WAS IT REALLY LIKE THAT?
How many of you here today have seen The Passion of the Christ?
How many of you left there with questions?
This series, I’m taking some of the most common questions I’ve heard, and giving them an honest look.
One of the biggest questions I’ve encountered with people who have seen it is this: “Did this really happen? Was this Jesus a real person who really went through this, or is this just Mel Gibson’s interpretation?”
Let me give you a quote from TIME magazine:
“So, if you look at "The Passion of the Christ" as a movie -- and not a religious experience -- and the Bible as its source material, the first thing you have to decide is: Is it based on fact or fiction? Or a fictional account of an actual event? ... the Bible and the events depicted in it are open to interpetation.”
This man definitely did not do his homework. I think before we go making statements like that – that this isn’t historical, and it’s open to interpretation – that we should investigate thoroughly.
I have invested several hundred hours in researching the evidence for Jesus, and I want to share some of it with you.
1. We can guarantee that Jesus’ crucifixion is a historical event.
Often, you’ll hear people say they’re not sure that Jesus even existed. Bertrand Russell, a famous atheist said this: “Historically it is quite doubtful whether Christ ever existed at all, and if He did, we do not know anything about Him.”
Well, that’s one viewpoint. However, I think in all fairness, we should look at objective evidence. Did Jesus really exist, and what’s the evidence that it really happened LIKE THAT?
A) We have the Bible’s eyewitness record of the events.
Listen to these Scriptures:
(Luke 1:1-4)
1. Most honorable Theophilus: Many people have written accounts about the events that took place* among us.
2. They used as their source material the reports circulating among us from the early disciples and other eyewitnesses of what God has done in fulfillment of his promises.
3. Having carefully investigated all of these accounts from the beginning, I have decided to write a careful summary for you,
4. to reassure you of the truth of all you were taught.
(I John 1:1,3)
1. The one who existed from the beginning* is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life.
3. We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us.
(II Peter 1:16)
16. For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. We have seen his majestic splendor with our own eyes.
Does this sound casual, thrown together? No, this sounds like they were very careful eyewitnesses who wrote what they said believing it was accurate.
We can also be certain that the Gospel accounts which Mel Gibson got the Passion from, were written not more than 35 years after Jesus death. If you want to hear proof of that, you’ll have to get a tape of the sermon I preached two weeks ago. We’ve made a number of copies this morning, and we’ll make them available to you free of charge if you’re interested in hearing the evidence for that.
So first of all, you can’t discount the evidence of the Bible that Jesus really existed, and that he was really crucified.
B) Jesus’ crucifixion is confirmed by outside sources.
Josephus, a famous Jewish historian, said this: “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man. . . He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. . .Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us had condemned him to the cross. . . and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”
Tacitus, a famous Roman Historian, said this: “Christus (a Latin spelling of Christ), the founder of the name [Christian], was put to death by Pontius Pilate, the procurator of the of Judea in the reign of Tiberius.”
Lucian of Samosata, a Greek satirist (humorist), said this: “The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day – the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on this account... You see, these misguided creatures. . . worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws.”
Mara Bar-Serapion, a Syrian philosopher who was not a Christian, wrote this: “What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise King?. . . nor did the wise King die for good; he lived on in the teaching which he had given.”
So not only do we have the Bible’s eyewitness account, but we have confirmation in non-Christian sources that Jesus actually lived and was crucified! This tells us that we can trust the Bible as a reasonable, historically accurate document.
2. We can guarantee that it was a real and horrible
death.
Let’s examine what the Bible says happened to Jesus:
- He was whipped brutally.
Matthew 27:26 “...and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.”
It’s not just the Bible that tells how brutal Jesus’ death was. A historian in the 200’s A.D. wrote this, describing a Roman flogging/beating:
“The sufferer’s veins were laid bare, and the very muscles, tendons and bowels of the victim were laid open to exposure...”
That means that the Jesus would have been in critical condition before he was ever nailed to the cross!
- He wore a crown of thorns.
Matthew 27:29 “When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head.”
- He was beaten by professional soldiers.
John 19:3 Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands.
- He was judged dead by a professional executioner.
John 19:33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
- To make sure, He was run through the side with a spear.
34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
I’m not trying to be gory this morning. I’m trying to tell you that what you saw REALLY happened.
But there are more questions:
- Why would something like this happen?
- If Jesus was so powerful, why did he let this happen?
- Why would a man who was known all his life for doing good end up brutally murdered?
- Why would a man who said, “Treat others like you want them to treat you” be crucified like that?
- Who is responsible? The Jews? The Romans?
AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST OF ALL:
- So what? What does it mean for my life?
If you want to know the answers to those questions, you’ll have to come back next week.
I told you at the beginning that I have spent several hundred hours investigating the evidence for Jesus and his death and resurrection. But I don’t want you to just take it from me. I hope you’ll take a chance to investigate for yourself, and come back next week with your questions! I want to share a book with you that is full of information.
This book (The Case for Christ) was written by a man that was not a Christian, who set out to investigate Jesus and his life, expecting to disprove Christianity. He was shocked by the solid evidence for Jesus. This books will be very helpful to you in your spiritual journey as you look for honest answers to the questions about “The Passion of the Christ”. You can pick it up at Mardel’s, or you can pick up a copy today, and pay me later.
HANDOUT
___________________________
The Passion of the Christ
“Did It Really Happen Like That?”“Did this really happen? Was this Jesus a real person who really went through this, or is this just Mel Gibson’s interpretation?”
A reviewer in TIME magazine said: “...the first thing you have to decide is: Is it based on fact or fiction? . . . the Bible and the events depicted in it are open to ________________.”
1. We can guarantee that Jesus’ crucifixion is a ____________ event.
Bertrand Russell, a famous atheist said this: “Historically it is quite doubtful whether Christ ever ______________ at all, and if He did, we do not know anything about Him.” Sorry, Mr. Russell, but here’s the evidence that proves you’re wrong:
A) We have the Bible’s ______________ record of the events.
Listen to these Scriptures:
(Luke 1:1-4) Most honorable Theophilus: Many people have written accounts about the events that took place among us. They used as their source material the reports circulating among us from the early disciples and other eyewitnesses of what God has done in fulfillment of his promises. Having carefully investigated all of these accounts from the beginning, I have decided to write a careful summary for you, to reassure you of the truth of all you were taught.
(I John 1:1,3) The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life. We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard...
(II Peter 1:16) For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. We have seen his majestic splendor with our own eyes.
We can demonstrate that these eyewitness accounts were written not more than ______ years after Jesus death.
B) Jesus’ crucifixion is confirmed by _____________ sources.
Josephus, (Jewish historian): “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man. . . He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. . .Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us had condemned him to the __________. . . and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”
Tacitus, (Roman Historian): “Christus (a Latin spelling of Christ), the founder of the name [Christian], was put to __________ by Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius.”
Lucian of Samosata, (Greek humorist): “The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day – the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was ____________ on this account... You see, these misguided creatures. . . worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws.”
Mara Bar-Serapion, (Syrian philosopher): “What advantage did the Jews gain from ______________ their wise King?. . . nor did the wise King die for good; he lived on in the teaching which he had given.”
This outside confirmation tells us that we can trust the Bible as a historically _______________ document.
2. We know that it was a _______ and _________ death.
- He was _____________ brutally.
Matthew 27:26 “...and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.” A historian in the 200’s A.D. wrote this, describing a Roman beating: “The sufferer’s _________ were laid bare, and the very muscles, tendons and bowels of the victim were laid open to exposure.”
- He wore a crown of ___________.
Matthew 27:29 “When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head.”
- He was beaten by ______________ soldiers.
John 19:3 “Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands.”
- He was judged dead by a professional _________________.
John 19:33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
- To make sure, He was run through the side with a _________.
John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
BOOK: The _________ for _____________ (My rating: ***** of 5)
