A new series
This is the first post of a new series I hope you’ll find interesting, regardless of which side you lean toward, regarding fact or fiction. Comments are not only welcome, but encouraged, although keeping them civil is a must, else they’ll be deleted.
Let's begin with the method...
Let's begin with the method...
A Roman Death
A Roman crucifixion was brutal and there is no record anywhere of anyone ever surviving a full, Roman crucifixion. Yeshua’s great torture and death was witnessed by man on both sides of the fence–His disciples as well as His adversaries.
Later, accounts of witnesses were written. They covered the entire ordeal from His arrest, to His torture, His death, His entombment and the sealing of His tomb, ordered by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.
Pilate didn’t stop there. To ensure His disciples didn’t steal the body and report He had resurrected, he instructed a massive stone to be placed at the entrance and to seal it as best as they knew how.
But, that wasn’t enough. Pilate ordered his official, procurator Roman seal on the stone. The seal would break if the stone were moved.
And, just in case...
He ordered it to be guarded around the clock by a contingent of Roman soldiers. It’s unknown how many were assigned to guard the tomb, but historians suggest a minimum of four soldiers were ordered to be on guard at all times, and about 16 soldiers were nearby in event things got rowdy, and to relieve the guards posted at the entrance.
By the way, (no pun intended), historians and archaeologists agree upon the estimation of the stone’s weight being between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds.
Early Reports
So, why do historians rely on early reports to support the authenticity of historical events? It’s because they can provide firsthand evidence of historical events, and an unfiltered perspective of what people observed and believed at the time.
They’re considered an essential aspect of historical research that historians use to establish an accurate narrative of past events.
I've listed several for you below that include both Christian and non-Christian documents.
Non-Christian Sources
☙ Flavius Josephus: In his work, Antiquities of the Jews (c. 93 AD), Josephus states that Jesus was crucified by Pilate.
☙ Babylonian Talmud: A rabbinic text from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD contains a passage that refers to Jesus's "hanging" execution.
☙ Tacitus: The prominent Roman historian Tacitus, in his Annals, references Christ's execution by Pontius Pilate and his belief in Christ as a historical figure.
☙ Mara bar Serapion: A Syrian philosopher from sometime after 73 AD, Mara refers to the "wise king" of the Jews who was executed by them.
Biblical Sources
☙ The four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all contain documentation describing eyewitness accounts of the torture and crucifixion of Yeshua.
☙ The book of Acts and all of Paul’s letters found in the New Testament contain information on not only the crucifixion and resurrection of Yeshua, but his own encounter with Yeshua after His resurrection.
A modern take
An existing report of the resurrection of Yeshua dates back to within three months of His crucifixion. In the Bible, 1 Corinthians 15 talks about the resurrection of Jesus, analyzed by Dr. James D.G. Dunn (United Kingdom) reported, “We can be entirely confident that this report was written originally, within months of the death of Jesus.”
Witnesses Recordings
☙ It's documented that over 400 people saw Yeshua alive after his crucifixion.
☙ The first eyewitnesses were women.
☙ Yeshua was entombed in Jerusalem.
☙ The apostles first preached the news of Yeshua’s resurrection in Jerusalem.
☙ The Sanhedrin insisted the disciples stole the body, admitting Yeshua's tomb was empty. The tomb had been sealed and armed, Roman soldiers were stationed, night and day, near the tomb’s entrance. Their orders were to prevent anyone from removing the massive stone blocking the entrance and taking the body of Yeshua.
☙ Despite having not believed Yeshua would be resurrected, the disciples made a 360° turn around in their belief after encountering groups of people who saw Yeshua, who later came to them, as a group and ministered to them, on multiple occasions before His ascension to Heaven on the Mount of Olives.
Finally...
The wrap!
Thank you for visiting today!
I can only add that most Christians believe in the resurrection because we’ve had (and continue to have) very real, personal encounters with Yeshua, in a variety of ways and manifestations.
Once met, it cannot be undone. There is none like Him.
If you haven’t considered Him, sought Him or encountered Him, I pray you do. Only good can come of it and you will never, ever be the same in indescribably wonderful ways.
Shalom!
Angelia
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