Josephus does not tell us that Christianity is true, and Christians do not need Josephus to tell them that Christ is risen. But Christianity makes claims about things that happened in public history under identifiable rulers, priests, and governors. For that reason, testimony from outside the church matters.
Today, the longing for cultural Christianity on both the left and the right hearkens back to an older version of Christendom that was a mixed blessing for the church in the western world. The cultural mediation of Christian views on created order has certainly benefitted the civilization we’ve inherited. But the gospel itself isn’t something that can be reduced to cultural mediation either. Instead, the gospel as a message stands apart from all human accomplishments and achievements, no matter how beneficial they might be.
The student of Scripture should always have a map open next to their Bible as they read. If possible, they should also travel to Israel, not to make a pilgrimage, but to see the context of the land in which these stories took place. These are not fairy tales made up about fictional fantasy lands; these are stories about real people in real places interacting with a real God.

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The life of holiness will overtake the world on the last day. Practice living in the coming world now.
Their hearts burned, their feet ran, and their mouths opened. “The Lord is risen, indeed!” they confessed, because this is what Easter does: It makes confessors.
We may hear the voice of Jesus through recordings and digital media, but the Jesus who walks through locked doors has no problem coming to us through technology.
We look for Jesus in all the wrong places because we are looking to glorify ourselves, to reinforce what we already believe to be true, to validate ourselves. But the glorification of Jesus is found in the last place we would ever look, the cross.
In the end, my only hope is that Jesus is always the initiator of mercy. He pursues me, even when I am unfaithful.
Jesus wouldn't allow religious people to determine his identity, define his mission, or put him in a safe, predictable religious box.
Every time the Scriptures are opened, we are repeating this scene. Every time the gospel is preached, we are replicating a moment wherein the faithless ones are greeted by their faithful Lord.
John chose to write these things for a specific purpose: “So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name."
Jesus reminds us of God’s mercy to the helpless, snakebitten children of Israel, then connects that story to him being lifted up on a cross to rescue an entire human race that is snakebitten by sin.
Many Christians are walking on eggshells, living as if we are sinners in the hands of an angry God. Which begs the question: Is he? Is God angry with us?
Jesus is the continual unending fountain humanity desperately needs. And yet, here at the cross Jesus the Living Water is humiliated to the point where He cries out, “I thirst.”
By the blood of the Lamb God's people are given salvation and comfort. We're rescued from hopelessness.