New Evidence for the Crucifixion Found

This cross is on Magnetic Island, near Townsville, Queensland.



Joel Kontinen

The Gospels describe the crucifixion of Jesus in much detail. The Apostle Paul also states that it was the fulfilment of prophesy:

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3, Berean Study Bible).

A new paper published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences provides evidence for this Roman method of executing criminals.

Live Science explains:

“A new study of the skeletal remains of the man, found near Venice in 2007, reveals a lesion and unhealed fracture on one of the heel bones that suggests his feet had been nailed to a cross…

The skeletal remains were found at Gavello, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Venice, during archaeological excavations in preparation for the laying of a pipeline, the researchers said in their study.”

The article goes on to say:

“A depressed, unhealed fracture in the heel bone suggested a metal nail had been driven through it, from the inside to the outside of the right foot, either directly onto the wood of a cross or into a wooden footrest attached to a cross.

‘We found a particular lesion on the right calcaneus [heel bone] passing through the entire bone,’ lead study author Emanuela Gualdi, a medical anthropologist at the University of Ferrara, told Live Science in an email.”

When the Bible describes historical matters, it always gets the facts, including the tiny details, right.

Secular ancient writers were unable to deny the historicity of Jesus.

Archaeology confirms that the Bible is history. The Bible tells us about real people and real events, such as the earthquake mentioned by the prophet Amos and the one that occurred during Jesus’ crucifixion.

We should not be surprised, as Jesus Himself says in John 17:17 that God’s Word is truth.

Source:

Metcalfe, Tom. 2018. How Jesus Died: Rare Evidence of Roman Crucifixion Found. Live Science (4 June).

Gospel of Jesus' Wife Is a Forgery

Gospel of Jesus' Wife, public domain.




Joel Kontinen

In the first century A.D., the apostles had to fight against false doctrines and false gospels that sought to undermine Christianity.

Gnostic gospels portrayed a Jesus that was different from what the four genuine Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) tell us.

In 2012, Harvard professor Karen King went public with a fourth-century document that said Jesus was married. Written in Coptic, it is a fragment that includes Jesus’ dialogue with His disciples.

The New Testament gospels were all written in the first century, so the Coptic text is a lot younger.

It is not the only attempt to provide a wife for Jesus, who, given His extraordinary mission was not married – at least there’s nothing in the New Testament that suggests He was.

The Gospel of Jesus' Wife has made headlines in recent days. An article in Life Science explains why:

“A papyrus holding text that suggests Jesus Christ was married and whose authenticity has been a matter of intense debate since it was unveiled in 2012 is almost certainly a fake.

Karen King, the Harvard professor who discovered the Gospel of Jesus's Wife and has defended its authenticity, has now conceded that the papyrus is likely a forgery and that its owner lied to her about the provenance and his own background.”

The article goes on to say:

“The concession comes after Walter Fritz, a resident of North Port, Florida, revealed that he is the owner of the papyrus that claims Jesus had a wife. Fritz said this to Ariel Sabar, a journalist for The Atlantic who wrote an exposé published June 15.

Less than a day after that article was published, more documents came out revealing a fake Greek manuscript the owner had posted on his website and a blog in which the owner’s wife talks of restoring a second century Christian gospel, a project that apparently left part of the manuscript in fragments.

Then on the evening of June 16, King conceded that the papyrus is likely a forgery. The new evidence ‘tips the balance toward forgery,’ King told Sabar."

False gospels differ diametrically from authentic Scripture. Details suggest that the NT gospels are eyewitness documents. Archaeology confirms that the Bible is about real history and real people.

And the real Jesus rose from the dead in a real resurrection.

Sceptics have launched many more or less bizarre attempts to discredit the Bible but they have all failed.

In contrast, the Bible is the Word of God and it cannot fail.


Source:

Jarus, Owen. 2016. Gospel of Jesus's Wife Likely a Fake, Bizarre Backstory Suggests. Live Science (17 June).

Details Suggest The Gospels Are Eyewitness Accounts

The empty cross has a prominent place in the Gospels.



Joel Kontinen

Many people think that the Gospels were written several decades after the eyewitnesses of the events described in them had passed away. However, if we look at the details the authors included in their accounts we will soon find a very different story.

First of all, the Gospels are about real people who lived at a particular time in history (ca. AD 30) in a certain geopolitical setting (the Roman Empire) and geographical area (i.e. the land promised to the Hebrew patriarch Abraham and his descendants).

We become familiar with the failures and even the quirks of the early Christian leaders. The chosen apostles were hardly role models. Peter was brave and impetuous. He got his feet wet and once cut off a servant’s ear. James and John, the Sons of Thunder, were no peacemakers either. Once they wanted to "call fire down from heaven" to destroy a Samaritan village that refused to welcome them (Luke 9:51-56).

The authors often included details that might sound superfluous. Mark 14: 51 mentions that when Jesus was arrested, soldiers caught a young man following Him but the man "fled naked, leaving his garment behind". Some scholars have suggested that this man was Mark himself.

And when soldiers forced Simon from Cyrene to carry Jesus' cross, Mark adds that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus. The only logical reason for including this detail is that the early believers for whom Mark wrote his Gospel knew who these men were.

When Jesus had washed the feet of His disciples, John mentions that Judas went out "and it was night" (John 13:30). We feel that something ominous will soon happen.

And it did. It marked the beginning of the passion of Christ that led to His death and resurrection and eventually to the birth of the Christian Church.

The disciples were disturbingly slow to learn the lessons Jesus taught them. Time and again Jesus had to rebuke them for their lack of faith. Luke 22:24 records that at the last supper, dispute arose "among them [i.e. the disciples] as to which of them was considered to be greatest."

Once, when Jesus healed ten lepers, only one of them bothered to return to thank Him. And the odd one out was a despised Samaritan (Luke 17:11-16).

It is also fascinating that in a very patriarchal society the first witnesses of Jesus' resurrection were women.

The role of women is a big challenge to those who think the Gospels were fabrications. Why would anyone choose women for this very important task?

After all, pious Jewish men used to thank God that He had not made them Gentiles (i.e. non-Jews), slaves or women.

Yet the Gospels show clearly that while the leaders Jesus Himself had chosen doubted His resurrection, some women believed.

Author Donald Kraybill wrote a book entitled The Upside-Down Kingdom. We might see the Gospels as an introduction into this Kingdom with values that differ radically from what we would expect: The first will be last, and the last first. The greatest is not the one who is served but the one who serves.

It seems that everything that was written in the Gospels serves a particular purpose. For instance, the details about Christ's mighty signs were "written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31).

So perhaps small details were included in the text to show that it is authentic.


Scripture verses quoted from the New King James Version (NKJV).