"Crucifixion "
Artist: Matthias GRÜNEWALD.
Date: 1501-02
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In the accounts, as Jesus is dying, a darkness appears over the land. The Gospel of Mark states it was at the sixth hour (noon). Some have interpreted the darkness as a solar eclipse, but this is astronomically impossible, since Jesus is described as dying around the time of the Passover, a date on the Hebrew calendar fixed to a full moon, while solar eclipses can only occur at a new moon. It is clearly phrased for dramatic effect, but it could simply mean that the day was overcast.

Both Matthew and Mark state that Jesus cried out his last words - My God, My God, why have you forsaken me, Mark indicating that it was the ninth hour (3 PM). John states that Jesus just said "I thirst." (John 19:28)

Major events in Jesus' life in the Gospels

Both the synoptics and John go on to state that Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, approached Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. This is in accordance with Jewish law that stated that if someone was hanged on a tree they were not to remain there at night, but should be buried before sundown (Brown 147) (Deut 21:22-23). Pilate consents, and Joseph wraps the body in linen and puts it in his own rock hewn tomb. Joseph, who John states was assisted by the Pharisee Nicodemus to anoint the body with spices, seals the tomb with a stone, and then leaves.

Burial of Jesus, Carl Heinrich Bloch
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Meanwhile, the chief Sadducees and Pharisees are described by the synoptics as remembering Jesus’ remark that After three days I will rise, and so Pilate sends a Roman detachment of troops to guard the tomb, in case Jesus' disciples try to steal the body. Some writings in the New Testament apocrypha state that angels avoided the guards and dragged Jesus' body from the tomb; the canonical Gospels state that when the tomb was investigated by one of the people named Mary, it was found to be empty.

The death and resurrection of Jesus are two events in the New Testament in which Jesus is crucified on one day (the "Day of Preparation," i.e., the day before the Sabbath, the last day of the week), then resurrected on the third. These two events are commemorated by Christians, the death by crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday and the resurrection of Jesus on every Sunday, but especially on Easter Sunday. These two events are a crucial part of the core doctrines of the Christian faith.

Death and resurrection of Jesus

The death and resurrection of Jesus are celebrated most solemnly during Lent and the Easter season. From the earliest times Christians have celebrated the resurrection every Sunday, as Justin Martyr described in the mid-second century. Much later, in the year 321, Roman Emperor Constantine the Great made Sunday a public holiday.

A disproportionate attention was given the Resurrection by comparison with the consideration given to the cross. About one-fourth of the material in the four Gospels deals with the cross. The cross never was considered more important than the Resurrection, but the significance of the cross was more difficult to explain. The death of Christ came as a shock even to his closest followers. To them it was a major problem to faith that Jesus is the Messiah. Paul spoke of the "scandal" of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:23).

However, the Resurrection only had to be announced by those who saw the risen Lord. No elaborate resurrection narrative or defense was required. The New Testament alludes to about ten separate appearances of the risen Christ, but no one NT writer lists all ten. In 1 Corinthians 15:6 the apostle Paul states that there were still at the time of writing (about the year 57) some hundreds to whom Jesus "had appeared," after he had been raised.

Other groups, particularly Jews, Muslims and Irreligionists have disputed its factual occurrence, which is why analysis of the death and resurrection claims occurs at many religious debates and interfaith dialogues.

As the first great front runner of Christianity contended, "If Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless" (1Corinthians 15:14) The death and resurrection of Jesus are the most important events in Christian Theology, as they form the point in scripture where Jesus gives his ultimate demonstration that he has power over life and death, thus he has the ability to give people eternal life (John 3:16, John 6:47, John 10:10, John 11:25-26, John 17:3, John 5:24, and John 6:39-40). According to the Bible, "God raised him from the dead," he ascended to heaven, to the "right hand of God," and will return again to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy such as the Resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment and establishment of the Kingdom of God, see also Messianism and Messianic Age.

The following passage perhaps best describes the significance of the Resurrection of Christ to Christians or seekers:

If it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:12-20, NIV).

Almost all non-Christians do not accept the bodily resurrection of Jesus. They therefore deny the resurrection, considering it a form of myth. People can, however, still find a meaning in the text. For instance, Carl Jung suggests that the crucifixion-resurrection story was the forceful spiritual symbol of, literally, God-as-Yahweh becoming God-as-Job.

Atonement

Some believe that the Shroud of Turin was worn by Jesus when resurrected, his face imprinted into the cloth fibers. Disputed carbon-dated experiments on part of the Shroud propose a medieval origin for the cloth. No further dating experiments to settle the dispute have been permitted by the Holy See.

Jesus' death and resurrection underpin a variety of theological interpretations as to how salvation is granted to humanity. A common feature of all these interpretations is that they place greater emphasis on the death and resurrection than on his words.

The Roman Catholic view is that Jesus willingly sacrificed himself as an act of perfect obedience as a Substitutionary atonement, a sacrifice of love which pleased God.

The Christus Victor view, which is more common among Lutherans and Eastern Orthodox Christians, holds that Jesus was sent by God to defeat death and Satan. Because of his perfection, voluntary death, and Resurrection, Jesus defeated Satan and death, and arose victorious. Therefore, humanity was no longer bound in sin, but was free to rejoin God through faith in Jesus.

The Catholic view off-shoot titled the judicial view was held by Martin Luther, and a major cause of the Reformation. It is the perspective held by most Protestants. It emphasizes God as both lawmaker and judge. All humans have broken the rules that God has set (sin), and all deserve to be punished. The only exception to this was Jesus, who received the ultimate punishment despite not having sinned. This is seen as an act of Jesus accepting the punishment that was meant for humans, meaning humans can be restored to a right relationship with God. The difference between the Catholic and Protestant views was a major cause of the Reformation.

The First Man view, held by a small minority of Christians, especially Pelagians and Semi-Pelagians, states that Jesus was a person just like the rest of humanity, but due to his remarkable faith, purity, sinlessness, and perfection, he earned eternal life, and was resurrected because Death could not hold him. In the same way, if people can be faithful to the same degree, they can also be free from death.

Records

Early Creeds

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 reads: "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." This contains a Christian creed of pre-Pauline origin. The antiquity of the creed has been located by many biblical scholars to less than a decade after Jesus' death, originating from the Jerusalem apostolic community. Concerning this creed, Campenhausen wrote, "This account meets all the demands of historical reliability that could possibly be made of such a text," whilst A. M. Hunter said, "The passage therefore preserves uniquely early and verifiable testimony. It meets every reasonable demand of historical reliability."

Romans 1:3-4: "..concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord;" 2 Timothy 2:8: "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, this is my Gospel."

Gospel narratives

Apostolic fathers

Non-Christian

Critical analysis

Prior events

Death of Jesus

In the biblical narrative, following the death the sky is "darkened for 3 hours," from the sixth to the ninth hour (noon to mid-afternoon), but if this claim concerns anything more than a local phenomenon, it is backed up by no Roman historian. This could not have been a solar eclipse, as Jesus died during the time of the full moon, Nisan 14 or 15.

The synoptic gospels state that the veil of the temple split at this point, and Matthew says that there were earthquakes, splitting rocks, and dead saints were resurrected.

The synoptics report that the centurion in charge, seeing how Jesus had breathed his last (Mark) or seeing the events that followed (Matthew, Luke) said: "Truly this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:39; or "Truly this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54); or "Surely this was a righteous man" (Luke 23:47).

For the sayings, traditionally called "The Seven Last Words," the Gospels say were given by the dying Jesus, see sayings of Jesus on the cross

Entombment

W. L. Craig argued that the guard placed at the tomb was a Jewish guard, and that Pilate’s words to the chief priests and Pharisees recorded in Matthew, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you can”, were are rebuff. In support, he observed that Roman guards would have been subject to execution if they slept during watch, and that the Jewish authorities probably could not have provided protection for Roman guards from Pilate, like they could have if the guard was Jewish; thus, he wrote, “if one were to give the story the benefit of the doubt, one would assume the guards were Jewish.”

Resurrection of Jesus

Some skeptics claim that the corpse of Jesus was either reburied or stolen. A number of instances of argument from silence arise here. No ancient sources argue against the tomb being empty. No ancient sources claim that the Jewish and Roman authorities disproved the belief by publicly presenting the corpse of Jesus. There is no record of soldiers being punished for any reason relating to the resurrection.

The Gospel accounts of the resurrection have been the subject of contemporary scholarship using tools of historical and literary analysis. Issues of those accounts include:

• comparisons with other New Testament accounts of restored life
• differences in the resurrection narratives
• the antiquity and continuity of memories on which the accounts rely
• the reality of the resurrection.

Tomb discovery

Women

Despite the unanimity of the Gospels that Jesus appeared first to women after his resurrection, Paul does not mention the women being the first witnesses to the resurrection (1corinthians 15:3-7). It can only be surmised that the most likely reason was that Paul, along with the rest of the church, stressed only the appearances to men as the "official" witness of the early church. The witness of a woman was not recognized in Jewish courts of the time. "Whereas others found woman not qualified or authorized to teach, the four Gospels have it that the risen Christ commissioned women to teach men, including Peter and the other apostles, the basic tenet of the Christian faith"—that he is risen.

Mark's account (which in the earliest extant manuscripts) ends abruptly and claims that the women told no one. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark do not present any further involvement at the tomb. Luke describes Peter as running to the tomb to check for himself, and John adds that the Beloved Disciple did so too, the beloved disciple outrunning Peter. There is some scriptural variation in who the women told and it what order. Curiously, Mary also addresses Jesus as Lord.

Men

John describes the beloved disciple only as making a cursory glance at the linen, Peter is described as carefully examining the scene. After making their examination, and the Beloved Disciple apparently drawing a conclusion.

Once Peter has entered, John describes the Beloved Disciple as entering the tomb whereupon he believed as they knew not about the scripture. What exactly the Beloved Disciple believed, and who exactly they are, and what scripture exactly is being referenced, is not explained. The word used to mean scripture is singular and most of the time this form is used to refer to single quotations. Several passages from the Old Testament have been proposed as likely candidates for this source such as Psalm 16, Hosea 6:2, and Jonah 1:17. Since most of the New Testament was written before the Gospel of John, candidates have also been suggested from these texts. John only indicates that Peter and the Beloved Disciple were present, but it is possible that one or both of the people named Mary may also have been there, and thus some scholars, such as Hartmann, believe they refers to Peter and Mary being in ignorance about a resurrection.

Since the only mention in John of the tomb having any content describes it only as having grave clothes, this paucity of evidence for anything more than the body being stolen would make the Beloved Disciple rather gullible if it was a resurrection he suddenly believed in. A question also arises as to why, according to John, the Beloved Disciple doesn't tell Peter and them about this. A long line of major scholars including Augustine of Hippo and John Calvin have thus argued that the Beloved Disciple simply came to believe Mary Magdalene's story that the body was gone. Unlike Hartmann, and those sharing his view, most scholars regard they as referring to Peter and the Beloved Disciple, pointing to them both being ignorant about any resurrection, and pointing to the conclusion that the Beloved Disciple had come to believe some other issue.

Scholars of textual criticism, however, have in modern times argued that the passage does actually refer to belief in a resurrection, but that the reason it seems odd in light of the surrounding narrative, especially that it isn't mentioned again, is because the reference to him believing is a later addition to the text, a view expounded for example by Schnackenberg. The version of John in the ancient Codex Bezae has the passage reading that he saw and did not believe, which seems a more logically in keeping with the rest of the chapter, and may indicate that most modern texts are derived from an ancient scribal error, much like the typographic error in the Wicked Bible. Bultmann has called John 20:9 a gloss of the ecclesiastical redaction, also arguing that the verse is a later addition, particularly since it references scripture as indicating that Jesus must rise from the dead, which is out of character in John, since John almost always prefers instead to use the wording ascend from the dead. A few scholars however believe that the statement is original but misplaced, feeling it should follow John 20:11, though Bruce disagrees, arguing that since it presents itself as an explanation of a prior passage, it makes the link to the currently preceding text clear.

Luke and John both have the disciple(s) return home, which probably refers to Jerusalem, but possibly also Galilee.

Resurrection appearances of Jesus

Next, there are a few resurrection appearances of Jesus. One notable appearance is to the apostle Thomas, who did not believe until he stuck his fingers in the nail holes in Jesus' hands and spear-hole in his side. Thomas' experience would mutually exclude the vision hypothesis, that Jesus appeared as a vision to various followers as either a divine vision or a hallucination.

Six months later, on the road to Damascus, a onetime rabbi and persecutor of the early church named Paul of Tarsus converted to Christianity. A few years later, Paul became Christianity's foremost missionary, converting hundreds of people, planting dozens of churches throughout Southeastern Europe, and writing letters that would become part of Christian scripture. On one missionary journey, Paul travels to Athens and speaks at the Areopagus, where he claims that over 500 people were witnesses of the resurrected Jesus, many still alive at the time.

One point on which some consensus is reached by Apologist and Skeptical factions of biblical scholars and historians is that the disciples would have thought they had met the resurrected Jesus.

Authorship of the story

In Mark's account, the earliest manuscripts of Mark 16 break off abruptly at 16:8, where the men at the empty tomb announce Jesus' resurrection, lacking post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. The modern text of Mark 9-20 does not appear in the earliest manuscripts. Many modern translations of Mark 16 end at Mark 16:8 with for they were afraid, sometimes adding 16:8-20 in italics, or in a foot note; the New Revised Standard Version gives both the "long ending," i.e., 16:8-20, and another variant "short ending" after Mark 16:8.

Those who think Paul was a Gnostic Christian hold the belief that Paul talks of the resurrection as an allegory or that Paul thought that Jesus was never a human.

Today

The Jewish perspective is that the body of Jesus was removed in the same night, see also Stolen body hypothesis. Apologists see this an acknowledgment that the tomb was empty, with an attempt to explain it away. The Toledoth Yeshu, however, dates from mediaeval times, and is not an early source. It was a conflation of the Talmud accounts of multiple people named Yeshu. None of the Talmudic Yeshu accounts are in any way flattering, or refer to any supernatural abilities, and many refer to people named Yeshu who lived in time periods significantly before or after the lifetime of Jesus.

The Islamic perspective that Jesus was not crucified, but someone who looked like Jesus died in his place. This view is also given in the Gospel of Barnabas which identifies Judas as the one crucified. The fate of Judas recorded in the Bible can be considered contradictory (Matthew 27:5, Acts 1:18), and there are other claims which endorse the idea that Judas was crucified. The Gospel of Barnabus generally conforms to the Islamic interpretation of Christian origins and is considered by the majority of academics to be late, pseudepigraphical and a pious fraud.

Documents found by Russian historian Nicolai Notovitch claim that Jesus was resuscitated and lived the remainder of his life in Kashmir, where there exists a possible tomb for Jesus, under the name Yuz Asaf. This is also the belief of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement.

References

• "Passion, the." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
• "Jesus Christ." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005.
• David Freedman, 2000, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, ISBN 9780802824004, page 299.
• Article on the Crucifixion of Jesus
• Matthew 27:33-44; Mark 15:22-32; Luke 23:33-43; John 19:17-30
• Matthew 27:33 - "place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull)"; Mark 15:22 (same as Matthew); Luke 23:32-33 - "place that is called The Skull"; John 19:17 - "place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha"
• Matthew 27:38; Mark 15:27-28; Luke 23:33; John 19:18
• Matthew 27:37 - "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."; Mark 15:26 - "The King of the Jews."; Luke 23:38 - "This is the King of the Jews." Some manuscripts add in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew; John 19:19-22 - "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." "...it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek."
• Matthew 27:35-36; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:23-24
• Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46; John 19:30
• Matthew 27:57-58; Mark 15:42-43; Luke 23:50-52; John 19:38
• Matthew 27:59-60; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53; John 19:41-42
• Matthew 27:31-32; Mark 15:20-21; Luke 23:26
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• Matthew 27:51; 27:62-66
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• Catholic encyclopedia on Symbolism
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