“Jesus, A Real Man”

Friday, June 02, 2023

Jesus, A Real Man

By Paul Earnhart

Jesus was a real man.  He was not a fictitious character Iike Santa CIaus or Superman.

Jesus lived here in this world at a certain time and in a certain place. This makes Him different from fictional or mythical characters.  The stories of mythical characters usually begin with such words as, “Once upon a time in a land far away.”  The story of Jesus does not begin that way.  In Matthew's account the very location of His birthplace is revealed, and the presence of shepherds nearby is described.  Even today, you can go to Bethlehem and walk the streets of that city and see the very fields where the shepherds watched their flocks by night.

In Luke's account, the time of His birth is given--not the day or the month--not even the year, for they did not count years then as we do now.  But Luke pinpointed the period exactly by telling who the emperor of Rome was, and who was governor of Syria and describing a census which took place while he was governor.  Luke is even more specific about the time when Jesus began HIs ministry.  All of this makes it possible for students of history to know exactly when Jesus Iived as well as where he Iived.

The Bible is not a book of myths or fables. It is a book of history.  Luke tells us that he did considerable research to make certain his account of the life of Jesus was accurate (Luke 1:1-4). Since Luke was so specific, those who did not believe in Jesus could easily check out the accuracy of what he wrote.  Even today, the science of archeology has confirmed the accuracy of Luke's writings about geography, politics and ancient custom.  If he was so accurate in reporting those things, we can believe what he wrote about Jesus.

What he and the other men wrote was that Jesus was a real man, but not merely a man. Not just the son of Mary, He was the Son of God, God's messenger to the world.

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