Defending the Faith: Jesus

Jesus is arguably the most influential moral teacher in all of history. Even those who deny his existence benefit from living in a culture that embraces his teaching. The moral wisdom of Jesus is the standard for western civilization. The historicity of Jesus allows even non-believers to assess his moral wisdom as they would any other teacher in history.

Thallus (52AD)

Thallus is perhaps the earliest secular writer to mention Jesus and he is so ancient his writings don’t even exist anymore. But Julius Africanus, writing around 221AD does quote Thallus who previously tried to explain away the darkness occurring at Jesus’ crucifixion:

Jesus lived, He was crucified, and there was an earthquake and darkness at the point of His crucifixion.

Tacitus (56-120AD)

Cornelius Tacitus was known for his analysis and examination of historical documents and is among the most trusted of ancient historians. He was a senator under Emperor Vespasian and was also proconsul of Asia. In his “Annals’ of 116AD, he describes Emperor Nero’s response to the great fire in Rome and Nero’s claim that the Christians were to blame:

Jesus lived in Judea, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and had followers who were persecuted for their faith in Christ.

Mara Bar-Serapion (70AD)

Sometime after 70AD, a Syrian philosopher named Mara Bar-Serapion, writing to encourage his son, compared the life and persecution of Jesus with that of other philosophers who were persecuted for their ideas.

He was a wise and influential man who died for His beliefs. The Jewish leadership was somehow responsible for Jesus’ death. Jesus’ followers adopted His beliefs and lived their lives accordingly.

Phlegon (80-140AD)

In a manner similar to Thallus, Julius Africanus also mentions a historian named Phlegon who wrote a chronicle of history around 140AD. In this history, Phlegon also mentions the darkness surrounding the crucifixion in an effort to explain it:

Jesus had the ability to accurately predict the future, was crucified under the reign of Tiberius Caesar and demonstrated His wounds after he was resurrected.

Suetonius (69-140AD)

Suetonius was a Roman historian and annalist of the Imperial House under the Emperor Hadrian. His writings about Christians describe their treatment under the Emperor Claudius (41-54AD):

They were committed to their belief Jesus was God and withstood the torment and punishment of the Roman Empire. Jesus had a curious and immediate impact on His followers, empowering them to die courageously for what they knew to be true.

Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata: (115-200 A.D.)

Lucian was a Greek satirist who spoke sarcastically of Christ and Christians, but in the process, he did affirm they were real people and never referred to them as fictional characters:

He taught about repentance and about the family of God. These teachings were quickly adopted by Jesus’ followers and exhibited to the world around them.

Celsus (175AD)

This is the last hostile, non-Christian account we will examine (although there are many other later accounts in history). Celsus was quite antagonistic to the claims of the Gospels, but in his criticism he unknowingly affirmed and reinforced the Biblical authors and their content. His writing is extensive and he alludes to 80 different Biblical quotes, confirming their early appearance in history. In addition, he admits the miracles of Jesus were generally believed in the early 2nd century:

Jesus had an earthly father who was a carpenter, possessed unusual magical powers and claimed to be God.

In addition to classical pagan sources chronicling the life of Jesus and His followers, there are also a number of ancient hostile Jewish sources describing Jesus. These are written by Jewish theologians, historians and leaders who were definitely not sympathetic to the Christian cause. Their writings are often very harsh, critical and even demeaning to Jesus. But there is still much these writings confirm:

Jewish historian Josephus (37-101AD)

In more detail than any other non-biblical historian, Josephus writes about Jesus in his “the Antiquities of the Jews” in 93AD. Josephus was born just four years after the crucifixion.

Jesus lived in Palestine, was a wise man and a teacher, worked amazing deeds, was accused by the Jews, crucified under Pilate and had followers called Christians.

Jewish Talmud (400-700AD)

While the earliest Talmudic writings of Jewish Rabbis appear in the 5th century, the tradition of these Rabbinic authors indicates they are faithfully transmitting teachings from the early “Tannaitic” period of the 1 Century BC to the 2 Century AD.

Jesus had magical powers, led the Jews away from their beliefs, had disciples who were martyred for their faith (one of whom was named Matthai), and was executed on the day before the Passover.

Let’s review:

Many elements of the Biblical record are confirmed by these hostile accounts, in spite of the fact they deny the supernatural power of Jesus:

Jesus was born and lived in Palestine. He was born, supposedly, to a virgin and had an earthly father who was a carpenter. He was a teacher who taught that through repentance and belief, all followers would become brothers and sisters. He led the Jews away from their beliefs. He was a wise man who claimed to be God and the Messiah. He had unusual magical powers and performed miraculous deeds. He healed the lame. He accurately predicted the future. He was persecuted by the Jews for what He said, betrayed by Judah Iskarioto. He was beaten with rods, forced to drink vinegar and wear a crown of thorns. He was crucified on the eve of the Passover and this crucifixion occurred under the direction of Pontius Pilate, during the time of Tiberius. On the day of His crucifixion, the sky grew dark and there was an earthquake. Afterward, He was buried in a tomb and the tomb was later found to be empty. He appeared to His disciples resurrected from the grave and showed them His wounds. These disciples then told others Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven. Jesus’ disciples and followers upheld a high moral code. One of them was named Matthai. The disciples were also persecuted for their faith but were martyred without changing their claims. They met regularly to worship Jesus, even after His death.

Pretty consistent with our Bible, huh?

When historians examine the New Testament, they’re not treating the Bible as a holy, inspired book and trying to prove it’s true by quoting it.

Rather they’re treating the New Testament just like any other collection of ancient documents and investigating whether these documents are historically reliable.

It’s important to understand that originally there wasn’t any such book called “The New Testament.” There were just these separate documents handed down from the first century.

People who insist on evidence taken only from writings outside the New Testament don’t understand what they’re asking us to do. They’re demanding that we ignore the earliest , primary sources about Jesus in favor of sources that are later, secondary, and less reliable, which is just crazy as historical methodology.

Our primary sources for Jesus ’ life all come from the first century AD, most of them within 60 years of Jesus ’ crucifixion.

In comparison, biographies of Alexander the Great were written by Arrian and Plutarch more than four hundred years after Alexander’s death, and yet classical historians still consider them to be trustworthy

In comparison, biographies of Alexander the Great were written by Arrian and Plutarch more than four hundred years after Alexander’s death , and yet classical historians still consider them to be trustworthy

In Paul recounts what biblical scholars recognize as an early Christian creed dating to within 3-5 years of the crucifixion.

1 Corinthians 15:3–8 ESV

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

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In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 Paul recounts what biblical scholars recognize as an early Christian creed dating to within a few years of the crucifixion.

Included in this creed are three of our minimal facts: the death of Jesus, the empty tomb, and the post-resurrection appearances. Furthermore, our fourth minimal fact (the origin of Christianity) is easily explained given the first thee facts. Paul not only mentions the multiple post-resurrection appearances but includes himself as having seen the risen Lord. Several indicators in the text confirm this to be an early Christian creed.

The Aramaic term “Cephas” is used for Peter indicating an extremely early origin. New Testament scholar and skeptic Gerd Lüdemann assigns this passage a very early date stating:

The early date of this creed rules out the possibility of myth or legendary development as a plausible explanation and demonstrates that the disciples began proclaiming Jesus’ death, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances very early.

There was simply not enough time for a great deal of myth and legend to accrue and distort the historical facts in any significant way.

The witnesses would still be alive to dispute these writings, yet nothing in recorded history exists of such declarations.

There was simply not enough time for a great deal of myth and legend to accrue and distort the historical facts in any significant way.

33AD – Jesus was resurrected from the grave and ascended to heaven

34-35AD – Jesus appeared to Paul while Paul was on the road to Damascus (one to two years after the Resurrection and ascension)

37-38AD – Paul received the data about the historicity and deity of Jesus from Peter and James while visiting them in Jerusalem (two to three years after his conversion, depending how you interpret the words, “three years later”)

48-50AD – Paul corroborates the data about the historicity and deity of Jesus with John, Peter and James in the presence of Barnabas and Timothy (fourteen years after the Damascus road event or fourteen years after the first meeting with Peter and James in Jersualem)

51AD – Paul first provided data to the Corinthian Church about the historicity and deity of Jesus (during this visit to Corinth he also appeared before Gallio)

55AD – Paul writes to the Corinthian Church and reminds them of the data he previously provided them about the historicity and deity of Jesus

External Confirmation

Perhaps no other fact surrounding the life of the historical Jesus is better attested to than His death by crucifixion. Not only is the crucifixion account included in every gospel narrative but it is also confirmed by several non-Christian sources.

Many first-century and early second-century unfriendly Roman sources (i.e., Thallus, Tacitus, Mara Bar-Serapion, and Phlegon) and Jewish sources (i.e., Josephus and the Babylonian Talmud) affirmed and acknowledged that Jesus was crucified and died.

History tells us that there was a tremendous penalty to be paid by Roman soldiers if they allowed a capital criminal to either escape or avoid the penalty for which they were sentenced. For this reason, Roman soldiers were brutal and meticulous, executing their orders with precision.

Jesus disappeared from the historical record following His reported resurrection and ascension and was never sighted again (as one might expect if He recovered from His wounds and lived much beyond the young age of thirty-three).

Prior, Christ suffered great emotional stress (as evinced by the probable hematidrosis), abandonment by His disciples

The instrument used by the Roman soldiers for flogging as “a short whip with several single or braided leather thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones were tied at intervals

To position a man for scourging, soldiers tied the victim (frequently naked) to an upright post in a bent position.

Christ would have received repeated blows to His chest, back, buttocks, and legs by two soldiers (known as lictors), the severity of which depended mainly on the mood of the lictors at the time.

Initial anterior blows undoubtedly would have opened the skin and underlying tissue of His chest.

The blood loss suffered by Christ during His scourging would have been substantial, and would have resulted in a lowered blood pressure and reduced flow of blood throughout His body.

Having suffered considerable blood loss from the scourging, Jesus likely was in a dehydrated state when He finally reached the top of this small knoll.

Clearly, from the text we see that Christ’s hands and feet were nailed to the cross. Archaeological data indicate that the specific nails used during the time of Christ’s crucifixion were tapered iron spikes five to seven inches long with a square shaft approximately three-eighths of an inch across

Christ would have to slump back into a “Y” position to exhale. Jesus would be forced to continue alternating between the “Y” and “T” positions with every breath, trying all the while not to reopen the wounds He had received from the scourging. In this position, chest and respiratory muscles soon would become paralyzed from the increased strain and pain. Without strength for breath, Christ’s body would begin to suffer from asphyxia.

Piercing likely hit the the pericardial sac surrounding the heart, the right atrium of the heart itself, the pulmonary vessels, and/or the aorta. Water probably was provided by pleural or pericardial fluids (that surround the lungs and heart).

All four gospel narratives attest to the burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea and place women as the primary witnesses to the empty tomb. Both of these are highly unlikely to be Christian inventions.

The Jewish authorities had plenty of motivation to produce a body and silence these men who “turned the world upside down,” effectively ending the Christian religion for good. But no one could.

The only early opposing theory recorded by the enemies of Christianity is that the disciples stole the body. Ironically, this presupposes the empty tomb.

In addition, all four gospel narratives attest to the burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea and place women as the primary witnesses to the empty tomb. Both of these are highly unlikely to be Christian inventions.

With regard to Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, he would have been easy to dismiss as a made up figure given the early dating of the NT writers.

With regard to the women first reporting the tomb empty, why use women considering the low social status of women in both Jewish and Roman cultures and their inability to testify as for legal witnesses.

Finally, there is no competing burial story in existence.

The only early opposing theory recorded by the enemies of Christianity is that the disciples stole the body. Ironically, this presupposes the empty tomb.

Matthew 28:11–15 ESV

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

Matthew 28:11–13 ESV

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’

Matthew 28.

The only early opposing theory recorded by the enemies of Christianity is that the disciples stole the body. Ironically, this presupposes the empty tomb.

The Jewish authorities had plenty of motivation to produce a body and silence these men who “turned the world upside down,” effectively ending the Christian religion for good. But no one could.

One of the most remarkable facts about the early Christian belief in Jesus ’ resurrection was that it flourished in the very city where Jesus had been publicly crucified . So long as the people of Jerusalem thought that Jesus ’ body was in the tomb , few would have been prepared to believe such nonsense as that Jesus had been raised from the dead .

Included in this creed are three of our minimal facts: the death of Jesus, the empty tomb, and the post-resurrection appearances. Furthermore, our fourth minimal fact (the origin of Christianity) is easily explained given the first thee facts. Paul not only mentions the multiple post-resurrection appearances but includes himself as having seen the risen Lord. Several indicators in the text confirm this to be an early Christian creed.

The Aramaic term “Cephas” is used for Peter indicating an extremely early origin. New Testament scholar and skeptic Gerd Lüdemann assigns this passage a very early date stating:

“the elements in the tradition are to be dated to the first two years after the crucifixion of Jesus…not later than three years…the formation of the appearance traditions mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:3-8 falls into the time between 30 and 33 C.E”

And third , even if they had so believed , the Jewish authorities would have exposed the whole affair simply by pointing to Jesus ’ tomb or perhaps even exhuming the body as decisive proof that Jesus had not been raised

The early date of this creed rules out the possibility of myth or legendary development as a plausible explanation and demonstrates that the disciples began proclaiming Jesus’ death, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances very early.

There was simply not enough time for a great deal of myth and legend to accrue and distort the historical facts in any significant way.

Again Lüdemann acknowledges, “It may be taken as historically certain that Peter and the disciples had experiences after Jesus’ death in which Jesus appeared to them as the risen Christ.” There is no dispute among scholars that the disciples experienced something.

The post-resurrection appearances meet the historical criteria of multiple, independent and early eyewitness sources, as well as the testimony of a former enemy of Christianity: Saul of Tarsus.

First , the disciples could not have believed in Jesus ’ resurrection if His corpse still lay in the tomb . It would have been wholly un - Jewish , not to say stupid , to believe that a man was raised from the dead when his body was known to be still in the grave . Second , even if the disciples had preached Jesus ’ resurrection despite His occupied tomb , scarcely anybody else would have believed them .

Jesus appeared in enclosed rooms and open areas; in the region of Jerusalem, Galilee and well beyond.

well beyond. He appeared at night and at various times of the day.

He appeared at night and at various times of the day.

Jesus appeared to people he knew well and to people he didn’t know well at all.

Jesus appeared to people he knew well and to people he didn’t know well at all. He

appeared to those in His inner circle, to those less connected and to complete strangers

He appeared to those in His inner circle, to those less connected and to complete strangers (Paul).

(Paul). Some were devout followers, some were more skeptical (James) and some were in

Some were devout followers, some were more skeptical (James) and some were in complete denial (Paul). These witnesses were from nearly every social / economic group.

complete denial (Paul). These witnesses were from nearly every social / economic group.

To many He appeared to simply demonstrate His Deity and Resurrection power.

To many He appeared to simply wanted to demonstrate His

With others He ate a meal or had an important conversation.

Deity and Resurrection power. With others He ate a meal or had an important conversation.

As with the crucifixion and empty tomb, the post-resurrection appearances meet the historical criteria of multiple, independent and early eyewitness sources, as well as the testimony of a former enemy of Christianity: Saul of Tarsus. Nine early and independent sources testify to the disciples’ proclamation that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to them.[45] To list just one example of this, the appearance “to the twelve” mentioned by Paul above is also attested to in Luke 24:36-42 and John 20:19-20. “The evidence,” says William Lane Craig, “makes it certain that on separate occasions different individuals and groups had experiences of seeing Jesus alive from the dead. This conclusion is virtually indisputable—and therefore undisputed.[46]

He appeared to Peter to comfort and challenge him and to Paul to call him away from his murderous mission.

murderous mission.

Jesus appeared and stayed with the eyewitnesses for different lengths of time. Some of his appearances were little more than a few minutes, others for hours.

appearances were little more than a few minutes, others for hours. He stayed with the

He stayed with the believers in Jerusalem for forty days.

believers in Jerusalem for forty days.

The diversity of the Resurrection appearances ought to give us confidence in their reliability.

Jesus’ Resurrection appearances were recorded by people from a variety of backgrounds.

Two were direct eyewitnesses, two were close associates of the eyewitnesses. Some were

better educated than others. One was a doctor, one a tax collector, one a fisherman.

The diversity of the Resurrection appearances ought to give us confidence in their reliability.

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The diversity of the Resurrection appearances ought to give us confidence in their reliability.

The Resurrection is not a work of fiction written by a single author or observed by a single witness in a single location at a single time of day or night. Instead, the appearances were recorded by a variety of authors and occurred in front of a diverse set of eyewitnesses in assorted locations and times.

witness in a single location at a single time of day or night. Instead, the appearances were

recorded by a variety of authors and occurred in front of a diverse set of eyewitnesses in

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assorted locations and times. The expansive and differing aspects of these sightings ought

While successful conspiracies are the popular subject of many movies and novels, I’ve come to learn that they are (in reality) very difficult to pull off. Successful conspiracies share a number of common characteristics:

A Small Number of Conspirators

The smaller the number of conspirators, the more likely the conspiracy will be a success.

This is easy to understand; lies are difficult to maintain, and the fewer the number of people who have to continue the lie, the better.

Thorough and Immediate Communication

This is key. When conspirators are unable to determine if their partners in crime have already given up the truth, they are far more likely to say something in an effort to save themselves from punishment. Without adequate and immediate communication, coconspirators simply cannot separate lies from the truth; they are easily deceived by investigators who can pit one conspirator against another.

A Short Time Span

Lies are hard enough to tell once; they are even more difficult to repeat consistently over a long period of time. For this reason, the shorter the conspiracy, the better. The ideal conspiracy would involve only two conspirators, and one of the conspirators would kill the other right after the crime. That’s a conspiracy that would be awfully hard to break!

Significant Relational Connections

When all the coconspirators are connected relationally in deep and meaningful ways, it’s much harder to convince one of them to “give up” the other. When all the conspirators are family members, for example, this task is nearly impossible. The greater the relational bond between all the conspirators, the greater the possibility of success.

Little or No Pressure

Few suspects confess to the truth until they recognize the jeopardy of failing to do so.

Unless pressured to confess, conspirators will continue lying. Pressure does not have to be physical in nature. When suspects fear incarceration or condemnation from their peers, they often respond in an effort to save face or save their own skin. This is multiplied as the number of coconspirators increases. The greater the pressure on coconspirators, the more likely the conspiracy is to fail.

The number of conspirators required to successfully accomplish the Christian conspiracy would have been staggering. The book of Acts tells us that there were as many as 120 eyewitnesses in the upper room following Jesus’s ascension (). Let’s assume for a minute that this number is a gross exaggeration; let’s work with a much smaller number to illustrate our point. Let’s limit our discussion to the twelve apostles (adding Matthias as Judas’s replacement). Even with this much smaller number, it’s unreasonable to believe the disciples conspired to lie about the Resurrection for the following reasons:

There would have been too many apostles involved in the conspiracy.

The apostles had little or no effective way to communicate with one another in a quick or thorough manner.

The apostles would have been required to protect their conspiratorial lies for too long a period of time.

While there were certainly pairs of family members in the group of apostolic eyewitnesses, many had no relationship to each other at all.

The apostles were aggressively persecuted as they were scattered from Italy to India.

The disciples were either involved in the greatest conspiracy of all time or were simply eyewitnesses who were telling the truth. The latter is by far the most reasonable conclusion.

1. The Jewish authorities took many precautions to make sure the tomb was guarded and sealed, knowing that the removal of the body would allow the disciples to claim that Jesus had risen ().

Matthew 27:62–66 ESV

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

2. The people local to the event would have known it was a lie (remember that Paul told the Corinthians in that there were still five hundred people who could testify to having seen Jesus alive after His resurrection).

1 Corinthians 15:3–8 ESV

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

3. The disciples lacked the motive to create such a lie.

4. The disciples’ transformation following the alleged resurrection is inconsistent with the claim that the appearances were only a lie. How could their own lies transform them into courageous evangelists?

As mentioned above, the earliest recorded polemic against the empty tomb is the charge by Jewish authorities that the disciples stole the body. This is commonly referred to as the Fraud or Conspiracy Theory. This scenario posits that Jesus’ followers stole the body away unbeknownst to anyone and lied about the resurrection appearances, pulling off what has thus far been the greatest hoax in human history. There are several problems with this view.

First, this theory does not explain well the simplicity of the resurrection narratives nor why the disciples would invent women as the primary witnesses to the empty tomb.[34] This is hardly the way one gets a conspiracy theory off the ground.

Second, this also doesn’t explain why the disciples would perpetuate a story that they stole the body (Matt. 28:11-15) if, in fact, they stole the body! Propagating an explanation which incriminates oneself is again at odds with a conspiracy theory.

Third, as will be discussed below, this theory does not account for the fact that the disciples of Jesus had genuine experiences in which they believed they saw the risen Christ. So convinced were these men that their lives were transformed into committed followers willing to suffer and die for their belief. Liars make poor martyrs.

Fourth, this theory runs opposite to everything we know about the disciples. As J. N. D. Anderson states, “This would run totally contrary to all we know of them: their ethical teaching, the quality of their lives, their steadfastness in suffering and persecution. Nor would it begin to explain their dramatic transformation from dejected and dispirited escapists into witnesses whom no opposition could muzzle.”[35]

Fifth, this theory is completely anachronistic. There was no expectation by first century Jews of a suffering-servant Messiah who would be shamefully executed by Gentiles as a criminal only to rise again bodily before the final resurrection at the end of time: “As Wright nicely puts it, if your favorite Messiah got himself crucified, then you either went home or else you got yourself a new Messiah. But the idea of stealing Jesus’ corpse and saying that God had raised him from the dead is hardly one that would have entered the minds of the disciples.”[36]

Finally, this theory cannot account for the conversion of skeptics like Paul who also testified to having seen the risen Lord and willing suffered and died for his belief in the resurrection.

Some skeptics argue that Jesus may have been crucified, but He did not actually die. Instead, He lost consciousness (swooned) and merely appeared to be dead only to later be revived in the cool, damp tomb in which He was laid. After reviving He made His way out of the tomb and presented Himself to His disciples as the “resurrected” Messiah. Thus the Christian religion begins. This theory is problematic for several reasons.

Prior, Christ suffered great emotional stress (as evinced by the probable hematidrosis), abandonment by His disciples

The instrument used by the Roman soldiers for flogging as “a short whip with several single or braided leather thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones were tied at intervals

to give us increased confidence in the authenticity and reliability of the accounts. This list of