PART II

JESUS: “MORTAL PROPHET”

OR “SON OF GOD”?
‘Jesus’ establishment as “the
Son of God” was officially
proposed and voted on by
the Council of Nicaea. [And
it was] a relatively close vote
at that.’
-Leigh Teabing, The Da Vinci Code, pp.315 318
‘…until that moment in
history, Jesus was viewed by
His followers as a mortal
prophet …a great and
powerful man, but a man
nonetheless. A mortal.’
-Leigh Teabing, The Da Vinci Code, pp.315 318
‘…almost everything our
fathers taught us about
Christ is false.’
-Leigh Teabing, The Da Vinci Code, pp.315 318
St Paul

…if Christ has not been

raised, our preaching is
useless and so is your
faith…
And if Christ has not been
raised, your faith is futile;
you are still in your sins
[and] we [Christians] are to
be pitied more than all
men. But Christ has indeed
been raised from the dead…
1 Corinthians 15:14-20
JESUS IN HISTORY
a) Roman historians
Cornelius Tacitus
(b.52AD) ‘the greatest
historian… who wrote in
the Latin language’
–Encyclopaedia Brittanica
 Tacitus

“Hence to suppress the

rumour, he [Nero] falsely
charged with the guilt, and
punished with the most
exquisite tortures, the
persons commonly called
Christians, who were hated
for their enormities.”
 Tacitus

“Christus, the founder of

the name, was put to death
by Pontius Pilate,
procurator of Judea in the
reign of Tiberius.”
-Annals, XV, 44
 Lucian of Samosata
(b.AD120)
Greek satirist who
targeted Christians
 Lucian of Samosata

‘The poor wretches have

convinced themselves…that
they are going to be
immortal and live for all
time, in consequence of
which they despise death
and even willingly give
themselves into custody…
 Lucian of Samosata

Furthermore, their first

lawgiver persuaded them
that they are all brothers of
one another… by
worshipping that crucified
sophist himself and living
under his laws.’
-The Passing of Perigrinus pp. 11,13
Flavius Josephus (b.AD37)

‘At this time there was a wise

man called Jesus, and his
conduct was good, and he was
known to be virtuous. And
many people from among the
Jews and other nations became
his disciples.
Flavius Josephus

Pilate condemned him to be

crucified and to die. And those
who had become his disciples
did not abandon their
discipleship. They reported
that he had appeared to them
three days after his crucifixion
and that he was alive.
Flavius Josephus

Accordingly, he was perhaps

the Messiah concerning whom
the prophets have recounted
wonders.’
-Antiquities, xviii, 33
Flavius Josephus on Jesus Christ:

• Good man
• Was perhaps the Messiah
• Killed on cross
• Reported to appear three days later
• Prophets predictions (see our later
session)
Mara Bar-Serapion, c.AD73
(manuscript in British Museum)
‘What advantage did the Athenians
gain from putting Socrates to death?
Famine and plague came upon
them…What advantage did the
Jews gain from killing their wise
King? It was just after that that their
kingdom was abolished. God justly
avenged these three wise men…’
 Plinius Secundus, AD112
Christians “were in the
habit of meeting on a certain
fixed day before it was light,
when they sang…a hymn to
Christ as to a God…’
-Epistles X, 26
Tertullian, AD 197, Carthage:

‘Tiberius…in those days the

Christian name made its entry
into the world, having himself
received intelligence from the
truth of Christ’s divinity, brought
the matter before the senate,
with his own decision in favour
of Christ. (Apology, V, 2)
Tertullian, AD 197, Carthage:

The senate, because it had not

given the approval itself, rejected
his proposal. Caesar held to his
opinion, threatening wrath
against all the accusers of the
Christians.’ (Apology, V, 2)
b) Jewish historians: The Talmud:

‘On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu (of

Nazareth)… in that he hath practiced sorcery and
beguiled and led astray Israel.’
(Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a)

•Yeshua in Hebrew = Jesus in Greek

•Hanged (on a cross) just before Passover feast (as Gospel says)
•Accused of sorcery: miracles? (Matthew 9:34)
c) Eyewitness sources
What did they gain?
Threatened
Tortured
Killed
What motive?
‘That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our
eyes, which we have looked at
and our hands have touched - this
we proclaim concerning the
Word of life. The life appeared;
we have seen it and testify to it...
1 John 1:1-4
We proclaim to you what we
have seen and heard, so that you
also may have fellowship with us.
And our fellowship is with the
Father and with his Son, Jesus
Christ. We write this to make
your joy complete.’
1 John 1:1-4
Eyewitnesses: know it’s true
So you join us
So you know God
So you’re happy
Evidence for the resurrection of Jesus
Basic facts of Jesus’ death and burial as the Gospels narrate them:
•Jesus was put to death by crucifixion on Friday afternoon
•A Roman soldier pierced His side with a spear. Blood and water came out
(John 19:34)
•The body was wrapped in clean linen cloth (Matt 27:59)
•The body was placed in a solid rock tomb (Matt 27:60)
•A large stone was placed across the entrance to the tomb (Matthew 27:60)
•An official seal was affixed to the stone (Matt 27:60)
•A (Roman) guard was stationed to guard the tomb (Matt 27:66)
Basic facts of Jesus’ resurrection as the Gospels narrate it:
•Early Sunday morning there was a great earthquake (Matt 28:1-2)
•An angel rolled back the stone from the door of the tomb (Matt 28:2)
•The guards shook for fear and “became like dead men”. (Matt 28:4)
•The angel told the women to tell the other disciples Jesus was alive and
would meet them in Galilee. (Matt 28:7)
•Some of the guards reported the events to the Chief Priests. (Matt 28:11)
•The soldiers were bribed to say the disciples stole the body while they
slept. (Matt 28:13-14)
•The soldiers were promised protection if this came to the attention of the
governor. (Matt 28:14)
Who saw Jesus alive after His death?
Sunday am: Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary”. (Matt 28:9-10)
The other women (Matthew 28:9,10)
Cleopas and his friend (Luke 24:13-31)
Sunday pm: Simon Peter (Luke 24:34)
10 apostles without Thomas (John 20:19-24)
Next Sunday pm: 11 apostles with Thomas (John 20:26-29)
Later: The seven by the Lake of Tiberias (John 21)
More than 500 believers (1 Cor 15:6)
11 apostles at the Ascension into heaven (Acts 1)
In vision: Saul/ Paul (Acts 9:3-6, 1 Cor 15:8)
Issues for critics of the Resurrection
A Roman seal - sign of Rome's authority - was broken.
A very large stone was moved from the entrance to the tomb
while a squad of Roman guards stood watch.
Highly disciplined Roman guards fled their watch and were bribed by
authorities to lie about what happened.
The Jerusalem authorities admitted that the tomb was empty.
The grave clothes were neatly folded. (John 20:6-7)
Jesus subsequently appeared to more than 500 witnesses. (1 Cor 15)
Women were the first witnesses of the empty tomb – but legally unable
to give evidence in a Jewish court.
Issues for critics of the Resurrection – continued
The disciples displayed cowardly behaviour at the time of the crucifixion. e.g.
Peter denied Jesus three times. Disciples fled the scene of His arrest.
The disciples did not expect Jesus to rise and were initially sceptical.
The disciples preached at the empty tomb in Jerusalem just weeks later.
The disciples were willing to die for their belief in the resurrection.
The resurrection message was central to the New Testament and to the
preaching of the early Christian church.
The early Christian church grew rapidly despite fierce persecution.
Rival Theories of the Resurrection
Rival Theories of the Resurrection
Swoon Theory – He fainted on the cross and woke later
Conspiracy Theory – the disciples and others faked it
Hallucination Theory – the witnesses imagined they saw Jesus
Theft Theory – the disciples stole the dead body and made up the story
Problems with the Swoon theory
Roman soldiers were practiced at crucifixion and took special care with rebels.
A Roman soldier checked Jesus was dead, and so did not break His legs.
John, an eyewitness, saw blood and water come from Jesus' wounded side.
The body was encased in sheets and entombed.
How could He recover fast enough to overpower a squad of Roman guards?
Jesus was severely beaten. How could He look well at His many appearances?
Problems with the Conspiracy Theory
None of the apostles "broke" under torture to deny the story.
What was their motive for such a lie? Why would they die for it?
At first the disciples were sceptical, and only believed later.
Their lives were transformed.
If the resurrection was a lie, the authorities could have produced the corpse and
proved it a fraud. They had the power and motivation.
The disciples could not have successfully proclaimed the resurrection in
Jerusalem if it had been a lie.
Problems with the Hallucination Theory
An individual may be hypnotised for a short time, but Jesus appeared at so many
different times and places, and once to more than 500 people who knew Him.
Hallucination is a disorder of perception, often linked to drugs or psychiatric
illness. Why would so many suffer it at once?
The disciples touched Him, spoke with Him, saw Him eat.
The disciples did not expect His resurrection and did not even believe it at first.
A hallucination-based story could be easily exposed by producing the body.
Hallucination would not explain the empty tomb.
Problems with the Theft Theory
Matthew exposed bribery of the Roman guards.
Why did no-one question their testimony when it has obvious holes?
1. How could they describe an event that happened while they were asleep?
2. Roman soldiers who fell asleep on duty were executed.
3. How did they all sleep through the moving of a large stone right nearby?
How did depressed disciples find the courage to steal the body from soldiers?
Would thieves neatly fold the grave clothes?
Why would they fake the story, if they didn’t yet even believe in resurrection?
Why risk your life to tell a lie?
J.N.D. Anderson
Professor of Oriental Laws, University of London:

"A number of different theories, each of

which might conceivably be applicable to
part of the evidence but which do not
themselves cohere into an intelligible
pattern, can provide no alternative to the
one interpretation which fits the whole."
Lord Darling, former Lord Chief Justice of England:

"The crux of the problem of whether Jesus was,

or was not, what He proclaimed Himself to be,
must surely depend on the truth or otherwise of
the resurrection. On that greatest point we are
not merely asked to have faith. In its favour as a
living truth there exists such overwhelming
evidence, positive and negative, factual and
circumstantial that no intelligent jury in the
world could fail to bring in a verdict that the
resurrection story is true."
If someone claims to be God, they are either:
1. A madman
2. A conman
3. Telling the truth
Option 1: was Jesus mad?
His biography portrays an amazing personality that inspired others:
Even-tempered whether loved or hated
Tolerated hateful attacks
Answered questions brilliantly
Could even predict his own death with emotional balance
Option 2: was Jesus a conman?
For money? Lived simply, gave most to the poor
Power? Refused to be crowned king
Popularity? Enemies outnumbered friends
Is it possible to fake it?
Ancient predictions:
• Arrive at the right time
• Born in right town
• Born from right tribe
• Be killed at the right time, by a specific method
• etc, etc
What are the chances?
Mathematician-
astronomer
Peter Stoner,
Science Speaks
Fulfill 8 prophecies: 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000,000.
 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,
1 in

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Fulfill 48 prophecies:
,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,00
0,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0
00,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000.
Professor C.S. Lewis

“A man who was merely a man and

said the sort of things Jesus said would
not be a great moral teacher. He would
either be a lunatic - on a level with the
man who says he is a poached egg - or
else he would be the Devil of Hell.
Professor C.S. Lewis

You must make your choice. Either

this man was, and is, the Son of God; or
else a madman or something worse.
You can shut Him up for a fool, you
can spit on Him and kill Him as a
demon; or you can fall at his feet and
call Him Lord and God.”