Ben Wilson

I'll give one example, which is the virgin birth. So the New Testament scholar N.T. Wright says, The Matthew birth story describes how a Galilean virgin named Mary, though pledged to Joseph, became pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

I'll give one example, which is the virgin birth. So the New Testament scholar N.T. Wright says, The Matthew birth story describes how a Galilean virgin named Mary, though pledged to Joseph, became pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Joseph was planning to set aside the marriage privately on suspicion of infidelity until an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him that what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Matthew adds an editorial remark that Jesus' birth fulfills the words of Isaiah 7.14 about the virgin bearing a child who is to be called Emmanuel, which means God with us.

Joseph was planning to set aside the marriage privately on suspicion of infidelity until an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him that what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Matthew adds an editorial remark that Jesus' birth fulfills the words of Isaiah 7.14 about the virgin bearing a child who is to be called Emmanuel, which means God with us.

This is the more interesting in that we know of no pre-Christian readers of Isaiah who took the passage in this way. It seems far more likely that the story of Jesus' extraordinary conception generated a search for relevant texts rather than, as has often been suggested, the other way around.

This is the more interesting in that we know of no pre-Christian readers of Isaiah who took the passage in this way. It seems far more likely that the story of Jesus' extraordinary conception generated a search for relevant texts rather than, as has often been suggested, the other way around.

Okay, so in other words, the idea that the Messiah would be born of a virgin was not widely accepted in the Jewish community before the coming of Jesus. And so if you're just looking at the historical account, it looks like the gospel writers are trying to explain this strange conception.

Okay, so in other words, the idea that the Messiah would be born of a virgin was not widely accepted in the Jewish community before the coming of Jesus. And so if you're just looking at the historical account, it looks like the gospel writers are trying to explain this strange conception.

rather than believing that the Messiah needed to be born of a virgin, and so inventing some story about his birth. So, you know, even if you're a non-Christian looking at this, it seems more likely that Jesus' mother did indeed become pregnant before she was married. Of course, if you're not Christian, you're going to explain that as an extramarital affair or something like that.

rather than believing that the Messiah needed to be born of a virgin, and so inventing some story about his birth. So, you know, even if you're a non-Christian looking at this, it seems more likely that Jesus' mother did indeed become pregnant before she was married. Of course, if you're not Christian, you're going to explain that as an extramarital affair or something like that.

But the point is that, yes, you can glean things about Jesus' life from the Gospels, right? That is not to say that everything in the Bible is historically accurate.

But the point is that, yes, you can glean things about Jesus' life from the Gospels, right? That is not to say that everything in the Bible is historically accurate.

I'll talk about a couple of things that are questionable, but that was my long way of saying, I think the Jesus of the Bible does have some relationship to the historical figure, probably a very strong relationship, and he is worth studying. So my sources for this episode are the gospel accounts from the New Testament. That's Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I used the King James version.

I'll talk about a couple of things that are questionable, but that was my long way of saying, I think the Jesus of the Bible does have some relationship to the historical figure, probably a very strong relationship, and he is worth studying. So my sources for this episode are the gospel accounts from the New Testament. That's Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I used the King James version.

I also read Jesus, a biography from a believer by Paul Johnson and the New Testament in its world by N.T. Wright. I should mention that I was able to listen to the New Testament in my own voice, which is pretty cool. There's an old Jewish tradition that God speaks to you in your own voice.

I also read Jesus, a biography from a believer by Paul Johnson and the New Testament in its world by N.T. Wright. I should mention that I was able to listen to the New Testament in my own voice, which is pretty cool. There's an old Jewish tradition that God speaks to you in your own voice.

So if you've ever, for example, watched The Prince of Egypt, which is a cartoon depiction of the Moses story, Val Kilmer voices Moses, but he also voices God because, you know, Moses is supposed to be hearing God in his own voice. Well, I was able to listen to the New Testament using my own voice via Speechify.

So if you've ever, for example, watched The Prince of Egypt, which is a cartoon depiction of the Moses story, Val Kilmer voices Moses, but he also voices God because, you know, Moses is supposed to be hearing God in his own voice. Well, I was able to listen to the New Testament using my own voice via Speechify.

I use Speechify for 80% of my research because I find I get through material way faster if I listen to it and read it at the same time. I recommend that anyone try it. You won't believe how much faster it is than just reading. It's a superpower for learning quickly. So if you want to use it, go to Speechify.com slash Ben to get 15% off Speechify premium.

I use Speechify for 80% of my research because I find I get through material way faster if I listen to it and read it at the same time. I recommend that anyone try it. You won't believe how much faster it is than just reading. It's a superpower for learning quickly. So if you want to use it, go to Speechify.com slash Ben to get 15% off Speechify premium.