The Cold-Case Christianity Podcast

Is penal substitution a later theological invention—or does the Gospel testimony itself reveal that Jesus died in the place of guilty people?
In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast, J. Warner Wallace investigates the case from the Gospels alone. Rather than beginning with a finished theological system, we examine the narrative and teachings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to ask a focused question: What did Jesus say His death would accomplish?
The evidence includes Jesus' statement that He came "to give his life as a ransom for many," His Last Supper language about blood "poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins," the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep, the Passover and covenant context of the crucifixion, Jesus' identification with Isaiah's suffering Servant, the tearing of the temple veil, and the dramatic release of Barabbas.
The result is a cumulative Gospel case. Jesus is portrayed as the innocent and voluntary Son who gives Himself so that others may be ransomed, forgiven, reconciled to God, and given life. The cross is not only an example of love or a victory over evil powers; it is also the saving work by which the guilty are released and the innocent bears the path of condemnation.
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Were more of Jesus' twelve disciples connected than we realize?
In Matthew 10:2–4, the Gospel writer does more than list the names of the apostles. He appears to arrange the Twelve in pairs. Peter and Andrew are brothers. James and John are brothers. But what about the other pairings? Were Philip and Bartholomew friends before they followed Jesus? Is Bartholomew the Nathanael described in John's Gospel? Could James son of Alphaeus have been related to Matthew/Levi? Why was Thomas known as "the Twin"? What did Simon's title—"the Cananaean" or "the Zealot"—mean? And why does Matthew preserve Judas Iscariot's betrayal in the very list of apostles?
In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast, J. Warner Wallace opens Matthew's list like a cold case file. He separates what the Gospel writers explicitly say from what can reasonably be inferred, what remains merely possible, and what later tradition has added. Along the way, he examines the meanings of the apostles' names, their alternate names, their potential relationships, and the remarkable kind of mission community Jesus formed.
The Twelve were not a random collection of religious professionals. They included brothers, fishermen, a tax collector, men with politically charged labels, men with duplicate names, men whose stories remain largely hidden, and the disciple who would betray Jesus. What can their relationships—and the mysteries still surrounding them—teach us about Jesus, the Gospels, and the kind of family Christ came to create?
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When Jesus was arrested, condemned, crucified, and buried, His most visible followers had scattered. Yet two unexpected men stepped forward to care for His body: Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy and respected member of the Jewish council, and Nicodemus, the Pharisee who first came to Jesus under cover of night.
But were these men truly saved? Were they genuine followers of Jesus Christ—or were they religious leaders who admired Jesus without ever experiencing the new birth He described in John 3?
📚 Learn to examine the Christian worldview like a detective in J. Warner Wallace's book, Cold-Case Christianity: https://amzn.to/42XtJhu
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Jesus is repeatedly portrayed in the Gospels through the lens of Moses and the Exodus—but the comparison is easy to miss if you are reading quickly.
In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast, J. Warner Wallace investigates the many ways Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John present Jesus as the new and greater Moses. Jesus is called out of Egypt, passes through water, enters the wilderness, faces temptation for 40 days, teaches from a mountain, provides bread in the wilderness, gives living water, appears with Moses at the Transfiguration, and establishes a new covenant in His own blood.
Was this simply a literary device used by the Gospel writers? Or does the pattern reveal something deeper about the way God works in history and prophecy? We'll examine the key passages, including Deuteronomy 18's promise that God would raise up a "prophet like Moses," and ask why Jesus can be called "the Prophet" while also being the eternal Son of God.
We'll also consider how early Christian writers—including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Chrysostom, and Augustine—understood the Moses-to-Jesus connection.
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Did Mary remain a perpetual virgin after Jesus was born? Or does the cumulative evidence of the New Testament indicate that Mary and Joseph later had a normal marriage and additional children?
In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast, J. Warner Wallace examines this important—but nonessential—Christian debate using the same kind of cumulative reasoning jurors use in criminal trials.
No single passage has to settle the issue by itself. But what happens when we gather the entire body of evidence?
We investigate:
Jesus' named brothers: James, Joses, Simon, and Judas
The Gospel references to Jesus' sisters
Matthew 1:25 and Joseph's abstinence "until" Jesus' birth
Luke's description of Jesus as Mary's "firstborn"
Paul's description of James as "the Lord's brother"
Paul's use of the Greek word for "cousin" elsewhere
Jesus entrusting Mary to John at the cross
The claim that Joseph was an elderly widower with children from a former marriage
The noncanonical Protoevangelium of James and its influence on later tradition
The competing explanations offered by Origen, Jerome, Helvidius, and later church tradition
This episode does not question the virgin conception or virgin birth of Jesus. Those are clear biblical teachings. Instead, it asks whether the further claim of Mary's lifelong virginity is the best explanation of the biblical and historical evidence.
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