

The Resurrection Crucified

A Parallel Examination of the Crucifixion and Resurrection Accounts

By James Wood Jr.

New Dominion Publishing

Midland, Virginia

The Resurrection Crucified

First Edition

Copyright 2012 James Wood Jr.

Published by New Dominion Publishing at Smashwords

Available as an audiobook at Leavingjesus.net

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Note: This book is also found as a chapter in my first book, "Leaving Jesus." It is also available at Smashwords.com

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - The Importance of the Resurrection to Christians

Chapter 2 - The Foretelling of the Crucifixion and Resurrection

Chapter 3 - Crucifixion and Resurrection: Allusions and Confusions

Chapter 4 - A Resurrection Mishmash

Chapter 5 \- The Trial before Caiaphas

Chapter 6 - The Trial before Pilate

Chapter 7 - Conclusions about the Trials

Chapter 8 - The Crucifixion

Chapter 9 - Conclusions about the Crucifixion

Chapter 10 - The Resurrection

Chapter 11 - Analysis of the Resurrection

Chapter 12 - Conclusions

About the Author

Chapter 1

The Importance of the Resurrection to Christians

Before I actually get into this book, I want to convey a very important thought. Christians believe that the New Testament is the word of God. It is the only source of the details and description of events we are studying in this chapter. Although Christians believe the New Testament is true when viewed as a single document they also hold that each book stands by itself as truth. What if one gospel presentation portrays one event in opposition to another? I am not speaking of minor complementary detail differences but major themes, such as on which day the crucifixion occurred. This one major principle difference will be discussed shortly.

How did we arrive at the contents of the New Testament? Specifically, who decided which of the many gospels in circulation would be included in the New Testament? It is commonly known that the Tanach or Hebrew Bible was canonized by the Jewish People but they had nothing to do with the canonization of the New Testament. Men that Christians refer to as the Church Fathers used reasons like there being only four winds or four directions for having only four gospels. Also such archaic reasoning as this: there were only four elements so there would be no need for more than four gospels. The real reason was because the four gospels chosen were already the most popular in circulation. If you analyze the gospels in a parallel fashion, one can only come to the conclusion that none of these Church Fathers had actually studied them for logical contradictions especially in the subject matter we now address.

God indicates more than once, that the gentile nations will come to the Jews to learn the truth, not the other way around. I always found it strange that the Jewish people were not involved in the formation of the New Testament. If God indicates that his chosen people would be the guardians of the truth, why have they no interest in the story of the Christian Jesus? Instead, men, that were at best antisemitic and at worst outright hateful enemies of the Jews and their Hebrew Scriptures, tried to replace or suppress the Hebrew Scriptures that the Jews had given their lives at times to protect, preserve and pass down to their posterity. The need to critically examine the subject matter found in the New Testament is important. The apostles thought what we are looking at now, the resurrection of Jesus, is the most important subject... in time and space!

Paul not only thought that the resurrection was important but to him it was the zenith of the Christian religion. Paul put this forward to illustrate his thought.

And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17)

I remember once, while I sat in my father's living room on a particular Easter morning, our family was reading through the accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection in the different gospels. We were trying to reconcile the different accounts when I realized either there must have been a problem with the New Testament or a problem with me. I decided there must have been a fault in my ability to think clearly because surely the New Testament was true and perfect. I justified this by reasoning that because this is God's Word, there could be no mistakes in it so the error had to be in my thinking.

The major theme of the New Testament is forgiveness of sins through the death of the Messiah. Although, it never says anywhere in the Hebrew Scriptures that any messiah is required to die for a guarantee for forgiveness, Paul indicates that the resurrection is necessary for forgiveness. Although Jesus mentioned it, he never said that his resurrection was an integral part of the guarantee.

Here is one question that we must consider, "Did anyone receive forgiveness for sins before Jesus was supposedly crucified and raised from the dead?" The answer is, "Yes."

This is how Christians present the scenario. Starting with Adam, men performed sacrifices for their sins. All these sacrifices were performed in anticipation of the Messiah coming and sacrificing himself once and for all. This foreshadowing of Messiah's arrival, crucifixion and resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Christians use verses, that contain what I would consider to be, at best, veiled references to predict this future savior that will come and accomplish these things. This is probably the most common passage that Christians use to show this future event.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. (Genesis 22:7-9)

The way Christians read this passage is different than you would think at first glance. Christians read the phrase "God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering," as if it says, "God will provide himself as a lamb for a burnt offering." Christians think it reads as if God will be the lamb. This is because later after this passage Abraham observes a "ram," and not a literal "lamb," caught by its horns in the thicket. Christians also believe this is a reference to the Passover Lamb sacrifice that prefigures Jesus dying on Passover. I disagree. I think, in order to understand what is actually going on in this passage, the reader needs to look beyond the English and look at the Hebrew behind the passage.

When Isaac asked where the lamb he used the Hebrew Seh which is translated also as cattle in the King James Version Bible in ten places. It can also mean goat. It is a generic term that can also mean flock in the collective sense. Isaac isn't asking where the lamb is: he is asking where the animal is for the sacrifice. The plain fact is that seh can be used for a generic reference to a domesticated flockling. When God gave instructions to Israel for the first Passover sacrifice He told them to take a seh or domesticated animal from the sheep or the goats. The following passage from Exodus proves this.

Your lamb (seh) shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep (keb-eshim), or from the goats (ah-zehim): (Exodus 12:5)

What God is saying here is that the one year old passover animal that must be a flockling or seh (generic) can be either of the sheep or kebeshim (a specific variety) or the goats or ahzehim (specific variety). A sheep is a seh. A goat is a seh. Another animal that is a seh is the ram that was caught in the thickets in Genesis 22. Isaac and Abraham both use the term seh in reference to the animal that is to be sacrificed and in the end the ram is also a seh. It is a generic term for an animal that could be sacrificed. The thing to realize is that there is no actual lamb being discussed by either of the two people in the story.

Christians like this passage because they believe that Isaac and Abraham both are looking for an actual little white lamb. The reason is, they see this can be nothing less than a foreshadowing of the Passover lamb. In this passage, Isaac is saved 1 because God provided another to die in his place, the ram.

Because Abraham and his son are speaking generically about the type of animal that is normally sacrificed there is no hidden message here. The real issue is that Abraham is being taught a specific lesson in this story. Up to this point in history it was the common practice to sacrifice children to pagan gods in other societies. God wanted to draw a distinction between the pagans and his family that He was calling out of the world. He wanted Abraham to follow his commands and at the same time set a precedent that teaches that human sacrifice is forbidden. We see later in the Torah that Israel would still struggle with this abhorrent behavior. Israel was not to sacrifice children to Molech, a foreign deity.

This was so important that God made a special command regarding the practice. For those Christians that would fault God for using this method of testing Abraham to teach us how revolting human sacrifice was to Him, let me warn you. You are in dangerous territory. God often uses what man would call unorthodox ways to reveal his nature to us. If there is any adjustment to be made to anyone's thinking, it would have to be done in our own minds, not God's.

And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 18:21)

This verse not only contains the command not to sacrifice children but it also teaches that doing this profanes the name of the Almighty instead of glorifying it. This fact will be important later. Store it in the back of your mind. The following are two verses that also address the sacrifice of children in order to appease a god.

They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: (Jeremiah 19:5)

And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. (Jeremiah 32:35)

These two verses present an interesting comment made by God himself. In the condemnation of the practice of sacrificing children, God actually says that he had never thought in his own mind that his family could fall so far as to sacrifice their own children. He actually says this twice. Now fast forward to a statement that John makes later in the New Testament.

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelations 13:8)

Let's put this together. Is this what we are to believe? God indicated early on in the Hebrew Bible that He hates the sacrifice of children. He says in Jeremiah that He had never once thought that His own people would do this to their own children, but before time began He knew that He would send His own son to die on a cross to appease Himself. Maybe you haven't fully grasped what I am saying yet, so let me rephrase it a different way.

In Genesis 22, God teaches Abraham that human sacrifice is an abomination. He later backs this up with the command for Israel not to sacrifice their children to Molech. Later in Jeremiah, He reiterates again that it is a terrible abomination when He recaps the history of His people. He goes on to state that this thing is so terrible that he couldn't even have conceived of this horrendous thing in His own mind. Amazingly, later He does it to His own child to glorify Himself. Remember the reference in Leviticus 18:21 to profaning God's name? This God of the New Testament is acting differently than the God of the Hebrew Bible would.

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Chapter 2

Foretelling of the Crucifixion and Resurrection

Let's try, for only a few minutes, to ignore the previous thought and examine the crucifixion and resurrection, as we find them in the New Testament. First, let's look at a couple of references to prophecies that are supposedly found in the Hebrew Bible that characters in the New Testament tell us about. The first is from the mouth of Jesus himself. After the resurrection, he appeared to the disciples and said these words.

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: (Luke 24:44-46)

For a long time I looked for this prophecy. The following passage is the closest thing to what Jesus says that I can find.

Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. (Hosea 6:1-3)

Sometimes prophecy is difficult to understand but this one has nothing to do with the Messiah being raised from the dead. This prophecy says nothing about it being beneficial (behoved) for Christ to suffer. Even if you want to split this up and say that part of this is referring to the suffering servant of Isaiah then you would have to ignore all that I have illustrated in the chapter on Isaiah 53 in my first book, "Leaving Jesus." This is another case of someone, namely the author of Luke, inventing a prophecy.

We all know by now, if someone is going to chime in on the resurrection it is going to be Paul. He shoots his mouth off also and alludes to prophecy also.

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 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 Corinthians 15:1-4)

Paul makes the same mistake by saying, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures." He also indicates that he gave this information to the Corinthians after he received it from someone else. Who gave him this information? Could it have been the author of Luke? Why don't Jesus, Luke or Paul tell us which prophet wrote this prophecy? They couldn't because it's a fraudulent reference. This is just another case of the gentiles not being able to check out the facts because they didn't have the ability to read the Hebrew Scriptures.

The important question here is, "Why don't Christians question passages like this?" It is because they start with Jesus and the New Testament and work backwards. By the time they get through reading Paul, they have no interest in the Hebrew Scriptures.

It's like a man that walks into a bookstore and picks up a four hundred page novel. He flips to the last fifty pages and reads to the end. He closes the book, walks out of the store and convinces himself he's read the whole story. Would you consider that man wise?

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Chapter 3

Crucifixion and Resurrection: Allusions and Confusions

There are many times that the crucifixion and resurrection are alluded to by Jesus. When Christians think of Jesus talking about his death and resurrection they often recall Jesus speaking about tearing down the Temple and building it again in three days. What I find really strange is that he is accused in three gospels of saying this but he actually speaks about doing this only in John's gospel. Luke mentions nothing about the whole matter. The accusation and the mockery in Matthew goes like this.

And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.(Matthew 26:61)

And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. (Matthew 27:40)

The accusation and the mockery in Mark are similar.

We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. (Mark 14:58)

And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross. (Mark 15:29,30)

In Mark 14:58, the author has Jesus being accused but the retelling is not what we see in the other gospels. Mark has Jesus speaking as if he is going to destroy the actual Temple building because the phrase, "made with hands" is used, as opposed to the second phrase, "made without hands." Generally, buildings are made by hands and people are not. This, I think, presents this story as it probably occurred although I find it puzzling that there is no account of Jesus saying what is reported at his trial.

It is more probable that this gospel presents what actually happened because Mark was the first to record his gospel. This retelling actually portrays more truthfully what Jesus probably thought. This is how I see it.

Jesus believed that he was the end-times-king. He calculated that in order to cleanse the Temple it would first be destroyed then God would miraculously rebuild it in three days upon his resurrection. One must still realize that Jesus for some reason concocted this three day scenario even though there were no Hebrew Scriptures that portrayed it the way Jesus presented it. Let's proceed through the rest of the gospels.

Luke, of course, is silent on what Christians consider to be a very important analogy of the resurrection. This is John's account. It contains no accusation at the trial but the conversation between Jesus and the Jews contains a strange element.

Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. (John 2:19-22)

Did you catch the strange statement, "and they believed the scripture"? It is a mystery. We are not told which scripture the author has in mind because it is all an invention of Jesus or the writer of this gospel. But the sad part is the disciples fell for this deception.

Perhaps he is referring to the scripture Luke invented earlier in Luke 24:46. John also seems to refute the claim that Jesus was speaking about the actual Temple building because he adds a short comment that reads, "But he spake of the temple of his body" and not the physical Temple. Perhaps this is in response to Mark's gospel presentation of this material. None of the gospel accounts agree and some are missing important information that is only realized when the accounts are scrutinized side by side.

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Chapter 4

A Resurrection Mishmash

Do the New Testament accounts of the resurrection stand up to close examination? When a Christian reads about the resurrection they usually read from one gospel at a time. A few years ago, I read a book by Bart D. Erhman entitled "Jesus, Interrupted." Bart proposes the idea that if someone wants to realize the contradictions in the New Testament accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection, the gospels have to be read in a parallel manner. Before we get into the parallel reading, there are some surprising facts about the general subject of the crucifixion and resurrection.

In the synoptic gospels, which are comprised of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus is crucified during the daylight hours following the Passover meal the night before. As we will see later, in John, he is crucified the day before the passover meal so he can be "sacrificed" at the same time as the actual passover lambs are being slaughtered. It is essential to John for Jesus to be as close to a lamb as possible. This is also attested to by the statement that the night before Jesus was crucified (after Jesus had eaten his Passover meal as shown in the synoptic gospels), the elders did not want to defile themselves so they could eat the passover.

Mark's gospel was the first gospel written. Its best earliest manuscripts known to exist, abruptly end at verse 8 of the 16th chapter. This is the last verse found in those manuscripts. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. (Mark 16:8) This fact is not debated by translators or scholars and notes about this appear in the footnotes of many translations. Why would Mark not mention the resurrection... if it occurred? Did he simply forget?

The following is a parallel reading of the major points of the crucifixion and resurrection. Because Mark was the first gospel written I list his passages first.

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Chapter 5

The Trial before Caiaphas

Mark

And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. But neither so did their witness agree together. And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands... And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. (Mark 14:53-65;15:1)

Matthew

And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?...When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. (Matthew 26:57-68;27:1,2)

Luke

Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off... And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? And many other things blasphemously spake they against him. And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth... And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. (Luke 22:54,63-71;23:1)

John

Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him, And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year. Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith, I am not. And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself. The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said. And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me? Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest...Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. (John 18:12-24,28)

Analysis of the Trial before the Sanhedrin

It is easy to see the differences when the passages are read in a parallel manner. Here are the highlights of the differences shown in the following examinations of the story elements.

Story Element: Who was Jesus taken to first?

Mark

Caiaphas

Matthew

Caiaphas

Luke

Caiaphas

John

Annas 2

Story Element: Did Jesus go to his trial alone?

Mark

Yes

Matthew

Yes

Luke

Yes

John

No, an unnamed disciple goes with him 3

Story Element: Was Jesus beaten before the High Priest questioned him?

Mark

No, afterward

Matthew

No, afterward

Luke

Yes

John

No, but he was struck during the questioning

Story Element: What did Jesus say to the person trying him?

Mark

And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Matthew

Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Luke

And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.

John

The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said. And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?

Story Element: What happened after the initial trial?

Mark

And they all condemned him to death. Some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands... And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.

Matthew

They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?...When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

Luke

And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth... And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate.

John

Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest...Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas 4 unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. 5

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Chapter 6

The Trial before Pilate

Mark

And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled. Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him. And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. (Mark 15:2-20)

Matthew

And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. (Matthew 27:11-31)

Luke

And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves. And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him, and release him. (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will. And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? (Luke 23:2-31)

John

Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die. Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! Then the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. (John 18:29-19:16)

Analysis of the Trial before Pilate

Some of the most glaring contradictions are sometimes the most difficult to see. This is especially true in the eyes of Christians. As I have stated before Christians try to blend all of the events together to create a "super gospel" that smooths things over and acts as a unifying agent. I have tried to cut through the muck and mess of the New Testament to reveal how this method is fatally flawed. I have endeavored to bring to light the problems in the New Testament to show that no matter how hard one labors to create a unified view, their efforts will be in vain. We now come to a particularly strange portion in the gospels. As you will see this section will reveal many things that most Christians have missed in their leisurely reading of the New Testament.

Story Element: Does Jesus appear before Herod?

Mark

No mention of Herod

Matthew

No mention of Herod

Luke

Yes, Jesus is first brought before Pilate then sent to Herod then back to Pilate, again. Pilate and Herod become friends

John

No mention of Herod

Story Element: Does Jesus remain silent during his trials? 6

Mark

No

Matthew

No 7

Luke

No

John

No

Story Element: What does Jesus say when he is tried by Pilate?

Mark

And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it.

Matthew

And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.

Luke

And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it.

John

Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. ... Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

Story Element: Does Pilate scourge Jesus?

Mark

Yes

Matthew

Yes

Luke

Pilate says he is going to but the narrative skips the scourging and proceeds directly to the crucifixion

John

Yes

Story Element: Does Jesus say that he is the King of the Jews?

Mark

By implication only 8

Matthew

By implication only

Luke

By implication only

John

By implication only

Story Element: Does Pilate wash his hands?

Mark

No

Matthew

Yes

Luke

No

John

No

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Chapter 7

Conclusions about the Trials

Here are my conclusions about Pilate's trial of Jesus

Matthew basically copied Mark but adds a couple of interesting tidbits. Matthew has Pilate literally wash his hands of the entire matter. This is how Matthew depicts Pilate's actions.

"When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it."

Matthew did this to remove any blame on the Romans and place it squarely on the Jews. The way Matthew portrays Pilate doesn't match the historical facts. Pilate was no patsy. To the contrary, he was removed later from Jerusalem because he was so vicious and cruel. Matthew is the only one that recorded this story. Why would Matthew write something like this? The answer is Jesus must be declared righteous and his murderers must be the Jews.

This is a perversion of a requirement found in the Torah that applies to certain sacrifices. As Matthew sees it, Jesus is being offered up as a sin sacrifice, which must be examined and found to be without any physical spots or defects. In like manner, Matthew believes that Jesus must be perfect also but not only physically. He must be found to be sinless. The problem is that Matthew's thoughts on this are not actually biblical. These requirements being imposed on Jesus were added to existing requirements. Nowhere does it say a gentile can examine the sin sacrifice. To the contrary a priest must examine it. Also it is not allowable for a gentile to kill the sacrifice, which also must be accomplished by the priest. Besides, Jesus says, "no man takes his life, I lay it down," violating the requirement for the priest to slay the sin sacrifice. If no one killed Jesus and he instead caused himself to die, how is this different than suicide? Either way, in all counts Jesus is not found to be a "perfect sacrifice."

When Matthew concocts these requirements, he violates the command that God gave forbidding adding to or diminishing from the Torah. What would make someone that was so devoted to obeying the Torah come up with these ideas? Perhaps the New Testament itself answers this question. Jesus berates the teachers of Israel for teaching the commands of men, rather than those of God. Combine that with the ignorance that I mentioned earlier in this book and you have the perfect mix to create a "cloaked apostasy" that was pervasive in the time of Jesus. Men ignorant of the written Torah, including Jesus, had been taught incorrectly for so long that they could not tell truth from lies. Over time, heresies crept in and became entwined in the beliefs of certain sects of Judaism giving rise to certain systems of thought such as what we see in Matthew's accounts. Maybe Matthew was only trying to make sense of what had happened to Jesus by piecing together bits of what he had learned over his lifetime in order to explain the unexpected events that took place to Jesus. What's wrong with a little tweaking as long as you can get other people to believe in Jesus? Matthew has Pilate's men take Jesus and have him whipped, stripped and dressed in a robe then lead out to be crucified. The story is much the same as Mark's account.

Luke adds an additional trial that is not found in any other gospel. In Luke's gospel, Jesus is also sent to Herod, who is glad to see Jesus. Luke has Herod looking forward to seeing Jesus perform a miracle. Luke inserts the idea that Herod and Pilate, although enemies in the past, became really great friends because they both were unified by the condemnation of Jesus. That's so nice, isn't it? Luke also has Herod mock Jesus, put him in a gorgeous robe and send him back to Pilate. Did Jesus leave his clothes with Herod and go back to Pilate in the robe? This is a detail that escapes many because we read in Matthew,

And they stripped him (of the gorgeous robe?), and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Now for a show of hands. How many believe Pilate scourges Jesus? He doesn't. Of course, this is a big problem for Jesus because he prophesied to his disciples in Luke's account the following.

Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. (Luke 18:31-34)

What is to be made of this missing scourging in Luke? Remember, this is the New Testament and this is supposed to be without error. Notice also how this passage indicates that the disciples didn't understand what Jesus was saying and that they didn't even remember these things. Luke also indicates that Jesus didn't carry the cross but Simon, a Cyrenian, did. Wouldn't that cause a problem with the whole foreshadowing of Isaac carrying the wood up Mount Moriah? Did Abraham have someone else carry the wood for Isaac? I am guessing that Luke hadn't read that part of Genesis yet. We will have to wait til the next section to see if the other gospel writers had read their Torah.

In his account, John creates an even more absurd scenario expanding the short conversation between Pilate and Jesus to an actual discussion of the matter. Everything John gets his hands on he has to turn into a huge production. Here is the discussion. Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?

Unbelievably, Jesus denies that his kingdom is earthly, contrary to all of the prophecies in the Hebrew Bible that clearly show that the end-times-king will reign over the whole earth from Jerusalem. If Jesus rules in the hearts of men, doesn't that mean that Jesus rules on Earth making his kingdom earthly? If Christians actually read and believed the Hebrew Bible they would be able to scrutinize these fallacies and come to the truth but they are taught that they really don't need that "Old Testament" because their heritage is the New and improved Testament. John has Jesus make the statement, "if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight." Isn't this what Peter did when they were in the garden earlier? The understanding was that the Messiah would take the throne and deliver his people, not die for people's sins. Couple this with the fact that Peter has no idea about the Messiah having to die in Matthew 16:21, 22 and you begin to see the problems here. Peter was ready to fight to bring Jesus' kingdom into reality. Also, at one time, Jesus tells his disciples to buy swords in Luke 22:36.

Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. ( Luke 22:36)

Why would Jesus tell them to buy a sword if he knew later that he would tell them, "he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword"? Are you beginning to see the schizophrenia?

John also says that Barabbas was a robber but Luke says that Barabbas, "Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison." So, was Barabbas a common thief or was he guilty of sedition and murder? Evidently, John had never read Luke or vice versa or perhaps they didn't know the facts.

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Chapter 8

The Crucifixion

Mark

And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem. And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid. (Mark 15:21-47)

Matthew

And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there; And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children. When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. (Matthew 27:32-66)

Luke

And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man. And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned. And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things. And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment. (Luke 23:32-56)

John

And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced. And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand. (John 19:17-19:42)

Analysis of the Crucifixion

Modern Christians have a picture in their minds that what they believe shows a true depiction of what happened during the crucifixion. Can Christian's beliefs stand up to close scrutiny? Most Christians won't attempt to compare what they believe against the actual record of the gospels. If you are a Christian, I urge you to do this now.

There are many aspects of the crucifixion that must be examined in this section. I am only concerned with the most important elements in order to try to make this as brief as possible.

Story Element: When was Jesus crucified?

Mark

The day after the Passover meal

9:00 in the morning

And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.(Mark 15:25)

Matthew

The day after the Passover meal

Time of day not specified

Luke

The day after the Passover meal

Time of day not specified

John

When the Passover lambs were being sacrificed (the day before Passover)

12:00 Noon (Three hours later than Mark)

And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!

But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.(John 19:14-16)

Story Element: Did Jesus carry his own cross?

Mark

No

Matthew

No

Luke

No

John

Yes

Story Element: What was written on the placard over Jesus' cross?

Mark

The King of the Jews

Matthew

This is Jesus the King of the Jews

Luke

This is the King of the Jews

John

Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews

Story Element: What did Jesus say while he was on the cross?

Mark

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Matthew

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Luke

Besides what he says to the thieves this is all that Luke records:

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

John

He saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Story Element: What interaction was there between the two thieves and Jesus?

Mark

Mark only offers this information about the thieves:

And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.

There is no interaction between the thieves and Jesus recorded

Matthew

Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left... The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.9

Both thieves reviled Jesus

Luke

And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Only one of the thieves reviled Jesus

John

Other than the following statement:

Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

Nothing else recorded

Story Element: Where were the followers of Jesus during the crucifixion?

Mark

Afar off

Matthew

Afar off

Luke

Afar off

John

Close enough to have a important but confusing conversation

Story Element: When was the curtain torn in the Temple?

Mark

After Jesus died

Matthew

After Jesus died

Luke

When the sun was darkened before Jesus died

John

Not Mentioned

Story Element: Was there an earthquake when Jesus died?

Mark

No

Matthew

Yes

Luke

No

John

No

Story Element: What does the Centurion say in regard to Jesus?

Mark

And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

Matthew

Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

Luke

Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

John

The Centurion is not mentioned, only a soldier.

But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.

Story Element: Was Jesus' side pierced with a spear?

Mark

No

Matthew

No

Luke

No

John

Yes

Story Element:What other strange events happened when Jesus died?

Mark

None recorded

Matthew

An earthquake occurred and the rocks rent and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. 10

Luke

None recorded

John

None recorded

Story Element: When did Joseph ask Pilate for Jesus' body?

Mark

And now when the even was come,11 because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.

Matthew

Matthew agrees with Mark

When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.

Luke

Sometime after Jesus' death

John

Sometime after Jesus' death

Story Element: Did Joseph anoint Jesus' body?

Mark

No

Matthew

No

Luke

No

John

Yes

Story Element: What did the women do after Jesus was buried?

Mark

And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.

Matthew

And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Luke

And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

John

Not mentioned

Story Element: What did the Scribes and Pharisees do to secure the tomb?

Mark

Not mentioned

Matthew

Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

Luke

Not mentioned

John

Not mentioned

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Chapter 9

Conclusions about the Crucifixion

I find it strange that no names of any witnesses are mentioned and also that God's test of the truth being established by two or more witnesses is ignored. As a matter of fact, almost every testimony is in dispute in all of these accounts. This type of testimony would not prove anything in a court of law despite what Lee Strobel 12 says.

If three eye witnesses testified in court that an accident happened on Monday, you might believe that it did happen on a Monday but if a fourth witness testified that it was Sunday when the accident occurred, there would be a problem. You would probably say that the fourth eyewitness was wrong. This is similar to what is going on here in the gospels with one big difference that Christian apologists would like you to forget. The difference being that not one of these authors claims to be an eyewitness.

Most Christians don't realize that we don't know who actually wrote these books. It is only Church tradition that assign names to the four gospels. Remember, John has Jesus crucified while the lambs are being slaughtered the day before the passover but the other gospels have Jesus eating the Passover and crucified the day after. Someone is lying. I find it even more strange that the author of the gospel that teaches outright that Jesus is God, John, is also the one gospel that differs the most from the other three. Mark, as well as Matthew, and Luke have the disciples and the women standing far off but John again stands alone. He has them standing close enough to have a polite conversation. All this is recorded in the passages at the beginning of this section. Read them again for yourself. All this time, Christians have had in the back of their minds that all the gospels contain all of the truth when it comes down to the crucifixion, but when you really compare them the problems jump out at you. I really hate to beat a dead horse but these books are all we have when it comes to knowing anything about the life of Jesus. If we had four and only four accounts of Adolf Hitler's or Winston Churchill's life that contained discrepancies and contradictions like these gospels do, would we be sure that we knew anything about his life at all? Most people would say the accounts couldn't be trusted but with the gospels, Christians, of course, are ecstatic to make an exception.

It seems that the god of the Christians didn't do such a thorough job here in his revelation. There is more. Mark has darkness cover the earth and the curtain of the temple is torn, of course. Matthew and Luke agree but not John. John doesn't mention any darkness or the curtain. John is too busy stretching Hebrew scriptures like Spandex to make them fit Jesus. Mark also has Joseph of Arimathaea ask Pilate for Jesus' body. He buys fine linen, takes Jesus down, wraps him in the linen, and put him in the sepulchre. Matthew, again, agrees and also Luke. John again is the odd man out. He has Joseph along with Nicodemus also put a hundred pounds of spices on Jesus with the linen.

There is one more strange detail about this part of the story. Mark says,

"when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus"

and Luke says,

"When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus."

These passages indicate that Jesus is still hanging on the cross when the evening comes. This means that Jesus is hanging on the cross, dead, on the Sabbath. When the evening comes so does the Sabbath because the Jewish day begins at sundown. Here is the problem. This means that Jesus was not in the tomb before nightfall. John's account says the following regarding this,

"The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day)."

John's portrayal seems to be indicating that Jesus was placed in the tomb before the evening. I say this because of John's extra detail about buying the spices and applying them. If Joseph had waited til he had permission to take the body he would have had to purchase them before sundown and the beginning of the Sabbath. To back up this idea, I submit that Luke also states that the women,

"returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment."

This is the reason why they were returning to the tomb as we will see in the next section. This is because, supposedly in the synoptic gospels, Jesus' body had not been anointed with spices because of the hurry to put his body in the tomb. They must anoint him to complete the ritual.

This is a contradiction because a hundred pounds of spices were wrapped up with the linen in John's account. Because of the fact that the women rested the day after the crucifixion proves there is no doubt the day Jesus was crucified on was followed by the evening of a Sabbath. It seems that Mark and Matthew both have Jesus on the cross on the Sabbath but Luke and John have him in the tomb before the Sabbath. Up to this point in our analysis, it had seemed that John couldn't get his story straight but now it seems that two of the synoptic gospels have a new problem to deal with but we will not discuss this Resurrection Dilemma until we are well into the next section.

Matthew is the only gospel to contain the story of the guards posted at the tomb. It is hard to overlook that this is missing in the other narratives. Perhaps Matthew was trying to show rumors that Jesus' body was stolen couldn't have been true. Another element that Matthew is the only one to tell us about is an earthquake.

Matthew is the only gospel to say anything about this strange occurrence,

"And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."

We are told here that many bodies of dead saints arose but evidently they hid in their graves for three days and nights until Jesus arose. Who is among them? We know the name of the man that had his ear cut off by Peter. We know the name of the man that carried Jesus' cross but nobody thought to get the name of one of these risen saints? This certainly would have been recorded by someone but not even Peter mentions this in his sermons to the great crowds to whom he preached. What I also find strange is that Jesus is considered the first fruits of the resurrection by Paul. He makes no indication in the least that he knows anything regarding this zombie uprising as many have called it.

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (1 Corinthians 15:20)

But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (1 Corinthians 15:23)

Luke has Jesus have a lucid conversation with one of the thieves. He also has Jesus say more than in any other gospel. He doesn't question God as he does in Mark and Matthew or seem to be in any type of mental anguish. John follows Luke's lead here. There is no calling on God, asking why he has forsaken him. John doesn't have Jesus do this either.

Can you trust these accounts? If you think that you can, I urge you to go back and read them again.

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Chapter 10

The Resurrection

Mark

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. (Mark 16:1-8)

Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. (Mark 16:9-20)

Matthew

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:1-20)

Luke

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 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. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. (Luke 24:1-53)

John

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 28:1-31)

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Chapter 11

Analysis of the Resurrection

When someone hears different accounts that people tell regarding an incident they often will try to combine the events described into a super account in order to make everything come together into a coherent picture. Sometimes this is possible. Let me give you an example.

Three people witness an accident. One may say they saw a red car come down the street and strike another car stopped at the stoplight. The second person indicates they saw a brown car hit a car at the light. The third and final witness says that the car that hit the stopped vehicle was distracted by a jaywalker that passed in front of them before they hit the stopped car. All witnesses in this case are all telling about the same story and are telling the truth. There are no contradictions that have been told by the witnesses. There is a disagreement as to the color of the car because one person thought the car was a brown instead of red and two witnesses omit the fact of the jaywalker but there are no contradictions.

Sometimes, there are witnesses that give information that may not be true because their account contains contradictions. This is an example.

The police are looking for someone that robbed a local gas station. One man says he was walking up to the gas station from his car at about three o'clock. He saw the lone gunman run out of the door and jump into a white work truck with two other men in it. They sped off and headed east. A second witness was in the back of the store picking out some drinks for his children waiting in his car outside. He saw two men rob the attendant and flee. Through the dirty window, he saw the two men get into two different trucks and head off to the north together.

There could be many reasons why these two witnesses believed what they saw was the truth but let's be frank here and say that at least one of them isn't correct. Most people assume that one person is correct in what they saw and the other is not. Perhaps they both have elements that they are probably correct about. To be truthful, both of them might be incorrect in what they saw. There is no possible way to combine these accounts and make one true account of what actually happened. What would happen if a third and fourth witness were introduced. Suppose one witness said the event happened on Thursday and the other said it happened on Friday, both can't be telling the truth.

This is the type of situation found in the gospel's telling of the resurrection and maybe in a much larger context, the entire life of Jesus. There is a high burden of proof in a secular court of law but shouldn't there be a higher standard in the New Testament?

One thing to remember is that none of the gospel writers say at anytime that they are actual eyewitnesses to any event in the life of Jesus. They have used someone else's information and/or hearsay to construct their account. Conversely, there are gospel writers that did claim to be eyewitnesses that wrote their accounts down. The contents of these non-canonical gospels are often so outlandish that none but the most irrational people would consider them trustworthy such as the gospel of Peter for instance, where a gigantic Jesus and a walking-talking cross emerge from the tomb when Jesus arose from the dead.

Christians will read the differing accounts of the resurrection and figure out that there is something terribly wrong. Instead of seriously studying the stories, they try to congeal them into one solid mass to solve the problems and contradictions. They will try to blur the differences in the accounts and make them fit together. It only makes things worse. Christian apologists will twist, change, combine and ignore elements in the accounts to make the stories fit together somehow. Let's see what's wrong with the stories that makes all this wrestling necessary.

Story Element: When did people first go to the tomb?

Mark

At the rising of the sun

Matthew

As it began to dawn

Luke

Very early in the morning

John

When it was yet dark

Story Element: Were the women going to anoint Jesus' body?

Mark

Yes

Matthew

No

Luke

Yes

John

No

Story Element: Who went to the tomb first?

Mark

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome

Matthew

Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary

Luke

Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women

John

Mary Magdalene

Story Element: Were guards at the tomb?

Mark

No

Matthew

Yes

Luke

No

John

No

Story Element: Was the stone rolled away from the tomb?

Mark

Already rolled away

Matthew

There is a great earthquake and an angel was seen coming down from heaven, rolls away stone and sits on it

Luke

Already rolled away

John

Already rolled away

Story Element: Any unusual happenings surrounding the resurrection?

Mark

No

Matthew

Great Earthquake / Guards frightened and become as dead men

Luke

No

John

John is the most different account. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb finds the stone rolled away and immediately leaves to go tell the disciples

Story Element: Do they see anyone at the tomb?

Mark

One young man sitting on right side in long white garment

Matthew

One angel, countenance like lightning, raiment white as snow

Luke

Two men stood beside them in shining garments

John

Mary Magdalene sees two angels in white sitting inside the tomb, one at the head and one at the feet but not until Peter and the other disciple leave. This is after the initial visit.

Story Element: What do the angels say to those present?

Mark

Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.

Matthew

Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

Luke

Why seek ye the living among the dead? 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.

John

Woman, why weepest thou?

Story Element: Does Jesus make an appearance at the tomb?

Mark

No, not in the best earliest manuscripts but he does appear to Mary Magdalene in the edited version of Mark

Matthew

No, only after they leave the tomb

Luke

No

John

Yes but not until the angel appears to Mary Magdalene which occurs after the disciples arrive at and leave the tomb

Story Element: Who does he appear to?

Mark

Mary Magdalene

Matthew

He appears to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary as they are on the way to tell the disciples but not actually at the tomb

Luke

No appearance at the tomb

John

Mary Magdalene

Story Element: What happens during this appearance?

Mark

Not mentioned

Matthew

They held him by his feet and worshiped him

Luke

No appearance at the tomb

John

Jesus says unto her, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."

Story Element: Who do they tell?

Mark

No one but in the edited version of Mark, Mary tells an undefined group of people

Matthew

The disciples

Luke

The eleven

John

Mary went to the disciples and was accompanied to the tomb by Peter and "the other disciple"

Story Element: Where does Jesus say to meet him?

Mark

Galilee

Matthew

Galilee

Luke

Not mentioned

John

Not mentioned

Story Element: Were there appearances after the tomb but before he met the disciples, and to whom?

Mark

Yes, to two others in "another form." 13

Matthew

No

Luke

Yes, to two others

John

No

Story Element: What did Jesus say to these two?

Mark

Nothing worth reporting

Matthew

\------

Luke

"O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

John

\------

Story Element: Did Jesus appear to them in Galilee?

Mark

Unknown 14

Matthew

Yes, they went to Galilee but some doubted at his appearance

Luke

No, they remained in Jerusalem

John

Unknown

Story Element: How many disciples did Jesus first appear to together?

Mark

11 15

Matthew

11, This also is described as the first appearance and nothing is said about Thomas being absent

Luke

11

John

10

Story Element: What occurred at this appearance?

Mark

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Matthew

Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Luke

Jesus said, "Peace be unto you." But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, "Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, "Have ye here any meat? " And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them. And he said unto them, "These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me." Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, "Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."

John

Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

Story Element: What evidence does Jesus offer to convince the disciples that he had been crucified?

Mark

None

Matthew

None

Luke

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. 16 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.

It seems that Luke did not know about the wound in Jesus' side!

John

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side.

Story Element: Does Jesus make an additional appearance to the disciples and what does he say to them at this appearance?

Mark

No

Matthew

No

Luke

No

John

Yes, Then Jesus said to Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." And Thomas answered and said unto him, "My Lord and my God." Jesus saith unto him, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

Story Element: When does Jesus ascend to heaven?

Mark

Ascends to heaven immediately after first appearance to disciples.

Matthew

Not mentioned

Luke

Ascends to heaven immediately after first appearance to disciples

John

Ascends to heaven immediately after second appearance to disciples.

Story Element: Other Details

Mark

Instead of waiting for empowerment from on high the disciples went forth and preached everywhere.

Matthew

No ascension being recorded leaves this gospel incomplete and corresponds to the fact that the original gospel of Mark was also incomplete with no resurrection sightings and no ascension.

Luke

\-----

John

The strange statement in this account, "For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead," seems to mean something different than the statement that they did not remember and had to be reminded by the angel in Luke's account

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Chapter 12

Conclusion

If you spend any amount of time examining these accounts you would have to see the problems that are found in the gospel stories. I had to ask myself if any of these stories could be trusted. This is the only information that we have about Jesus. If God wanted us to be confident about the information that we received why did he preserve it in this manner? The Jews don't hold any of these accounts as being truth but the Hebrew Scriptures present the picture that always has the nations coming to Jews for the truth. The Jews aren't going to come to the nations for the truth as Christianity teaches.

In conclusion, I believe that any reasonable person can see that the only accounts that the Church has preserved in their Canon cannot be trusted and leaves us with a confusing portrait of the events surrounding the death, burial and supposed resurrection of Jesus.

###

End notes

1 In the Christian prophetic sense.

2 And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year. (John 18:13) This is the point to ponder. If the other accounts say that Jesus went straightaway to Caiaphas then the question is, "Do we throw out John's account or the other three gospels?" Remember, the Word of God is supposed to be perfect. There are those scholars who concede that the New Testament contains scribal errors but also contend those errors are small and contribute nothing to the overall meaning or narrative of the New Testament. This is not the case here. This is a major difference but there are other mistakes which make this one almost not worth mentioning.

3 Was this Judas? If not, who was he? There is no hint anywhere else in the New Testament that any disciple was at the trial of Jesus. So again, the New Testament doesn't disappoint, it leaves you hanging.

4 What are we to make of the narrative we find here? Jesus goes first to Annas. Is John presenting him as having the trial instead of the High Priest? The other gospels indicate that Caiaphas is the High Priest. John makes a confusing mess of his account. In contrast, in all of the synoptic gospels, the entire narrative of Annas trying Jesus is mysteriously missing. It continues to get worse from here on. All of the things that Jesus said to Caiaphas in the other gospels are simply not important enough to John for him to show here. Jesus says nothing to Caiaphas about the destruction of the Temple and rebuilding it. I find that absolutely shocking, to put it mildly. Christians never question these accounts for some reason. I believe that in their minds, they assemble the separate gospels into some sort of "super gospel" combining all four accounts into some impenetrable story that fills gaps in each gospel with elements from another.

5 Who is this passage speaking about when it uses the phrase,"they themselves"? It is speaking about the entirety of the Sanhedrin. John presents this ridiculous animation of Pilate running back and forth between Jesus and the Sanhedrin which remain outside the judgment hall. Pilate confers with the Jews then runs in to Jesus to ask him a question and then runs back out to the Jews again. John does this to present the idea that the Jews are unable to go into a place where gentiles are in order to remain pure enough to eat the Passover meal but they are willing to put a innocent man to death. Of course, in the other gospels everyone has already eaten the Passover.

6 Many Christians believe that Jesus is the suffering servant that Isaiah 53 speaks of. If you have not read the chapter entitled, "Isaiah 53: Linchpin or Nail in the Coffin?" in my first book titled, "Leaving Jesus" then you should purchase it and read the chapter carefully. If you did read it then you are aware of my arguments that prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesus is not that "Servant". The point that I want to make here is that Jesus did not remain silent at his trials as Christians believe the servant of Isaiah 53 did. I want to convey that Jesus did say much at his trials and what he says varies widely between the gospel accounts.

7 Matthew makes the statement, And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. This of course is not true because even Matthew's account has Jesus responding. Jesus actually prophesies that, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. This is a veiled and empty threat because none of those present at his trial saw this happen during their lifetimes. Even if Christians believe that Jesus is indicating that they will see him at his second coming they are mistaken because the New Testament indicates that the rest of the dead or the wicked dead are not raised until after a thousand years after Christ's return (Revelations 20:5), so they will not be resurrected before the Second Coming.

8 Mark has Jesus say that he is a king by circumlocution. By Pilate uttering the question, "Art thou the King of the Jews?" and Jesus responding, "Thou sayest it," Mark tries to imply that Pilate gives credibility to his kingship.

9 What are we to make of this strange phrase "cast the same in his teeth" that Matthew uses? It is the terrible translation that disguises what the Greek words actually mean. The Greek word oneidizo is used ten times in the New Testament and is translated as upbraid three times, reproach three times, revile twice, and suffer reproach once, cast in (one's) teeth once here. For some reason the translators are trying to obscure the meaning because they knew this is a clear contradiction to Luke's account. Luke has one of the thieves ridiculing Jesus and not the other but Matthew has both of them ridiculing Jesus. John avoids this problem by only mentioning the two thieves in passing without even giving any details of what transpired.

10 It is unclear why these saints would wait in their graves for three days to appear in Jerusalem instead of doing it immediately. What is even more unclear is why no historians write anything about this event. Not one author in the New Testament, except Matthew, wrote anything about this. The New Testament indicates that Jesus is the firstfruits in 1 Corinthians 15:20: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. Actually these saints were raised first making them the firstfruits of the resurrection not Jesus as Paul states.

11 This means that Jesus remained on the cross until it was dark. This interferes with the Christian teaching that Jesus was in the tomb before it got dark. This means that the first day of Jesus' "three days and three nights" did not happen until after the first full night. If Jesus was already risen when the women got to the tomb while it was still dark as in John's account then there are only two full days, no partial days and three nights. This is still accounting for using the erroneous concept Christians have developed that in Jewish thought that any part of a day can be counted as a full day. Therefore Jesus did not fulfill the one sign that he promised, the sign of Jonah. This also makes Jesus a false prophet.

12 Author of many Christian books, such as the Case for Christ.

13 This Greek word used here is "hetera" where we get our word "hetero". Its true meaning is "different" as in the usage of "heterosexual". The word "another" is deceptive. The correct word to use here is "different" not "another." If I have a dollar in one hand and I say that I have "another" dollar in my pocket you would expect it to look the same as the one in my hand. If I say I have a "different" dollar in my pocket when I pull it out you expect it to be strange or not like the one in my hand. The author here is saying that the form he appeared in was not exactly the same. This would also agree with the source that Matthew used that stated the two travelers did not recognize him although he had been with them before the resurrection for what some believe to be a time-span longer than three years.

14 The Galilee is more than sixty miles away from Jerusalem. It seems improbable that Jesus appeared to them there that same day as the other accounts indicate because the disciples could not have traveled between the two places in less than a day.

15 No mention is made about Thomas being absent. This reference must be to Jesus' first appearance to the disciples because Jesus scolds them for not believing. If this was a second or later appearance Jesus would not have to scold them because they would have already seen him previously. If Thomas was not present then Judas must have been present to make a total of eleven disciples. If it is impossible in your mind for Judas to be there because he has committed suicide then you must find another way to deal with the resulting contradiction.

16 Unlike in John's account, Jesus does not mention the wound in his side. John is the only account that mentions any aspect of Jesus being pierced in his side.

About the Author

James Wood Jr. is the son of a Southern Baptist Minister and was a committed Christian for 25 years. Years after learning he was of Jewish descent, he entered into the Messianic Jewish movement. Soon after, he began realizing there were serious problems with mainline Christianity. After he started learning Hebrew, the questions about his faith in Jesus started piling up. When he discovered that no one could help him with his questions, he embarked on the journey to find the answers himself. What James found was totally unexpected and it resulted in him leaving the Church and Christianity. James shares his uncommon insight into Christianity and the Hebrew Scriptures that have taken him down a road he never expected to travel.

Connect with Me Online:

email:james@leavingjesus.net

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