This week we are reviewing session two for our “Person of Interest” class investigation. We will be looking at one of the three main fuses leading up to the explosive appearance of Jesus. This first fuse is known as “the cultural fuse” and it has six strands of evidence that bring us to the most optimal time in all of human history for our person of interest to appear. J. Warner Wallace, in his book “Person of Interest,” gives us insight into the investigative methods he has successfully used to solve real cold-case murders, and he applies these methods to make a case for Jesus as our person of interest.

Watch this week’s class presentation on this topic:

Overview notes from the presentation

The Importance of Telling the Story

OWN YOUR FAITH!

KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND WHY YOU BELIEVE IT!!

THEN SHARE IT WITH OTHERS!!!

Old Testament: Big Picture

God created us to be in relationship with Him (Genesis 1-2)
Humans lose that relationship at the Fall when they disobeyed God’s only command (Genesis 3) and evil escalated up to the time of the Flood (and beyond)
God immediately Promised a way of salvation and began to work that plan out in Covenants throughout the Old Testament—giving encouragement, warning and hope through the prophets (Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:2-3; Genesis 15:5-19; Genesis 26:3-5; Genesis 28:10-15; Genesis 49:9-12; Exodus 12-15; 19-20; 2 Samuel 7:5-17; Jeremiah 31:31)
Jesus is the Scarlet Thread of the Old Testament – Every book, story, and event contains a foreshadow, model, or prophecy of Jesus (concerning who He would be and what He would do)
The Nation of Israel was chosen to be God’s people and role-model to the other nations (they failed all the time) showing the need for a Savior, and it would be through this Nation that Messiah would come
The Intertestamental Period of 400 years, also known as the silent years (no prophetic word was heard) where God was setting the stage for the coming of His Son Jesus

New Testament: Big Picture

Jesus is born, the promised Messiah from the tribe of Judah and line of David at just the right time in history (Luke 3:23-37)
Jesus is the Promised New Covenant in fulfillment of God’s Old Covenant and the hundreds of prophecies made about Him, as the coming Messiah, centuries before (Luke 22:20; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:7-13; 9:1-15)
Jesus’ is God incarnate as evidenced through the multitude of miracles attesting to His power over the natural order, His sinless life, and in His love for all humanity (The Gospels)
Jesus sacrificially dies as a substitute for all humanity, then resurrects from the grave in defeat of death and Satan, restoring that lost relationship with humankind and providing a path for eternal life (John 3:11-21; John 14:6; Acts 4:12)
The first Church is formed as Jesus’ followers begin to spread this good news (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:7-8); and with the giving of the Holy Spirit to all believers they gathered in various places to pray, worship, and study Scripture (book of Acts and all of the Epistles)
Jesus promises to come back bringing in the full Kingdom of God creating a New Earth and New Heaven with no more pain, suffering, or death (Revelation 21:1-7)

Conclusion to the Bible’s Big Picture:

Our job, or purpose, until then is to share the good news with as many people as we can, living lives as God’s Ambassadors for the Kingdom, preparing for eternity. (See 2 Corinthians 5:20)

PERSON OF INTEREST

The Cultural Fuse

Objections:

Why did Jesus appear when He did?
Why didn’t Jesus come earlier or later in history?
Why didn’t he choose to come today when communication and technology is so easily accessible?

THE CULTURAL FUSE

1) The Communication Strand

Oral communication and transmission – from the beginning of time
- Limited to small communities, but considered reliable
Pictographs – ca. 3500 BC
- limits amount of information available (pictures only); transportation of writing material too hard to do (clay, stone etc.)
Cuneiform symbols and Papyrus (developed by the Egyptians) – ca. 3000 BC
- Written concepts by phonograms (symbols for vowels and syllables) allowed for more information; and papyrus would travel better, but more was needed…

Alphabet (first developed by the Phoenicians) – 1050 BC
- 22 consonants, but no vowels – still difficult to fully communicate in writing
27 Letter Alphabet (developed by the Greeks) – 800 BC Adopted and modified by Etrucscans in Tuscany, Italy – 700 BC
- Now included vowels; differences between words like sad, said and sod could be clearly communicated
Koine Greek (adopted by the Roman Empire) – 100 BC
- Became the accepted language by all of the regions conquered by Rome; became the common language spoken in the known world; dominated trade and civic interactions

2) The Colonization Strand

THE ROMAN EMPIRE IS PIVOTAL!

Rome founded – 753 BC
Rome became a republic – 509 BC
Rome controls the entire Italian peninsula – 264 BC
Rome controls Sicily, Western Mediterranean, a large portion of Spain and Northern Africa; and Macedonia (Known today as Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo) – 146 BC
Gaius Octavius becomes first Emperor of Rome as Augustus Caesar – 27 BC
At the pinnacle of Roman rule Most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Balkans, the Middle East, the coast of Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea were unified under the same economic, military, and linguistic systems

3) The Domination Strand

A time of Roman peace – 27 BC to 180 AD: “PAX ROMANA”

Prior to the rule of Caesar Augustus, peace was rare among ancient warring nations
The Roman Empire unified much of the Western world, bringing the entire Mediterranean region under common rule
Many of the same people groups that warred against one another were now in shared submission to Rome

4) The Transportation Strand

ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME!!!

Wheels appear (ancient Sumer, Mesopotamia) – ca. 5000 BC
First two wheeled cart (usually pulled by donkeys) – ca. 3000 BC
Four wheeled carts (primary for farming) – ca. 2500 BC
Spoked-wheeled chariots (emerged in Siberia and Central Asia) – 2000 BC
Persians among the first to build significant roads – “Royal Road” – 500 BC
Roman Roads set the standard for all future roads (“Appian Way/Queen of Roads”) – 312 BC
Silk Road (developed by the Han dynasty of China) – 130 BC
Roman infrastructure of secondary roads, bridges and tunnels – 100 BC

5) The Circulation Strand

First postal service (Egyptians might have been first – ca. 2000 BC) but Persians are typically credited with the first true mail carriers – ca. 1700 BC to 521 BC
China (ca. 1122 – 221 BC) and India (ca. 322 – 185 BC) also have systems, but limited to government use
Greeks developed a similar postal system, relying heavily on private couriers – 323 -30 BC
Rome (Caesar Augustus) developed “cursus publicus” a fast and reliable postal service (built to circulate information across the geographically expansive Roman Empire, with the ability to reach beyond its borders – 30 – 25 BC

6) The Toleration Strand

Roman Empire controlled a portion of three continents and the Mediterranean Sea at its peak of domination
- Their early strategy was to allow each people group to retain its gods and traditions – as long as they submitted to Roman authority (and paid taxes)
- Rome embraced all deities as part of the larger Roman pantheon
Judaism was allowed special privilege as a monotheistic faith – 63 BC Along with Christianity (thought to be a sect of Judaism) through AD 64
A thirty-year window of opportunity was open to spread the Gospel (ca. AD 33 – 64) until persecution began under the Emperor Nero (and off and on beyond that)

SOMETHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!

The Roman Empire had…

unified much of the known world
adopted a popular language (Koine Greek)
provided a shared alphabet
established peace
constructed roads
developed the world’s best postal service
embraced just enough religious tolerance

The Fullness of Time

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

Galatians 4:4-7 (NLT)

Recommended Resources

Both of the following websites are for J. Warner Wallace. The first one will give a variety of information and background on J. Warner Wallace along with an abundance of resources including his other books, videos, podcasts, articles and more. The second one is specifically for the new book “Person of Interest” and you will find additional resources and references such as videos, study materials and extra research for those who want to go more in-depth. Explore both sites for additional information.

coldcasechristianity.com

personofinterestbook.com

Reflection: Memorization Practice

To practice your memorization skills, and to improve your Biblical knowledge, practice memorizing the following things…

Review the “Big Picture” of the Bible for both the Old and New Testaments (see notes above) Practice memorizing the main topic of each of the 12 points in order to tell the “story” in a couple of minutes.
What are the six main strands to the cultural fuse? Pick one example that stands out to you from each strand.

Bible Study

(Review answers will be posted during the week so you can have a “leader’s guide” for your own studies)

Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us when we commit to growing closer to the LORD.

NOTE: Questions are taken directly from the chapters, and answers should be found and cited from the Scripture text in order to be Biblically accurate (unless asked to summarize in your own words). Study Bibles, commentaries and your own thoughts can be used for “Discussion” or “Going Deeper” questions.

Read Acts chapter 15 then, to the best of your ability, answer the following questions:

The Council at Jerusalem; James’ Judgment; Paul and Barnabus Split

1. Read Chapter 15:1-12 with your table group

In the first part of this chapter a problem arises in the Church at Antioch:

a. What happened that caused dissention and debate among the people in this early Church?

b. What did they decide to do, where did they go for help and who did they send?

c. What did Peter end up saying after the apostles and disciples had gotten together and debated the problem (summarize the important points he made)?

d. Discuss: What does Peter say about how a person is saved, and why is that important for us to focus on when we are sharing our faith, or debating our faith, with others?

2. Read Chapter 15:13-35 with your table group

In the second part of this chapter James (the half-brother of Jesus and leader of the early Church in Jerusalem) is the last one to address the council of believers:

a. What conclusion did James come to, and what Old Testament prophets did he reference? Site the Old Testament “addresses” (verses).

b. did the apostles and elders, with the whole church, choose to send back to Antioch, and why? What was the result of reading the letter to the Church in Antioch?

c. Discuss: Have you ever been in a debate or discussion with another Christian over a Christian doctrine (teaching)? How does this chapter help us understand how to solve a disagreement, or come to a common understanding with other Christians? (Note: this is not about sharing with unbelievers/non-Christians)

d. Going Deeper: Are there other Biblical passages we can go to on this topic of Christians debating or disagreeing?

3. Read Chapter 15:36-41 with your table group

In the last part of this chapter, Paul prepares for his second missionary journey:

a. Why did Paul want to go out on a second missionary journey?

b. What happened that caused Paul and Barnabus to split up?

c. Discuss: Why was it important for Paul to want to revisit places he had already been? How can that help us with our witness to others today?

d. Going Deeper: Is there anywhere in Scripture where we find Paul reuniting with Barnabus and/or John Mark later on?

Join us next week as we continue our “Case for Christianity, Person of Interest” and a study in the book of Acts!

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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in! Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.

Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.

Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15