The Cold-Case Christianity Podcast

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 preser...

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-Cas...

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 bl...

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:

Who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews? The author never identifies himself—yet the letter leaves behind a compelling trail of internal clues, manuscript evidence, and early-church testimony. 📜

In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast, J. Warner Wallace investigates one of the New Testament's greatest authorship mysteries. Was Hebrews written by Paul? Did Luke translate or compose the letter? Is Barnabas the strongest independent candidate? What roles might Clement of Rome or Silas have played?

We examine the evidence found inside Hebrews itself: its anonymous opening, highly refined Greek, connection to Timothy, pre-AD 70 temple refer...

How did 27 specific books end up in your New Testament out of hundreds of early Christian writings—and how can you be confident the church didn't just invent the Bible?

In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast, J. Warner Wallace applies his cold case detective experience to the canon of Scripture, tackling questions like:

What if one overlooked factor quietly shaped all of Christian history—and still shapes the way you see Jesus today? 🤔 In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast, J. Warner Wallace explores the timing, culture, and communication realities that made biblical Christianity possible in the first century, and what we'd learn if Jesus came in our modern, digital age instead.  ⏳📱

You'll discover:

In this episode, J. Warner Wallace takes you into the forensic details of the Bible's sacrificial system to examine a stunning claim: when John the Baptist called Jesus "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," he was doing something that flatly breaks the Old Testament lamb pattern.

Using the same cold-case, investigative approach he applied for years as a detective, J. Warner shows that the mismatch between the Old Testament lamb pattern and Jesus' sacrifice is not a problem to explain away—it's a powerful evidential clue that Jesus is the God-man, whose once-for-all sa...

If Mark really preserves Peter's eyewitness testimony, what does that mean for the other Gospels—and for skeptical claims that the New Testament is late, legendary, and contradictory? In this follow‑up episode, we build on the case from Part 1 and argue that Mark is not only rooted in Peter's preaching, but is also likely the earliest written Gospel that Matthew and Luke used as a framework.

You'll hear why Mark's short, urgent, "rough" style points to an early source, how Matthew and Luke expand and smooth Mark's material, and what editorial patterns suggest about who was copyin...

Was the Gospel of Mark built on real eyewitness testimony—or is it just another religious legend? In this episode, cold‑case detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace (you) walks through the historical and forensic evidence that Mark's Gospel is rooted in the firsthand experiences of the apostle Peter. You'll discover why early Christian writers called Mark "Peter's interpreter," how Mark's rough Greek, Aramaic quotes, and Roman details fit a live translation of Peter's preaching, and why Peter's fingerprints are visible all over the narrative.

We'll examine ancient sources, internal stylistic clues, and the structure of Mark...

In this episode, cold-case detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace reopens "the Judas file" and asks a blunt question: Was Judas ever truly saved, or was he an unsaved insider from the start? Drawing on a detective's methodology, J. Warner walks verse by verse through every major Judas passage, examines Judass remorse in Matthew 27, and weighs historic voices—from the Church Fathers to the Reformers—before offering a cautious but clear verdict. Along the way, he shows how Judas became a trusted ministry insider, a treasurer, and a preacher, yet still serves as a chilling warning that you can...

How do you investigate the "missing centuries" of the Shroud of Turin like a real cold-case detective? In this third episode on the Shroud of Turin, J. Warner Wallace walks through the most popular claims about pre‑Turin relics—sudariums, veils, and rival "shrouds"—and explains why none of them close the chain‑of‑custody gap needed to treat the Turin cloth as first‑century evidence for Jesus.

For more on how to examine the claims of Christianity like a detective, check out Cold-Case Christianity: https://amzn.to/42XtJhu

Visit our website for articles, videos, and resources...

In this extended episode, cold-case detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace investigates every one of Jesus' Sabbath miracles and controversies as if they were crime scenes on a case board. Instead of treating these passages as isolated "nice healings," J. Warner stacks them side by side—Capernaum, the withered hand, Bethesda, the bent woman, the man with dropsy, the man born blind—and asks the questions any good detective would ask:

Is Jesus really God, or did the church just make that up later? In this episode of Cold-Case Christianity, homicide detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace works through the Gospel of John like a case file, pulling one key piece of evidence from each chapter (John 2–21) to test the viral claim, "Jesus never even said He was God." You'll see how titles, reactions, and "hidden in plain sight" details in John quietly build a powerful cumulative case that Jesus is more than a great teacher—He is God in the flesh.

If this episode helps you, plea...

In this episode, J. Warner Wallace joins The Bill Arnold Show to discuss how followers of Jesus can thoughtfully respond to the recent events in Minneapolis. Drawing on his background as a cold-case detective and Christian apologist, J. Warner explores how to separate facts from headlines, think biblically about justice, authority, and race, and model truth and hope in a culturally divided moment.

Listen in as we examine how to apply a forensic faith framework to breaking news, avoid outrage-driven narratives, and live out a distinctly Christian response in times of crisis.

Check out The Bil...

Is the Shroud of Turin a genuine relic of Jesus, a medieval hoax, or something else entirely? In this second episode on the Shroud of Turin, cold-case detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace examines the shroud the way he would any piece of evidence in a homicide trial, focusing on chain of custody, historical silence, and what the earliest Christians actually relied on to make the case for the resurrection.

For more on how to investigate the claims of Christianity like a detective, check out the book Cold-Case Christianity: https://amzn.to/42XtJhu

Visit o...

Are our favorite superheroes just modern myths—or are they clues that we were made for something more? In this episode, cold-case detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace takes you on a deep dive into the "theology of superheroes." Drawing from Marvel, DC, and other comic-book universes, J. Warner explores how the attributes we assign to our heroes—unlimited power, knowledge, justice, mercy, sacrificial love, and even "friendly neighborhood" presence—mirror the classic attributes of God described in Christian scripture and theology.

Why do we long for an all-powerful but good savior?

Why do storie...

Many Christians say, "Just preach the gospel—God will do the rest." But Scripture paints a richer picture: the gospel is the power of God for salvation, and God still calls us to reason, explain, and persuade. In this episode, J. Warner Wallace walks through key passages—from Romans and Proverbs to the book of Acts—to show how Jesus' first followers actually shared the message. You'll see why Peter, Paul, and the other apostles worked so hard to contextualize the same unchanging gospel for very different audiences, from devout Jews to skeptical philosophers and hostile officials.

J. War...

In this conversation, J. Warner Wallace joins Janelle Wood from Finding Something Real to examine the case for Christianity through the lens of a cold-case detective. Together they explore evidence, doubt, and the reliability of the Gospels, offering practical help for anyone wrestling with whether Christianity is really true.

Watch more from Finding Something Real with Janelle Wood on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@FindingSomethingReal

Learn more in Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels:
https://amzn.to/42XtJhu

Please subscribe and leave a review of this podcast on what...

In this episode, J. Warner Wallace — cold-case detective, Christian apologist, and author of God's Crime Scene — reacts to the most viral atheist claims circulating on TikTok right now and runs them through the same forensic framework he used to solve decades-old murders. The central question: Can you account for all the evidence in the universe by staying inside the universe?

Whether you're a skeptic, a deconstructing believer, or a Christian who's been rattled by what you've seen on social media, this episode is your call-out bag for the most common objections you'll face.

📖 Get the book this...

In this episode, I put five of Jesus' hardest sayings under the investigative spotlight. As a cold-case homicide detective, I've spent my career testing witness statements, examining context, and following the evidence wherever it leads. In this "case file," I apply that same approach to some of the most troubling verses in the Gospels.

Along the way, I'll walk through investigative tools you can use on any tough passage:

Faith is not supposed to be blind, reckless, or detached from reality. In this episode, J. Warner Wallace (cold-case detective and Christian apologist) takes a hard look at the way many Christians think about "faith" and shows why some popular versions of faith are not just weak—they're dangerous to the church. He explains the difference between unreasonable faith, blind faith, and reasonable (forensic) faith, and why only one of these is actually biblical.

Drawing on years of courtroom experience, Jim unpacks how juries reach verdicts "beyond a reasonable doubt" and why that same standard makes sense fo...

In this episode, cold-case homicide detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace walks through the "spiritual crime scene" of his own journey from skeptical naturalist to follower of Jesus. Drawing on decades of investigative experience, he explains why the usual reasons people give for being Christians ("I was raised this way" or "I had an experience") are not uniquely Christian, and why the real question is whether the Gospels record what actually happened in the first century. You'll hear how eyewitness variation in the Gospel accounts first caught his attention, how the standard jury instructions for testing witnesses can...

In this episode, cold-case homicide detective and Christian apologist J. Warner Wallace finally turns his investigative lens on one of the most talked-about religious artifacts in history: the Shroud of Turin. Is it a medieval forgery created for profit, or a powerful piece of physical evidence that points to the crucifixion of Jesus? J. Warner walks through the chain of custody, the historical record, the scientific testing, and the forensic details, while also exposing the limits of what any single piece of evidence can truly prove.

Drawing on decades of experience presenting cases to juries, he explains...

In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity podcast, J. Warner Wallace tackles one of the most controversial and misunderstood doctrines in the Christian worldview: the Trinity. Drawing on his experience as a cold-case homicide detective, J. Warner treats the identity of God like a crime scene, building a suspect profile from Scripture and then asking: Who actually fits the evidence?

J. Warner explains why the word "Trinity" doesn't need to appear in the Bible for the doctrine to be thoroughly biblical, how the classic attributes of God (omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, eternality, immutability, Creator and Sustainer, a...

In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity podcast, J. Warner Wallace takes you inside the current crisis of confidence in American law enforcement—from the perspective of someone who actually wore the badge. Drawing on decades of experience as a gang officer, undercover cop, SWAT operator, and cold-case homicide detective, Jim helps Christians think more clearly and biblically about the role of police in our culture. Are all officers the same? Is there a difference between local cops and federal agents like ICE? How should thoughtful followers of Jesus respond to viral videos, headlines, and public outrage?

If...

Jesus is NOT God…or is He? In this episode, I walk through the claim that "Jesus is NOT God" and treat it like a case file—testing it against Scripture, the beliefs of the earliest Christians, and the logical consequences if this claim were actually true. We'll look at key passages often used to deny Jesus' deity, examine what the first followers of Jesus really believed about Him, and ask what happens to the gospel, salvation, and worship if Jesus is only a good teacher and not God in the flesh.

If this conversation is helpful, please...

Is the story of Noah's flood just another ancient myth, borrowed from earlier pagan texts, or a record of a real historical catastrophe? In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity podcast, J. Warner Wallace applies his investigative experience as a cold-case homicide detective to examine the Genesis flood account. He compares it with stories like Atrahasis and the Epic of Gilgamesh, traces worldwide flood traditions, and asks whether all these ancient memories point back to a single, real event. Along the way, he explores questions about miracles, philosophical naturalism, geology, the scope of the flood (global or regional), the...

In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast, J. Warner Wallace tackles one of the most important questions in the Christian faith: Is Jesus truly God, or just a created agent of God? Limiting the "evidence" to three key passages—John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1—he works through the text like an investigative case file, showing how each "chapter one" presents Jesus as Creator, sustainer, redeemer, and the visible image of the invisible God. Along the way, he explains terms like "firstborn of all creation" and "the exact imprint of His nature," clarifying why the earliest Christians worshiped Jesus and why...

Would first‑century Christians even recognize what we call "church" today? In this episode, J. Warner Wallace uses a simple "alien thought experiment" to examine how closely (or how poorly) our modern church models resemble the church described in the book of Acts. Drawing from his own journey—from walking into a megachurch as a 35‑year‑old skeptic, to serving in a mid‑sized church, to planting a home church—Jim explores where we may have drifted from the New Testament pattern and how we can realign our communities with the biblical design for gathering, mission, and discipleship. This conversation...

This episode walks through John 1 verse by verse to show why the apostle John leaves no room for a "just-a-prophet" Jesus and instead presents Him clearly as the eternal, divine Word of God. Drawing on cold-case investigative principles and the cumulative-case approach he used in homicide trials, J. Warner Wallace explains how the language, structure, and Old Testament echoes in the opening of John's Gospel build a powerful case for the full deity of Christ.​

You'll hear how early Christians came to embrace the triune nature of God not by importing philosophy into the Bible, but by tr...

This episode reframes how we think about love and relationships by contrasting fragile, contract-style arrangements with the resilient, biblical model of covenant. Drawing from marriage research, Scripture, and decades of walking with couples in crisis, J. Warner Wallace explains why seeing marriage (and other key relationships) as covenants radically changes how you date, marry, and relate—whether you are single, engaged, or married.​

You'll hear why people who "love marriage" itself tend to have stronger, more sacrificial relationships, how your marriage (or singleness) is always preaching something to the watching world, and why thinking of relationships as contra...

This episode wrestles with trauma, murder, and suffering, and explains why the way you see the world—your worldview—largely determines how deeply you are wounded and how you process life's most painful events. Drawing from real cold-case homicides and personal conversations with victims' families, J. Warner Wallace shows how expectations about God, goodness, justice, and life itself either shatter under the weight of evil or are refined and strengthened when they match reality.​

You'll hear how an underdeveloped or shallow view of the Christian faith can collapse when tragedy strikes, and why a robust, well-thought-out Christian worldvi...

This episode challenges the modern obsession with platforms and "ministry success" and asks whether followers of Jesus have quietly replaced real service with a pursuit of visibility, funding, and fame. Drawing from years of case work, tentmaking ministry, and mentoring aspiring apologists, J. Warner Wallace contrasts the quiet, often unseen work of everyday Christian service with the drive to build brands, launch organizations, and chase numbers in the name of the gospel.​

You'll hear why Scripture calls believers to serve without needing applause, income, or a 501(c)(3), and how simple daily acts—loving your local church, discipling a few...

This episode looks at why humility is the one trait that can quietly destroy our obsession with celebrity, platform, and approval—and why it may be the key to saving your soul in a culture built on self-promotion. Drawing from cold-case investigations, Scripture, and decades in ministry, J. Warner Wallace shows how the pursuit of fame, followers, and influence so often leads to moral compromise, spiritual shipwreck, and deep dissatisfaction, even when it "works" on the outside.​

You'll hear how both secular and religious "doing worldviews" tend to fuel pride by making everything transactional and comparative: do more...

This episode explores why your identity is the most important thing about you and how Scripture calls followers of Jesus to root who they are in Christ rather than in changing roles, emotions, or cultural labels. Drawing from social research, biblical theology, and real-life examples from law enforcement, ministry, and family, J. Warner Wallace exposes the lies that say you are what you do, what you desire, or what others say about you—and contrasts them with the unshakable identity offered "from above" in the gospel.​

You'll hear about the three main ways people form identity (outside-in, inside...

J. Warner Wallace is interviewed by Pastor David Fleming of Champion Forest Baptist Church and talks about the importance of becoming a good Christian Case Maker and a specific strategy for selecting those with whom we share what we believe. This excerpt is from a longer interview with apologist Mark Lanier.

In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast, J. Warner Wallace responds to two emails from viewers of the show. (1) Is it unbiblical to examine evidence to confirm the reliability of the Bible? Shouldn't we just trust what the Bible says since it is the Word of God? (2) Do the varied interpretations of Genesis 1 invalidate the Bible as a source of reliable information? If the Bible is the Word of God, shouldn't we be able to come to agreement about what it teaches?

J. Warner Wallace joins Pastor David Fleming of Champion Forest Baptist Church and trial attorney Mark Lanier (author of Christianity on Trial) to discuss the evidential case for Christianity and the importance of Christian Case Making.

J. Warner discusses the reliability of the Bible as he examines the unifying theme of the Bible. How does the Bible answer the three most important questions related to "worldview"? Is there a single message that spans the Old and New Testament? Does the unity of the Biblical message provide us with any evidence related to the origin of the Bible?