How Did Jesus Use Apologetics?

 How Did Jesus Use Apologetics?

Because Jesus made extraordinary claims about Himself, including His claim to be the Son of God, apologetics was an essential part of His ministry. He did not ask or expect people to simply offer blind faith based on His unique message alone. He, more than anyone else, understood that if His words were to have the desired force and effect on His hearers, He would need to offer compelling reasons and actions in their support.

From the Scriptures we recognize that God is a rational being (Isaiah 1:18), and humans who are made in His image are naturally inclined to look for reasons and evidence before making a decision. God has never called on anyone to make an unthoughtful and unreasoned decision about eternity. To be sure, there is a real difference between a leap of faith in the dark (existentialism), and a step of faith in the light (realism). Jesus encouraged the latter. Throughout His ministry, as we shall see, Jesus provided persuasive reasons and evidence to confirm His claims. Jesus is the greatest apologist who ever lived, providing a model for all disciples to follow. His apologetics included the use of reason, witnesses, miracles, prophecy, and His resurrection.

Jesus’s Use of Different Apologetic Approaches

Jesus’s Apologetic Use of Reason

Jesus was a master logician who presented irrefutable rational arguments that baffled His opponents. God is a rational being, and creatures created in His image are designed to use their senses and reason to discover and discern truth from error. We are created to know and live according to truth (John 8:32; 17:17). Reason is even operative before the gospel, for one must be able to think logically and coherently to understand the message.

Reason is also fundamental to communication. Although fallen in sin, people still possess the capacity to reason and discover truth (Romans 1:18- 20) and avoid contradictions (1 Timothy 6:20). Throughout His ministry, Jesus employed sound logic in His teachings, discourses, and actions.

Philosopher Dallas Willard said, “He [Jesus] constantly uses the power of logical insight to enable people to come to the truth about themselves and about God from the inside of their own heart and mind. Quite certainly it also played a role in his own growth in ‘wisdom.’”[1]

Although Jesus did not articulate the undeniable first principles of logic, He certainly understood them and used them. Jesus applied the Law of Identity (A is A). In Matthew 5:37, Jesus said, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’” Jesus applied the Law of Noncontradiction (A is not non- A). This is seen when Jesus contrasted true teachers from false teachers in Matthew 7:15 and 24:24. Jesus applied the Law of the Excluded Middle (either A or non-A). In Matthew 12:30, Jesus said, “He who is not with me is against Me.” Jesus always employed the basic laws of reasoning throughout His discourses.

When the Pharisees confronted Jesus, He used many forms of reasoned arguments to answer their challenges. In Matthew 12:22-28, Jesus responded to the charge of demonic empowerment with a reductio ad absurdum argument—that is, showing that if their premise was true, it led to a contradictory or absurd conclusion. Jesus was challenged for healing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:9-14). He responded with an a fortiori argument.

This is an argument from lesser to greater force, or what applies in a less important situation applies in a more important situation, often with greater implications.[2] If the people believed they should rescue a sheep on the Sabbath, how much more should Jesus rescue a man from sickness? In Matthew 22:15-22, the Pharisees attempted to corner Jesus with a seemingly inescapable dilemma regarding whether or not to pay taxes.

Facing two unacceptable options, Jesus skillfully avoided the horns of a dilemma. Presented with two unacceptable choices, He went to a third option. After asking about whose image and inscription appeared on the coin, Jesus insightfully replied, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (verse 21).

Jesus’s skill in presenting sound arguments is summed up in Matthew

22:46, which states, “No one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question him anymore.” Jesus proved to be the greatest thinker who used the laws of logic to present truth, demolish arguments, and expose error.

Jesus’s Apologetic Use of Witnesses

The Jewish law requires two or three witnesses to verify one’s claims (Deuteronomy 19:15). Knowing this, on several occasions, Jesus pointed to the testimony of witnesses to confirm His message. A prime example occurred in John 5 after Jesus healed the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda.

An interrogation by the Pharisees followed because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, thus violating Jewish tradition. What transpired provides one of Jesus’s finest discourses defending His claim to be the Son of God. In this discussion, Jesus presented a convincing argument using the testimony of witnesses.

Like a defense lawyer, Jesus presented five witnesses who authenticated His actions. His first witness was John the Baptist, a recognized prophet of their time (John 5:33). The second witness was His miracles (verse 36). His third witness was God the Father (verse 37). His fourth witness was the Scriptures (verse 39). His final witness was Moses, the greatest prophet of Israel (verse 46). Here, Jesus exceeded the minimal requirement of two or three witnesses, and brought five very powerful witnesses to the stand.

Jesus used the testimony of witnesses again in John 8. After declaring

He was the “light of the world” (verse 12), Jesus defended His claim by presenting four witnesses. The first was Jesus Himself (verse 14), then the testimony of the Father (verse 19), and finally the testimony of Abraham, the father of the nation (verse 56). His final witness is Jesus’s own sinless life (verses 41,46). As a masterful lawyer would do in any courtroom, Jesus provided expert witnesses to defend His claims.

Jesus’s Apologetic Use of Miracles

God confirmed His message and messengers with miracles, which are special acts of God that interrupt the normal course of events and confirm the Word of God through a messenger of God.3 Through His miracles, Jesus demonstrated authority over every realm of creation, authority exclusive to God alone. Norman Geisler states that Jesus’s power over the cosmos was seen by the fact that He manifested control over every category of the cosmos as listed by the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle in his Categories.[3]

Note Jesus’s power over…

• substance (what?)—turning water into wine

• quantity (how much?)—feeding of 5,000

• quality (what kind?)—blind man gains quality of sight

• relation (to what?)—raising Lazarus from relationship

• space (where?)—healing nobleman’s son from a distance

• time (when?)—healing an invalid of 38 years

• position (on what?)—walking on water, an unnatural position

• action (from what?)—His victorious death

• passion (on what?)—His triumphant resurrection

• state or habit (under what condition?)—catching a draught of fish

The Jews should have realized that Jesus possessed the authority of God. Several recognized this, including Nicodemus (John 3:2) and the disciples (John 2:11). Jesus often pointed to His miracles as evidence and expected the Jews to make the connection (Matthew 11:20-23; John 10:25,38). No other religious leader has demonstrated the kind of authority Jesus exhibited over creation.

Jesus’s Apologetic Use of Prophecy

Only God, who is eternal, can repeatedly predict future events with 100 percent accuracy. In Isaiah 46:9-11, God declared, I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure…I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it; I will also do it.”

Jesus has a unique prophetic legacy that no other religious leader can

match. J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy records 127 prophecies regarding the life of Christ.[4]

These prophecies include:

• Prophecies regarding His lineage and birth

Descendant of Abraham (Genesis 22:18) Tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10) Descendant of King David (Isaiah 11:1) Place of birth, Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)

• Prophecies regarding His ministry

Ministry preceded by a messenger (Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1)

Ministry begins in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1)

Ministry of miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6)

• Prophecies regarding His death

Rejected by His own people (Isaiah 53:3)

Betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9)

Sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12)

Hands and feet pierced (Psalm 22:16)

Crucified with thieves (Isaiah 53:12)

Garments parted and lots cast (Psalm 22:18)

Bones not broken (Psalm 34:20)

Buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9)

Exact date of death predicted (Daniel 9)

Jesus pointed to the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah that He fulfilled as evidence He was the long-awaited Messiah.

Not only did Jesus fulfill many prophecies, He made predictions of future events, with some being fulfilled during His lifetime. Moreover, Payne documents that Matthew recorded 58 predictions and Mark recorded 47. In Luke there are more than 40. In John, of the 45 predictions, Jesus made most of them. Some of Jesus’s prophecies include:

• The Word of God will abide forever (Matthew 5:18)

• The apostles will be persecuted (Matthew 10:17-23)

• His words will abide forever (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31)

• Jesus will die and rise three days later (Matthew 12:40)

• The kingdom of heaven will experience great growth (Matthew 13:31- 32)

• The church will never be destroyed (Matthew 16:18)

• Jerusalem will reject Jesus and become desolate (Matthew 23:37-38)

• Jerusalem temple will be destroyed (Matthew 24:2)

• Mary’s act of anointing Jesus will be remembered throughout the ages (Matthew 26:13)

• The Holy Spirit would come upon the disciples (John 15:15-26; 16:5-15)

• The disciples will do greater works than Jesus (John 14:12)

• John will live to an old age (John 21:18) Jesus stated, “Now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe” (John 15:29). Jesus not only fulfilled dozens of Old Testament prophecies, but also proclaimed His own prophecies regarding future events. This legacy of fulfilled prophecy is unrivaled and further upholds Christ’s claims of deity.

Jesus’s Apologetic Use of the Resurrection

The resurrection was the ultimate proof of Christ’s deity. On several occasions Jesus prophesied His own death and resurrection (Matthew 12:40; 17:23; Mark 14:58; John 2:19). God alone is the author and giver of life. Therefore, Jesus predicting and accomplishing His own resurrection from the dead conclusively confirmed His claim as the Son of God.

Jesus’s resurrection fulfilled Old Testament messianic prophecies.  Psalm 16:10 states, “You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption.” The Messiah would not remain in the grave, nor would His body suffer the decay of death.

Isaiah 53:8-10 states, “He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked—but with the rich at His death…When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand” (NKJV).

The phrase “cut off from the land of the living” means the Messiah would be killed. But the following phrase, “He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,” indicates He would be resurrected to see His

descendants. The passage also states the death and resurrection of the Messiah will fulfill the requirements of the Old Testament law. Jesus the sinless Son of God was the only one who could meet God’s holy requirements; therefore, He is the only Savior for mankind.

Jesus’s resurrection affirms Jesus words, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). He is the source of life. The Bible also states that God is the source of life. Only God has the ability to create and restore life. That Jesus raised Himself from the dead demonstrates that He has the authority of God.

The Most Effective Defender of the Faith

In the Gospels, we see clear examples of how Jesus used apologetics. He employed reason, evidence, the testimony of witnesses, miracles, prophecy, and His resurrection. It is important to recognize that Jesus did not present a formal apologetics system per se, but from what we gather from Scripture, His method was consistent with the classical and evidential apologetic approaches.

Jesus was not only the world’s greatest teacher, He was the most effective defender of the Faith who ever lived. Time and again He offered compelling reasons and evidence as He defended His claims to be the Son of God. His life and ministry serve as a model for every believer as we seek to do the work of an apologist in a lost and searching world.

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[1] Dallas Willard, “Jesus the Logician,” Dallas Willard, http://www.dwillard.org/articles/individual/jesus-the-logician.

[2] Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids, eds., Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 845.

[3] Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004), 201-202.

[4] Norman Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Apologetics (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1999), 53.