There Is No Event of Antiquity With Greater Historical Validation:

Seldom does a week pass when I do not receive a critical comment from an atheist or adversary of the Bible—asserting that the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus never happened. When I read these statements I know, after 49 years of research, writing, teaching, and publishing the historical evidence for these two events, that the writer is simply uneducated.

There is perhaps no event of antiquity concerning one person that has greater substantive evidence than the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Can we validate an event from antiquity by the behavior and reactions of a person during the time that the alleged event took place? Absolutely. After Jesus was brutally crucified and rose from the dead, a massive effort ensued by the Roman government, to stamp out the insanity of Jesus’ Resurrection. The Roman government was not interested in authenticating or proving Jesus’ resurrection. The Emperors of the Roman Empire were terrified of the implications of a continued belief in the resurrection of Jesus.

If the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus never happened, why do we find a substantial written record from a Roman Caesar, seeking to eradicate the Roman Empire of every trace of Jesus’ resurrection? The following is from an earlier essay that I published regarding the Roman records of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection:

Recorded Secular Records Of Jesus’ Resurrection

Roman authors who describe the reasons that Christianity was deemed so dangerous to Roman society, characterized the belief that Christians would not deny the resurrection of Jesus, as “Superstitio.”[1] Tacitus called their trust in the resurrection, exitabilis (detestable).[2] Suetonius referred to the Christian stance of Jesus’ resurrection as Superstitio nova ac malefica (Mischievous Superstition).[3] Pliny wrote to Emperor Trajan that the Christian superstitious belief in the resurrection was a contagio (disease).[4]

Christianity was not seen as most religions, a bizarre set of beliefs. It was defined by the Roman Emperors as a dangerous superstition that threatened the very fabric of Roman society.

In Roman thinking, superstition was not regarded in the same way that it was in most other cultures. The superstition of Christianity was viewed by the Romans as corrosive to society. In the minds of Roman leaders, the idea that a man could have risen from the dead was so disturbing to the mind that a person would likely go insane. This would result in a loss of his humanity, and the entire structure of Roman life would erode into chaos.[5]

Only when Romans encountered Christians who insisted that Jesus had been raised from the dead, did they find it impossible to tolerate their strange and dangerous religion. In the minds of the Romans, anyone who could believe such things were already insane and worthy of death. To allow people to populate nations for whom they ruled, with these intolerable views, the entire Roman Empire could be jeopardized.

It was because the Romans viewed a religion based upon a resurrected Savior as extremely dangerous, that they vigorously sought to stamp out every trace of Christianity. History records that during the reign of ten Emperors, over five million Christians were persecuted and killed by the Roman government for a period of 250 years.⁠[8] Beginning with Nero in 54 A.D., and ending with Diocletian  in 313 A.D.⁠[6]

Where Does The Historical Evidence Reside?

In the year 112 A.D., Pliny the Younger—governor of the Roman province of Bithynia (Turkey)—wrote a letter to the Roman Emperor Trajan, requesting clarification on his orders to execute those who were Christians.[7]

History records that early Christians were persecuted and killed by the Roman government for a period of 250 years.[12] Beginning with Nero in 54 A.D. and ending with Diocletian in 313 A.D.[8]

Over 5 million Christians were executed because they refused to deny or recant that Jesus had risen from the dead. Why would any person be willing to go to their death for simply affirming the resurrection of Jesus, even 250 years after the event took place? The records of the New Testament Gospels and the other writings of the New Testament that were in global circulation describe the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. The men who recorded these events state that they saw Jesus with their own eyes, and heard Him with their own ears.

What did they hear? Jesus stated that He is the Messiah God promised in all of the Old Testament Messianic Prophecies. Jesus states that He is Yahweh, the Eternal God who created all that exists.

What did they see? Jesus performed 40 miracles that were only possible by God. They saw Jesus performing miracles that proved His power and control over the natural laws of the universe:

• 203 Eyewitness Statements About Jesus In The New Testament
• Were The Gospels Written By Eyewitnesses?
• When Were The Gospels Written?

Jesus quickly began the performance of 40 miracles that only God is capable of. In 9 of these miracles, Jesus proved His power as God over the physical laws of the universe.

1. Turning water to wine: John 2:1-11
2. The first catch of fish: Luke 5:4-10
3. Calming a storm: Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25.
4. Feeding 5,000: Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-34, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-15.
5. Walking on water: Matthew 14:22-23, Mark 6:45-52, John 6:16-24.
6. Feeding 4,000: Matthew 15:29-39, Mark 8:1-10.
7. Fish pays Temple tax: Matthew 17:24-27.
8. Curse of the fig tree: Matthew 21:18-22, Mark 11:12-14, 20-26.
9. Second catch of fish: John 2:1-11

Every person that was brought to Jesus who was sick or had any disease: blind, deaf, unable to speak, crippled, paralyzed, or plagued by demons, Jesus healed them all:

Matthew 4:23-24: “Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon-possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all.”

These works of healing every sickness and disease, even raising the dead, and having mastery over the physical laws of the earth, prove that Jesus was no ordinary man. The Old Testament predicts that when the Messiah comes, He will be Yahweh living in the body of a man.

Jesus referred to Himself as “The Son of Man” 77 times in the New Testament. This is a specific term in the Aramaic language of Daniel 7:13, only used one time in the Bible, and only to describe the Messiah. This is translated from the Aramaic term, kebar enas, and it identifies the appearance of the Son of Man, according to Daniel, as God in human flesh.

When the prophet Isaiah penned 131 Messianic Prophecies in his book, in chapter 35, he describes the Messiah as displaying one clear sign that identifies Him as Yahweh from the Old Testament:

Isaiah 35:4-6: “Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to save you.” And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!”

When John the Baptist was in prison and he sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the promised Messiah, or if should they look for another, notice what Jesus said:

Matthew 11:2-6: John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”

Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.”

The healing power that Isaiah said the Messiah would possess, Jesus displayed more than 40 times in the New Testament. When the disciples of John the Baptist come to ask Jesus if He is the Messiah that God promised, Jesus asks these men to ask John what he had seen Jesus doing: healing the blind, opening the ears of the deaf—healing power that is required of the Messiah—power that only the kebar enas of Daniel 7:13, will have. The Messiah will be able to heal every sickness and disease because He is Yahweh from the Old Testament, living in the body of a man.

This record that exists to the present day, with 24,593 extant manuscript copies of the New Testament, is what the early Christians held tightly to—compelling them to never deny the historical resurrection of Jesus.

Why were over 5 million Christians willing to die, for simply refusing to deny the resurrection of Jesus had really happened? They had the written eyewitness testimony of the men who saw and heard Jesus.

See the complete essay documenting this letter and the historical Roman evidence

The Roman Government Records Jesus Crucified by Pontius Pilate

“Tacitus, writing in c. 115, included an account of the incident in his Annales (XV, 44). Except for the manner of the Christians’ deaths, which he thought excessively cruel, he showed no sympathy for the Christians. Recording that “Christus, from whom the name [Christians] had its origin” was executed by “one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate,” Tacitus described the Christians as a “class hated for their abominations” and guilty of “hatred of the human race,” an accusation he also made against the Jews. Theirs was not a “religion” but a “deadly superstition,” and hence worthy of repression. Though there was no immediate sequel to Nero’s persecution, the fire forfeited any chance Christians might have had of being recognized as “legal religion” (religio licita) separate from Judaism.” ~Tacitus, Annales XV, 44

Notice that in the records of the Romans, 115 AD, the Roman Historian, Tacitus, names Jesus as, “Christus.” Tacitus states that Jesus was executed by Pontius Pilate, as the New Testament records. The method of execution at that time is well recorded as, Crucifixion.

When critics deny the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, they are seeking to rewrite the historical record and insert their own cognitive bias. The written and extant records of the Romans, and the Jews, and the manuscript evidence of the New Testament, prove that Jesus was Crucified and Rose from the dead. See “New Testament Apologetics,” in Paperback and Kindle Edition

NOTES:

[1] ‘ Superstitio’ and the Persecution of the Christians, L. F. Janssen, Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 33, No. 2 (Jun. 1979), pp. 131-159
[2]  Tacitus Annals, 15.44.4
[3] Seutonius, Nero, 16,2
[4] Ibid, L. F. Janssen, Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 33,
[5] 1. Everett Ferguson, “Did You Know?” Christian History, Issue 27 (Vol. XI, No. 3), inside cover.
2. Robert L. Wilkin, “The Piety of the Persecutors.” Christian History, Issue 27 (Vol. XI, No. 3), p. 18.
3. Persecution in the Early Church, religionfacts.com, March 17, 2015
[6] 1. Mark Galli, “The Persecuting Emperors.” Christian History, Issue 27 (Vol. XI, No. 3), p. 20.
2. https://library.puc.edu/heritage/bib-earlycpm.html
3. http://www.mylakelandchurch.com/articles/2020/02/24/church-history-4-persecution-against-the-church
[7] Letters of Pliny the Younger and the Emperor Trajan, Translated by William Whiston, From The Works of Josephus, Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.|
[8] Mark Galli, “The Persecuting Emperors.” Christian History, Issue 27 (Vol. XI, No. 3), p. 20.

Categories: Apologetics, Archeological Confirmation, Atheists, Atheists, Agnostics and Skeptics, Historical Validity of the New Testament, Reliability of the New Testament, Resurrection Proven by Secular Sources, Robert Clifton Robinson, The Four Gospels, The Historical Jesus, The Historical Jesus, The Resurrection, The Resurrection of Jesus, We must see our need, What is required for Heaven?

Tags: Confirmation of Jesus Crucifixion from Secular Sources, Historical Resurrection, The Historical Jesus