Neighborly Apologetics

Who Is Jesus Really?
(Thumbnail Sketch from Del Tackett’s Webinar, April 4, 2023)

Del Tackett on Neighborly Apologetics and the Claims of Christ

In the April 4, 2023, Neighborly Apologetics Webinar hosted by Marc Fey, Del Tackett launched a multi-session exploration of “The Claims of Jesus and the Resurrection, Part 1.” The hour-long presentation blended personal reflection, scriptural teaching, video clips from Greg Koukl and Lee Strobel, and practical guidance for everyday believers. Rather than launching into academic arguments, Tackett framed the entire evening around a relational approach he calls “neighborly apologetics.” He reminded participants that the primary work of God’s kingdom rests with ordinary Christian families who pray for and build genuine friendships with those who live providentially nearby. The goal is not to win debates but to be ready, with gentleness and respect, when neighbors begin asking life’s biggest questions.

Tackett opened by grounding everything in the “royal law” of loving one’s neighbor—a steadfast, sacrificial zeal for the true good of those God has placed near us. He returned repeatedly to three foundational verses. From 1 Peter 3:15, believers are called to honor Christ as holy, always be prepared to give a defense for the hope within them, yet do so with gentleness and respect. Second Timothy 2:25–26 emphasizes that God alone grants repentance, freeing people from the devil’s trap; therefore, prayer must undergird every conversation. Colossians 4:5–6 urges wisdom toward outsiders, gracious speech seasoned like salt, so that believers know how to answer each person. These verses form the DNA of neighborly apologetics: relationships first, academic rigor in reserve, and prayer throughout.

At the heart of the webinar stood three great truths drawn from Francis Schaeffer: God exists, God has spoken, and Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. These truths generate three inescapable questions: Does God exist? Is the Bible reliable? And, most critically for this series, Who is Jesus? Tackett recalled how the earlier “True You” video series was designed to equip college students to answer these exact questions on campus. He noted that the current cultural moment makes leading with academic apologetics unwise; instead, significant relationships must open the door so that learned truth can be applied lovingly inside them.

To illustrate the weight of the central question, Tackett turned to the imprisoned John the Baptist. Facing execution by Herod, John sent disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Tackett urged grace toward John: even the forerunner wrestled when events did not match expectations. Jesus responded not with rebuke but with evidence—blind eyes opened, lame legs walking, lepers cleansed, deaf ears unstopped, dead raised, and good news preached to the poor. Then came the quiet warning: “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Tackett paused here. In our age, he said, offense at Jesus is rising. People are not merely indifferent; they are provoked by His name. Prayer must therefore include asking God to remove that roadblock in neighbors’ hearts.

Greg Koukl’s video clip reinforced the uniqueness of Jesus. Unlike every other religious leader who pointed to his teaching and was later deified by followers, Jesus pointed to Himself and claimed deity while His disciples initially fled. When Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Koukl noted that no other founder in history matches this self-claim. Tackett added that time itself keeps trying to debunk Jesus—magazine covers, documentaries, and books recycle the same skeptical headlines—yet Jesus remains the most discussed figure two thousand years later. Why? Because His identity, not merely His ethics, is the issue.

Tackett dismantled popular attempts to reduce Jesus to myth. He dissected the 2007 film Zeitgeist, which claimed Christianity borrowed from the Egyptian god Horus: born December 25 of a virgin named Mary, visited by three kings, ministered at thirty with twelve disciples, crucified, buried three days, and resurrected. One by one Tackett refuted each claim using actual mythological records. Horus was born in October or November to Isis, not Mary; no three kings, no baptism at thirty, no twelve disciples, no crucifixion, no resurrection in the biblical sense. Similar distortions appear with Mithras, Krishna, and others. Tackett recommended GotQuestions.org for detailed rebuttals and likened the tactic to Dan Brown’s fictional rewrites in The Da Vinci Code. The persistence of these attacks, he observed, is itself evidence of something unique about Jesus.

Lee Strobel’s clip supplied the historical counterweight. The Gospels and Acts were written astonishingly early. Acts ends with Paul under house arrest in the early 60s A.D. and omits Nero’s persecution, the Jewish-Roman War, and the deaths of Peter, Paul, and James—events that would have been reported had the book been written later. Luke’s Gospel, which precedes Acts, can therefore be dated within thirty years of the crucifixion. Luke drew from the still-earlier Mark, and Paul’s letters predate even Mark. Embedded creeds in Paul’s writings push some resurrection traditions to within months of the events. Myths, by contrast, require generations to form while eyewitnesses are still alive to contradict them. The New Testament documents, Tackett emphasized, have no parallel in antiquity; documents for Plato or Julius Caesar appear centuries after the fact.

Yet the real obstacle, Tackett insisted, is not lack of evidence. Koukl noted that Jesus has more primary-source biographical material than any figure from antiquity. The problem is Jesus Himself. He claimed exclusivity: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Such statements provoke hostility because they confront fallen humanity with divine authority. Tackett quoted C.S. Lewis’s famous trilemma: Jesus cannot be merely a great moral teacher. A man who claimed what Jesus claimed was either a lunatic, a liar, or Lord. Lewis wrote that we must choose; Jesus left no middle ground.

This leads to a sobering warning for believers. Many have quietly crafted a “Jesus doll”—a sanitized, non-offensive version stripped of sharp edges. Tackett cautioned that witnessing to this false Jesus is no witness at all. The true Jesus offends; therefore Christians must become winsome, Spirit-filled friends who bear the fruit of kindness, patience, and joy. Neighborly apologetics begins and ends with prayer because God alone grants repentance. The greatest barrier may be believers themselves if they lack clarity about who Jesus is or if their lives repel rather than attract.

Looking ahead, Tackett outlined future sessions: Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in Christ, the life and death of Jesus, the resurrection and deity claims, and the exclusivity question. He also announced a practical 40-day Easter initiative. Drawing from his own forty articles titled “If Jesus Rose from the Dead, Then…,” Tackett invited participants to sign up for daily emails beginning the Saturday before Easter and continuing through Pentecost. Each short piece explores a fresh implication of the empty tomb, turning Easter from a single Sunday into forty days of family reflection and deeper faith.

In closing, Tackett thanked participants for carving out an hour amid busy lives. He lamented the lack of in-person interaction but encouraged families to discuss these truths around their own tables, especially as Easter approached. He closed in prayer, thanking God for the grace of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection, and committing the entire endeavor to God’s glory.

The webinar leaves listeners with a clear challenge: the question “Who is Jesus?” is not merely academic; it is personal, cultural, and eternal. In an age quick to take offense, neighborly apologetics offers a different path—one of prayerful relationship, humble confidence in the evidence, and unwavering loyalty to the real Jesus who refuses to be tamed. Those who accept the challenge will find themselves better equipped to love their neighbors and, ultimately, to point them to the only One who can truly answer the deepest longings of the human heart.

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Who Is Jesus Really?
(Thumbnail Sketch from Del Tackett’s Webinar, April 4, 2023)

Del Tackett Explores the Claims of Christ in Neighborly Apologetics

In his April 4, 2023 Neighborly Apologetics Webinar, Del Tackett launched a multi-part series on “The Claims of Jesus and the Resurrection.” Facilitated by Marc Fey, the session emphasized relational “neighborly apologetics” over purely academic arguments. Tackett reminded listeners that God entrusts the primary work of the kingdom to ordinary Christian families who pray for and build genuine relationships with neighbors. The goal is to be ready with gentleness and respect when God prompts questions about the hope within us.

Tackett rooted the discussion in Scripture: 1 Peter 3:15 calls believers to defend their hope with gentleness; 2 Timothy 2 stresses that God alone grants repentance; Colossians 4 urges wise, gracious speech toward outsiders. These verses frame the approach—relationships first, academic truth applied within them, and prayer throughout.

Central to the evening was the question “Who is Jesus?” Drawing from Francis Schaeffer, Tackett highlighted three great truths: God exists, God has spoken, and Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He recounted John the Baptist’s doubt from prison and Jesus’ gracious response pointing to miracles and the blessing on those “not offended by me.” Tackett noted that Jesus provokes offense because He claimed deity and exclusivity—“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Video clips reinforced the message. Greg Koukl observed that unlike other religious leaders, Jesus pointed to Himself rather than just His teachings. Lee Strobel highlighted the remarkably early dating of the Gospels and Acts, with sources appearing within years or even months of the events—far too soon for myth to develop while eyewitnesses remained alive.

Tackett debunked popular myths, such as claims in the film Zeitgeist that Jesus was copied from the Egyptian god Horus. He showed the parallels collapse under scrutiny. The real issue, he argued, is not lack of evidence—Jesus has more primary documentation than any ancient figure—but the offense of who Jesus claimed to be. C.S. Lewis’s trilemma captures it: Jesus was either Lord, a liar, or a lunatic; He left no room for “great moral teacher.”

Tackett warned against creating a sanitized “Jesus doll” that offends no one. Effective witness requires knowing the real Jesus and relating to neighbors with winsome love and prayer, trusting God to grant repentance. Future sessions will cover prophecies, Jesus’ life and death, the resurrection, and exclusivity. Tackett also announced a 40-day Easter email series based on his articles “If Jesus Rose from the Dead, Then…” to deepen family reflection through Pentecost.

The webinar challenges believers to know Christ deeply so they can lovingly point neighbors to the only One who offers true hope.

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