Part 3: Weighing the evidence: your verdict

Welcome to the third and final part of study one. Now that we've heard what people said and what Jesus said about Himself, it's time to weigh the evidence and come to a verdict.

Now, anyone can make big claims. So did Jesus back up His words? Think about road signs. A sign isn't important in itself. It points to something beyond itself. The miracles of Jesus were like that. The Bible calls them signs.

Most of His miracles were acts of kindness. He healed people who were ill. He made the lame walk and the blind see. He even brought dead people back to life.

He also showed power over nature itself. He calmed a storm with a word. He walked on water. He fed thousands of hungry people with a few loaves and fish. Each of these signs pointed to the same thing: Jesus is much more than a man. He is also God.

John, one of Jesus' closest friends, wrote down many of these signs. And he told us why. Look up John, chapter twenty, verses thirty and thirty-one.

But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:31, BSB)

So the Bible doesn't just want to give us information. It wants us to believe and to have life. Real life with God, that starts now and lasts for ever.

But why did Jesus give signs at all? No one should need a sign to believe. Jesus did miracles so that people would have no excuse for their unbelief. Read John, chapter fifteen, verses twenty-two to twenty-four.

If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. (John 15:24, BSB)

They had seen works that no one else did. And still they would not believe. So the problem was never a lack of evidence. And these miracles are recorded for our sake, so that we too should have no excuse.

In a court of law, the jury listens carefully to the witnesses and weighs the evidence to find out the truth. In this course, you are the jury. And the witnesses are the apostles, the friends Jesus chose and sent out to tell others about Him. Listen to what one of them, Peter, said in Acts, chapter two, verse thirty-two.

God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses. (Acts 2:32, BSB)

These were not people who gained money or power from their message. Many of them suffered, and some died, because they would not stop telling people what they had seen. People don't usually do that for a story they know is made up.

Here's another piece of evidence. Some men brought their paralysed friend to Jesus. The house was so crowded that they made a hole in the roof and lowered him down. You'll find it in Luke, chapter five, verses eighteen to twenty-one.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” But the scribes and Pharisees began thinking to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:20–21, BSB)

Why were they so upset? Think about it like this. If you hurt me, I can forgive you. But if you hurt someone else, it isn't really my place to forgive you. Sin is wrongdoing against God. So only God can forgive it. When Jesus said, your sins are forgiven, He was acting as God. It also showed that Jesus could read a person's heart, and know when they were truly sorry. And then, to show He had that right, He healed the man, who got up and walked home.

There's one more thing to weigh up: how Jesus came into the world. The Bible says clearly that His mother, Mary, was a virgin: someone who had never been intimate with a man. The angel Gabriel told her what would happen. Look up Luke, chapter one, verses twenty-six to thirty-five.

The angel answered her question with these words: The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35, BSB)

Is that hard to believe? It is, if God doesn't exist. But if God made the whole universe, is anything too hard for Him? Matthew's gospel gives Jesus a special name: Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’. Jesus was fully human, born as a baby. And He was fully God, the Son of God come to live among us.

So, who is Jesus Christ? He came into the world in a unique way, and He left it in a unique way too. He died on a cross, but that wasn't the end. He came back to life, and He will never die again. We'll look at that properly in study five. (John 20:28, BSB)

The people of His day looked at the same Jesus, and came to very different conclusions. Some called Him a troublemaker. Others called Him a prophet. One of His friends, Thomas, was a real doubter. He said he wouldn't believe Jesus was alive unless he saw Him with his own eyes. But when Thomas met the risen Jesus, he said simply: ‘My Lord and my God!’

You're the jury now, and you are expected to give your verdict. Will you say, like Thomas, that He is your Lord and your God? If you're not sure yet, keep weighing the evidence honestly, and ask God: if Jesus really is who He says He is, please show me.

Now it's your turn. Below this video, you'll find the Bible verses we looked at. Try looking each one up in your own Bible and take a moment with the reflection questions.

Then take the short quiz to complete study one.

In study two, we'll ask: What did Jesus teach? Thank you for watching. See you next time.