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The Bible is the most valuable source for studying the word of God and specifically the character of Jesus. Old Testament christophany (the incarnate appearance of Christ in the OT) gives insights into the nature of Christ. Prophesy gives us a look at some of the behaviors which Christ would portray as well as specific things he would accomplish. More obviously the Gospels give specific accounts of the life of Jesus. Paul’s epistles give insight into the nature of salvation through Jesus Christ. These sources, as the inspired word of God, are the most reliable, molded and preserved by the Holy Spirit throughout millennia.

Biblical commentary in productive in moderation. The word of God is alive and so one man may glean from one passage a conclusion with perfect biblical understanding and consistency which may differ from what another man may glean from the same passage, also with perfect biblical understanding and consistency. It should be used in moderation, however, as you never want to overlook the Holy Spirit’s control over your understanding of a text. It is best to first seek counsel of the Holy Spirit into the life of Jesus and then secondarily to consider the understandings reached by others. It’s the idea that where you start determines the outcome. If you seek God’s counsel to understand the character of Jesus, then you will receive the character of Jesus the way He would have you to understand it, but if you first read another man’s understanding, it will change your expected results when studying and can overshadow the work of the Spirit.

Anything else takes away from the completion of the inspired word of God. It is true that there is value in considering consistency with non-Christian or extra-biblical texts from an apologetic perspective, but what Christian needs proof that Christ walked the earth? A non-believer is likely to get a false understanding from Gnostic or other extra-biblical texts or to be led astray by a pagan or Jewish perspective on Christianity. Therefore, for the believer or the non-believer there is no intrinsic value in light of the character of Christ.

Often when studying the word of God, it seems necessary to make historical assumptions in order to derive a conclusion. Again, what conclusion are you seeking and what assumption is needed to get there? You will likely find what you are looking for because you will make the assumption that leads to that outcome. On the contrary, the Spirit of God will bring to light the meaning of the text and the character and nature of Christ if you seek wisdom through Him. It is God that brings the scripture to light (Titus 1.3), not our assumptions.