DID JESUS DIE BY CRUCIFIXION?

By Bob Myhan

As has been pointed out, we are not dependent on the Bible alone for evidence that Jesus of Nazareth actually lived in the first century. The following authors all spoke of Jesus as a historical person: Lucian of Samosata, Julius Africanus, Josephus, Pliny the Younger, Cornelius Tacitus, Suetonius, Epiphanius, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Phlegon, Thallus and even Pontius Pilate. The writings of these men were completed within 200 years of the period of time in which Jesus is said to have lived. Of these men, Lucian of Samosata, Cornelius Tacitus, Pontius Pilate, Josephus, Phlegon and Thallus also testified as to Jesus’ manner of death.

“[T]hese misguided creatures ... worship the crucified sage” (Lucian).

“Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus” (Tacitus).

“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man.... And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him” (Josephus).

“They pierced my hands and my feet, was used in reference to the nails of the cross which were driven into His hands and feet. And ... they cast lots for His clothes, and after they crucified Him distributed it among them. And that these things did happen, you can ascertain from the Acts of Pontius Pilate.” – (Justin Martyr, First Apology 35)

According to Origen, Phlegon wrote, “And with regard to the eclipse in the time of Tiberius Caesar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place....” (Origen against Celsus)

“Phlegon records that in the time of Tiberius Caesar, at full moon, there was a full eclipse of the sun from the sixth hour to the ninth — manifestly that one of which we speak." - (The Extant Writings of Julius Africanus 18)

The above quote corroborates Matthew’s account of the same event.

Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. (Matt. 27:45)

“This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as it appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. For the Hebrews celebrate the Passover on the 14th day according to the moon, and the passion of our Savior falls on the day before the Passover; but an eclipse of the sun takes place only when the moon comes under the sun. And it cannot happen at any other time but in the interval between the first day of the new moon and the last of the old, that is, at their junction: how then should an eclipse occur when the moon is almost diametrically opposite the sun?” (The Extant Writings of Julius Africanus 18)

The whereabouts of the Acts of Pontius Pilate, referenced above, is not known but it can hardly be doubted that they were written A.D. 26-36, that they existed in the second century and that Justin Martyr was familiar with them.

Now, since skeptics often argue that the New Testament was written in the second or third century, they can hardly argue that the above writers were simply quoting from the New Testament. The historical truth is that Jesus actually lived during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius Caesar and that Pontius Pilate did, indeed, authorize Him to be executed by means of crucifixion. And, as Paul said to Festus, “this thing was not done in a corner” (Acts 26:26). &

CONSERVATIVE OR LIBERAL?

By Zeke Flores

Conservative: “Moderate, cautious, disposed to maintaining existing views, conditions, or institutions.”

Liberal: “Not strict in the observance of established forms or ways.” (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary)

By the above, we can see by even secular definitions, there is a great difference in "conservative" and "liberal" and the difference is in whether or not one observes and maintains an established practice. In the political world there are conservatives and liberals; so, too, in the religious world.

If the difference is whether or not one adheres to a norm or standard, can one know for sure what that standard is? Jesus gives the answer in John 12:48 when He says, "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings has one who judges him, the word I spoke is what will judge him on the last day."

He says we must be conservative in maintaining the standard He set forth for His followers: "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine..." (John 8:31). One reason for this is so that the world will have a set and established benchmark by which people can "test yourselves to see if you are in the faith." (2 Cor 13:5) In that faith are boundaries and limitations that one must observe if he is to truly be a disciple of Jesus.

In 2 John 9 the inspired apostle writes, "If anyone goes too far and does not abide (continue - zf) in the teaching of Christ, he does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son." Clearly we can see the danger of overstepping the boundaries set by Jesus either by Himself directly or through the apostles He inspired.

There is nothing shameful about being conservative, rather it is something to which everyone must strive for if we are to be faithful followers of Christ and someday reap the ultimate benefit. At the close of this life, let us say with the apostle Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith..." (2 Tim 4:8) &