ANNOUNCER: THE BIBLE, WRITTEN BY
HAND BY MANY DIFFERENT AUTHORS
OVER A NUMBER OF CENTURIES. FROM MOSES TO THE PROPHETS,
THE SCROLLS OF ISRAEL... SEEMED TO BE
A COLLECTION OF THE STORY
AND WISDOM OF A NATION, UNTIL A YOUNG TEACHER
BY THE NAME OF JESUS... CHANGED THE WAY MILLIONS
WOULD THINK ABOUT ALL THAT
WAS WRITTEN BEFORE HIS TIME. ON THIS DAY OF DISCOVERY. NARRATOR:
GROWING UP IN NAZARETH, THE LOCAL SYNAGOGUE
WOULD HAVE BEEN AN IMPORTANT
PART OF JESUS' EARLY YEARS. HERE HE WOULD HAVE HEARD
THE WORDS OF MOSES... THAT THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL WERE
TO BUILD INTO EVERY DAY AND
RELATIONSHIP OF THEIR LIVES. THE GOSPEL OF LUKE MAKES
A POINT OF SHOWING... HOW IMPORTANT THOSE SCRIPTURES WERE TO JESUS' EARLY YEARS. AT THE AGE OF 12,
HE WENT MISSING AFTER A FAMILY
TRIP TO JERUSALEM'S TEMPLE. THREE DAYS LATER HIS PARENTS
FOUND HIM IN THE TEMPLE AMONG
TEACHERS OF ISRAEL, WHO WERE AMAZED BY HIS
QUESTIONS AND UNDERSTANDING
OF THE SCRIPTURES. JESUS HAD AN INTEREST IN THE
BIBLE THAT MANY IN OUR DAY MIGHT
HAVE A HARD TIME RELATING TO. I FIND TODAY, ATTITUDES ABOUT
FAITH AND BELIEF IN GOD, AND WHAT TO THINK ABOUT SCRIPTURE, ALL OVER THE MAP. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE
IN GOD. THEY ARE... THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO
ACCEPT WHAT THE BIBLE
SAYS WITHOUT MUCH DOUBT. THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE, THOUGH,
WAY ON THE OTHER SIDE... WHO ARE VERY SKEPTICAL
AND ASSERT THAT THERE'S
NO TRUTH IN THE BIBLE. IT'S JUST A WHOLE BUNCH
OF MYTHS AND INACCURACIES
AND CONTRADICTIONS. NARRATOR: MANY NO LONGER
SEE THE BIBLE AS HAVING... SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY
IN MATTERS OF RIGHT AND WRONG. WE'RE IN A NEW AGE TODAY
AND A DIFFERENT TIME... WHEN PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT
THE SCRIPTURES ON SECULAR
COLLEGE CAMPUSES TODAY, AND SAYING THINGS LIKE,
"MAN THIS IS... "THIS DOESN'T HAVE ANY CULTURAL
AUTHORITY FOR ME WHATSOEVER. "REALLY, THIS IS A BOOK
THAT'S RACIST AND MISOGYNIST
AND HOMOPHOBIC AND... "AND TEACHES ALL
KINDS OF NASTINESS, "AND IT SEEMS TO ME WE OUGHT
TO STAY AWAY FROM THIS BOOK." THAT'S A VERY DIFFERENT
CULTURAL SITUATION. NARRATOR: YET, WHILE BEING
SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE BIBLE, MANY
STILL HAVE AN INTEREST IN JESUS. MOST PEOPLE ARE
SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE
AND THEY'RE CONFUSED. THEY ARE OPEN. THEY WOULD
LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT GOD. THEY... THEY HAVE RESPECT
FOR JESUS AND WOULD LIKE
TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM, BUT THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF ALL THE MEDIA CLAIMS, AND THE SENSATIONALISM
IN BOOKS AND DOCUMENTARIES, ODD PRESENTATIONS OF JESUS,
SKEPTICISM ABOUT CHRISTIAN
FAITH, AND SO ON. AND SO IN MY EXPERIENCE
I FIND THE PUBLIC, IN GENERAL,
CONFUSED AND ASKING QUESTIONS, AND UNCERTAIN WHERE TO GO,
UNCERTAIN WHERE TO FIND
THE ANSWERS. NARRATOR: TODAY MANY SEEM TO
HAVE MORE INTEREST IN JESUS, AND HAVE FEWER ISSUES WITH HIM THAN WITH THE BIBLE, EVEN THOUGH JESUS HIMSELF
CLAIMED A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP
WITH THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. THE BIBLE WAS
JESUS' GUIDE TO HIS LIFE. IT WAS HIS SOURCE OF TRUTH. IT WAS HIS UNDERSTANDING
OF WHAT GOD'S WILL WAS
FOR HIM PERSONALLY, BUT ALSO FOR THE NATION. JESUS' VIEW OF THE SCRIPTURES
WAS DIFFERENT... THAN WHAT MOST OF THE JEWISH AUTHORITIES OF HIS DAY HELD TO. THERE WERE THE SADDUCEES WHO RAN
THE TEMPLE AND ITS SERVICES, AND THEY ESSENTIALLY HELD
THAT THE BOOKS OF MOSES, THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS
OF THE BIBLE, WERE INSPIRED,
THE REST OF THEM NOT SO. THAT WAS NOT JESUS' ATTITUDE. THE PHARISEES,
WHICH WAS THE MAJORITY
RELIGIOUS GROUP AT THE TIME, WAS AT THE OPPOSITE END
OF THE SPECTRUM. THE SADDUCEES
HELD TO A TRUNCATED CANON.
FEW BOOKS WERE INSPIRED. THE PHARISEES SAID
ALL OF THEM WERE INSPIRED AND
WE HAVE THIS ORAL TRADITION... THAT'S EQUALLY INSPIRED
WITH THE WRITTEN TEXT. YOU KNOW,
THEY HAD THINGS LIKE YOU CAN'T
CARRY WOOD ON THE SABBATH, SO IF YOU HAD A FALSE LEG,
YOU'D HAVE TO UNSTRAP IT, OR IF YOU HAD WOODEN TEETH,
YOU HAD TO TAKE THOSE OUT. I MEAN SERIOUSLY, THEY WOULD
GO IN THIS DIRECTION, BUT THE FACT IS THOSE
WERE THE ORAL TRADITIONS
ON TOP OF THE LAW, AND THAT'S WHAT
JESUS DISAGREED WITH. HE SAID IT'S THE SCRIPTURE THAT
IS OUR FINAL AUTHORITY FOR LIFE. IT'S NOT JUST THESE FIVE BOOKS
AND IT'S NOT THE WHOLE OLD
TESTAMENT PLUS ORAL TRADITION. IT'S THE OLD TESTAMENT,
THOSE 39 BOOKS AND THAT'S IT. AND HIS VIEW OF THE BIBLE,
THEREFORE, WAS DIFFERENT
FROM THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS', SOME WHO VIEWED IT AS LESS,
SOME WHO VIEWED IT AS MORE. HE SAYS THE SCRIPTURE
AND ONLY THE SCRIPTURE
IS OUR FINAL AUTHORITY. NARRATOR: WHAT STUNNED MANY
OF THOSE WHO KNEW JESUS... IS THAT HE ALSO DIDN'T QUOTE
THE SCRIPTURES THE WAY OTHER
RELIGIOUS LEADERS DID. THERE ARE PLACES WHERE
JESUS INTERACTS WITH SCRIPTURE
IN WHICH HE EXPLAINS SCRIPTURE, OR MAKES CLEAR
WHAT SCRIPTURE IS SAYING,
WHICH GIVES AN INDICATION... THAT HE HAS THE RIGHT
TO MAKE CLEAR WHAT IT IS
THAT SCRIPTURE INTENDED. NOTHING SHOWS THIS
MORE POWERFULLY THAN
SECTIONS ON THE... WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE SERMON
ON THE MOUNT, ONE OF JESUS'
MOST FAMOUS DISCOURSES, IN WHICH HE SAYS,
"YOU HAVE HEARD IT SAID...
BUT I SAY UNTO YOU." AND IN SOME PLACES HE'S DOING
NOTHING BUT CITING SCRIPTURE, AND WHAT HE'S DOING IS HE'S PUTTING TWO OR THREE IDEAS OF SCRIPTURE NEXT TO ONE ANOTHER, AND KIND OF REPRIORITIZING
THE WAY THEY'VE BEEN
PREVIOUSLY PRIORITIZED... TO SHOW US WHAT THE THRUST
OF SCRIPTURE'S SUPPOSED TO BE. NARRATOR:
WHILE SOME OF THE RELIGIOUS
LEADERS OF ISRAEL... PRIDED THEMSELVES
IN THEIR ABILITY TO FOCUS ON
THE FINE POINTS OF MOSAIC LAW, JESUS CALLED THEM BACK TO THE
GREATER PRINCIPLES OF SCRIPTURE. WITHOUT DISMISSING
THE DETAILS OF MORAL
AND SPIRITUAL CONSCIENCE, JESUS FOCUSED ON ISSUES OF
HEART AND RELATIONSHIP THAT PUT
EVERYTHING ELSE IN PERSPECTIVE. THE TEACHER FROM NAZARETH
SAW BOTH THE LETTER AND
SPIRIT OF THE LAW OF MOSES. IN SUMMARIZING THE SPIRIT
AND INTENT OF THE SCRIPTURES, JESUS DESCRIBED NOT ONLY THE
HEART OF HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS, BUT ALSO A FOUNDATIONAL
TRUST IN GOD. SO, IN SOME OF THE BEST
AND WORST TIMES OF HIS LIFE, JESUS QUOTED THE SCRIPTURES
AS REFLECTING WHAT GOD
HIMSELF HAD SAID. WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS HE DOES
IS, WHEN HE'S TEMPTED BY SATAN, HE TALKS ABOUT MAN NOT
LIVING BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT
PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD, AND HE'S DOING THAT IN
THE CONTEXT OF QUOTING
THE OLD TESTAMENT. AND IT'S QUITE STRIKING TO
TALK ABOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT... AS BEING A SEQUENCE OF WORDS COMING OUT OF GOD'S MOUTH. IT'S A VERY CLOSE CONNECTION
THAT HE GIVES... BETWEEN THE OLD TESTAMENT
AND GOD ACTUALLY SPEAKING IT. WHEN HE WAS TEMPTED
IN THE WILDERNESS, HE WAS
QUOTING FROM THE SCRIPTURES. WE CAN SEE THAT JESUS RELIED
HEAVILY ON THE SCRIPTURE, WHICH WAS THE OLD TESTAMENT
AT THAT POINT. WHENEVER HE WAS TRYING TO MAKE
DECISIONS ON WHAT TO DO, HE WENT BACK
TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
SCRIPTURES TO SEE WHAT... WHAT HAD BEEN
WRITTEN ABOUT THIS. WHEN HE WAS ON THE CROSS, HE WAS
QUOTING FROM THE SCRIPTURES. SO WHETHER IT'S TEMPTATION
OR THE GOOD TIMES OR
THE BAD TIMES IN LIFE, OR JUST THE MUNDANE TIMES
THAT WE'RE IN MOST OF THE TIME, JESUS RELIED HEAVILY
UPON THE SCRIPTURES, GOD'S WORD,
TO GUIDE HIM IN HIS LIFE. NARRATOR:
SO CAN WE EXPLAIN WHAT JESUS
SAID ABOUT THE BIBLE... BY SAYING THAT HE SAW
THE SCRIPTURES AS HIS MORAL
COMPASS, GUIDE, AND STRENGTH? IF SO, THE TEACHER FROM NAZARETH
CAME TO HIS GENERATION AS A MUCH
NEEDED SPIRITUAL REFORMER. BUT IF JESUS WAS JUST
A SPIRITUAL REFORMER, WHY WOULD HE SO OFTEN OFFEND
THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS LEADERS? WHEN HE'S IN TROUBLE
ON THE SABBATH, FOR EXAMPLE, HE TALKS ABOUT AN EXAMPLE
IN SCRIPTURE WHERE DAVID
EATS SHOWBREAD... THAT WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR HIM, OR HE TALKS ABOUT
THE FACT THAT THE PRIESTS
LABOR ON THE SABBATH... IN THE TEMPLE, AND THAT'S
NOT BREAKING THE SABBATH NARRATOR:
JESUS USED THE SCRIPTURES
NOT ONLY TO DEFEND HIMSELF, BUT TO LIFT HIMSELF
ABOVE ALL OTHER TEACHERS, AND EVEN ABOVE JERUSALEM'S
MOST HOLY SITE. THOSE WHO FIRST HEARD JESUS SAY
THOSE WORDS MUST HAVE TURNED
TO ONE ANOTHER IN DISBELIEF. IN USING THE SCRIPTURES
TO DEFEND HIS OWN ACTIONS
ON THE SABBATH, WAS HE REALLY
CLAIMING TO BE NOT ONLY
LORD OF THEIR MOST HOLY DAY, BUT ALSO GREATER
THAN THEIR TEMPLE? WHAT JESUS SAID
PLACED HIM AT THE CENTER
OF A GREAT CONTROVERSY. COULD HE POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN
SAYING THAT THE STORY OF THE
JEWISH SCRIPTURES WAS HIS STORY, AND THAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT HIM? NARRATOR: FOR THOUSANDS OF
YEARS THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES... HAD BEEN THE CENTERPIECE
OF JEWISH LIFE AND FAITH. FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT,
HAND-COPIED SCROLLS WERE HONORED
AS SACRED WRITINGS... THAT REVEALED THE WORDS
AND WAYS OF GOD. THE OLD TESTAMENT,
AS CHRISTIANS REFER TO
IT TODAY, WAS JESUS' BIBLE. THAT'S ALL THAT WAS
IN EXISTENCE AT THE TIME. IT WAS GOD'S REVELATION
OF HIS PROGRAM OF SALVATION
THROUGHOUT HISTORY... UP TO THE TIME
OF JESUS' ENTRANCE. AND AS JESUS' BIBLE,
IT WAS HIS GUIDE TO LIFE. IT WAS HIS WAY OF ALIGNING HIS
OWN VALUES, HIS OWN THOUGHTS, WITH THE THOUGHTS OF GOD,
WITH THE VALUES OF GOD. NARRATOR:
MANY HAVE CONCLUDED THAT WHAT
JESUS SAID ABOUT THE BIBLE... SHOWS HIM TO BE A SKILLED RABBI WHO HELPED HIS LISTENERS... TO SEE THE HEART AND INTENT
OF THE LAW OF GOD AND MOSES. BUT THE PROBLEM WITH SEEING
JESUS ONLY AS A WISE TEACHER
OF MOSES AND THE PROPHETS, IS WHAT HE ACTUALLY SAYS
ABOUT THE STORY OF BIBLE. JESUS CLAIMED
THAT THE SACRED WORDS
OF SCRIPTURE WERE ABOUT HIM. HE BELIEVED THE SCRIPTURES
ARE UTTERLY INSPIRED, BUT HE ALSO BELIEVES THAT
HE IS AT THE CENTER OF THEM. IT'S VERY STRIKING WHEN
HE GOES TO HIS HOMETOWN, AND HE READS FROM
THE BOOK OF ISAIAH, OR AS
YOU MIGHT SAY, "I-ZAY-AH," AND HE OPENS THAT AND TALKS
ABOUT HOW THAT DAY... IT'S BEING FULFILLED
IN THE HEARING OF THE PEOPLE.
THIS IS ABOUT JESUS HIMSELF. NARRATOR: THIS MAY HAVE BEEN
ONE OF THE FIRST TIMES... THAT JESUS MADE SUCH A STRONG LINK BETWEEN HIMSELF AND
THE SACRED JEWISH SCRIPTURES, BUT IT WASN'T THE LAST. JESUS' FOLLOWERS HAD A HARD
TIME GRASPING THE INTIMATE
CONNECTION THAT HE WAS MAKING... BETWEEN HIMSELF
AND THEIR SCRIPTURES. EVEN HIS CLOSEST FOLLOWERS
REALLY DIDN'T GET IT, SO AS THEY WRESTLED WITH WHETHER JESUS DID GET IT RIGHT IN HIS INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE, THEY INCREASINGLY GAVE
THEMSELVES TO HIS... AUTHORITATIVE INTERPRETATION
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, AND THEY
RELIED ON WHAT HE HAD TO SAY, AND SO INCREASINGLY,
JESUS BECOMES THEIR AUTHORITY. WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS
WE FIND IS, IN ALL
THE PORTRAITS OF JESUS, IS THAT JESUS HAD A DEEP RESPECT
FOR THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES, WHICH
IS NOW THE OLD TESTAMENT. HE HAD A GREAT RESPECT.
HE... HE TALKED ABOUT HOW PEOPLE
NEEDED TO FOLLOW THE SCRIPTURES. HE TALKED ABOUT PEOPLE SEARCHING
THE SCRIPTURES, BUT IN FACT, HE BELIEVED THAT THE SCRIPTURES
SPOKE OF HIMSELF. THIS IS CLEAR IN...
IN JOHN CHAPTER 5 AND LUKE
CHAPTER 24 AND OTHER PASSAGES. BECAUSE THERE WERE THESE
COMPETING INTERPRETATIONS
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, WHEN JESUS CAME
ON THE SCENE AND MADE THESE
PROFOUND DECLARATIONS... OF THE MEANING OF
THE OLD TESTAMENT AND HOW
IT IS FULFILLED IN HIMSELF, ANOTHER MIND-BOGGLING PARADIGM
SHIFT FOR HIS FOLLOWERS. NARRATOR:
SENSING THE REJECTION
OF HIS OWN PEOPLE, JESUS DIDN'T BACK OFF. HE QUOTED A PASSAGE FROM THEIR
SCRIPTURES THAT ANTICIPATED
HIS ROLE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD. ONE OF THE REASONS
I HAVE GREAT CONFIDENCE
IN OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE - OR WHAT WE CALL OLD TESTAMENT
SCRIPTURE, IN JESUS' DAY IT WAS
SIMPLY THE SCRIPTURES - IS BECAUSE JESUS HIMSELF
HAD A VERY HIGH VIEW FOR
THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES. HE HAD A HIGH VIEW
THAT THESE SCRIPTURES
TRUTHFULLY REVEALED... THE WILL OF GOD FOR HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN BELIEF, BUT ALSO THAT
THE SCRIPTURES WERE FULFILLED
IN HIS OWN MINISTRY, IN THINGS THAT JESUS DID,
THINGS THAT HE TAUGHT,
AND OF COURSE, HIS OWN EXPERIENCE
IN SUFFERING AND HIS
RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD. AND THESE EVENTS
FULFILLED SCRIPTURE. NARRATOR:
FOR THE LEADERS OF ISRAEL,
JESUS' CLAIMS WERE SCANDALOUS. WHEN THEY HEARD HIM
TALK AS IF THEIR SACRED
SCRIPTURES WERE HIS STORY, THEY WERE HEARING VIOLATIONS OF
A NATIONAL AND CULTURAL CODE. AND YET JESUS REMAINED FIRM. THESE WORDS STIRRED UP THE ANGER
AND ALARM OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS, BUT JESUS CONTINUED
TO USE THE SCRIPTURES TO EXPLAIN
WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO HIM. HE CLAIMED TO BE FULFILLING
ISRAEL'S SCRIPTURES, EVEN AS HE WAS ARRESTED
ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. EVEN AFTER SPENDING THREE YEARS
WITH JESUS, HIS OWN DISCIPLES
COULDN'T SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING. THEY REFUSED TO ACCEPT
THE THOUGHT THAT THEIR TEACHER
WOULD HAVE TO SUFFER AND DIE. AND YET THIS IS WHAT JESUS HAD
BEEN REPEATEDLY TELLING THEM. EVEN THAT VERY EVENING,
AT THEIR LAST SUPPER TOGETHER, JESUS HAD APPLIED THE PICTURE
OF THE SACRIFICED LAMB OF
THE PASSOVER MEAL TO HIMSELF, AND WARNED THEM OF HIS REJECTION
IN FULFILLMENT OF SCRIPTURE. WHAT...,WHAT HE CALLS SCRIPTURE
IS JUST THE OLD TESTAMENT, BECAUSE THE NEW TESTAMENT
HAD NOT BEEN WRITTEN YET. AND THOSE BOOKS WOULD
BE WRITTEN BY HIS FOLLOWERS,
EITHER DIRECT FOLLOWERS, HIS APOSTLES, HIS DISCIPLES, OR
OTHERS LIKE THE APOSTLE PAUL,
ESPECIALLY, WHO COMES LATER, DID NOT KNOW JESUS PHYSICALLY,
BUT THEY ARE WRITING THE BOOKS
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT... THAT THEN HAVE CONTINUITY
WITH THE OLD TESTAMENT. AND THE KEY THAT LINKS
THE OLD TESTAMENT TO THE NEW, SO THAT WE HAVE BOTH CONTINUITY AND UNITY, IS CHRIST HIMSELF. HE'S THE ONE WHO PUTS
HIS STAMP OF AUTHORITY
ON THE OLD TESTAMENT, AND THEREFORE THAT'S WHY WE
SHOULD REGARD THIS AS SCRIPTURE. IF HE'S BEEN RAISED FROM
THE DEAD, HE'S AN AUTHORITY
THAT I NEED TO LISTEN TO, AND I OUGHT NOT TO DEVIATE
FROM HIS OPINION ON ANYTHING. BUT THEN HIS FOLLOWERS,
BECAUSE THEY ARE DESCRIBING
HIS LIFE AND HIS MISSION, AND WHAT THE CROSS ACCOMPLISHED,
ARE EVERY BIT AS AUTHORITATIVE
AS THOSE OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS. NARRATOR: ACCORDING TO
THE GOSPEL OF LUKE, IT WAS ONLY
AFTER JESUS' RESURRECTION... THAT HE GAVE HIS DISCIPLES
THE UNDERSTANDING THEY NEEDED... TO SEE HOW HE REALLY HAD FULFILLED THEIR SCRIPTURES. I'VE BEEN STUDYING THE BIBLE,
AND ESPECIALLY THE NEW
TESTAMENT, FOR FOUR DECADES, AND THE MORE I STUDY
THE NEW TESTAMENT, THE MORE I AM CONVINCED
THAT THE NEW TESTAMENT
IS A ROAD SIGN, A MAP, A POINTER TO SOMETHING
MORE IMPORTANT THAN ITSELF. IT'S JESUS THE NAZARENE.
HE'S A FASCINATING CHARACTER
THAT WE DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND. I'M CO-AUTHORING A BOOK CALLED
THIS STRANGE JESUS, DEALING ABOUT SOME REMARKABLE
THINGS THAT HE HAS DONE, THAT IT'S JUST FASCINATING
TO FIGURE HIM OUT AS BEST
WE CAN, AND WE CAN'T. BUT THE MORE I STUDY ABOUT HIS
LIFE, THE MORE I AM CONVINCED... THAT HE IS INDEED
THE SON OF GOD AND THAT
THE RESURRECTION IS TRUE, AND IF THE RESURRECTION
OF TRUE... IS TRUE, IT PUTS GOD'S STAMP
OF APPROVAL ON EVERYTHING
THAT JESUS DID AND SAID. THAT'S WHY I WOULD SAY,
DO I BELIEVE THAT
THE BIBLE IS FROM GOD? I DO BECAUSE JESUS BELIEVED IT. I DON'T WANT TO HOLD TO ANY
POSITION THAT IS APART FROM HIM, BECAUSE HE'S IN A LEAGUE
BY HIMSELF, COMPLETELY,
AS THE SON OF GOD, AS THE ONE WHO COULD
RAISE PEOPLE FROM THE DEAD AND
RISE FROM THE DEAD HIMSELF... WITHOUT ANY HUMAN INTERVENTION,
AS NO ONE HAD EVER DONE, TO THE NEW RESURRECTION
LIFE THAT HE HAD. SO THE LONGER I STUDY
THE SCRIPTURES, THE MORE
I AM FASCINATED BY HIM, THE MORE I AM DEDICATED
TO FOLLOWING HIM, EVEN TO THE PLACE WHERE IT MAKES
ME UNCOMFORTABLE TO DO THAT, BECAUSE I HAVE A LOT OF VIEWS
THAT ARE NOT IN LINE WITH JESUS
AND I'M LEARNING TO SHED THOSE, BECAUSE I WANT TO
BE A JESUS FOLLOWER AS
FULLY AS I POSSIBLY CAN. NARRATOR: WHAT JESUS
SAID ABOUT THE BIBLE IS
THAT IT'S ALL ABOUT HIM. IT'S ABOUT WHO HE IS.
IT'S ABOUT WHY HE CAME TO DIE. IT'S ONE STORY. IT'S BEEN CALLED THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD. AND WHAT MAKES
THIS IDEA SO COMPELLING,
AND OFTEN SO OFFENSIVE, IS THAT IT'S WHAT
JESUS SAID ABOUT HIMSELF.
