‘The world would have been unfathomably different without Jesus.’ So says historian Tom Holland, co-host of the world’s number one podcast, The Rest Is History.
It was launched in 2020 but by Christmas 2022 it topped the Apple charts in almost every country on earth. Having written Dominion, a bestselling history of Christianity, Tom, along with co-presenter Dominic Sandbrook, have gained 52 million downloads for their affable historical chats.
The historical Jesus
They discuss everything from Anthony and Cleopatra to Agatha Christie, and from battles to bubonic plague to the Beatles. Throughout it all, Tom is famous for drawing attention to the profound influence of Christianity, not only on history but on the way we view history. As Tom has said, Christianity is ‘the most disruptive, the most influential and the most enduring revolution in history’. As someone who has interviewed Tom multiple times and discussed matters of faith with him on and off camera, I listened in with great interest to his double episode on the historical Jesus, released at Christmas.
First of all, Tom lays to rest the myth of a mythical Christ – one cooked up by Paul or others. ‘I don’t think any historian – any credible historian – thinks that.’ At a popular level, people regularly speak of a legendary Jesus – in a BBC poll in 2015, 40% of Britons said they thought Jesus was fictional. But Tom sets the record straight about what historians think. Indeed Tom assesses the New Testament to be very much in line with what we know of first-century history.
Impressive evidence
On the other hand, Tom does not think the Gospels are ‘gospel’. He thinks some events are embellished and others (like Christ’s birth in Bethlehem) are invented. We are not dealing with an inerrantist here! But at the end of their two hours of discussion, Tom says he’s really ‘quite impressed’ with the evidence for Jesus.
Piecing it all together, here is what Tom says we can be sure of from a purely historical perspective:
Jesus was an extraordinary preacher and personality who thought of himself as the king of a kingdom which no army or emperor could vanquish; his teaching displays a remarkable and inimitable level of moral and imaginative genius; he laid down his life as a willing sacrifice; he expected and taught his own resurrection; and after his godforsaken execution his followers all had experiences of the risen Christ which turned them into world-changing revolutionaries – something happened at Easter, the effects of which have upended the world.
‘Occam’s razor’
Tom’s co-host, Dominic, is so swept up in the presentation he says: ‘Occam’s razor [i.e. the simplest explanation] is that he’s the Son of God, right?’ That is indeed the logical upshot. If Jesus is such a reliable teacher whose genius has in fact founded civilisations – just as he predicted – then we have every reason to take his teaching seriously. And one of the things he taught most prominently was about his own pre-eminent identity. There may have been others in the first century preaching an apocalyptic end time: ‘Judgment is nigh!’ But Jesus would add: …and I’m the Judge!’
This brings us to C.S. Lewis’ famous trilemma (choice between three options): either Jesus was lying to himself about his divine identity (he was a lunatic); or he was lying to others (he was a liar); or he was telling the truth (he is Lord).
Some have wondered whether there’s a fourth option: perhaps Jesus is a legend. Tom Holland will not let us countenance that one. No credible historian thinks that. So back we come to the three options. Which will we choose?
On the podcast Tom Holland the historian refuses to make the pronouncement, but the pieces of his argument point in a compelling direction and it’s exciting to think of the many being pointed that same way. To follow the signs and to embrace their significance is to surrender to the very best news imaginable: Jesus – that unparalleled Preacher, that moral Genius, that Founder of civilisations, the One who embraced death sacrificially, the One who was seen again as conqueror over the grave – he is Lord. Hallelujah!
For more about Tom Holland, search the Speak Life YouTube channel where I have interviewed him many times. Also check out a recent interview with New Testament scholar, Dr Peter Williams, where we discuss the historical Jesus further: www.YouTube. com/SpeakLifeMedia
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