Online Course
The Historical Jesus of the New Testament
In this class we will interview internationally known New Testament scholar, Craig Evans, about the contemporary state of historical Jesus research. We’ll also discover Jesus – the historical Jesus – as found in the pages of the New Testament.
SAMPLE LESSON: JESUS’ MIRACLES
About the Course
For just over 200 years, critical scholars have been saying that there is a big difference between the historical Jesus and the ‘Christ of faith’. This has led to all sorts of new approaches that attempt to uncover what Jesus really said and did. Theories have come and gone as scholars in each new generation have tried to explain away the portrait of Jesus found in the New Testament. Recent scholarship has focused on both the Jewish background of the life of Jesus as well as ancient methods of documenting history.
In this course we will focus on the historical Jesus of the New Testament and on the historical and cultural context in which Jesus lived. Our discussion with Dr. Craig Evans will reveal that the four canonical Gospels are not only reliable sources, but are the best place to discover the historical Jesus.
Course at a Glance
- 90 hours of study in total
- 3-5 hours of study per week
- Language: English
Course Objectives
After completing this course, the student will have a better understanding of:
- the critical research of the past 200 years
- the Jewish background of the Gospels
- the life and times of the historical Jesus
Course Format
For Personal Enrichment
The student is guided through the teaching videos and reading material, and encouraged to take the short quiz at the end of each section in order to reinforce the information. The reading assignments are optional. Students are welcome to complete additional written assignments, but they will not be graded on them.
- The course consists of 14 lessons that contain lecture videos and homework reading assignments.
- This is a Self-Paced Online Course. The student is required to complete the course within six months from the day of registration, but is free to do so in his/her own pace and may review video lectures at any time during the course.
- At the end of each lesson there is a short multiple-choice quiz to help reinforce the material studied.
Course Syllabus:
- Lesson 1 – Overview and Origins
- Lesson 2 – Historical Context
- Lesson 3 – The Gospel Texts, Part I
- Lesson 4 – The Gospel Texts, Part II
- Lesson 5 – His Birth
- Lesson 6 – His Teaching
- Lesson 7 – His Identity
- Lesson 8 – His Miracles
- Lesson 9 – His Arrest and Trials
- Lesson 10 – His Crucifixion and Burial
- Lesson 11 – His Resurrection
- Lesson 12 – Extra Biblical References
- Lesson 13 – Archaeology
- Lesson 14 – The Contemporary Quest
Instructors
Dr. Craig A. Evans
PhD, is the John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins and Dean of the School of Christian Thought at Houston Baptist University in Texas. A well-known evangelical scholar throughout the world, he is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies and has authored many books and articles on Jesus and the Second Temple Period.
Dr. David Mishkin
PhD in Biblical and Religious Studies, with a focus on Jewish-Christian Relations. David serves on the faculty of Israel College of the Bible in Netanya, Israel, and has published several scholarly articles and books, including The Wisdom of Alfred Edersheim and Rabbi and Redeemer: Discovering Yeshua in the Gospel of John.
Course Structure
- The course consists of 3 units that comprise 14 lessons. Each lesson contains a video lecture and assigned reading.
- This is a Self-Paced Online Course. The student is required to complete the course within six months from the day of registration, but is free to do so in his/her own pace and may review video lectures at any time during the course.
- At the end of each unit there is a short quiz to help reinforce the material studied. For those who take this course for personal enrichment only, all of the course assignments and examinations are optional.
Required Textbooks
- Students need to purchase: Craig S. Keener, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s, 2009
Additional Readings will be available on itslearning, in PDF format.
Recommended Background: No prerequisites required
Course Fees
For Personal Enrichment – $249 USD
*These fees do not include required textbooks
**Payment is non-refundable