Proposition: Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross in the first century AD, therefore He is the Son of God.
The above proposition isn’t as universally accepted as “I think, therefore I am” but I believe anyone who considers the event of Jesus’ death will have to admit that the proposition is entirely reasonable.
Christians accept the proposition above by faith. We know Jesus went to the cross because He IS the Son of God.
But skeptics reject the proposition because it appears to be a “leap of logic,” a logical fallacy that doesn’t add up.
I admittedly accept the proposition on the grounds of faith, but I believe it is also reasonable to conclude that if Jesus died in the way He is said to have died, then it is also reasonable to conclude that He is who He claimed to be: the Son of God.
Let’s be clear: This is not an argument for the resurrection of Jesus or whether or not He is alive today. However, when we examine the death of Jesus, I think some skeptics will concede that Jesus could be the Son of God. Even the Roman centurion who was guarding Jesus on the cross saw all that happened to Him and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God”.
The proposition, that Jesus’ crucifixion identifies Him as the Son of God, can only be accepted by faith. Christians believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. So, rather than use reason to try and prove what can only be accepted by faith, let’s revise the proposition so that perhaps reason can open the door for Jesus’ claims to be considered.
Revised Proposition: It is reasonable to conclude that Jesus is the Son of God because He was crucified on a Roman cross in the first century AD.
In part one, I’ll ask if it is true that Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross in the first century AD. In part two, I’ll ask what Jesus’ crucifixion tells us about His identity.
So with that said, let’s ask the first question:
I. Is it true that Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross in the first century AD?
To begin making our case, let’s first look at whether or not the stories of Jesus’ death are even true. How certain can we be of anything that took place nearly 2,000 years ago?
Three groups of people will be called on to testify that the accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion are true:
1. Disciples boldly accept that Jesus was crucified.
We have four Gospel accounts from the first century written by either eye-witnesses (Matthew and John) or careful researchers who interviewed eye-witnesses (Mark and Luke). Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote at a time when their accounts could be scrutinized and rejected if false. But the unanimous conclusion of all the New Testament authors (including all the disciples mentioned in their Gospel accounts) is that Jesus died on a Roman cross. There are even skeptics (Paul and James) who came to accept the crucifixion of Jesus as true (to say nothing, for now, about their belief in the resurrection).
From the first century to today, disciples of Jesus have believed this to be true and have been willing to die for that belief. In fact, many of the disciples in the first century suffered persecution and death for their faith.
But can we take the word of these early disciples of Jesus? Wasn’t their judgment clouded? How can they be objective when they were so close to the events that took place? Their proximity to Jesus and their hopes clearly means they are biased, right?
I fully anticipate that some will not accept the word of a first century disciple who was an eye-witness to the fact that Jesus was crucified. However, if we reject eye-witness testimony, whose testimony do we accept? Moving to more modern events, should we accept the testimony of a Holocaust survivor from the 20th century or a Holocaust denier in the 21st century? Who is more likely to explain what actually happened? It seems to me the testimony of the eye-witnesses who suffered and died for what they believed to be true is at least admissible for our consideration.
2. Skeptics readily admit that Jesus was crucified.
The authors of the four Gospels are not the only ones who mention Jesus’ crucifixion. Hellenistic and Jewish writers briefly mention the events that occurred in Palestine in the first century AD. Hellenistic writers like Tacitus, Lucian, and Mara bar Serapion confirm that Jesus was crucified. The Jewish historian, Josephus, writes of a Jesus who was crucified in Palestine. Most historians view these sources as reliable for discussing the historicity of Jesus.
There are certainly skeptics today who doubt the historicity of Jesus. But according to New Testament historian, Michael Licona, the death of Jesus on the cross is “historical bedrock” which is generally accepted by most scholars, believing and skeptical. Licona’s colleague, Gary Habermas, studied journals, books, articles, and speeches from Christian, Catholic, Jewish, and even skeptical scholars who hold PhDs in New Testament studies and in related fields. He found over three thousand sources in French, German, and English from 1975 to the present. In all of those sources, the overwhelming view is that Jesus was crucified and this is equally accepted by skeptics and Christians who have written scholarly articles and books on this topic.
If you are skeptical about how Jesus died, then take the skeptics word for it: Jesus died on a Roman cross in the first century AD.
3. Prophets divinely predict Jesus would be crucified.
There is one more group that we need to hear from, and that is the Old Testament prophets of Yahweh. Two in particular suggest that the Messiah would die of crucifixion.
Before we look at what these prophets said, we need to understand that they wrote at a time when
a) Jews executed criminals by stoning so there was no reason for them to write that the Messiah would be “pierced” (unless they were prompted by the Holy Spirit) and,
b) crucifixion had not yet been invented as a form of execution. It was not until the 6th century BC that crucifixion shows up in the historical record.
So, let’s look at what Isaiah wrote in the 7th century BC and what David wrote in the 10th century BC:
But he was pierced because of our rebellion,
crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on him,
and we are healed by his wounds. (Isaiah 53:5)For dogs have surrounded me;
a gang of evildoers has closed in on me;
they pierced my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones;
people look and stare at me.
They divided my garments among themselves,
and they cast lots for my clothing. (Psalm 22:16-18)
Perhaps if we only had Isaiah saying that the Messiah would be “pierced” and “crushed” we might say that a Jewish stoning could perhaps fit that description. Maybe a sharp stone would pierce the skin?
But where did David get the idea of piercing hands and feet in the 10th century BC? And, if you read the rest of the Psalm you see several other predictions of what Jesus actually endured (i.e. “They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.”)
Even Jesus, to the dismay of His disciples, predicted His own death at the hands of the Romans (Mark 8:31-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-34).
In Mark 10:32-34, Jesus provides specific details about His own death that could only have come through divine inspiration (or by being divine?). Surprisingly, He doesn’t automatically assume that He will be stoned by the Jews.
He says,
See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him, and he will rise after three days. (Mark 10:33-34)
Jesus knew that the Jews would “condemn him to death” but that they would “hand him over to the Gentiles”. It would be the Gentiles (Romans) who would flog him and kill him and the method the Romans would use would undoubtedly be the method they had been perfecting for hundreds of years: crucifixion. Thus, His hands and feet were pierced, just as the Psalmist wrote a thousand years earlier.
CONCLUSION
So far, my goal has not been to prove Jesus’ resurrection. I understand that we come to Jesus by God’s grace alone through faith alone. We are simply asking the question, is it reasonable to believe that Jesus did in fact die on the cross in the first century AD?
Perhaps you are ready to admit that the stories of Jesus’ death on a Roman cross are true. The leap from that well-attested historical event to the proposition that Jesus is God’s Son is what we will consider in the next post.
Admittedly, it will be a leap of faith, but it is a much smaller leap of logic than you might realize.
Until then, if you have faith that Jesus was truly “pierced because of our rebellion”, how does His death on the cross encourage you and inspire you? What has changed in your life because of His sacrifice? If you are a skeptic, do you have any doubt that Jesus really lived and died in the manner described above? If you still have doubts, what is convincing you the crucifixion of Jesus is not true?
Please keep your comments gracious and on-topic.
