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.
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.
The word of assurance given to Moses at Sinai echoes through eternity on the lips of the Savior, untroubling troubled souls with the good news that there is one who walks the paths of life with you, and soon he’s coming to bring you to himself.

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We are called to believe in the church even when we don’t believe in the church.
Despite the mathematical incongruity, the church confesses that Christ is one hundred percent human and one hundred percent divine.
Jesus refreshes you with the promises of the gospel, wrapped in the words of Scripture, drawn in the pictures of the sacraments.
Polycarp’s faith, life, writings, and even his death revealed the fruit of faith and love grafted into his heart by Christ the Vine.
Jesus is very difficult to bring down. That’s the power of it.
The liturgy ensures that the gospel is never something inward, merely a thought or sentiment of the believer.
The story being told in the film is not Bonhoeffer’s story. It’s not the Confession Church’s story. Nor is it the story of the German resistance against Hitler. It is a completely fictional story of Hollywood.
"When God has his say, have confidence that his Word and sacraments bestow precisely what he says."
We now are the magi: we worship Christ because of who he is, but also because of what he has done for us and what he continues to do in his gift-giving to us.
Epiphany continues the work done at Christmas, bringing light and life to a dying world desperate for hope.
Christ is the beating heart of Christian faith and its only object.
One Christ rules over all of it. He is the constant, the root that nourishes every estate and every vocation.