Open Window

“What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are–the Holy One of God!” Mark 1:24

Evil spirits know who Jesus is, but one thing the enemy and all his minions want to do on earth is for us to think, “There is no such thing as the devil!” Many even want to discount the historicity of Jesus Christ and the Bible. We do not want to be accountable to anybody, least of all, God. Will we ignore all that Jesus said and did while on earth? 

It is hard to find concrete evidence about Jesus because He was an itinerant preacher who did not leave any monuments or even signs in stone. However there are many literary records aside from the gospels that mention Jesus. There’s Pliny the Younger, the Roman senator and historian Tacitus, the Roman historian Suetonius, the Jewish historian Josephus, who all mentioned the Christus and His followers. And we have the undeniable witness of the apostles, all of whom except for Judas and John, died a martyr’s death proclaiming the gospel in obedience to Jesus’ instructions. There are also more and more archeological discoveries confirming scripture. For example, some people claimed Pontius Pilate did not exist, so why is he mentioned in the Nicene Creed we recite: “He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried.”? 

In 1961, an archeologist found a block of limestone in Caesarea Maritima with an authentic 1st century Roman inscription mentioning Pontius Pilate’s name. The Pilate stone is displayed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. There are many such artifacts that confirm the truth and reliability of scripture. Uncovering these concrete evidence in the holy land is like the fifth gospel in some way. 

One of my favorite finds is located in Corinth where St. Paul lived and preached for eighteen months. In 1929, an archeologist uncovered a marble slab embedded on the street, dated at the time St. Paul was living there. The inscription is deeply etched into the stone, and what it says is that he, Erastus, was city treasurer and he was happy to serve, and that is why he paid for the walkway with his own money. St. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “...Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. ERASTUS, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.” (Romans 16:23, ESV) Apparently, Erastus, the city treasurer, was evangelized by Paul, and was a new believer! He becomes more real to us because of that stone he left in Corinth! 

How wonderful to have this open window to see a glimpse of the times of Saint Paul and Jesus and even the characters that peopled the Old Testament! We can easily research about how archeology brings the Bible alive, and visit museums virtually, to see stones with King David’s name on it, or read about Macphellah where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Rachel, Leah and Rebecca are buried. Then we can say with certainty, I know who you are, Jesus, You are the God of history! The Messiah who was prophesied! The King who will come again!