Lucian

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Immortal and Unstoppable – The Power of the Resurrection

 

 By GF Herrin

They were world beaters, maybe not in the traditional or worldly sense, but for sure in the manner that they went about their work. The original eleven disciples, hand-picked by the Lord Jesus when He walked the Earth, possessed boldness, courage, and determination to spread the Gospel despite the obstacles that stood in their way. Perhaps the most determined of all of them was an uneducated fisherman, a man of action, who, as far as anyone knew, had always been that way. Never content to sit around, Peter had an energy about him that was apparent to everyone. If a matter presented itself to be talked about, discussed, debated, and pondered, he wanted to resolve the question quickly so that the real work could begin.

After he met Jesus, Peter knew (Matt. 16:16) he had met God in the flesh, the Messiah, and also knew that the long awaited anointed one who was prophesied from long ago (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 42:1-4;Dan.9:25; Mic.5:2) had finally come.

It was Peter who offered to build tabernacles (shelters or booths) for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah on the high mountain (perhaps Mount Hermon) when Christ was transfigured (Matt. 17:1-9). It was Peter who got out of the boat to join the Lord in walking on the water (Matt. 14:20) it was also Peter who, filled with dismay, spoke up at the thought of His Lord being struck down by the chief priests, elders, and scribes (Matt. 6:21-22).

But, even Peter, in his moment of weakness had denied Christ, and along with most of the other disciples, had avoided the scene of the cross. What had occurred to transform the disciples from doubtful, un-motivated men mourning their dead teacher into determined, fearless witnesses for Christ? One event was the indwelling of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The major event, though, was the Resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus and His appearance to the disciples three days after He died.

The disciples must have felt the change inside of them. A boldness rising up within….A need to proclaim the Gospel….As if their very souls were bursting with joy and the power that His Spirit gave them all at once…and all their doubts had been erased in an instant…By His glorious appearance and Resurrection on that Sunday after the Passover. In one instant Christ had made everything new. No longer was there any uncertainty of what awaited each of them after they died. The disciples knew that they would be resurrected just like their Savior and Lord. Death’s grip would never truly have a hold over anything they did again.

“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Cor. 15:55)

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14-15).

Regarding the early followers of Christ’s willingness to surrender their lives for their faith, the second century Greek satirist, Lucian wrote, (these) “creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all times, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them.”

We can see from the Acts of the Disciples that the certain belief that they had in their own resurrection made a significant difference in their actions as well:

“But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words… Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know– Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it” (Acts 2:14, 22-24).

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

“Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’ And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them–walking, leaping, and praising God” (Acts 6:7-8).

Today, we are live in a dark time. Many Christians worldwide are persecuted on a daily basis for their faith in Christ. Christians in Iran and other Muslim countries choose to stand for Jesus and willingly die rather than deny Him and live in a world where there is no hope. Many Chinese brothers and sisters gladly gather together in secret so that they can worship the Lord, encourage each other, and continue to live boldly for Him. In the United States, now, many are concerned that we will be persecuted for our proclamation of biblical values and pointing out sins to our neighbors in order to tell them how they can be saved.

It is interesting to note that the word witness in Greek is “martyr”, which means, testimony. In the English language, the word, “martyr” brings up connotations of someone who has died for what he or she has believed in. They have paid the ultimate price. To witness or testify for Christ means that you in a sense do become a martyr. You die to yourself, so that you are faithful and loyal to Jesus who loved you and paid the ultimate price for your salvation. This should not be a strange concept to us, as we all die to ourselves when we come to Faith in Jesus Christ.

“He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39).

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

Though we have died to ourselves, God’s spirit now lives in us, regenerating us and giving us strength and assurance that we belong to Him, no matter what happens now or in the days to come.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Be bold and encouraged to live and stand for Christ. Remember, you are essentially immortal and unstoppable!

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Historical References for the Resurrection and the Events of the New Testament

By GF Herrin

    It is part of human nature to want to possess concrete evidence in order to confirm historical events that have taken place in the past. Archaeology, in its own way, is like a picture in time of an event that occurred in the past. It is evidence that points to the validity of actual historical events that took place long ago.

Biblical archaeology provides evidence for facts that previously may have been believed to be unverifiable. Archaeological documents composed by non-Christians provide even more confirmation of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Christian apologist Josh McDowell states: “Archaeology does not prove the Bible is the word of God. All it can do is confirm the basic historicity or authenticity of a narrative. It can show that a certain incident fits into the time it purports to be from” (Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, 370). While Archaeology does not prove that the Bible is the word of God, it does provide a picture of Jesus as a historical figure. And as the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

With this picture concept in mind, below are several ancient historical references that give us a clear confirmation of the Resurrection and the Events of the New Testament. It can be ascertained from these references that Jesus existed, He worked miracles, and He was believed to have been resurrected after being put to death by Pontius Pilate (Gary Habermas, The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ, 1996, 189 – 90; 195 – 96.). In addition, this documentation presents solid evidence that Jesus was already worshipped as God by the time of the first century. These unbiased historical references are important because they validate the New Testament as a reliable chronology of the life and mission of Jesus Christ and His early followers.

One of the earliest known references to Christ comes from the Jewish Pharisee historian, Flavius Josephus, who became a court historian for Emperor Vespasian in Rome after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman Army in AD 70. Josephus wrote several books detailing the history of the Jews. One of his works, Antiquities, describes events in Jerusalem during Pilate’s time as governor. This historical reference pre-dates other known Roman extra-biblical references to Jesus. In this passage written between AD 90 – 95, Josephus writes:

“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, – a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was (the) Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named for him, are not extinct at this day” (Flavius Josephus, Antiquities 18.3. The Works of Flavius Josephus. trans. William Whiston).

We can discern the following important facts from the passage:

1) Jesus performed good works/miracles and was recognized as a virtuous man.

2) He had many followers comprised of both Jews and Gentiles.

3) He claimed to be and was recognized as the Messiah by some.

4) He was sentenced to die and was crucified by Pilate.

5) His disciples claimed that He was resurrected from the dead and that they had seen Him.

6) He was founder of the “tribe” of Believers who took His name.

Another Josephus passage from Antiquities refers to the event of the death of James, the brother of Jesus: “So he (Ananus) assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others [or some of his companions]; and, when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned” (Josephus, 20:9). Clearly, in this passage there is the connection of James as a brother of Jesus. Also, there is a clear reference to Jesus being recognized as the Messiah.

The earliest known extra-biblical Gentile reference to Christ comes from the Roman historian, Cornelius Tacitus, (ca. AD 55 – 120), who lived through the reign of six emperors. Tacitus’ book, The Annals, which was written around AD 115, covers the period of Roman history from AD 14 to AD 68. Tacitus’ account describes the period during which Emperor Nero attempted to blame the great fire in Rome of AD 64 on the Christians (F. F. Bruce, Are the New Testament Documents Reliable?,1946,114).

Tacitus writes:
“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures…on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular” (Cornelius Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome, trans. Michael Grant, 1973, 365).

This passage from Tacitus is important for a couple of reasons:

1) It provides early confirmation of the biblical reference that Jesus was put to death by Pontius Pilate (Matt. 27:26; Mark 15:15; Luke 23:24 – 25; John 19:16). Tacitus’ reference to “the extreme penalty” is a confirmation that Jesus paid for His “crime” by dying. That it is referred to as “the extreme penalty” could also confirm that Tacitus viewed crucifixion to be the most horrible form of capital punishment carried out by the Roman Empire (Gary Habermas and Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus,2004, 49).

2) The passage provides early evidence (from a Gentile government official no less) in the belief in Jesus as Deity. The phrase “mischievous superstition” likely refers to the belief in Jesus as the Messiah/God– man.

A parallel account to the Tacitus reference is given by the Roman historian Gaius Seutonius Tranquillas, the general secretary for Emperor Hadrian (AD 117 – 138). Seutonius also refers to the great fire in Rome and the punishment inflicted on Christians by Nero. An earlier account by Seutonius during the time of the Emperor Claudius (AD 41 – 54) refers to the early Jewish Christians who were expelled from the city in AD 49. This ancient reference provides further evidence for an early belief in Christ. The account also serves as verification of the passage in Acts 18:2, which describes Aquila and Priscilla’s departure from Rome because of Claudius’ demand that all Jews leave the city.

Another early reference to Christians and the crucifixion of Jesus is from the second century Greek satirist, Lucian, who writes:

“The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day – the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account…You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all times, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property” (Lucian, The Works of Lucian, trans. A.M. Harmon, 2001, 11-13).

In this passage, we see historical confirmation that by the second century Jesus was commonly worshipped as God. Also, we see a reference to Jesus as a teacher who was crucified for the “rites” that He espoused. In addition, this passage provides confirmation in the early belief in life after death for believers who have put their trust in Christ. The passage also speaks of the early Christians’ identification as a unique family within itself and their collective denial of false gods.

Other secular passages that refer to the crucifixion, activities of early Christians or decrees or ordinances concerning them include references by Africanus, Pliny the Younger, and Emperors Trajan and Hadian. Altogether, these passages provide us with unbiased and reasonable historical proof that Jesus was who the Bible said He was. These passages also provide us information that is completely consistent with the teachings found in the New Testament.