Episode 9: Son of God—Born to Die

Special Guest – Dr. John Mark Reynolds

Trinity Broadcasting Network

How do we know that Jesus was God?

The Bible says that Jesus was active in creation and that He holds the world together (Colossians 1:15-17).  But let’s look at the evidence documented by His life.

• Jesus was born of a virgin, and He has parentage that was both human and divine (Matthew 1:18)
• Jesus lived a human but perfect life.  He was tempted and He had emotions, but He never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21)
• Jesus performed miracles.  He had power over:
• Nature
• Satan
• Sickness
• Death
• Jesus was a teacher with a radical message.  The people were amazed at His teaching (Mark 1:22)
• Jesus came back to life from the dead. Others have been raised from the dead, but only Jesus has been resurrected from the dead
• Jesus ascended into heaven (Mark 16:19-20)
• Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah

Our favorite five reasons why Jesus came to earth

1. Jesus allows us to “see” God (John 1:18)

2. Jesus gives us an example for living (1 Peter 2:21)

3. Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 10:10)

4. Jesus conquered death and Satan on our behalf (1 John 3:8)

5. Although He lives now in heaven, Jesus understands our earthly struggles (Hebrews 4:14-15)

Reasons to believe the resurrection really happened

• The tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers (Matthew 27:65)
• Witnesses saw that the tomb was empty
• Jesus appeared on many occasions afterward (Acts 1:3)
• The resurrection was a well-accepted fact (Matthew 28:11-15)

Bruce and Stan on the set of “Christianity 101” with Dr. John Mark Reynolds

An engaging communicator, Dr. John Mark Reynolds is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Biola University.  He is also the founder and Director of the Torrey Honors Institute, a great books honors program designed for the top tier of Christian college students. John Mark is a specialist in Christianity and culture, especially the media. Read more by and about Dr. Reynolds on his own web site, www.johnmarkreynolds.com.

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