(I am going to be adding more to this later)
Today I received a very interesting question; did Jesus actually die? This is a really good question! Some say that Jesus the Christ was a God and that He was not killed, but rather He moved on from this life to be with the father God. I would like to make a case that Jesus of Nazareth was actually hung on a cross in A.D. 33.
Actually, there is really good historical evidence for the death of Jesus. Yes, He is God. There are three parts to the Godhead and Jesus is one of those parts. We see a secular historian writing in A.D. 115 named Tacitus who talks of Jesus "the Christ" and that he "suffered the extreme penalty" for his teaching (ie. crucifixion). We also have writings from Josephus, a Jewish Historian who wrote in 70 A.D. In the book entitled "The works of Flavius Josephus, the learned and authentic Jewish historian and celebrated warrior, Volume 4" William Whiston writes, "Josephus describes Jesus as a teacher and miracle worker, attracting a large following who revered him after his death. These are accounts that are outside of the biblical text. These historians strengthen what the bible writes, thus showing the truth and accuracy of the text. Jesus had to die for humanity to be redeemed. God requires a blood sacrifice for anyone that is not as perfect as He is; we fall into that category. In the old testament, animal sacrifice was used as a symbol, an image, of our wrong doing being placed on a pure and unblemished animal. The animal sacrifice did not actually bring us into relationship with God, it was a symbol.
But God had a plan from the beginning of time. In Genesis 3:15, the passage called "the fall of man", God promises that through woman's offspring, wrong doing will be taken care of and forgiven. This womans offspring is referring to the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus is our redeemer. The only way that we could be in relationship with God is through blood sacrifice, and Jesus gave Himself up on a cross for the wrong doing of every single person in this world. Jesus took the punishment that we deserve upon Himself. This was God's choice, God knew that we were unable to work our way to Him. He knew that we couldn't do it, so He came down himself and took the punishment. Because of His perfect character, we are separated from Him. And because of His perfect character and free gift that he offers to us, we can regain the relationship that the deepest depths of our inner being desires.
Romans 10:9-10 "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."
But God had a plan from the beginning of time. In Genesis 3:15, the passage called "the fall of man", God promises that through woman's offspring, wrong doing will be taken care of and forgiven. This womans offspring is referring to the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus is our redeemer. The only way that we could be in relationship with God is through blood sacrifice, and Jesus gave Himself up on a cross for the wrong doing of every single person in this world. Jesus took the punishment that we deserve upon Himself. This was God's choice, God knew that we were unable to work our way to Him. He knew that we couldn't do it, so He came down himself and took the punishment. Because of His perfect character, we are separated from Him. And because of His perfect character and free gift that he offers to us, we can regain the relationship that the deepest depths of our inner being desires.
Romans 10:9-10 "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."
