Looking back at the investigations I was involved with through the years, some cases had very little if any information to start out with. In working fugitive cases, you might get a little scrap of info here, or a little tidbit there as you began trying to track down that elusive fugitive. Oftentimes, it was intimidating working some of these cases because you had so little to work with and the stakes were so high (danger to the community). Fortunately most of the time, through employing tenacity, getting some breaks, and trusting your gut instinct, my partners and I were able to put these dangerous fugitives behind bars. However, not all of my cases had so little evidence to work with.
In tracking down and prosecuting non-compliant sex offenders who were on the lam and in violation of the Adam Walsh Act, there were several elements of the offense that had to be established before a successful prosecution could be made. One of these important elements that had to be established was that the sex offender was actually living at a residence where they had not registered with the local Sheriff’s office as a sex offender. On some occasions after catching up with them, there would be so much evidence against these non-compliant offenders for this one element that I would be privately humored at how deep a hole that the defendant had dug for himself. One case in particular humored me in this regard more than others because when I was getting ready to take the arrested offender before a local magistrate, I noticed that the defendant was actually wearing evidence on his shirt (the name of his business-that included his name- and a telephone number with the area code for where he was illegally living). The offender saw me smile as I looked at his shirt and took a picture of him wearing the shirt. He realized that he was wearing a piece of evidence and smiled himself. Before noticing the t-shirt evidence, I already had a strong case against him so this was just the cherry on top of all of the other evidence.
So why do I mention this here on my blog? Cases such as the one briefly described above rarely go to trial because of the overwhelming evidence arrayed against the defendant. Oftentimes, in gauging how strong a case is, one factor juries take into consideration when coming to a decision of guilt or innocence is the amount of evidence against a particular defendant. The more evidence on a crucial point of the investigation, the stronger the case will appear to a jury. Multiple witnesses testifying to basically the same thing about one of these essential elements is an example of the principle of corroboration or confirming evidence. The more evidence there is on one particular point, the stronger the evidence seems because of the multiple sources that say the same thing. Pieces of physical evidence from a crime scene can corroborate (confirm) the testimony of witnesses too.
In relating this principle to the New Testament or the life of Jesus, there is a “boatload” of corroborative evidence that confirms details of the New Testament. Not only does this evidence come from its pages, but also from outside writers, and archaeology too. I do not want to make this post much longer so I will list just some of this confirming evidence here:
Even though there are minor differences with their accounts, the four Gospel authors give similar accounts albeit from different perspectives
The Pilate (Matthew 27:2) inscription located on a wall at Caesarea Maratima found in 1961
Remains of the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:2) located in Jerusalem in 1888
The Erastus Inscription (Romans 16:23) found in Corinth
Ossuary of Caiaphas the High Priest (Matthew 26:3) found in 1990
Artifacts found that confirm Luke’s accounts such as the Delphi/Gallio Inscription (Acts 18:12-17)
Early church leaders write and confirm the existence of the Apostle John who they personally knew and use New Testament in their writings
The writings of secular historians about events or persons listed in the New Testament
This is just a partial listing of the corroboration or confirmation of the New Testament accounts. All of this confirming evidence for the NT makes me think about my suspect wearing the shirt with the evidence on it. There is so much evidence I want to say, “enough,” or “uncle,” or “I give.” This abundant evidence tells me that the accounts of the New Testament are truthful in what they state and give great confirmation of what I already know intuitively from my relationship with the risen Jesus.
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