written a long time ago.
How do we
know that what they wrote has not been changed over the
years?"
The answer is that we do know. We can know very accurately
through a
science called `textual criticism'. We can be confident about
what the New
Testament writers actually sat down and wrote.
Professor F.F. Bruce from the University of Manchester [in the
UK], wrote a book
called The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?
In it he shows just how rich the NT is in sheer weight of
manuscripts by
comparing it to the texts of other historical works.
Basically, the idea behind textual criticism is this: as you sit
and read a book
that is a copy of an ancient manuscript, of any kind, the way
you know what
you are reading is what the original author/s wrote is by asking
two questions:
1. How quickly after the original was written was the earliest
copy made?
2. How many copies are there?
Herodotus Histories was written in the 5th century BC. The
earliest copy that we
have is around AD 900 so there's a 1300 year gap. Caesar's
Gallic War: 950
year gap between original and first copy. Livy's Roman History:
900 year gap
between original and first copy. Now, no classical scholar would
doubt the
authenticity of these works...
How about The New Testament? The books of the NT were written
between 40
and 100 AD .the earliest copies we have begin in AD 130. And we
have full
manuscripts by AD 350. So, depending on how you view it there
is, at most, only
a 300-year gap and at the very least just a 30 year gap between
the original and
the earliest dated copy that we have.
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 4/21
And what about the number of copies of each?
Herodotus Histories 8 copies
Caesars Gallic War 10 copies
Livys Roman History - 20 copies
The New Testament 24,300 copies; 5,309 Greek manuscripts, 10,000
Latin
manuscripts and 9,300 other.
You look at this and you see it: the New Testament stands
absolutely and
unapproachably alone amongst ancient prose writings ........and
no secular
historian would disagree with that conclusion.
So there's all kinds of evidence that Jesus existed.
But who was he? Teacher?...Prophet?...what do we know?
Firstly we know that Jesus was fully human.
The Hollywood movie director Martin Scorsese made the film THE
LAST
TEMPTATION OF CHRIST out of a desire to show that Jesus was just
that: a real
human being.
But for most people today that's not the real issue. We may
accept that Jesus
was fully human. He had a human body: he could be tired, hungry,
he could
suffer pain.
He had human emotions: love, joy, sadness.
He had human experiences: birth, growing up, education,
temptation, work,
bereavement, suffering, rejection, death.
But many would say : "Yes Jesus was a human being....but he was
only a
human being.....a great religious teacher, perhaps, but no more
than that
......just human."
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 5/21
(Key Quote)
The great Scottish comedian Billy Connolly said this:
"I can't believe in Christianity, but I think Jesus was a
wonderful man.
He was a great religious teacher." like, Buddha or Gandhi
maybe.
But there are other views of this man Jesus.
(Key Quote)
An interviewer asked the rockstar Bono:
Christ has his rank among the worlds great thinkers. But Son of
God,
isnt that far fetched?
Bono replied,
No its not far fetched to me. Look, the secular response to
the
Christian story always goes like this: he was a great prophet,
obviously
a very interesting guy But actually Christ doesnt allow you
that. He
doesnt let you off that hook. Christ says I am God incarnate
So
what you are left with is either Christ was who he said he was
or a
complete nutcase. Im not joking here the idea that the entire
course of
civilisation for over half the globe could have its fate changed
and
turned upside down by a nutcase, for me thats far fetched.
What evidence is there to suggest that Jesus was more than just
a great
religious teacher?
First of all, who did Jesus think he was?
Some say "Well, Jesus never actually claimed to be God."
Its true that Jesus did not go around saying "I am God." But
when one looks at
all that he did claim and teach, there is little doubt that he
was conscious of
being a man who's identity was God.
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 6/21
Here there are three pieces of evidence.
(Talk Point 1) HIS TEACHING CENTRED ON HIMSELF
Most good religious teachers point away from themselves and to
God. They
say "Don't look at me! Look at God." Jesus, in pointing to God,
pointed to
himself. ...in other words he was saying that it's through him
that we encounter
God.
In every human heart there is a hunger.
(Key Quote)
Three leading psychologists of the 20th century have all
recognised this.
Jung said People are hungry for security.
Alder: People are hungry for significance.
Freud: People are hungry for love.
Jesus said: I am the bread of life. If you want those hungers
satisfied,
come to me.
Many people are walking around today in depression,
disillusionment,
despair....for many it's like an emotional darkness.
(Bible verse)
Jesus said "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will
not walk
in darkness, but have the light of life."
It's always interesting to talk to people after they've done an
Alpha
course.......one person spoke of their experience like this:
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 7/21
"It was as if the light had suddenly been turned on, and I could
see things
for the first time."
Many today are fearful of death. We try to avoid talking about
it.
(Bible verse)
Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe
in me
will live, even though they die.
(Key Quote)
Somebody asked Mother Teresa shortly before she died:
"Are you at all afraid of dying?" And her answer was: "How can I
be?
Dying is going home to God. I've never been afraid......on the
contrary; I'm
looking forward to it!"
Many are dissatisfied with materialism. And they're searching
for some kind of
spiritual reality.
(Bible verse)
Jesus said "I am the way." When you're searching for some kind
of value
system:
Jesus said I am the truth. Many ask "what is the point of life?
What's its
meaning?
What is its purpose? Jesus said I am the life.
Others in the past have said "That's the way. That's the truth.
That's the life."
Jesus said I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
Many are burdened by worries and guilt. Jesus said Come to me,
all you who
are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 8/21
Many are not sure what they should be doing with their lives.
What kind of model
should we be following? [The traditional models that people have
often followed
are now breaking down.] Who should we follow? Jesus said Follow
me.
(Key Point)
Jesus said to receive him was to receive God.
He said to welcome him was to welcome God.
He said to have seen him was to have seen God.
(Talk Point 2) THE INDIRECT CLAIMS OF JESUS
Jesus said a number of things which, although not direct claims
to be God, show
that he regarded himself as being in the same position as
God.
(Here, Jamie references Mark 2:5. The guests have a note of this
reference in the
guests notes.)
i. Jesus claimed to be able to forgive
Now, to forgive people who've hurt us is something that we can
all do as
human beings. But to forgive those who have hurt others is
something only
God can do. And when Jesus claimed the authority to be able to
forgive
everybody he was accused of blasphemy. The lawyers said to him:
Who can
forgive sins but God alone?
(Here, Jamie references the parable of the sheep and the goats
in Matthew 25, which
is also referenced in the guests notes.)
ii. Jesus claimed that he was the One who was going to judge the
world.
He said that one day all the nations would be gathered before
him, and he would
separate them off. And he would make the decision according to
how we have
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 9/21
responded to him, Jesus in this life.
Surely these are not the kind of thing simply a `great religious
teacher' would
say?! Imagine you go along to a church...the preacher gets up
and says "One
day I am going to judge the world and the test is going to be
how you have
responded to me.and me alone" . Now, I ask you, would you think:
what a
great religious teacher!..No! You would be too busy looking for
the nearest
exit!
(Talk Point 3) HIS DIRECT CLAIMS
(In this passage of the talk, Jamie is referencing John
20:24-31.)
After his resurrection Jesus appeared to his followers, the
disciples, all of
them except Thomas. The other disciples told Thomas that they
had seen Jesus
for themselves. Can you imagine how disappointed Thomas must
have felt?!
Hed just gone out to the store to get a pizza for the guys (?!)
and Jesus turns up.
Jesus who was supposed to be dead in a grave.
Now, Thomas was a classic 21st Century sceptic and he said
"Sorry guysI
cant believe unless I see for myself! I need to see the wounds
in Jesus hands
and side, from the nails and spear, or I won't believe."
And then Jesus appears to all of the disciples including Thomas,
and Jesus
welcomes Thomas. He shows Thomas the wounds in his hands and
side.
Jesus allows Thomas to ask his questions and explore his doubts,
right up
close.
In a way its just like Alpha: we all have questions about life
and faith and God
and we have the opportunity over the next few weeks to wrestle
with these
questions in our small groups; asking each other, asking God,
realising how
Jesus welcomes each of us to explore our doubts and our thoughts
and our
feelings.
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 10/21
We may not get a physical body to touch but we do get testimony.
Jesus lays the
evidence before him, and then says this to Thomas: "now stop
doubting and
believe."
And in verse 28 we read that Thomas said to Jesus, "My Lord and
my God!"
Look! Thomas called Jesus God!....
And this is very important: Jesus didn't say "No no no! Hang on
a second
you are going too far!" Jesus response to him was this: "Because
you've seen
me, you've believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet
have
believed." In other words, he says "At last! You were a bit slow
getting the
point Thomas!....but you're there now!"
(Bible verse)
But these claims were not just for the disciples - everyone
around was aware
of them. In John, chapter 10, verse 30 we read this:
Jesus says "I and the Father are one." Again the Jews picked up
stones to
stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great
miracles
from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"
"We're not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but
for blasphemy,
because you, a mere human being, claim to be God."
Jesus of Nazareth claimed to be God. But that's not the end of
the argument.
All sorts of people make all kinds of claims. The mere fact that
somebody claims
something doesn't mean they're necessarily right.
There are many people around the world, some in psychiatric
hospitals, who are
deluded: they think they're Napoleon....or Elvis Presley......
or the Pope....... or
they think they're God. But they're not.
How can we test such people's claims? How can we test Jesus'
claim?
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 11/21
Jesus claimed to be the unique Son of God, God made human.
(Key Point)
There seem to be three logical possibilities:
Number 1:
It was not true, but Jesus didn't realise it wasn't true. In
other words,
Jesus of Nazareth was deluded, insane.
Number 2:
It wasn't true, and Jesus knew, perfectly well, it wasn't true.
In which case
Jesus of Nazareth was an impostor, and an evil one at that.
Number 3:
.the third logical possibility................... is that it's
true: Jesus of
Nazareth was and is God
(Key Quote)
C.S. Lewis put it like this:
A man who was merely a man, and said the sort of things Jesus
said,
wouldn't be a great moral teacher. He'd either be insane; or
else he'd be the
devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was
and is the
Son of God, or else insane or something worse. But don't let's
come up
with any patronising nonsense about his being `a great human
teacher'. He
hasn't left that open to us. He didn't intend to.
So what evidence is there to support what he said? I'd like to
look at five pieces
of evidence:
1. HIS TEACHING
The teaching of Jesus is widely acknowledged to be the greatest
teaching that
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 12/21
has ever fallen from anyone's lips.......for example......The
Sermon on the Mount:
Love your neighbour as yourself. Turn the other cheek. Love your
enemies.
Do to others what you would have them do to you.
(This is a personal story which demonstrates that what Jesus
continues to have great
authority. You can either tell this story as something that
happened to Jamie, or use the
final paragraph of the story as a quote, or replace this with
your own story.)
I am a Church of England minister and from time to time people
ask me to marry
them.(and so I say: Sorry, but Im already married ..because
thats a funny
thing you get to say when you are a Church of England minister.)
What I mean
is, a couple will ask me to perform the marriage ceremony for
them. And a little
while ago I was asked to take a wedding high in the Swiss Alps.
The night before
the wedding I was invited to a special family meal at the top of
a mountain. And
the only way to get to the restaurant was by chair-lift. On the
way back down
who should I find myself sitting next to the brides uncle, Eric
Idle - who was one
of the comedians behind the famous Monty Python films. Lifes
funny sometimes
isnt it. And we had a great chat together.
Now, Eric would not call himself a Christian but I will never
forget what he said
about Jesus: We looked for comedy in the gospelswe looked to
poke fun at
Jesus for the things he said.but we couldntwe found that Jesus
teaching
was brilliantit all seemed to make sense
Jesus' teaching has become the foundation of entire
civilizations. Many laws
that we have today are based on His teachings.
We're making progress in every field of science and technology.
We travel
faster, we know more; yet in two thousand years no one has ever
improved on
the moral teaching of Jesus Christ. They're the greatest words
ever spoken.
They're the kind of words that you'd expect God to speak.
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 13/21
What we have to ask ourselves is could that teaching have come
from someone
who was insane, or evil?
2. HIS WORKS
Sometimes people say "Oh, Christianity, it's so boring!" .but
thats
something you could never say about Jesus: Jesus must have been
the most
extraordinary person to be around.
(In this section, Jamie looks at three miracles; the turning of
water into wine at the
wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11), the feeding of the five thousand
(Luke 9:10-17) and
the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11).
Imagine going to a party with Jesus...the first recorded miracle
of Jesus was at
a wedding party, turning simple water into beautiful wine! Thats
my kind of
miracle!
Imagine going on a picnic with Jesus! Jesus went on a picnic
onceeveryone
was so excited to listen to his teaching that only one person
remembered to
bring some food to eat, so Jesus multiplied it for
everyone!....and fed 5000!
Imagine going to a funeral with Jesus! Jesus went to a funeral
once.and, to
everyones surprise, he said "Take the stone door away from the
tomb." His
disciples, full of faith as ever, said "We can't do that he's
been dead for four
days, it'll stink!"
Jesus said "Take the stone away." Then he called out "Lazarus,
come out."
And his previously dead friend Lazarus came out of the tomb.
We might think Christianity, the religion, is boring but Jesus,
the man, certainly
was not! And its not just his miracles, but his love. Jesus
continually reached
out in love touching people that society had rejected: the
lepers, the outcasts. He
transformed people's lives. And he's still doing that today.
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 14/21
3. HIS CHARACTER
Jesus character has impressed millions, who wouldn't necessarily
call
themselves Christians.
(Quote)
The famous US magazine Time called Jesus:
The most persistent symbol of purity, selflessness, and love in
the
history of Western man.
Supreme unselfishness, but never self-pity. Humility, but not
weakness. Joy,
but never at somebody else's expense. Kindness, but not
indulgence.
(Key Quote)
The British journalist Matthew Parris who describes himself as
`an avowed
atheist was writing in the magazine, The Spectator, and he said
this:
Ive got such huge respect for Jesus because his life was so
radical, it
was so inconvenient. . `If Jesus had not existed, the church
most
certainly would not have invented him.
Jesus wan an extraordinarily radical figure, with extraordinary
character.
And then, of course, a real test is when we're under pressure,
when we're in
pain. And Jesus, in excruciating pain when he was on the cross
said about the
people who were doing it to him, "Father, forgive them. They
don't know what
they're doing." His enemies could find no fault in him, and his
friends said
"This man has no sin."
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 15/21
4. HIS FULFILLMENT OF OLD TESTAMONY PROHECY.
No one in the history of the world has ever had a whole
collection of books
written about them before they were even born!
For Example in the Old Testament book of Micah Chapter 5 written
around
700 BC we read the prophecy that the Messiah would come from
Bethlehem
and in the Gospels we see the fulfillment of that prophecy.
And its not just one or two prophecies In total Jesus fulfilled
over 350
prophecies that were written dozens of years hundreds of years
before his
birth. 29 of these prophecies Jesus fulfilled in a single
day!
Now, you could say "Well, maybe he read the Old Testament
prophecies and
he thought these are the things I've got to do'......and then
set about fulfilling
them." The trouble with that is, many of these things he had no
control over.
Many of the things were about how he was going to die, where he
would be
buried, his resurrection.. even the place of his birth was
foretold...lets be
honest, its a bit difficult to make that happen!
5. HIS CONQUEST OF DEATH
The physical resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of
Christianity.
(Key Quote)
The writer and Atheist, Richard Dawkins, said this:
If the resurrection is not true Christianity becomes null and
void
I AGREE !!!
Sometimes people say, you know, "On Alpha why don't you start
with `Is there
a God?, rather than with Jesus....... I don't even believe
there's a God, let alone
where Jesus fits in!"
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 16/21
(Key Quote)
The New Testament theologian Tom Wright put it like this:
The Christian claim is this: the resurrection of Jesus
strongly
suggests that the world has a Creator, and that that Creator is
to be
seen in terms of, through the lens of, Jesus.
So what is the evidence that the resurrection really
happened?
1) Jesus absence from the tomb.
There have been many theories over the years to explain why
Jesus' body was
absent from the tomb on that first Easter day. None are
particularly satisfactory.
First of all, it's been suggested that, Well, maybe Jesus didn't
really die on the
cross; he fainted from the pain ... then recovered in the cool
of the tomb...got out
of the grave-clothes pushed away the stone and ran away'. This
is, quite
frankly, ridiculous!:
1. Jesus had undergone a Roman flogging: many people died from
that
alone.
2. Then he had been crucified. People did not survive Roman
crucifixion.
3. His body was cocooned in heavy grave-clothes and placed in a
tomb cut
out of the rock.
4. A stone weighing a ton and a half was rolled in front of the
tomb; not easy
to move at the best of times.
5. ... Especially when being guarded by a troop of Roman
soldiers.
...also there's a very interesting piece of evidence in John
chapter 19, verse 33.
(Bible verse)
But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead,
they did
not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus'
side with a
spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 17/21
Today we know that this indicates the separation of the clot and
the serum in
the blood, which is strong medical evidence that Jesus was dead.
They weren't
aware of that at the time, they simply wrote it because that's
what happened.
Other people have said, "Well, maybe the disciples came along
and they stole
the body, and began a rumour that Jesus was risen." Leaving
aside the fact that
the tomb was guarded, the theory is highly improbable, simply
from a
psychological perspective. These men were depressed,
disillusioned. They'd put
all their hope in Jesus and he had died.
Something extraordinary then happened to totally transform those
people so
much that they were willing to suffer and die themselves. In
later years many of
them would be tortured, they themselves would be executed for
what they
believed about Jesus.....if they knew that Jesus body was buried
in their back
garden, would they have been willing to die for what they knew
to be a lie?
Others have said "Well, maybe the authorities stole the body."
But that is
absurd: because if the authorities stole the body, all they
needed to do when
people were saying "Jesus is risen from the dead" was to produce
it .. but
they never did.
Others have said "Well, maybe robbers stole the body." What's
interesting
here is that the tomb contained only one thing that would have
held any worth
to robbers - and that is the grave-clothes, filled with
expensive spices. Peter
and John heard the rumour that Jesus was risen. They ran to the
tomb and
found not an empty tomb at all. The valuable grave-clothes were
still there, like
an empty chrysalis after the butterfly has emerged from the
cocoon. And the
headpiece, the piece around Jesus' head, had been folded up and
put in a
separate place. And we're told that when John took one look at
that evidence,
that was enough: he believed.
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 18/21
2) His presence with the disciples.
After rising from the dead, Jesus appeared many times to the
disciples and
others.
Some people have said "Well, that was just hallucination." Sure,
people do
hallucinate. Normally, people that hallucinate are highly
strung, highly
imaginative, very nervous or sick, or on drugs. But the
disciples don't fit into any
of those categories. We're talking about burly fishermen and tax
collectors!
We're talking about realists and cynics and sceptics. Thomas,
who said "I'm not
going to believe unless I see it for myself".
And then look at the number of people that saw the risen Jesus
after his
crucifixion. Jesus appeared to over 500 people, on eleven
different occasions.
Are all these people really likely to share the same
hallucination?
3) The nature of the appearances.
Hallucinations are subjective: they have no objective reality.
It's like seeing a
ghost.
(Bible verse)
That is not what is going on here in Luke, chapter 24 verse
36.
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood
among them
and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled
and
frightened, thinking that they saw a ghost. He said to them,
"Why are
you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your mind? Look at my
hands
and my feet. Touch me and see: a ghost does not have flesh
and
bones, as you see I have."
When he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while
they
still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked
them,
"Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of
broiled
fish, and he took it and he ate it in their presence.
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ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 19/21
(This story is about James Odgers, founder of the Besom Charity.
You could
attribute the quote to him, or you could make the same point by
just saying ...and
ghosts dont eat fish! after speaking about Luke 24.)
One friend of mine actually became a Christian because of that
one verse....he
recognised, quite rightly, that ghosts don't eat fish!, and came
to the
conclusion that Jesus had to have risen in bodily form.
Jesus ate with the disciples. He cooked breakfast for them on
one occasion!
He had long conversations with them.
All of this had an immediate effect; it transformed the
disciples, and resulted in
the birth and explosive growth of the Christian church right
across the globe.
The question we have to ask ourselves is what was it that caused
that if it
wasnt the resurrection.
4) Christian experience down the ages
Billions of people down the ages have experienced Jesus Christ.
People of
every colour, every race, every tribe, every continent, every
nationality, from
every economic, social, intellectual background unite in a
common experience
of Christ.
Is anyone here in love? (maybe youre having a quick look at the
person next
to you an thinking Hmmm, I could be persuaded!) You know what,
you could
research inlovenessyou could do a degree, a PhD on what it is to
be in
loveyou could be a leading world expert on lovebut unless you
are IN
love yourself its purely academic. We would all accept that the
best person to
talk about love would be someone who is themself in love..the
experience is
essential!
-
ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 20/21
(While this is a personal story, it relates an experience that
you, the speaker, are
likely to have had yourself. Feel free to use Jamies words,
replacing 30 years with
the length of time that you have been a Christian.)
From my own experience over the last [30] years, just like the
two thousand
million Christians around the world, I have experienced the love
of Jesus his
power, his kindness, his mercy, his grace, in my own life. I
know what it is to
have that hunger satisfied....the hunger for love, the hunger
for peace, the
hunger for meaning and purpose in life. And that is what
convinces
me.daily. that he's alive. (Key Point)
So, in conclusion, in the light of what Jesus claimed about
himself, there are
those three logical possibilities: either Jesus was insane, or
he was evil, or he
is God.
(Key Quote)
Theres this quote attributed to the great (fictional) detective
Sherlock Holmes:
`When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains,
however
improbable, must be the truth.'
As we look at that evidence about what Jesus taught, what he
did, his
character, his fulfilment of prophecy, his resurrection from the
dead surely
we can eliminate as impossible that Jesus was insane..surely we
can
eliminate as impossible that Jesus was evil. Therefore, as
Sherlock Holmes
puts it, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the
truth.
-
ALPHA 2011 Talk 1: Who Is Jesus?Jamie Haith 21/21
(This is a key quote that sums up the message of the whole talk.
It should not be
omitted.)
C.S. Lewis put it like this:
`We're faced, then, with a frightening alternative. The man
we're talking
about was, and is, just what he said, or else insane or worse.
Now, it
seems to me obvious that he was neither insane nor a fiend.
And
consequently, however strange, or terrifying, or unlikely, it
may seem, I
have to accept the view that he was, and is, God.' (Return to
title slide) Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, A
member of the Hachette Livre UK Group. All rights reserved.
"NIV" is a registered trademark of International Bible Society.
UK trademark number 1448790.
Alpha International 2010
Prepared by: Alpha International, Holy Trinity Brompton,
Brompton Road, London SW7 1JA.
Email: [email protected]