Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt: A lawyer's case for Jesus as the Christ
Proof beyond reasonable doubt is the highest standard of proof recognized in American law. It is the standard required for proof of guilt in criminal law and a higher standard than required for civil law matters which require proof of evidence by a mere preponderance, or a “tipping of the balance scales”. It is to this high standard, proof beyond reasonable doubt, which through my life experience and the study of history, the sciences, and Holy Scripture, that the life and death and words of Jesus demonstrates he to indeed be the Christ. This website is my endeavor as a former prosecutor and public defender to present the case and establish the supporting evidence. Give yourself about twenty minutes of reading here and I trust you will be persuaded. Thank you for visiting.
First, the rules of evidence. Federal Rule of Evidence 803(16), the ‘Ancient Documents Rule’, establishes that “[a] statement in a document that is at least 20 years old and whose authenticity is established” is admissible as an exception to the rule against hearsay. The collective documents of the Old Testament (5th century BC) and New Testament (1st century AD) are sufficiently aged and of established authenticity to arguably meet this evidentiary test towards admissibility. The written works of the Old and New Testaments have no equal and few peers in mankind’s history of document creation. The United States Court of Appeals in Gray v. Moore, 520 F.3d 616 (6th Cir., 2008) referenced the New Testament book of Acts concerning the Confrontation Clause – the right to confront one’s accuser, as follows:
“This principle even stretches back to biblical times, when the Roman Governor Porcius Festus, discussing the proper treatment of his prisoner St. Paul the Apostle, stated: "It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him." Acts 25:16 (King James).”
Now, to the admissible evidence, the Old and New Testaments, collectively known as the Holy Scriptures. Of them it has been said that as the New Testament explains the Old, so the Old Testament confirms the New, and Jesus Christ is the alpha and omega of both.
A principal message of the Holy Scriptures is that Jesus is the true temple, he at his physical prime of 33 years a physically perfect sacrifice, and, being without guile and having no sin attributed to him, also a spiritually perfect sacrifice. Jesus was the fully-perfected sacrifice provided by God the Father; John 2:19. Following his death and resurrection no earthly temple for the atonement of the sins of mankind was required. When Pontius Pilate on the morning of Jesus' death examined him and declared, “I find no fault in this man”, he was unknowingly following the Hebrew laws of sacrifice, that no blemish was present to disqualify him as a sacrificial offering; see Leviticus 22:20, 21, Luke 23:4.
Let us now consider the history of the hereditary lineage of the high priests of Israel. Succession was ordered by heredity beginning with Moses’ brother, Aaron, and continued unbroken for 83 generations, to Phanas, and spanned a period of 612 years. That long and unbroken line of hereditary succession was later disrupted by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon who in 587 BC destroyed the First (Solomon's) Temple at Jerusalem and took captive Josadek, the high priest serving at that time. The Hebrew nation would later return to Jerusalem during the beneficent reign of Cyrus the Great of Persia who conquered Nebuchadnezzar and announced his ‘Edict of Restoration‘ and with it the revival of the hereditary (Levitical) priesthood; Ezra 7:18-20. With this restoration of Jerusalem came also the building of the Second Temple – the First Temple (Solomon’s) having been, as above noted, destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. There would later be another disruption of the Levitical line of priesthood with the conquering of Jerusalem by Roman General Pompey and, in time, the destruction of the Second Temple at the hands of General Titus’ Roman army in 70 AD as foretold by Jesus; Mark 13:1-2. See Ezra chapters 1-2 for the remarkable history of Cyrus’ Edict of Restoration and return to Jerusalem of the Jewish people.
Leading up to the time of Jesus' public ministry was the Roman-controlled leadership of King Herod wherein succession of the temple priesthood became singularly political and the hereditary tradition of succession established by Moses was disrupted again. It is documented that Herod appointed men to the post of the high priesthood who were “of no eminent families, but barely of those that were priests." We thus see a disrupted and corrupted line of succession devolving up to Jesus’ time. The high priesthood would then be occupied by the prosecutorial Caiaphas, and with him his father-in-law Annas; see Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 20.224-251.
Jesus foretold in the Old Testament:
A question is posed: why did God not simply announce in the Old Testament that Jesus is the Christ? Perhaps it is because that is not His way of doing things, not his style; British understatement if you will. Note Proverbs 25:2, by Solomon, that "[i]t is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings to search out a matter." Perhaps doing so would have thwarted and foiled the intended path of Jesus' life and atoning death. What we are provided is what could be described as a 'sweet spot' – concealing sufficiently to allow the progression of Jesus' life and death, yet also revealing details of his accomplishments and characteristics in measure sufficient to confirm his identity. I believe we really are duty-bound, yet also privileged, to search out this matter.
Genesis:
In this first book of the Old Testament it is reported that Abraham’s son, Isaac, was spared by the divine intervention of God who provided a substitute sacrifice, a ram, which was caught by its horns in a thicket nearby; Genesis 22:1-13. Jesus was to be that future-provided sacrifice, provided by God the Father, as a perfect sacrificial substitute for Abraham’s son, Isaac – and for all of mankind. It is significant that the high priest Caiaphas at Jesus' trial would reason aloud that “it is better for one man to die than for a whole nation to perish”; John 11:49.
Exodus:
As the Sadducees, known for not believing in an afterlife, disingenuously inquire with Jesus about a hypothetical afterlife of a widowed wife of consecutive husbands, he gave answer about his identity: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I AM" – to which they reacted with indignation to stone Jesus for this unique identification first revealed from the burning bush to Moses (to ready Moses for his new commission to deliver the Israelites from the hands of Pharaoh of the Egyptians), this subtle identification having the effect of felling the great multitude later superintended to arrest this one single man at the Mount of Olives; John 18:5-6, Matthew 26:47, Mark 14:43:
~ And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations; Exodus 3:14-15, John 8:58.
Isaiah:
Specific references to Jesus are made in this book:
“I will give you a sign, a male child shall be born of a virgin”; Isaiah 7.
~ Jesus was born of a virgin, named Mary, the espoused wife of Joseph; Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:27.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace”; Isaiah 9:6.
~ Jesus, born in Bethlehem, Israel, would in adulthood deliver his ‘Sermon on the Mount’, instructing the forgiveness of one’s enemies - a philosophy of peace and reconciliation; see Matthew chapters 5-7 of the New Testament. Putting these words into action, Jesus would himself forgive those who crucified him, stating, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”; Luke 23:34.
“He was despised and we esteemed him not”; Isaiah 53:3.
~ Jesus, loved by a growing multitude for his profound teachings and miraculous healings, became a threat to the religious and political establishment. As his popularity grew, hatred of him by the religious establishment correspondingly grew – with two noted exceptions: Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, both highly respected men of influence, position and wealth. Nicodemus was a leading member of the Sanhedrin who famously sought out Jesus in cover of night and later would make objection to the manner of Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin; Joseph of Arimethea was a member of the council and received a private audience with Pontius Pilate and requested permission to take possession of Jesus' body to bury in his private tomb. Cautious though they were to show their admiration for Jesus during his life, it would be at his crucifixion that these two distinguished men would openly and very publicly remove the crucified body of Jesus from the cross, prepare it with burial spices, and place to rest in Joseph's private tomb. Perhaps the crucifixion events definitively confirmed for them what they had suspected during Jesus' life, that he was indeed the Son of God as foretold in the Tanakh; see Matthew 26:59, 27:57-60; Mark 11:18,15:43-46; Luke 19:47, 23:50-56; and John 3:1-21, 7:50-51, 19:38-40.
“He was wounded by our transgressions, by his stripes we are healed”; Isaiah 53:5.
~ Jesus, of whom Pontus Pilate attested as being guilty of no crime punishable by death, nor of any fault, was scourged and crucified, taking upon himself the penalty of mankind’s history of transgression; John 19:1.
“The Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all"; Isaiah 53:6.
~ Jesus was that substitute sacrifice promised by God the Father to Abraham, noted above. Jesus stated, “I lay down my life for the sheep”; John 10:15. In time Jesus did lay down his life while upon a cross, hung between Heaven and Earth, abandoned of both realms outside of defensive walls of Jerusalem.
“...yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter…”; Isaiah 53:7.
~ Jesus remained entirely moot before King Herod, and largely so before Pontius Pilate; Luke 23:8-9, Mark 15:3-5.
Micah:
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”; Micah 5:2.
~ King Herod in his quest to eliminate this infant messiah born in Bethlehem (whom the Three Wise Men of the East sought to find and to whom presented gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh), ordered the slaying of all children in Bethlehem of two years of age and under – the infamous ‘Massacre of the Innocents’; Matthew 2:16.
Zechariah:
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation: lowly, and riding upon an ass and upon a colt the foal of an ass." Zechariah 9:9.
~ Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey. His entry immediately preceded Passover and was attended by very large crowds. Note that the donkey in Eastern tradition is considered an animal of peace; the horse, an animal of war. Jesus’ transport by donkey into Jerusalem signaled his entry as the ‘Prince of Peace’; Matthew 21:1-11.
“...and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him. In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem.”; Zechariah 12:10-11.
~ Jesus was pierced on his side by a Roman spear to confirm that his body had indeed expired. Both blood and water came out, blood signifying atonement, water signifying purification; John 19:34. Jesus’ family, followers, and interested bystanders were present at the foot of this tortuous cross at Jerusalem and were witnesses to this horrific yet awesomely divine event. Jesus’ death, and his resurrection three days later, was foretold by him to his disciples; Mark 10:33-34.
Psalms:
Largely written by King David, this book provides a remarkable read with specific references to the future-crucified Jesus. While nearIng his death on the Roman cross, Jesus exclaimed from Psalm 22:1:
“My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?”; see New Testament accounts, Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34.
Psalms 22:7-8 keenly describes the ridicule directed at Jesus while on the cross:
“All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.” This is accounted for in the New Testament at Matthew 27:39-43.
Psalm 22:16 reads:
“For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
~ This biblical scenario was inflicted upon Jesus; Luke 24:39-40, John 20:25. While New Testament writers do not specifically itemize this fulfillment of David’s words, it is historically thought that Jesus’ hands and feet were pierced. Although the feet of all victims of Roman crucifixion may not have been nailed, many were. The Roman historian Plautus notes of a person put on a cross as being fastened “twice in his feet, and twice in his arms.” (inferring nails); Mostellaria 2.1.
“I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.”; Psalm 22:17.
~ The crowd at Jesus’ cross clearly looked up and stared at him during the events of his crucifixion.
“He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.”; Psalm 34:20.
~ Jesus, though horribly crucified, had not one broken bone; John 19:31-36. Moses and Aaron were instructed about the rules of Passover which included a prohibition against breaking any bone of the offering to be sacrificed; Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12.
“They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”; Psalm 22:18.
~ Roman soldiers were observed casting lots for Jesus’ garments; Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, John 19:34.
Daniel:
Consider this biblical narrative of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar:
“He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of Man."; Daniel 3:25.
~ Here King Nebuchadnezzar was commenting about an additional fourth figure, as only three were ordered by him into the fiery furnace for not honoring his golden idol. Miraculously none of these three persons were harmed and were clearly receiving providential protection. That fourth figure, not identified by name other than having the appearance of ‘the Son of God”, is, to my mind, Jesus himself – whose identity and personhood is referenced in a multitude of occasions in the Old Testament as outlined above. Note that a “Son of God” is specifically and tellingly mentioned here in the Old Testament.
Jesus in the New Testament:
In the Book of John, Jesus states:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”; John 14:6.
And, to similar note in the Book of Matthew, Jesus states:
"Think not that I have come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."; Matthew 5:17
By his life and atoning death, Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Law contained in the Old Testament and commenced anew and afresh a New Covenant for all of mankind.
The path to God is through His son, Jesus. Good works alone are insufficient though good works are a product of one’s faith in Jesus. Consider the Penitent Thief, named also ‘The Good Thief’ who was crucified alongside Jesus; Luke 23:39-43. He initially mocked Jesus, yet by his later repentance was assured salvation. The faith of the Penitent Thief in Jesus brought him eternal salvation.
It is in the New Testament, through Jesus, where we see the wide scope of God’s grace globally to all peoples of the world, a symbolic “grafting into” the olive tree of Israel as foretold in the Old Testament Book of Isaiah 49:6: “... I will also give thee a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the Earth.” That light is most certainly the personhood of Jesus, the Christ.
Proof of God contained in science:
Contrary to the seemingly prevailing doctrine, the progress of science has actually strengthened the argument for a supremely intelligent Creator. The sciences are increasingly providing insight into the majestic architecture of our world. With Watson and Crick’s discovery of the chemical structure of DNA which they publicly announced inside The Eagle pub at Cambridge University in February 1953 – a two minute stroll from St. Catharine’s College where I enjoyed a most excellent and somewhat academic summer, the patrons there were given insight into the marvelous design of the genetic "staircase" and its double-helix structure. It is living art; see illustration below. Among our greatest minds discovered it, yet who created it? In his book, The Language of God, Francis Collins, a former atheist and principal founder of the Human Genome Project, argues that "belief in God can be an entirely rational choice, and that principles of faith are, in fact, complimentary with the principles of science." The scientific observations of this leading pioneer in the field of genetics replaced his atheism with a firm belief in God, and in Jesus as the Christ.
Consider the Periodic Table of Elements. Arranged and ordered by atomic number, it is a tapestry of brilliant simplicity which organizes the chemical architecture of our world. It too is a work of art; see graphic below. Take for instance a hydrogen atom (element #1), add another hydrogen atom, and then an oxygen atom (element #8) and you thereby create water - the chemical combination ‘h2O’. Divine.
Our planet Earth is also a work of living art and we are witnesses to its magnificence and abundance. In the United States alone we have the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, the dramatic volcanoes of Hawaii, the beautiful coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the tropical coral reefs (though endangered) of the Florida Keys, the redwood forests of the Pacific West, our Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks, among many other picturesque landscapes. These are living testaments of a loving and exceedingly gifted Creator.
Consider too our planetary circumstance: our Earth is situated in what is described as a “Goldilocks Zone” in its fixed orbit around the Sun. Any further from or nearer to our Sun, life would not be what we now very much enjoy. Complimenting this perfection of proximity, the axial tilt of Earth makes abundant life possible by the moderation of temperatures and the seasonal quadrants of fall, winter, spring, and summer. Added to this is Earth's abundance of varieties and species of animal life, from aardvark to zebra, and of plant life, from apple to zucchini. Providential indeed.
The magnificent visual beauty of our Earth was not known until the recent Space Era of the late 1960’s. Upon seeing the "Earthrise" during the Apollo 10 flight over the moon, the NASA crew communicated by radio to Mission Control Houston: “Charlie, this may sound corny but the view is really out of this world.” Their view, that of planet Earth, was indeed astonishingly beautiful.
These above-noted scientific principles: the DNA/RNA structures of genetic code, the Periodic Table of Elements, the planetary movements of our Solar System and Earth's rotating axis, are arguably plainly admissible as scientific evidence under the established American rules for admissibility under Frye and Daubert; Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923), makes admissible that evidence which is generally accepted as reliable in the scientific community, and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmeceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993), permits into evidence scientific knowledge which, in the judgment of the court, assists the trier of fact.
Mention should be made of the field of archeology. Significant archeological discoveries have occurred in recent years through sheer fortuity and increasingly by means of satellite imagery, drone surveillance and radar technologies. With regularity we hear in the news of archeological finds in the Middle East which affirm historical epochs, political dynasties and biblical narratives. Too many to compehensively list here, several stand-out discoveries to my mind are the celebrated Dead Sea Scrolls, the Pool of Siloam nearby the Temple Mount, and, very possibly, the location of the historical Mount Sinai in Saudia Arabia which is a presently-developing query. These discoveries and investigations are fascinating and thought-provoking, and lend physical and observable contemporary support for historical biblical accounts.
Personal reflection:
In the early years of my career, a wise, wonderful and humorous (yet crotchety) criminal court judge before whom I often had jury trials would occasionally philosophize in his chambers concerning his belief in God, and in Jesus. He would say, “Why not hedge your bet? If after we die and happen to be wrong we will at least have led a good and honorable life. And, if we’re right, then we’ve got a whole eternity to enjoy.” Point well taken; no objection there. I miss that wise and wonderful old judge.
Friend, beyond reasonable doubt the evidence shows that no other person in the history of mankind, except Jesus, is attributed with possessing the divine qualities and characteristics reported and dually contained in the Old Testament and New. None but Jesus. Consider also that the world’s calendar is calculated by the date of his birth. It is beyond reasonable doubt that Jesus, a male child born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, who would be called ‘The Prince of Peace’, despised by others, who was looked upon by those who pierced him, at Jerusalem, by whose stripes we are healed and upon whom was borne the iniquity of us all – that man, Jesus, who identified himself as being the 'I AM', is evidenced beyond reasonable doubt to be the Christ. Who else could it reasonably be? No other person can be said to even approximate these multiple cross-references of divine identification. Open your heart and believe. Why not hedge your bet, wisely?
Adding to the historical texts of the Old and New Testament is the planet Earth we inhabit. Just look around. Notwithstanding the ills and imperfections we find here, it is unmistakable that we are living residents of a very special place. Looking up at evening sky we see Providential magnificence on display in the star and planet-filled heavens, and looking about us we find a perfectly situated globe which supports life abundantly and enchantedly. The exactitude and harmony of the cycles of our planetary system, and of Earth in its celestial midst, is worthy of note. Planet Earth is not a chance going-concern. And of this uniquely majestic planet, its most remarkable inhabitant is Jesus. This is deserving of our consideration, investigation, and reflection.
In closing, a wonderful and convenient way to become acquainted with the Holy Scriptures is by listening to the celebrated recording by Alexander Scourby available on Apple devices; additionally rewarding are the superb narrations by Max McLean and actor David Suchet. Recommended also is the book authored by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen entitled ‘The Life of Christ’, and likewise also the comprehensive trilogy by Sholem Asch entitled 'The Nazarene', 'The Apostle' (about Saint Paul), and 'Mary'. Further recommended and conveniently available online is the Anglican Internet Church hosted by University of Virginia divinity scholar, Fr. Ron Shibley.
Thank you for your time and consideration of the proof presented. It is my great hope that you are persuaded to open your heart and believe.
