THE VERDICT IS IN!
“And because of their saying (in boast), "We killed Messiah 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), the Messenger of Allah," -but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but the resemblance of 'Iesa (Jesus) was put over another man (and they killed that man)...” Sura 4: 157
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” 1 Cor 15: 3, 4.
Any successful attorney knows how to present his or her case in the courtroom. They know that to win the case the evidence must be on their side. From eyewitness accounts to historical records, the better the testimony of the witnesses, the better the chance to win the case.
In this pamphlet, like a good attorney, I will be presenting a number of witnesses in order to prove that Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross. I believe the verdict is in! Jesus Christ truly died on a cross for the sins of the world, was buried, and rose again the third day from the dead!
Much of the evidence will come from the Bible. It is important to remember that not only do Christians believe that the Bible is inspired by God, but Muslims do also. Sura 3: 84 - “Say: "We believe in God, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets, from their Lord: We make no distinction between one and another among them, and to God do we bow our will (in Islam)." As an historical document, the Bible is the most well attested of books having over 24,000 documents in whole or part and can be verified as far back as the first century AD! In comparison, Homer’s Iliad has only 643 manuscripts. Let’s proceed with the witnesses.
#1 David (prophecy about Christ)
“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”
Ps. 22: 14-18 (This is an excellent description of crucifixion!)
#2 Isaiah (prophecy about Christ)
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Is. 53: 5
#3 Zechariah (prophecy about Christ)
“...and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Zech. 12: 10
#4 Daniel (prophecy about Christ)
“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:”
Dan. 9: 26
#5 Jesus Christ
“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of manshall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.”
Matt. 20: 18,19
“Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.”
Matt. 26: 2
(See also Matt. 16: 21; Mk. 8: 31;10: 33,34; Lk. 9: 22; 18: 31-33; Jn.3: 14; 12: 30-32)
#6 Angel (at the tomb of Christ)
“He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” Lk. 24:6,7
#7 Eyewitness Accounts of Christ Matthew - Matt 27: 33-50
Mark - Mk. 15:22-37 Luke - Lk. 23: 33-46 John - Jn. 19: 16-30
There were eyewitnesses present at Jesus’ arrest. (cf. Mt. 26:47-56; Luke 22:44-54; John 18:1-13) There were eyewitnesses present at Jesus’ trial. (cf. John 18:15-28; Luke 22:61-62)
There were eyewitnesses at the cross. (cf. Mark 15:40-41; John 19:25-27) There were eyewitnesses to his burial. (cf. John 19:38-42)
*There were eyewitnesses who saw the empty tomb. (cf. Matthew 28:11-15; John 20:1-7)
#8 Disciples of the disciples
*Student of the Apostle John, Polycarp of Smyrna wrote: “For whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is antichrist; and whosoever does not confess the testimony of the cross, is of the devil.” (Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, Ch. 7, 110-135 A.D)
*Ignatius of Antioch in his epistle to Smyrna states: “I glorify Jesus Christ as God, who has made you so wise. For I have observed that you are perfected in an immoveable faith, just as if you were nailed on the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, both in the flesh and in the spirit, and are established in love in the blood of Christ, being fully persuaded unto our Lord that he was truly from the seed of David according to the flesh, son of God according to the will and power, truly born from a virgin, baptized by John in order that all justice might be fulfilled by him.”
(Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans 1.1, 107 A.D.)
“But, [in truth] none of these sufferings were in vain.
For the Lord was really crucified by the ungodly”
(Ignatius, 107).
*Clement of Rome wrote, “On account of the love He bore us, Jesus Christ our Lord gave His blood for us by the will of God; His flesh for our flesh, and His soul for our souls.”
(1 Clement, Letter to the Corinthians, Ch. 49, 95-97 A.D.)
*Justin Martyr noted that the Jews of his day believed that “Jesus [was] a Galilean deceiver, whom we crucified” (Martyr 253).
#9 Early Non-Christian Historians and Writers
*Tacitus - "But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiation of the gods did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty (crucifixion - mine) during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of its procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition thus checked for the moment..." Annals of the Roman historian Tacitus (ca 56 A.D. - ca 117 A.D.), in book 15, chapter 44, written ca. 116 A.D.
*Josephus - "Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it is lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned Him to the cross, those that loved Him at the first did not forsake Him; For He appeared to them alive again in the third day; and the divine prophets had foretold these and countless other wonderful things concerning Him. ..." (Antiquities, xviii. 33; 37-100 AD.)
*Lucian of Samosata - “The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day — the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account ... You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. (Lucian, The Death of Peregrine, 11–13 in The Works of Lucian of Samosata, translated by H. W. Fowler (Oxford: Clarendon, 1949) vol. 4).
*Stoic philosopher Mara Bar-Serapion - “What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise king? It was just after that that their kingdom was abolished.” (Mara Bar-Serapion, cited from F.F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?)
*Phlegon - “Jesus, while alive, was of no assistance to himself, but that he arose after death, and exhibited the marks of his punishment, and showed how his hands had been pierced by nails” (Chronicles, cited by Origen 4: 455). Also, "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", Book 2.33)
#10 Jewish Sources
“It is taught: On the eve of Passover they hung Yeshu (Jesus) and the crier went forth for forty days beforehand declaring that "[Yeshu] is going to be stoned for practicing witchcraft, for enticing and leading Israel astray. Anyone who knows something to clear him should come forth and exonerate him." But no one had anything exonerating for him and they hung him on the eve of Passover.” (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 43a. 70-200 A.D.).
Also, concerning Toledeth Jeshu manuscript, “Though this tradition was not compiled before the fifth century A.D., it undoubtedly echoed an earlier Jewish tradition that was widespread among the Jewish circles after the resurrection of Christ (Matthew 28:11-15). This manuscript, despite its hostility to Christianity, is strong evidence for Christ's crucifixion, death and resurrection, because it is the testimony of an avenging foe." (Faris al-Qayrawani, Was Christ Really Crucified?)
#11 Enemies of Christianity
*Gert Lüdemann stated: “The fact of the death of Jesus as a consequence of crucifixion is indisputable, despite hypotheses of a pseudo-death or a deception which are sometimes put forward.” (Gert Lüdemann, What Really Happened to Jesus: A Historical Approach to the Resurrection, p. 17).
*Bart Ehrman states: “In any event, Tacitus's report confirms what we know from other sources, that Jesus was executed by order of the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate.” (Bart Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, Oxford University Press, 2000], p. 197).
*Liberal scholar John Dominic Crossan states: “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be.” (John Dominic Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, p. 145).
The verdict is in! When it comes to the crucifixion, all the evidence is on the side of Christianity. Maybe Islam is misinterpreting Sura 4: 157? In conclusion, I will cite the statement of a Muslim writer, A.H. Obaray. "The mere saving of Jesus from being killed would not make Allah the best of planners, for any person could save Jesus from being killed... In keeping with His being the best of planners, a resurrection is what Allah planned. Plainly then, the Jews accomplished their plan and killed Jesus, but Allah accomplished His best plan by raising Jesus to life again and unto Himself.”
(A.H. Obaray: Miraculous Conception, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus (Nabi-Isa) as Taught in the Kuran.[Kimberley, South Africa; Pub. By Author, 1962])
“And Salam (peace) be upon me (Jesus) the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!”
Sura 19: 33
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Jn. 14: 6
Pastor Jim Walker
Gospel Light Baptist Church, 235 N. Crismon Rd., Mesa, AZ 85207
