THE TRUTH

When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals — one on His right and the other on His left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." ... It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When He had said this, He breathed His last.

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. — King David wrote this approximately 1,000 years before the Romans invented crucifixion. Every detail was fulfilled at the cross of Jesus.

But when they came to Jesus and found that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. — The separation of blood and water is medical evidence of death by cardiac rupture or pericardial effusion, confirming Jesus physically died on the cross.

"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." — Cornelius Tacitus, Roman senator and historian. This is a non-Christian Roman source confirming Jesus was executed under Pontius Pilate.

"On the eve of Passover Yeshu was hanged." — The Babylonian Talmud, written by Jesus' opponents, independently confirms His execution took place at Passover — exactly as the Gospels record. Even those who rejected Him never denied that He was killed.

"About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease." — Flavius Josephus, Jewish historian writing for Rome.

As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. The next day the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while He was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure." So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

"He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth." — Jesus was crucified alongside criminals (the wicked) but buried in the private tomb of the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea (the rich). Fulfilled to the letter.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay."

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas (Peter), and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also. — The Apostle Paul, writing within 25 years of the resurrection, while most witnesses were still alive to confirm or deny it.

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

After His suffering, He presented Himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. — Jesus did not appear once in a vision. He physically appeared to hundreds of people across 40 days, eating with them, talking with them, and showing them His wounds.

For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him.

"They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god." — Pliny the Younger, Roman governor of Bithynia, writing to Emperor Trajan. Within 80 years of the resurrection, Christians across the Roman Empire were worshipping Jesus as God — many unto death. They did not die for a story they invented.

"The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day — the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account." — Even a Greek satirist who mocked Christianity confirmed the core claims: Jesus was a real historical person who was crucified, and His followers worshipped Him as divine.

Both the Roman authorities and Jewish leaders had every reason to produce the body of Jesus and end Christianity on the spot. They never did. Instead, Matthew 28:11-15 records that the guards were bribed to say the disciples stole the body — an admission that the tomb was empty. The enemies of Jesus never claimed the tomb still held His body. They only tried to explain why it was empty.

People will die for something they believe to be true. But people do not die for something they know to be a lie. Nearly every one of the apostles was executed for proclaiming that Jesus rose from the dead. Peter was crucified upside down. James was beheaded. Paul was beheaded. Thomas was speared. Not one of them recanted. If they had stolen the body or fabricated the resurrection, at least one would have confessed under threat of death. None did — because they had seen Him alive.

During Jesus' ministry, His own brother James did not believe in Him (John 7:5). After the resurrection, James became the leader of the Jerusalem church and was martyred for his faith. What could convince a man's own skeptical brother that he was the Son of God? James saw the risen Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:7).

Saul of Tarsus actively hunted and killed Christians. He had every motive to destroy the resurrection claim. Instead, he encountered the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), became the Apostle Paul, wrote 13 books of the New Testament, and was eventually beheaded for his faith. No psychological explanation accounts for this transformation — only the resurrection does.

In the 1st-century Jewish and Roman world, the testimony of women was not accepted in court. If the disciples invented the resurrection story, they would never have chosen women as the first witnesses — it would have destroyed their credibility. The fact that all four Gospels name women as the first witnesses is powerful evidence that the authors were recording what actually happened, not crafting a believable lie.

Within weeks of the resurrection, in the very city where Jesus was publicly executed, thousands believed. Within 300 years, the Roman Empire that crucified Jesus officially became Christian. Today, over 2.4 billion people follow Jesus Christ. This global movement was launched by a handful of terrified fishermen who claimed they saw a dead man walk out of His grave. Either they saw it, or history has no explanation for what happened next.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."

"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. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."