DID JESUS RISE FROM THE DEAD/ - PART FIVE

                                            DID JESUS RISE              FROM THE DEAD

 PART FIVE 

   (copied from 
    Y-Jesus.com)


Was Jesus Dead?

"Marley was deader than a door nail, of that there was no doubt."  So begins Charles Dicken's  "A Christmas Carol,"  the author not wanting anyone to be mistaken as to the supernatural character of what is soon to take place. In the same way,before we take on the role of CSI  and piece together evidence for a resurrection, we must first establish that there was, in fact, a corpse. After all, occasionally the newspapers will report on some "corpse" in the morgue who was found stirring and recovered. Could something like that have happened with Jesus?

Some have proposed that Jesus lived through the crucifixion and was revived by the cool damp air in the tomb. But that theory doesn't square with the medical evidence. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association explains why this so-called  "swoon-theory" is untenable.

"Clearly the weight of historical and medical evidence indicated that Jesus was dead. The spear thrust between His right ribs, probably perforated not only the right lung, but also the pericardium and heart, and thereby ensured His death." 

 But skepticism of this verdict may be in order, as this case has been cold for 2,000 years. At the very least we need a second opinion. 

One place to find that is in the reports of non-Christian historians from around the time when Jesus lived.  Three of these historians mentioned the  death of Jesus. 

Lucian (c.120 - after c.180) referred to Jesus as a crucified sophist (philosopher) (16)

Josephus (c.37  - c.100) wrote: "At this time, there appeared Jesus, a wise man, for He was a doer of amazing deeds. When Pilate condemned  Him to the cross, the leading men among us, having accused Him, those who loved Him did not cease to do so. 

Tacitus (c.56 - c.120) wrote: "Christus, from whom  the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty ..... at the hands of our Procurator,  Pontius  Pilate.

This is a bit like going into the archives and finding that on one spring day in the first century, The Jerusalem Post ran a front-page story saying that Jesus was crucified and dead. Not bad detective work and fairly conclusive.  
In fact, there is no historical account from Christians, Romans or Jews, that disputes either His death or His burial. Even skeptical scholars who deny the resurrection, agree that Jesus was dead.   Noted skeptic James Tabor, stated, "I think we need have no doubt that given Jesus execution by Roman crucifixion He was truly dead. 

The notoriously skeptical Jesus Seminar, agrees
that Jesus really lived and died. He states,  "That 
He was crucified is as sure of anything  historical can ever be. "

In light of such historical and medical evidence, we seem to be on good grounds for dismissing the
first of our five options. Jesus was clearly dead. "Of that there is no doubt. "

 next post 16th June