Do the Gospels give us any accurate information about the historical figure called Jesus? C. Leslie Mitton says yes, finding in the New Testament the record of a "historical Jesus," whose qualities and powers compel us to declare him to be, beyond question, the unique Son of God.
Mitton begins with a survey of the "quest" debate of the past century — a debate that has led many to doubt and skepticism. Refuting the claims of those scholars who assert that there is no historical Jesus, the author proposes some objective tests to determine how much authentically historical data may be found in scripture. Armed with the results of these tests, Mitton finds in the New Testament three categories of factual information about Jesus: the portrait drawn in the Gospels; the best possible listing of the sequence of events that constituted his ministry; and a reliable account of Jesus' teaching.
The result of this critical inquiry is a core of factual information about the life of Jesus, and an affirmation of the essential historical reliability of the scripture account. Mitton's conclusions will prove welcome to all those who take the gospel message seriously — but not unthinkingly.