1. what the apostle Paul called the “mystery of iniquity”, what John in the book of Revelation calls “Mystery Babylon”, and the rise of the Antichrist, the fulfilment of which we can see in current moves towards One World Government;

2. the prophecies of the book of Daniel, specifically Daniel’s four kingdoms and their precise identification, and his seventy “sevens”, or “weeks”, and their termini;

3. archaeological and geological evidence for the veracity of the book of Genesis;

4. the evolution/creation debate;

5. current news seen in the light of Bible prophecy;

6. the debate concerning the timing of the Rapture in relationship with the “tribulation”, and the equally lively debate over the precise origins of pretribulationism;

7. those passages of Scripture which deal with, or which are held to deal with, that final posited seven-year period leading up to Christ’s Second Coming.

Please bear in mind that this is a website under construction. I hope over the next few days, weeks and months to fulfill the promises made on each of these pages. But it’s going to be a slow process.

Please visit us again, as you will find new articles of interest as time goes on.

Quote: 

Empty Tomb

Finally, I took a look at some of the academic scholarship regarding the empty tomb of Jesus. I was truly surprised to find that a large majority of scholars today agree that Christ’s tomb was found empty.

Consider…

The Jerusalem Factor. Since Jesus was publicly executed and buried in Jerusalem, it would have been impossible for Christianity to begin in Jerusalem while the body was still in the tomb. Christ’s enemies in the Jewish leadership and Roman government would only have to exhume the corpse and publicly display it for the hoax of the empty tomb to be shattered.

The Jewish Response. Rather than point to an occupied tomb, the Jewish leadership accused Christ’s disciples of stealing his body. Wouldn’t this strategy seem to establish that there was, in fact, an empty tomb and a missing body?¹

The Women’s Testimony. In all four Gospel accounts of the empty tomb, women are listed as the primary witnesses. This would be an odd invention, since in both Jewish and Roman cultures women were not esteemed and their testimony was not admissible.

When you understand the role of women in first-century Jewish society, what’s really extraordinary is that this empty tomb story should feature women as the discoverers of the empty tomb in the first place. Women were on a very low rung of the social ladder in first-century Palestine. There are old rabbinical sayings that said, ‘Let the words of Law be burned rather than delivered to women’ and ‘blessed is he whose children are male, but woe to him whose children are female.’ Women’s testimony was regarded as so worthless that they weren’t even allowed to serve as legal witnesses in a Jewish court of Law. In light of this, it’s absolutely remarkable that the chief witnesses to the empty tomb are these women… Any later legendary account would have certainly portrayed male disciples as discovering the tomb — Peter or John, for example. The fact that women are the first witnesses to the empty tomb is most plausibly explained by the reality that — like it or not — they were the discoverers of the empty tomb! This shows that the Gospel writers faithfully recorded what happened, even if it was embarrassing. This bespeaks the historicity of this tradition rather than its legendary status. ²

¹ Historical sources: Matthew, Justin, Tertullian.
² Dr. William Lane Craig, quoted by Lee Strobel, The Case For Christ, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998, 293.

Lee Strobel:

Is there a Case for the Resurrection of Jesus?

Case For The Resurrection of Jesus – Dr. William Lane Craig

Did Jesus Physically Appear or Was He a Vision?

Did People Really See Jesus After The Resurrection?

Did Simon Peter Invent the Resurrection?

Are There Inconsistencies Between The Four Gospels?

What Do Scholars Believe About the Resurrection of Jesus?

What is the Personal Impact for the Resurrection?

Empty Tomb

Finally, I took a look at some of the academic scholarship regarding the empty tomb of Jesus. I was truly surprised to find that a large majority of scholars today agree that Christ’s tomb was found empty.

Consider…

When you understand the role of women in first-century Jewish society, what’s really extraordinary is that this empty tomb story should feature women as the discoverers of the empty tomb in the first place. Women were on a very low rung of the social ladder in first-century Palestine. There are old rabbinical sayings that said, ‘Let the words of Law be burned rather than delivered to women’ and ‘blessed is he whose children are male, but woe to him whose children are female.’ Women’s testimony was regarded as so worthless that they weren’t even allowed to serve as legal witnesses in a Jewish court of Law. In light of this, it’s absolutely remarkable that the chief witnesses to the empty tomb are these women… Any later legendary account would have certainly portrayed male disciples as discovering the tomb — Peter or John, for example. The fact that women are the first witnesses to the empty tomb is most plausibly explained by the reality that — like it or not — they were the discoverers of the empty tomb! This shows that the Gospel writers faithfully recorded what happened, even if it was embarrassing. This bespeaks the historicity of this tradition rather than its legendary status. ²

¹ Historical sources: Matthew, Justin, Tertullian.
² Dr. William Lane Craig, quoted by Lee Strobel, The Case For Christ, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998, 293.

The Case For Christ

OK, if I’m a lawyer, and I’m viewing the case for Christ through legal goggles, what am I missing? Anything…? Surely, other analytical legal minds have weighed the evidence in “the case for Christ“…

Again, I was truly stunned to find that great legal minds had already done this…

Check these guys out…

Simon Greenleaf (1783-1853) was one of the founders of Harvard Law School. He authored the authoritative three-volume text, A Treatise on the Law of Evidence (1842), which is still considered “the greatest single authority on evidence in the entire literature of legal procedure.”¹ Greenleaf literally wrote the rules of evidence for the U.S. legal system. He was certainly a man who knew how to weigh the facts. He was an atheist until he accepted a challenge by his students to investigate the case for Christ’s resurrection. After personally collecting and examining the evidence based on rules of evidence that he helped establish, Greenleaf became a Christian and wrote the classic, Testimony of the Evangelists.

Let [the Gospel's] testimony be sifted, as it were given in a court of justice on the side of the adverse party, the witness being subjected to a rigorous cross-examination. The result, it is confidently believed, will be an undoubting conviction of their integrity, ability, and truth.²

Sir Lionel Luckhoo (1914-1997) is considered one of the greatest lawyers in British history. He’s recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “World’s Most Successful Advocate,” with 245 consecutive murder acquittals. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II — twice. Luckhoo declared:

I humbly add I have spent more than 42 years as a defense trial lawyer appearing in many parts of the world and am still in active practice. I have been fortunate to secure a number of successes in jury trials and I say unequivocally the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt.³

Lee Strobel was a Yale-educated, award-winning journalist at the Chicago Tribune. As an atheist, he decided to compile a legal case against Jesus Christ and prove him to be a fraud by the weight of the evidence. As Legal Editor of the Tribune, Strobel’s area of expertise was courtroom analysis. To make his case against Christ, Strobel cross-examined a number of Christian authorities, recognized experts in their own fields of study (including PhD’s from such prestigious academic centers as Cambridge, Princeton, and Brandeis). He conducted his examination with no religious bias, other than his predisposition to atheism.

Remarkably, after compiling and critically examining the evidence for himself, Strobel became a Christian. Stunned by his findings, he organized the evidence into a book entitled, The Case for Christ, which won the Gold Medallion Book Award for excellence. Strobel asks one thing of each reader – remain unbiased in your examination of the evidence. In the end, judge the evidence for yourself, acting as the lone juror in the case for Christ…⁴

As a “lone juror,” I sat quiet in my chair…

As jurors often do in the jury room, I asked to return once again to a provoking piece of evidence…

¹ Knott, The Dictionary of American Biography, back cover of The Testimony of the Evangelists.
² Simon Greenleaf, The Testimony of the Evangelists: The Gospels Examined by the Rules of Evidence, Kregel Classics, 1995, Backcover.
³ Sir Lionel Luckhoo, The Question Answered: Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? Luckhoo Booklets, back page. http://www.hawaiichristiansonline.com/sir_lionel.html.
⁴ Lee Strobel, The Case For Christ, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998, 18.

Christian Persecution

Since this is so powerful for me, I want to reexamine the Christian persecution and death that was such a dramatic part of early Christian history. Like me, any skeptic who holds to a notion that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a man-made legend created after-the-fact by a group of religious zealots, should sincerely check out the legacy of Christian persecution and martyrdom. Eleven of the 12 apostles, and many of the other early disciples, died for their adherence to this story. This is so spectacular, since they all witnessed the alleged events surrounding Jesus and his resurrection, and still went to their deaths defending them. Why is this spectacular, when many throughout history have died martyred deaths for a religious belief? Because people don’t die for a lie. Look at human nature throughout history. No conspiracy can be maintained when life or liberty is at stake. Dying for a belief is one thing, but numerous eye-witnesses dying for a known lie is quite another.

OK, I guess I’ve made my point…Here’s an account of early Christian persecution, as compiled from numerous sources outside the Bible, the most-famous of which is Foxes’ Christian Martyrs of the World:¹

Around 34 A.D., one year after the crucifixion of Jesus, Stephen was thrown out of Jerusalem and stoned to death. Approximately 2,000 Christians suffered martyrdom in Jerusalem during this period. About 10 years later, James, the son of Zebedee and the elder brother of John, was killed when Herod Agrippa arrived as governor of Judea. Agrippa detested the Christian sect of Jews, and many early disciples were martyred under his rule, including Timon and Parmenas. Around 54 A.D., Philip, a disciple from Bethsaida, in Galilee, suffered martyrdom at Heliopolis, in Phrygia. He was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified. About six years later, Matthew, the tax-collector from Nazareth who wrote one of the Gospels, was preaching in Ethiopia when he suffered martyrdom by the sword. James, the brother of Jesus, administered the early church in Jerusalem and was the author of a biblical text by his name. At age 94, he was beat and stoned, and finally had his brains bashed out with a fuller’s club.Matthias was the apostle who filled the vacant place of Judas. He was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded. Andrew was the brother of Peter who preached throughout Asia. On his arrival at Edessa, he was arrested and crucified on a cross, the two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground (this is where we get the term, St. Andrew’s Cross). Mark was converted to Christianity by Peter, and then transcribed Peter’s account of Jesus in his Gospel. Mark was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria in front of Serapis, their pagan idol. It appears Peter was condemned to death and crucified at Rome. Jerome holds that Peter was crucified upside down, at his own request, because he said he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord. Paul suffered in the first persecution under Nero. Paul’s faith was so dramatic in the face of martyrdom, that the authorities removed him to a private place for execution by the sword.In about 72 A.D., Jude, the brother of James who was commonly called Thaddeus, was crucified at Edessa. Bartholomew preached in several countries and translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of India. He was cruelly beaten and then crucified by idolaters there. Thomas, called Didymus, preached in Parthia and India, where he was thrust through with a spear by a group of pagan priests. Luke was the author of the Gospel under his name. He traveled with Paul through various countries and is supposed to have been hanged on an olive tree by idolatrous priests in Greece. Barnabas, of Cyprus, was killed without many known facts in about 73 A.D. Simon, surnamed Zelotes, preached in Mauritania, Africa, and even in Britain, where he was crucified in about 74 A.D. John, the “beloved disciple,” was the brother of James. From Ephesus he was ordered to Rome, where he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped by miracle, without injury. Domitian afterwards banished him to the Isle of Patmos, where John wrote the last book of the Bible, Revelation. He was the only apostle who escaped a violent death.Christian persecution didn’t slow the growth of the Christian faith during the first few centuries after Jesus. Even as its early leaders died horrible deaths, Christianity flourished throughout the Roman Empire. How can this historical record of martyrdom be viewed as anything but powerful evidence for the truth of the Christian faith – a faith grounded in historical events and eye-witness testimonies?

¹ John Foxe, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Ed. by W. Grinton Berry, Reprinted by Fleming H. Revell, 1998.

What is Faith?

So, where am I with all this…? Where has this journey taken me, and how should it impact my life? I intellectually believe that certain things happened in history, but what does that really mean for my life today…?

What is belief? What is faith?

Although the Christian faith is not based purely on evidence, it is definitely supported by evidence. Faith is not about turning off the brain and merely relying on the heart, or squashing reason in favor of emotion. No, Christian faith is about seeking and knowing Jesus with all facets of the human character. It’s not a “blind faith” as I once thought… It’s a “calculated faith” based on a preponderance of the evidence. Well, I’ve collected the evidence, and I’ve put it on trial… After a number of months in the jury room, I have returned with my personal verdict… Jesus Christ is who he claims to be… the Son of God who came to this earth about 2,000 years ago to offer true and lasting hope for mankind.

OK, now what…? I intellectually believe, by a preponderance of the evidence, that God exists, that the Bible is true, and that Jesus is his Son… How does this affect me? What is faith, as far as it concerns me?

I love the metaphor of a chair… Find the chair closest to you. Look at it closely. Examine its design. Is it structurally sound? Is it sufficiently engineered? Will the materials chosen by the manufacturer support your weight?

Most likely, you picked a chair that you believe will support you. That’s belief. You applied logic, knowledge and experience to make an informed intellectual decision.

Now sit in the chair… That’s faith! At one point, intellectual assent only goes so far. True living requires that we put our beliefs into action. Intellectual belief without actionable faith is hollow and meaningless…

Have you ever heard about the guy who walked a tight rope across Niagra Falls? Many people watched him do it. To them he asked, “Do you believe I can walk a tight rope across the Falls?” They all replied, “Yes.” They had already seen him do it.

Then he pushed a wheel barrow on a tight rope across Niagra Falls. When he completed the feat, he asked the onlookers, “Do you believe I can walk a tight rope across the Falls pushing a wheel barrow?” To that they replied unanimously, “Yes.” Because they saw him do that too.

Finally, a buddy of the tight rope walker climbs into the wheel barrow and the tight rope walker pushes him across the Falls. Wow, what a daring feat! When they finished, the tight rope walker asked the crowd, “Do you believe I can walk a tight rope across the Falls pushing a wheel barrow with a person in it?” To that they exclaimed, “Yes!” For they were now believers in this guy’s awesome abilities.

Then he looked at the crowd and asked, “Who’s next?”

There you have it… Belief vs. Faith…!

Is Jesus God?

Why has the name “Jesus Christ” caused more division, agitation and controversy than any other name in history?

Come on, why…?

If I bring up God in a coffee shop discussion, nobody is really offended. If I speak about Buddha or Brahman, Moses or Mohammed, I really don’t irritate the listener. However, the name Jesus Christ seems to cut right to the soul. It did for me! When people brought up the other religious and philosophical leaders of history, I usually participated in some sort of intellectual discussion. When people tried to discuss Jesus with me, I felt that my space had been violated! What right did this person have to challenge me and my worldview? I’ve found that something makes Jesus more contentious and convicting than all the other religious leaders combined.

Really, what is it…?

Unlike any other widely followed religious leader in history, Jesus Christ made a unique claim. He declared himself God. Not a god, not god-like, but God incarnate — the creator of the universe in human flesh. Intellectually, that’s very disturbing. Spiritually, that’s a direct attack on everything comfortable and coexisting in my safe little world. However, “is Jesus God“?

For me, I retreated to the typical responses to the life and claims of Jesus. Depending on the stage of my life, they sounded something like this:

“Jesus was a great man.”

“Jesus was a nice moral model.”

“Jesus was an esteemed teacher.”

“Jesus was a religious prophet.”

However, as Christian scholar Josh McDowell declares in his foundational book, More than a Carpenter, these types of statements raise a compelling “trilemma.” Once you examine the actual claims of Jesus and his eyewitness followers, there are only three alternatives for who he really is – Jesus Christ was either a liar, a lunatic, or our Lord.

The issue with these three alternatives is not which is possible, for it is obvious that all three are possible. But rather, the question is ‘which is more probable?’ Who you decide Jesus Christ is must not be an idle intellectual exercise. You cannot put Him on the shelf as a great moral teacher. That is not a valid option. He is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord and God. You must make a choice. ‘But,’ as the Apostle John wrote, ‘these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and’ – more important – ‘that believing you might have life in His name’ (John 20:31). ¹

When looking at the question, “Is Jesus God?”, C.S. Lewis, a popular British theologian, stressed:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ²¹ Josh McDowell, More than a Carpenter, Tyndale House Publishers, 1977, pp. 33-34.
² C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, The MacMillan Company, 1960, pp. 40-41.

Christian Religion vs True Relationship

Please understand, I’m not selling “Christian religion” here. If anything, I still believe “religion” has kept more people from God than anything else in history.

Actually, I’ve discovered that true Christianity isn’t a Christian religion at all – it’s discovering and establishing a relationship with God. It’s trusting in Jesus and what He did on the cross for you and me,¹ not on what we can do for ourselves.²

“True Christianity” isn’t about “organized religion.” It’s not about hierarchical structures, ornate buildings, flamboyant preachers, or traditional rules and rituals. In fact, let’s just drop the “Christianity” label all together. Simply, it’s pursuing and reconciling three basic questions of life:

• Does God exist? If so, what am I going to do about it?
• Is the Bible true? If so, what does that mean for me?
• Who is Jesus? If he is who he claims to be, how will this reality change my life?

Again, it’s not about the so-called “Christian religion” at all…

It’s not about the man-made machine we know today as “Christianity”…

It’s all about Jesus.

He’s either the Son of God who offers the only true hope for the world, or he’s not.

Done.

¹ 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 — Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
² Ephesians 2:8-9 — For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.

Become a Christian Today!
How do I become a Christian? Once you have asked all your questions, weighed all the evidence, and tested all the arguments, you will ultimately be confronted with the basic question Jesus asked his own disciples in Matthew 16:15:

‘But who do you say that I am?’

Simon Peter replied:

‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’

What is your reply?

If you have come to the same conclusion as Simon Peter, you are a few steps away from having a personal relationship with our loving God. It is our sincere hope and prayer that each of you reach this conclusion, for we know that true happiness, joy and peace only come when we recognize our purpose for existing and yield our wills to our Creator. As you will see, Christianity is not based on a religious building, formula or ritual, it’s a matter of what you truly believe in your heart.

Become a Christian: Step through the Gospel
First, you can be sure that God loves you unconditionally and desires to have a personal relationship with you.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).

Second, you need to admit your sinful nature to God, because this is what separates all of us from Him.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).

Third, you should stop trying to please God through your own efforts, and realize that salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ is a gift that none of us deserves.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).

Finally, you just need to step in and truly accept God’s gift — His Son, Jesus Christ.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).

So, now you know the basic steps to become a Christian. As a result, if you desire God’s gift of eternal life and fellowship with Him, you are as close as a sincere act of faith.

Jesus says,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6).

Jesus also says,

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20).

Receiving Jesus is a matter of truly asking Him to come into your life, to forgive your sins, and to become your Lord and Savior. It’s not merely an intellectual undertaking, but rather, an act of sincere faith and heart-felt will.

If you want to receive Jesus now, and accept His gift of salvation, it’s a matter of believing in Jesus Christ, repenting of your sins, and turning the rest of your life over to Him. This is not a ritual based on specific words, but rather, a prayerful guideline for your sincere step of faith.

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38)

If you decided to become a Christian today, welcome to God’s family. Now, as a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to follow up on our commitment.

• Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
• Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
• Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
• Seek fellowship with other Christians. Develop a group of Christian friends to answer your questions and support you.
• Find a local church where you can worship God.

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When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.” (Matthew 27:3-9)

Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. (Matthew 27:37)

The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. (Mark 15:26)

There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. (Luke 23:38)

Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” (John 19:19-22)

Text taken from the title which the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, placed on cross:

IESVS·NAZARENVS·REX·IVDÆORVM
Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ Bασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων
ישוע הנצרי ומלך היהודים

English translation: Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews

Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 18:55) reports:

BUT now Pilate, the procurator of Judea, removed the army from Cesarea to Jerusalem, to take their winter quarters there, in order to abolish the Jewish laws. So he introduced Caesar’s effigies, which were upon the ensigns, and brought them into the city; whereas our law forbids us the very making of images; on which account the former procurators were wont to make their entry into the city with such ensigns as had not those ornaments. Pilate was the first who brought those images to Jerusalem, and set them up there; which was done without the knowledge of the people, because it was done in the night time; but as soon as they knew it, they came in multitudes to Cesarea, and interceded with Pilate many days that he would remove the images; and when he would not grant their requests, because it would tend to the injury of Caesar, while yet they persevered in their request, on the sixth day he ordered his soldiers to have their weapons privately, while he came and sat upon his judgment-seat, which seat was so prepared in the open place of the city, that it concealed the army that lay ready to oppress them; and when the Jews petitioned him again, he gave a signal to the soldiers to encompass them routed, and threatened that their punishment should be no less than immediate death, unless they would leave off disturbing him, and go their ways home. But they threw themselves upon the ground, and laid their necks bare, and said they would take their death very willingly, rather than the wisdom of their laws should be transgressed; upon which Pilate was deeply affected with their firm resolution to keep their laws inviolable, and presently commanded the images to be carried back from Jerusalem to Cesarea.

Pontius Pilate had shown scant regard for Jewish religious sensibilities while procurator of Judaea and clearly, by the time he was confronted with demands for Jesus’ crucifixion, there was no love lost between them:

“Philo can find no good thing to say of Pilate [describing him] as ‘by nature rigid and stubbornly harsh’ and ‘of a spiteful disposition and an exceedingly wrathful man’, and speaks of ‘the bribes, the acts of pride, the acts of violence, the outrages, the cases of spiteful treatment, the constant murders without trial, the ceaseless and most grievous brutality’ of which the Jews might accuse him. The verdict of the NT is that he was a weak man, ready to serve expediency rather than principle, whose authorization of the judicial murder of the Saviour was due less to a desire to please the Jewish authorities than to fear of imperioal displeasure if Tiberius heard of further unrest in Judaea. This is made abundantly evident by his mockery of the Jews in the wording of the superscription (Jn. 19:19-22) (“Pilate”, New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, IVP).

Following his arrest in Gat-Sh’manim, or Gethsemane, he was brought before the deposed Cohen Hagadol, or High Priest, Annan (in Greek, Annas), which produced no formal result.

Report of hearing:

Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.

“If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?”

Jesus was then led off to the Cohen Hagadol, or High Priest, Caiaphas. and the Sanhedrin (the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law).

Report of hearing:

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree. 

Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.’ ” Yet even then their testimony did not agree.

Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.  Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

The gravamen of the charge, to which Jesus made no reply, is the witnesses’ statement that that Jesus had prophesied the destruction of the Jerusalem sanctuary and the establishment of a new temple, which, according to contemporary Jewish expectation, appears to be the equivalent of a claim to Messiah-ship which, in itself, was not necessarily blasphemous. Jesus may, after all, have been the Messiah. What was, in their view, blasphemous, was Jesus’ reply to the high priest’s question: “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

Further, his use of the title ‘the Son of man’ and his quotation of Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13 are an unmistakable claim to his unique status and destiny, which Caiaphas was quick to grasp and interpret as overt blasphemy. ‘It was not blasphemy to claim to be the Messiah, but to speak with assurance of sharing the throne of God and of the fulfilment of Daniel’s vision in himself and his community was blasphemy indeed’ (Vincent Taylor).

Having reached a decision, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.

It is not clear why they did this.

It would appear that the Sanhedrin had the power to pronounce and carry out the death sentence (by stoning) for religious reasons, including blasphemy, at this time, in which case, the words, “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death” (Jn. 18:31) would appear to refer to the Roman punishment of crucifixion, which the Romans alone could apply. It would appear that having found Jesus guilty of blasphemy, for which they could have stoned him, they wished for the Roman authorities to carry out the sentence by crucifixion. But blasphemy was not a charge admissible in Roman law, so they had to manoeuvre the Roman authorities into having Jesus put to death on grounds of sedition.

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

As reported by Luke:

It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

The Passion of the Christ ~ the Best Scenes {Part 1}

The Passion of the Christ ~ the Best Scenes {Part 2}

The Passion of the Christ ~ the Best Scenes {Part 3}

The sayings of Jesus on the Cross

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. John 19:26-27

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:39-43

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” John 19:28

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi,[a] lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:28-30

Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. Luke 23:46

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. Matthew 27:50

The Suffering Servant (written at least 300 years before Jesus’ Death)

1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression ^[a] and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken. ^[b]

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes ^[c] his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life ^[d] and be satisfied ^[e] ;
by his knowledge ^[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, ^[g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong, ^[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
2. Isaiah 53:8 Or away. / Yet who of his generation considered / that he was cut off from the land of the living / for the transgression of my people, / to whom the blow was due?
3. Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
4. Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint Masoretic Text does not have the light of life .
5. Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11 He will see the result of the suffering of his soul / and be satisfied
6. Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
7. Isaiah 53:12 Or many
8. Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous

Psalm 22

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel. ^[a]

4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.

5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

8 “He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother’s breast.

10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

13 Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.

14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me ^[b] in the dust of death.

16 Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced ^[c] my hands and my feet.

17 I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.

18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.

19 But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.

21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save ^[d] me from the horns of the wild oxen.

22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.

23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

24 For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you ^[e] will I fulfill my vows.

26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,

28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.

29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.

30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.

31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 22:3 Or Yet you are holy, / enthroned on the praises of Israel
2. Psalm 22:15 Or / I am laid
3. Psalm 22:16 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts / like the lion,
4. Psalm 22:21 Or / you have heard
5. Psalm 22:25 Hebrew him

As I alternate between reruns of Jeremiah Wrights “God Damn America” tirade and first-runs of the HBO’s John Adams series, I see a surprising connection. Like many of the Revolutionary era, Adams believed that if we weren’t careful, God would damn us or at least withdraw his support.

At some points during the war, Adams feared that the cause would fail because he saw too much greed and commercialism in the colonies. “I have seen all my life such selfishness and littleness even in New England, that I sometimes tremble to think that, although we are engaged in the best cause that ever employed the human heart, yet the prospect of success is doubtful not for want of power or wisdom but of virtue.” During the revolution, Adams — evoking the manner of his Puritan ancestors — told his friend Benjamin Rush that the colonials would only have a chance of winning, “if we fear God and repent our sins.” He even speculated that God might intend for America to be defeated so that its “vicious and luxurious and effeminate appetites, passion and habits” would be cleansed, laying the foundation for a more-deserved victory in the future.

Adams wasn’t alone in seeing the events on the ground as a reflection — positive and negative — of God’s assessment. One minister ascribed the Continental Army’s difficulties to the presence of slavery. Noting the brutal winter, the poor crops, the loss of cattle, and the seemingly imminent collapse of the army, a Quaker farmer speculated that it was part of a divinely-ordained set of plagues. When on July 20, 1775 the Continental Congress called for a day of prayer, it was accompanied by a call for fasting, self-reflection and a unified effort to “unfeignedly confess and deplore our many sins.”

I don’t mean this as a defense of Jeremiah Wright (or John Adams). It’s just a reminder that there’s a long tradition among preachers and politicians of asserting that if God is to bless us when we’re good, He may damn us when we’re bad.