I have great anxiety for our people. I am desirous for the welfare of their souls. Teach them the words of Isaiah, and speak unto them for their sakes. The Lord has shown me that those who were at Jerusalem, from whence we came, have been slain and carried away captive.
Nevertheless, the Lord has shown unto me that they should return again. And He will be merciful unto them, that when they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer, they shall be gathered together again to the lands of their inheritance. And there are many things which have been spoken by Isaiah
Which may be likened unto you, because ye are of the house of Israel. For the Lord God will fulfil His covenants which He has made unto His children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things. I have read these things that ye might know
That He has covenanted with all the house of Israel. I know that ye know that our flesh must waste away and die; nevertheless, in our bodies we shall see God. I do not understand. How can our flesh waste away and die, but in our bodies we shall see God?
As death hath passed upon all men, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
Wherefore, there must needs be an infinite atonement. O the wisdom of God, His mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.
O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape. Wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men
Will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel. He cometh into the world that He may save all men if they will hearken unto His voice; for behold, He suffereth the pains of all men,
Yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children. And He suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before Him at the great and judgment day. And He commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in His name,
Having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. Wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold His face, and remain in their sins. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death,
And to be spiritually-minded is life eternal. I would speak unto you more; but on the morrow I will declare unto you the remainder of my words. -Amen. -Amen. It must needs be expedient that Christ— for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be His name—
Shall come among the Jews. But they at Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against Him, that He be crucified. But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh,
Upon the earth, unto the lands of their inheritance. Seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember Him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been driven out
Of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea. Cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves— to choose the way of everlasting death
Or the way of eternal life. Reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved. Wherefore, may God raise you from death
By the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise Him through grace divine. -Amen. -Amen. Amen.
With 1 out of every 3 people on Earth identifying as Christian, it’s the single most important event in human history. But was Jesus of Nazareth really resurrected from the dead, and is there any evidence for it? To examine the question first we have to establish the historicity of Jesus himself.
While some doubt that he ever lived, no critical historian alive today doubts that Jesus of Nazareth was a real man who lived and died in the time attributed to him in the Gospels. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus mentions Jesus twice in his histories.
The first mention is widely regarded- even amongst Christian scholars- as having been doctored by a later Christian scribe to be more flattering, but still mentions Jesus as having been condemned and crucified by Roman authorities. The second mention of Jesus by Josephus is when he references the death of Jesus’s brother,
James, who was stoned to death for his belief in Jesus as the Christ. Jesus is also mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus approximately 86 years after his crucifixion, and affirms that he was in fact crucified by Roman authorities and that a sizable contingent
Of his believers were present in Rome at the time of his writing, which further strengthens the biblical account of Saint Paul. Next, we have to establish the reliability of the evidence used to argue that the resurrection was a real event- namely Paul’s letters and the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Today that material is together, along with other books, known as the New Testament, and a critic would be right in arguing that one cannot use one’s own source material to argue for the validity of his or her argument. Except that is a serious misunderstanding of what the New Testament actually is- or
What it originally was. Today the New Testament is considered to be the second half of Christianity’s ‘holy book’, the Bible. Yet before it was largely codified around 200 A.D., the New Testament was a collection of apocalyptic revelations, letters to various churches, and the formal writing down of oral
Tradition in the form of the gospels. Specifically, Paul’s letters and the synoptic gospels are considered to be valid historical documents, that due to their content were later turned into a ‘holy book’. In the words of historian and New Testament scholar Dr. Gary Habermas, if you don’t use
The historically accepted books of the New Testament to argue for the historicity of Jesus, then critics will use them for you. But have the gospels reliably preserved historical details through the ages, and are Pauls’ letters still in their original form and untampered with for the purpose of empowering a Christian agenda?
Historian, New Testament scholar, and textual critic Bart Ehrman- himself an agnostic leaning towards atheism- points out that we don’t have the original autographs by which to authenticate the modern gospels and Paul’s letters. At best we have copies of copies of copies of copies, with the earliest recovered fragments
Dated back to around halfway through the second century. Furthermore, there is clear evidence of tampering with the gospels, with some passages in modern texts today widely known to have been introduced into the text well after the originals. Perhaps the most iconic of these fabricated bible passages is John 7:53-8:11, the story
Of Jesus and the adulterous woman. This story tells of how Jesus came across a woman about to be stoned to death for the sin of adultery by the Pharisee authorities. Jesus however interrupts the process and simply asks that the first man without sin cast the
First stone, resulting in the accusers dropping their rocks and going home. Finally, Jesus comforts the woman and tells her that he does not condemn her, then encourages her to go forth and sin no more. It’s a wonderful anecdote and example of Jesus as what 20th century Atheist philosopher Antony
Flew called, “a first-rate ethicist”. Except it never happened, the story was fabricated and inserted by an unknown scribe into the text, and is only one example of several. In further questioning the historical reliability of the gospels, Ehrman also points out that
Between various surviving ancient copies of the biblical texts are thousands of errors, and that the first written versions of the gospels and Paul’s letters weren’t created until decades after Jesus’ death- leaving plenty of room for details to be omitted, forgotten, or outright fabricated.
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church wasn’t written until 55 A.D., with the gospel of Mark being written in 70 AD, Matthew in 80 AD, and John in 95 AD. That’s a spread of 25 to 65 years after the death of Jesus.
So with made-up stories, thousands of textual errors in the earliest available copies, and such a massive time gap between Jesus’s death and his history being recorded, is there any reason to think the New Testament is historically reliable? It’s well established that teachings about Jesus spread far and wide very quickly after
His death- in fact within as little as two or three years after the crucifixion, Jewish authorities were already persecuting Christians across the near-East in a bid to exterminate what they viewed as a heretical cult. This wide geographic dissemination of the core Christian knowledge about Jesus and his
Life events makes it incredibly unlikely that major revisions could have taken place without them being discovered- if for example Christian leaders in Rome wished to greatly change a core fact of the life, death, or teachings of Jesus, believers in Africa- which has one
Of the world’s oldest Christian communities- would have immediately identified the manipulation. The simple fact that we today are able to know that the story of Jesus and the adulterous woman was a fabrication is testament to how difficult it can be to make even minor changes
To the text without them being discovered thanks to the wide geographic distribution of the original material. Further, while Bart Ehrman is correct in pointing out the thousands of errors and discrepancies across various ancient manuscripts, the fact is that the overwhelming amount of these errors are insignificant to the core theology.
These errors are overwhelmingly misspellings and other textual errors, or errors so insignificant as to not affect the intended message of the scripture. While some may argue that over time errors can pile up, as in a game of telephone, the
Discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls proves the great diligence with which holy texts were copied and preserved by Jews. A medieval copy of the Old Testament compared with a copy discovered with the Dead Sea scrolls dating back to between the third century BC and first century AD showed that there were
Astonishingly few differences in the text- and once again, mostly copyist errors. The early Christians, being former devout Jews themselves, would have treated their religious texts with the same reverence and exacting care for precision. Further, while we don’t have the original autographs, we do have many preserved copies
Of some of the earliest church fathers’ writing on the gospels themselves. From their musings on these earliest versions of the gospels we can be confident that we do in fact, have an incredibly well preserved collection that if not perfectly, extremely accurately reflects the content and message of the autographs.
Professor Ehrman correctly points out to discrepancies in the gospel accounts themselves as proof that they are not reliable. On just the discovery of the empty tomb, the gospels vary in the telling. Matthew states that Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” went to the tomb.
There they found an angel, who told them that Jesus was risen and that they should tell the disciples and that they should go to Galilee to meet up with Jesus. Mark states that both Maries, and a third woman- Salome- went to the tomb and found
A young man inside who told them to tell the disciples to go meet the risen Jesus in Galilee. Luke states that “the women” went to the tomb, and entering the empty tomb they could not find Jesus when suddenly two men in bright clothes appeared before them.
They are not told to tell the disciples about the tomb nor to go anywhere. John states that Mary Magadalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance, so she went rushing back to Peter and one of the other disciples and
Claimed that the Jewish authorities or the Romans had removed Jesus’s body. Peter and the other disciple returned to the tomb to find Jesus’s burial clothing, while Mary somewhere outside the tomb and crying, sees two angels and Jesus- though is not allowed to immediately recognize Jesus.
So how can the various gospels be reconcilable if they differ so much in their re-telling of the empty tomb? It’s important to note that only one of the gospel acounts- John’s- actually differs in any significant way. Matthew, Mark, and Luke were not written side-by-side, but rather individually by different people,
Thus it’s unsurprising that they would slightly differ in their historical retelling. Neither of those three gospels contradicts the other, they merely mention details important to them. While Luke seems to state that a group of women went to the tomb, Matthew and Mark don’t
Omit the possibility- they simply focus on two of the women in that group important to the writer. Luke also does not say that the women are instructed to tell the disciples, or to tell them to go to Galilee to meet Jesus there, but the omission of this detail does not mean
It didn’t happen- the writer of Luke could have very correctly assumed that this part of the history was so well known, it was unnecessary to add it to his account. The presence of the angels is likewise complimentary, as Matthew and Mark may have simply chosen
To focus on the important angel- the one speaking. John is the only gospel that differs significantly, and is thus not considered a synoptic gospel- yet that is consistent with the overall theme of John which explores who Jesus was, not what Jesus historically did.
Most historians accept this fact and don’t consider John a purely historical document anyways, and neither should we. As we can see then, the differences in the gospel accounts are a) insignificant to the core facts, and b) largely an issue of focus, rather than irreconcilable discrepancies.
For comparison consider the accounts of the Titanic’s survivors- many of them swore that the ship sunk without breaking in two, while the rest swore that they saw the ship physically break in two. Nobody however doubted that the ship had sunk, or any of the events immediately after the sinking.
Further, if the gospel accounts had been perfectly accurate to each other, they would’ve almost certainly been collaborated, seriously damaging their value as historical documents. Lastly, while no serious historian objects to the time gap between the gospels and Jesus’s death as being cause for concern over inaccuracy, many non-historian critics do.
After all, how accurate can a historical account be if it’s written decades after the subject’s death? First, this is ignoring the strong oral tradition of ancient Jews. In the first century, very few people knew how to read or write, and thus most people
Would rely on oral retelling of history- and specially of their religious texts, with a very strong emphasis on accuracy. To a devout Jew, the thought of mangling holy scripture by poorly recollecting it was an unthinkable heresy. This strong oral tradition would have been present in the early Christians as well, themselves
Recently converted Jews. Next, while the earliest writings on Jesus date to 25 years after his death, the fact that we have at least 11 historical sources for Jesus within a century of his death makes Jesus of Nazareth the gold standard for ancient historians.
Take for example Alexander the Great, of whom there’s not a single history class in the world that doesn’t tell of his deeds. Yet the earliest available sources for Alexander date to over 300 years after his death. How about Tiberius Caesar then, the emperor of the Roman empire during the life and death
Of Jesus? Surely if anyone was to be well-attested to it would be the leader of the most powerful empire at the time. Yet while one contemporary source exists, it’s highly unreliable for historians as it speaks on an all-too personal note.
The best, and earliest, source for the life and times of Rome’s emperor when Jesus died is Publius Cornelius Tacitus, writing a full eighty years after Tiberius’s death. The next after that is Suetonius, 85 years after his death, and Cassius Dio almost two centuries later.
Simply put, to doubt the veracity of the historical account of the scriptures is to put into doubt every single event of ancient history, as the life, death, and teachings of Jesus are the best sourced histories in the ancient world. With the gospels and letters of Saint Paul accepted as valid historical documents, is
There then any evidence for the resurrection as a historical event? We can begin our investigation with the empty tomb. In the gospel accounts, the tomb is discovered empty by Mary Magdalene. Jesus’s burial clothes are there, but not the body. Critics have argued that the empty tomb was an early Christian fabrication, and presented
Various theories as to what really happened. The first is that the entire empty tomb narrative was a fabrication, yet this has been widely rejected by critical historians as the scriptures themselves record the Jewish authorities reacting to the empty tomb by claiming that the disciples had stolen the body, along with their own
Refutation to this claim. An obvious back-and-forth dialogue is preserved, showing that whatever the cause, the tomb of Jesus was in fact discovered empty. Next is the claim that the Jewish Sanhedrin was right, and the disciples did steal the body. This is frankly, an absurd proposition, as guards had been posted to the tomb.
In all likelihood these were actually Jewish temple guards, as it’s incredibly unlikely that Pilate would have bothered to involve Roman guards in what he saw as a purely Jewish religious dispute, and instead simply told the Sanhedrin to use the guards they already possessed themselves.
The idea of the disciples bribing Jewish temple guards successfully so as to perpetuate their heretical belief in a resurrected Messiah is incredulous to the point of sheer absurdity, let alone bribing Roman guards who would themselves face death for such a massive dereliction of duty when the tomb was found empty.
The next theory is the ‘apparent death’ theory. This theory states that Jesus didn’t really die on the cross, and instead survived his crucifixion, somehow slipped past his tomb guards, and returned to the disciples who celebrated him as the resurrected Son of God.
Once more, it is completely absurd to believe that a severely injured Jesus, who had just survived a scourging, then being crucified, and in need of critical medical care, could possibly return to his disciples and convince them that despite his utterly broken body, he had in fact defeated death, quote, “in glory”.
Secondly, crucifixion was simply not a survivable event unless the person was immediately rescued. The way that a person was crucified would lead to a slow but sure asphyxiation as the downward pull of gravity forced an individual to physically push against the nails embedded
In his feet in order to lift their chest up and relieve the pressure, allowing them to gasp for breath. This would have been not only an excruciatingly painful experience, but an exhausting one, compounded by the effects of blood loss and exposure. Additionally, Roman guards were quite used to crucifying Jewish would-be Messiahs and
Rebels by this time, and were under pains of their own death to ensure that their prisoner could not be rescued and did indeed die on their cross. Lastly, in the account of the crucifixion in John 19, we have a Roman centurion ensuring
That Jesus is truly dead by piercing his side with a spear, stabbing upwards and into the heart to deliver a killing blow. The scripture states that “blood and water” came out of the wound, which perfectly mirrors exactly what modern medical science would expect from such a wound on a person who died
After being crucified. Before death, fluid would have collected in the membrane around the heart and lungs due to heart failure- this is known as a pericardial and pleural effusion. Upon Jesus’s body being pierced by the spear, this fluid would have leaked out of the wound,
Followed by blood, exactly as reported in John 19, strongly hinting that whoever wrote the John account either was physically present at the crucifixion or had testimony from a witness who was. So is the empty tomb narrative accurate? There is no realistic reason to believe that Jesus’s body was stolen, or that Jesus survived
His crucifixion. Without an empty tomb, there could be no Christian narrative of a resurrection. As a well-known figure due to his perceived blasphemy and heresy, the site of Jesus’s burial would have been known to anyone looking to debunk the disciple’s earliest claims of
Resurrection, and all the Jewish authorities would have had to do to shut the entire Christian movement down as soon as it arouse was to simply unseal the tomb and show that Jesus still lay there, dead, and that the disciples were liars. It’s important to note who discovered the empty tomb as well- women.
In the very patriarchal society of the ancient Jews, women were not regarded as credible witnesses in court. Both Jewish historian Josephus and Jewish philosopher Maimonides made it clear that women were not competent to testify in court. As Josephus pointed out, testimony of a deaf, mentally incompetent, or young person, as
Well as women, was excluded in most cases. Despite women being ineligible to serve as witnesses in most Jewish courts, the early Christians publicly proclaimed women- the least trustworthy members of society- as the discoverers of the empty tomb. This would not just have been an incredulous, but hugely embarrassing detail for the early
Disciples, and the fact that the detail remains is strong evidence that the disciples were simply accurately relaying the discovery of the empty tomb- no matter how embarrassing it was for them personally. Next in our investigation of the resurrection is the appearances of Jesus after his death.
The majority of new testament historians affirm that Jesus appeared to his disciples after his death. In the words of Ed Sanders, New Testament scholar and former professor at Duke University, “The following is an historical fact: the earliest disciples saw the risen Jesus.
I don’t know how exactly they saw him, but they saw him.” Most critics, including 20th century atheist philosopher Antony Flew ascribe to the hallucination theory to explain the postmortem appearances of Jesus. This theory posits that the disciples were stricken with grief-inspired hallucinations,
And confused them as the real, bodily appearance of a risen Jesus. There are, however, serious problems with this theory. First, any belief in Jesus’s resurrection due to a hallucination could have easily been dispelled by Jewish authorities by simply checking the tomb and finding the body still resting there.
Second, as is established by medical science, hallucinations cannot create new ideas- they simply work within the preexisting mental framework. As devout Jews, the disciples had no belief, let alone an ‘idea’ of a bodily resurrection that predated the end of days.
In the Jewish faith, resurrection only occurred on the last day, as God cast his judgment and called the faithful to live in paradise- before this event there could be no resurrection of the dead. Revivification of the recently dead, much like happens in our modern hospitals every
Day, was certainly possible, but not a resurrection to a “glorified body” as described by the disciples of Jesus. Therefore a hallucination could not have convinced a devout Jew that an event for which he had no basis for believing in, had occurred.
Secondly, the odds of all of the disciples- or at least enough to jump-start the Christian church- all suffering from grief hallucinations are astronomical to the point of, once more, absurdity. There is not a single other recorded case like it in verified medical history.
Further, it’s well recorded that Jesus appeared to groups of the disciples at the same time, and hallucinations cannot be shared between individuals. One individual cannot see what another is hallucinating, and vice-versa. Lastly, there’s the case of Saint Paul. Paul was in effect, a religious terrorist.
As the early Christian church spread rapidly, Paul was tasked with finding Christians and imprisoning or killing them on behalf of the Jewish authorities. Yet two to three years after the crucifixion, Paul- by his own account- encountered Jesus.
At the time he was on the way to the synagogues in Damascus to request their aid in arresting Christians and bringing them back to Jerusalem to undergo trial and possible execution. While on the road, Paul encounters Jesus and is blinded, and remains so until one of the
Very Christians he was sent to arrest or kill finds him and heals him. In ‘The Psychological Origins of the Resurrection Myth’, Jack Kent argues that Paul suffered from conversion disorder, a very real psychological disorder that commonly affects soldiers, police officers, and prison guards.
Commonly, sufferers will experience physical maladies with no apparent cause while under severe psychological stress- thus Paul’s blindness is believed to be a psychosomatic syndrome of his conversion disorder, itself caused by his internal conflict in killing and imprisoning innocent Christians. However, there are as usual problems with this theory.
Conversion disorder is short-lived, and thus would not explain Paul’s dramatic and lifelong change from devout Jew and persecutor of Christians, to a champion of the early Christian faith. It’s also incredibly implausible that Paul experienced conversion disorder along with visual and auditory hallucinations which led him to believe that Jesus was talking to him
Personally- not to mention the Messiah complex that would arise as Paul took on the mission of spreading the Christian faith far and wide. In short, Paul would have had to have been one of the most mentally ill individuals in history to suffer from all four mental disorders simultaneously at exactly this stretch of
Road on the way to Damascus. Hallucination theory simply can’t explain why a sworn enemy of the Christian church would experience the same hallucination as Jesus’s own disciples, years after Jesus’s death. It also cannot explain the postmortem appearances to entire groups of people as recorded by the disciples, as hallucinations are a personal experience.
Finally, a hallucination could not have led the disciples to believe in something they had no concept of before the event- namely, the preapocalyptic resurrection of their former teacher. Next is the marked change in the disciple’s lives as a result of their postmortem encounters with Jesus.
As stated about Paul, hallucinations simply do not lead to lifelong ideological changes, and the disciples clearly underwent dramatic and unprecedented ideological and theological changes practically overnight as a result of their experiences after the crucifixion. Immediately after Jesus’s death, the disciples went into hiding, fearful that the Jewish authorities would crucify them next.
It can’t be understated how devastating the crucifixion was for the disciples- not only had they lost their teacher, but he had suffered a criminal’s death, one so abhorrent to Jewish society that it was believed those who were crucified would not experience resurrection on the final day.
In the eyes of the disciples, Jesus had proven himself to be no different than the dozens of other self-proclaimed Jewish messiahs that came before, and after, his death. Yet we know that within months of the resurrection, possibly even weeks, the disciples were boldly proclaiming Jesus’s resurrection.
This is evidenced by two facts: the first is that the Christian church had spread so quickly that Paul was on his way to root it out in Damascus just two to three years after Jesus’s death. The second is what is known as the ‘Corinthian creed’, written down by Paul in 1 Corinthians
15, which reads: …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. This creedial statement in Paul’s letter is authenticated as an early Christian creed
By the format it is written in the original Greek, which differs from the way the rest of Paul’s letter is written. In the ancient world, when you wanted to help someone who couldn’t read or write remember
Something, you put it in the form of a creed, and as Bart Ehrman himself attests, the Corinthian creed can be dated back to within one or two years of the crucifixion, with some historians dating it as early as mere months after Jesus’s death.
This means that within months after the crucifixion, the earliest Christians were already teaching Jesus’s resurrection- a concept that they had no ideological basis for prior to the crucifixion. And not only were the demoralized and terrified disciples coming to believe Jesus had risen
From the dead, but they were almost immediately spreading their belief to thousands of other Jews. Belief in the resurrection was far from the only heretical belief of the disciples however, as almost immediately after the crucifixion the young Christian church changed their celebration of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.
This move was motivated by the day of Jesus’s alleged resurrection and discovery of the empty tomb, and to first century Jews, would have been the height of heresy. Handed down to them by God himself, and honored for two thousand years, the sabbath and God’s
Commands to keep it holy were of paramount importance to the Jews, and suffused nearly every aspect of their culture. For the early Christians to be convinced that Jesus had risen from the dead, and thus shift their sabbath celebration from Saturday to Sunday, defying almost two thousand years
Of tradition, would have required an incredible burden of proof. As observed across history, religious schisms simply don’t spring up overnight, and yet one of the immediate defining characteristics of the early Christian church was its adoption of Sunday as the new sabbath.
Belief in Jesus as the messiah also completely defied all Jewish messianic expectations. To first century Jews, living under the Roman yoke and having experienced no independence for hundreds of years, the messiah was supposed to triumph over Israel’s enemies and drive them out of the land.
The messiah was not supposed to be tried by his enemies and then sentenced to a humiliating death on a cross- let alone be resurrected three days later only to leave Israel’s enemies in power. For the early Jews, the messiah was a triumphant figure, leading them to victory- not an atoning
Sacrifice for the sins of the world. Explaining how so many 1st century Jews could come to believe in this radically different version of a messiah is difficult, unless the disciples had proof in the postmortem encounters with Jesus, and the instructions they received during those visitations.
Critics argue that the entire narrative was fabricated by the early church, yet fail to account for how truly difficult it would be to come to believe in Jesus as messiah when he defied centuries of messianic expectations within a deeply religious society by dying as a criminal and not driving out Israel’s enemies.
Lastly, we have the faith of the disciples themselves. Christian claims that all or most of the original disciples were martyred cannot be substantiated, but there are good sources for several of the disciples. Peter’s martyrdom is attested to by Clement of Rome, an early church leader elected from
Amongst individuals who personally knew the disciples. He was crucified upside down, not believing himself worthy to die the same way as Jesus. The apostle James, not to be confused with Jesus’s brother, was killed by King Herod in about AD 44.
The martyrdom is attested to in the book of Acts, but also recorded by Clement of Alexandria who was born 100 years after James died. Paul, the famous persecutor of Christians, is widely attested to by the earliest church leadership as having been beheaded by emperor Nero sometime before 68 AD.
James, brother of Jesus, is written about by Jewish historian Josephus, who writes that James was executed by stoning in 62 AD. James’ murder, according to Josephus, offended many of the citizens as it had been carried out by a hastily organized Jewish court during a lapse in imperial oversight of the region.
James’ martyrdom is particularly striking because as the gospels state, he believed Jesus was crazy while alive, and yet would later die for his faith that his own brother was indeed the messiah. While the rest of the disciples cannot be confirmed as having been martyred, the ones
Which can be confirmed paint a telling picture of a group of men who refused to give up their belief in Jesus as messiah despite the threat of death. Often painted as con artists by critics, there is no possible reason to believe that if the
Disciples were truly con men, they would have stuck to the con all the way up to their own execution- and yet history records no mention of their recanting of their beliefs. Simply put, men don’t die for false beliefs. The final argument for the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as a historical event argues
That the crucifixion and resurrection account simply lacks legendary embellishments, as is present in nearly every other religion. This however is only mostly true, as there are clear signs of legendary-ism that creep into scripture. For example, when Jesus dies the gospels speak of a period of darkness, or of many of the
Dead returning to life briefly, or of the veil in the temple separating the holy of holies from the public tearing in two. While there is some evidence that an eclipse may have occurred on the day Jesus died, there is no evidence that the dead walked briefly through the streets of Jerusalem, or that
The earth shook and the temple was damaged in any way. These are almost certainly, simply legendary embellishments. However, when compared with other religious texts what immediately stands out about the New Testament is the starkness of the text. In fact, the entire account of the life, death, and postmortem appearances of Jesus is quite
Embarrassing to the early church. Even before Jesus dies, the scriptures attest to bickering, whining, and complaining from his own disciples. Jesus frequently rebuffs them for their lack of faith or foolishness, and even outright chastises Peter- the man on whom the church would be built- as having an ungodly way of thinking about things.
One of Jesus’s closest disciples is a tax collector for the Romans- men who were seen as traitors and were so reviled by Jewish society that they were not allowed to worship at the temple and were considered unclean along with various animals.
Jesus’s own family was no better, with the gospels recording that they believed he was crazy- this would be most telling for James, his brother, who would shortly after the crucifixion come to believe in Jesus as messiah and even die for that belief.
When Jesus is arrested, Peter- again, the most important of the disciples- denies Jesus three times, then flees along with the rest of the disciples to hide in fear and shame. When Jesus is crucified, most of the gospel accounts state that at best, only a few of the disciples watched from a great distance.
Only the gospel of John, least reliable in this matter, mentions that a single disciple was even near the cross- though what’s clear is that the disciples didn’t dare come close for fear of their own arrest. After Jesus’s death, none of the disciples believe in his promise to return after three days.
They are so demoralized by the crucifixion that they are hiding from the Jewish authorities, and even when Mary Magdalene brings them news of the empty tomb, they refuse to believe. It’s only when Jesus appears bodily to them that they believe, and even then at least
One of them, Thomas, refuses to believe Jesus isn’t a ghost until Jesus offers that he physically touch him. The picture painted by the gospels of the original disciples is that of scared, doubting, at times unfaithful men- exactly the opposite of what you would expect if the entire narrative
Had simply been created for the purposes of legitimizing a belief in Jesus. Rather than painting them as great patriarchs of wisdom and faith as would be expected, the New Testament is downright frequently embarrassing in its portrayal of the disciples- evidence that the scribes who penned the original gospels were more interested in recording
Truth than fictionalizing accounts and infusing them with legendary attributes. From a radical and sudden shift in deeply held religious beliefs, to the independently attested accounts of bodily postmortem appearances of Jesus, to the inexplicable explosion in growth of the early church, the question of if Jesus rose from the dead or not remains
Without a plausible naturalistic answer. While a naturalistic theory can be posited that answers one or more of the facts behind the early church, no one theory can explain all of them together. The truth is something significant happened in Jerusalem in the early 30s AD, an event
So incredible that it immediately split the Jewish faith in two and led to an explosion in belief in Jesus of Nazareth, executed as a blasphemer and criminal, as the risen Messiah. Now go watch most weird passages in the bible, or click this other video instead!
This one this morning when you were supposed to get the other one so uh those of you who do not have um the nature of christ as related to the nature of man that’s what we’re giving out this time and if you did not get the one that we did this morning which
That was the nature of sin let me know as well and i still have some available uh for you but we want to make sure everybody has this study that we’ll be looking at this afternoon on the nature of christ as we know this is once again a another hot button issue
Within seven day adventism what kind of nature did jesus have did he have the nature of christ or rather the nature of adam before the fall or did he have the nature of adam after the fall and and uh we know that much revolves around this ellen white tells us that
The the nature the humanity of christ means everything to us the humanity of christ means everything to us and it is the golden link which connects our souls to heaven jesus the fact that he came not as god but he came as a human being
In the form of a human being and in having taken the likeness bible says of what kind of flesh sinful flesh in the likeness of sinful flesh we’re going to start out trusting that everybody’s received it we’re going to start out we’re not going to obviously go through each of these and
At the end of this session i also want to give opportunity for questions and answers that you may have um but we’re going to start out we’re not going to go through every single one but the first section is what was the nature of man at creation now this is more or less
Basic foundational uh we know that god created man how in his own image in the image of god created he him male and female created he them this is an incredible advantage that god has given us the fact that we were made in god’s own likeness
In the book sons and daughters of god the very first page is a very powerful statement there sons and daughters of god page one it says that human beings were a new and distinct order of beings you know and and it’s interesting because in genesis chapter 2 we find that the record says
In verse 1 the heavens thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them so if i’m understanding this correctly human beings were were the crowning act of god’s creation this was the last stop you and me when we were created
And he said we we’re going to make this order of being new and distinct from every other order of being that we’ve made we’re going to make him in our own likeness then she says he alone is made is is capable of partaking of the divine nature you didn’t get that
It said he alone is made capable of partaking of the divine nature what kind of nature does god have what is that what what is divine nature what what consists of the divine nature all knowing right he’s all omniscient what else is part of god’s omnipresent everywhere present he’s he’s in contact
With all of the areas of his vast creation what else pure he’s righteous holy what else he’s omnipotent and omnipotent all power unlimited power so god is telling us that he made us capable of being a sharer in those things are you starting to get this hallelujah i’m serious
It almost sounds like heresy right i mean if it weren’t for the the servant of the lord saying that i’d say it is heresy but god said it and i believe it steps to christ 17 man was originally endowed with noble powers and a well-balanced mind he was perfect in his being
And in harmony with god his thoughts were pure his aims holy 8mr 39 he was furnished with what kind of nature holy nature what else sinless what else pure and undefiled now we we found out this morning that once adam fell he could no longer pass to his posterity
What he no longer possessed and what is that a holy nature sinless so this should forever settle in our minds the the notion because i’m telling you brothers and sisters there may not be anybody here today that believes this but i have talked to a number of seven-day adventists who believe somehow
That infants are born sinless and somehow they don’t become sinful until they make a choice to sin that’s not that’s not what god says you know the bible says we are all as in what unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are filthy rags that’s not even talking about the bad
Deeds that’s that’s your good deeds are like filthy rags and if you go and look at what isaiah is actually saying there in that text it’s talking about women’s menstrual rags and they didn’t have tampons back then so those rags were just good enough to do what with them throw them away
One time use that’s how our good works are in god’s sight see and then job tells us who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean see so it’s impossible by the very nature of the laws that are in operation since creation for adam to have anyone come down line from him
Now that he has fallen being sinless impossible see the only way you and i can attain to sinlessness is by faith in christ jesus he says that’s why in fact let’s go to john chapter three and see something very significant that jesus is saying on this subject because
We need to make sure that we understand these foundational principles of the plan of salvation in john chapter 3 jesus is having this conversation with a church leader and he tells him you should know these things you mean you’re a teacher in israel and you don’t know these things and he tells him
In verse 5 verily verily i say unto you except a man be what born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of god that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit and what is jesus saying there
When you’re born the first time you’re born of the flesh isn’t that right when you’re born the first time you are not born of the spirit otherwise you wouldn’t need to be born again right there’s nobody born of the spirit but one person and who was that jesus christ conceived
Of the holy ghost see so jesus didn’t need to be born again we do isn’t that right we every man he said except a man be born again there’s no exceptions to this now it doesn’t it doesn’t forego the fact that those who may be born into a godly family
They’re going to have some advantages isn’t that right with the mother and father have devoted their lives to christ and even from the earliest moments while that child is in the womb they are singing the songs of zion to it reading the word that child is going to
Have some advantages over somebody who doesn’t have that isn’t that right but it still does not constitute that child sinless why because it the genes go all the way back clear to who adam and none of us escape that okay so we were furnished with this holy nature sinless pure undefiled but
The second part of our study how did sin affect the nature of man now let’s go back there i know you you know this but you know let’s go back there to genesis 3 and look at how sin affected the nature of man right there in the garden
Before we even get put out of the garden watch what happens this is uh genesis 3 starting at verse 8 they heard the voice of the lord god walking in the garden in the cool of the day and adam and his wife did what now did they ever do that before no
It before this time it was a delight to see jesus coming to talk with them right now something has totally changed in them that caused them to want to do the opposite see before there was like a magnet jesus is here now those magnets are turned the other way
And we’re hiding from jesus amazing then it says from the presence of the lord amongst the trees of the god the lord called to adam and said unto him where art thou and he said i heard your voice in the garden and i was afraid what was he afraid of
Where did that come from where did this fear come from sin right sin had totally transformed their whole outlook towards god now totally now watch this i was afraid because i was naked lost the presence the lost the glory of god and i hid myself and he said who told you
That you were naked have you eaten up the tree where have i commanded you that you should not eat and adam said yes lord i did please forgive me that’s not what he said right he said the woman whom you gave to me to be with me she gave me of the tree
And i did it now just a little bit ago adam we’re told by inspiration was looking upon eve and because he loved her he did what he hate because he couldn’t he couldn’t imagine an existence without her so supposedly because he he loved her so greatly he was ready to share her fate
And now who knows this may have been just a hour two later would it he’s ready to throw her under the bus see get her she did it i was not responsible for this i was minding my business doing what i was supposed to do
And you god gave this woman to me see so it’s not my fault yeah it’s your fault and her fault that’s basically what he’s saying isn’t it you see what sin does how quickly the change has come remember this morning we said the principle of what selfishness is now in control
See the law of sin is in the flesh it’s all about me now sorry eve you know i mean i i felt like i loved you before but now that it’s judgment time you’re on your own see what i’m saying that’s that’s what that’s what it came down to
Now let’s see what happens with e okay lord didn’t even deal with that right there he said okay um the lord god said unto the woman what is this that you have done and the woman said lord i am so sorry please forgive me i did exactly what you said not to do
Didn’t do it same principle in her right the woman said the serpent beguiled me and i did eat in other words you know i mean you had this serpent in here i mean if he was if you didn’t allow him to be here we would be all right today it’s not me
Get the serpent he did it see and this this is see again this is now passed on to every one of us in our nature we we naturally do not want to take responsibility for our own sins right we naturally when somebody comes to reprove us for sin
We’re ready to be on the defense isn’t that right we’re ready to think of how that does not apply to me automatic the principle the law of selfishness see this is a ruling dominating force that’s now in control of the thoughts and the feelings of mommy and daddy adam and eve see
All right so when we go over to romans 7 we see paul bringing this out also in a very powerful way this chapter of course being another very controversial part of scripture what does paul actually mean what is what is he actually saying here but paul is underscoring
That we have something operating in our nature that is more powerful than your will okay in romans 7 verse 14 for we know that the law is spiritual but i am carnal sold under sin who sold him unto sin adam and eve right so we were born on a plantation brothers and sisters
We were born on the plantation we didn’t make that choice and this is why god has pitied our estate can you say amen today he knows we didn’t make this choice he knows we can’t be as it were blamed for how we came into the world we didn’t have a vote in that
Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if we could have sat back and say you know in this list of jeans i don’t think i want that one put that one to the side that one yeah i’ll take that one we didn’t have that choice did we no you got whatever
Came from the genetic code of your mother and your father period and who knows what is upline from that tree see they can be things that come back your mother and father is like where did that come from you know granddaddy wasn’t like this i don’t know grandmother wasn’t like this see
Things you know they’re things we are still studying about the genetic code and discovering that that are incredible but this law of heredity it it dictates that like begets like and therefore it is just as impossible for any one of us to be born into holiness innate holiness
As it is for a shark to give birth to a giraffe it’s not going to happen like begets like it’s a law see so as paul goes on he says he he starts breaking down how it has been demonstrated that i am sold under sin 4 verse 15 that which i do
I what allow not for what i would that do i not but what i hate that do i you read the greek there that’s what i practice now just before anybody gets worried i do not believe that this is describing the victorious christian living okay so you can have a sigh of relief
Right but this is what we need to come to grips with in order to get to the other side of victoria’s christian living we first have to realize how hopeless a situation we are in so that we can be ready to be saved by the savior
He says if then i do that which i would not i consent to the law that it is good the law is not the problem is it now then it is no more i that do it but what sin that dwells in me now that kind of verse right there
Doesn’t fit into a whole lot of people’s theology it sounds like paul is abdicating all responsibility for what he’s doing he’s saying i’m not doing this sin that lives in me is doing this is that what he’s saying that’s what he’s saying isn’t it and he says it more than once
He says for i know that in me that is in my flesh dwells how many good things no good thing for to will is present with me you see the choice is here right now this is what he’s dealing with i’m choosing to do good right i’m making a decision
I’m going to do good right then he says but how to perform that which is good what can’t find it where is he looking for it in himself and that’s why he’s not finding it because it’s not here the will to do it you know he says i delight in the law of
God the law is doing its job it’s showing us man we’re in trouble it’s doing its job it’s just showing you you got mud on your face you need something to clean that but you don’t have any cleaner on you see so he says for the good that i would
I do not but the evil which i would not that i do there it is again now if i do that i would not it is no more i that do it paul’s being repetitive here that means this is something we really need to get right repetition deepens the impression
So paul’s saying it over and over again but sin that dwells in me i find then a what there’s that word a principle a law that when i would do good by choice evil is present with me so what happened here as we’re seeing here by this study of the nature
Of christ and the nature of man and how sin affected us the genetic code which started with adam and eve was corrupted does that make sense the genetic code was corrupted and therefore every person coming out from his loins would be receiving corrupted code that’s you and i isn’t that right
It’s a law this sin has been passed down by law and this is what he’s finding out this is what we need to find out for i delight in the law of god after you inward man but i see a what another law where in my members
Warring against the law of my mind and doing what else bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members see oh wretched man that i am who will deliver me from the body of this death now this is the place we have to come to
Before we can be saved we have to see i am messed up and if i’m going to be saved at all it’s got to be jesus coming in and saving me from myself see so we have to see that there’s nothing that we can fix about ourselves nothing that we can patch up
We have to be delivered from this body of death you see when he says that it’s in my members what is a member of body parts that’s literal what he’s saying that’s not just spiritual talk our brother was just mentioning this at the uh the table
You can as it were peel back the skin of your head and you will see starting from your brain what are called nerve patterns and those nerve those brain nerve patterns are the habits that have been developed in you both by inheritance and by cultivation
So we are as as you’ve all heard we are creatures of habit see so these things are written in fact when david says in psalm chapter 51 verse 5 he says i was behold i was what shapen in iniquity and in sin then my mother conceived me now that that’s con
Significant what david is saying there when he says i was shaping in iniquity david is talking there about the formative time when he was in his mother’s womb when those first two cells came together and then started multiplying that’s when the shaping took place for every one of us
And david is saying i was shaping i was formed and developed in the womb in sin it’s written in our very genetic code and this is why every single person since the beginning of the fall has sinned that’s why the bible says if any man says i have no sin
What does he say about you you’re lying truth’s not in you it’s there is a law there are laws in operation here and adam just happened to be the progenitor of the race the one who gets to pass down to every generation past the results of what he did
You see it would have worked the other way if adam had remained faithful we would have been born holy we would have been born sinless see born in harmony with the will of god by law but the law works either way see now jesus steps in this is where some people
Uh have have wondered well doesn’t jesus step in and undo everything that jesus did yes but that’s where we must make a choice see notice in i’m not going to go back there for sake of time but in john 3 jesus actually says that he
That believes not on the son of man he says he’s condemned what’s the next word already in other words your default position in adam is condemnation that’s what we read in romans 5. see so your choice not to believe in jesus and take the escape route out of your lost condition
You are thereby choosing by default to stay in adam and be condemned you’re condemned already that choice was made for you by adam thousands of years ago so you don’t have to do anything but what you naturally do to remain in condemnation but you do have to make a choice
No i’m getting off this ride i’m not going there with you satan amen you know when the when the lifeboat comes by i read this some years ago i think it was by j.h wagner and he was dealing with this very issue of how uh you know people have a hard
Time accepting that somebody else could make a decision for me like adam in the garden and he says you know if somebody pushed you into the water and you started drowning you know and then a uh lifeboat comes by to save you are you going to us
Stay there while you’re struggling to to keep from drowning and say well i i first got to find out who it is that pushed me in here and it’s i’m not responsible for this i didn’t get in here somebody else got me in here are you gonna
Go through all of that are you gonna accept the salvation that’s here to get you right you’d be crazy if you didn’t right so you know we may not be able to fully understand all of these things but the the bottom line is that jesus has made a way of escape for
Every human being on the planet every human being was represented by adam and every represent every human being was represented by the last album praise god now let’s see how much more we can cover of this going on to the the second page um in regards to how
The how sin has affected our nature uh notice in in uh counsels the teachers page 33 on the second page the transgression of god’s law brought woe and death in its train through disobedience man’s powers were perverted and selfishness took the place of love his nature became what so weakened that
It was what impossible for him to resist the power of evil impossible see now the only way it is possible for you to resist evil is by connecting with jesus christ then it is possible then sin is not excusable anymore see but we must first become aware
Of the salvation that is available to us see and that’s where you and i come in see there’s so many people out there that have no idea that the lifeboat is here to get them and jesus has sent you and i to go get them and let them know he has some salvation
For you so his nature became so weakened that it was impossible for him to resist the power of evil all right now skip down to the little statement there from education page 29 notice this one the result of the eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil
Is manifest in how many men’s experience every man’s experience there is in his nature a what bent to evil a force a what force which unaided he will have a hard time resisting he cannot resist why because this is a law a principle principles do not respect your freedom of choice
If i go on the top of this roof and decide to violate the law of gravity believing that i’m going to do it am i going to break the law or is the law going to break me yeah exactly right a force which unaided he cannot resist
All right reviewing hero 5 27 84 just before his cruel death jesus said the prince of this world comes and has nothing in me hallelujah satan could find nothing in the son of god that would enable him to gain a victory he had kept his father’s commandments and
There was no sin in him that satan could triumph over no weakness or defect that he could use to his advantage but we are what sinful by nature and we have a work to do to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement was jesus sinful by nature are you sure
Alleluia if he was sinful like us he would need a savior but jesus took sinful nature upon him but he did not become sinful by nature there’s the difference and this is where this is the the distinction we must make right now this one is not in your
Study this is signs of the times 2 13 93 when man sinned all heaven was filled with sorrow can you imagine for through yielding to temptation man became the enemy of god a partaker of the satanic nature the image of god in which he had been created was marred and distorted
The character of man was out of harmony with the character of god for through sin man became carnal and the carnal heart is enmity against god is not subject to the law of god neither indeed can be all right now on to the next page three the words this is from spaulding and
Began 209 this words flesh or fleshly lust carnal us embrace the lower what kind of nature corrupt nature the flesh of itself cannot act contrary to the will of god we are commanded to do what with the flesh crucify with the affections and lusts so it has to have the consent of your
Will now this is on the other side of the equation once we have come to christ and we’ve been made aware that he has power to deliver me from myself now i understand that this slavery this bondage that i’ve been involved in i can break this now with with god’s help
And i don’t have to be a slave to these passions anymore i don’t have to be a slave to this appetite anymore amen these are the things that we come to understand when christ comes into our lives so what is required to read what was required to redeem man from the fall
Into sin okay and in romans 4 23-5 it says now it was written for abraham it was not written excuse me for his abraham’s sake alone that it was imputed to him but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we do what believe on him that raised up jesus our
Lord from the dead who was delivered for our offenses what part of the the work of jesus is that speaking of when he was delivered for our offenses the crucifixion this is the delivering up of himself to pay for the infinitesimal amount of sins that are represented by all of the race
Of adam he delivered himself up for our offenses what’s the next part but and also was raised again for what reason our justification see it wasn’t enough for the debt to be paid justification is where it where jesus now fixes what’s wrong with you ellen white says that justification is not a mere
Judicial act whereby he sets you free from condemnation but it is also reclaiming from sin see that’s justification by faith when we accept the work that christ has done for us he not only says i forgive you but i also give you for your sins my righteousness see what forgiveness entails
It’s not just saying okay i won’t be mad at you anymore it’s also saying i’m gonna reach into your life now and start changing what you are and making you what i am that’s god’s justification making you right praise god all right now notice i’m just going to read this
Last uh sentence of the statement from 2sp that spirit of prophecy volume 2 pages 9 and 10. this is what was required to redeem us his life jesus life was of sufficient value to rescue man from his fallen condition see an angel couldn’t do this because not only do we need to be
Forgiven but we needed somebody who who was whose life was of sufficient value that he could actually impart his life to all of us angel can’t do that because he gets his life from the same source that we get ours from and an angel’s life would not pay all of the debts
Of all of us but jesus could his life was of sufficient value to rescue us how did christ undertake now we get into just what type of nature christ took it says in john 1 14 what somebody read it for me the word was made flesh and dwelt among us
Now one thing we can we can be certain of that when the bible speaks about flesh what kind of flesh is it talking about sinless or sinful i heard both well let me ask you when adam was created in the image of god what kind of flesh did he have sin less flesh
After adam’s sin what kind of flesh did he have sinful so then when jesus comes into the world and receives flesh of man what kind of flesh did he receive sinful sinful flesh there’s only one kind of flesh now that we are on the other side of the garden of eden
Only one kind that’s why uh john says in first john chapter 4 that if if when you’re trying the spirits any spirit that confesses not that jesus is what come in the flesh single article in the flesh he’s not of god see so if you’ve got somebody preaching to
You that that jesus came and sinned less flesh what does that say about that person that’s an antichrist you’re dealing with he failed the test because jesus came in the only kind of flesh that humans have sinful flesh praise god it wouldn’t be in any test for jesus to come in sinless flesh
We don’t have that we’re not tempted adam wasn’t even tempted by sin sin less flesh right so we needed somebody to come down to our level and take our kind of equipment on you know so and then of course romans 8 3 and 4 god sending his own son in the likeness of
Sinful flesh and for sin condemn sin where and if he condemned it where it was in the flesh he condemned it praise god that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled where so you know there goes this idea that jesus fulfilled all the law so we don’t have to keep it
That’s not what he said does it yes that’s right what good would that do if jesus just did it for himself he said in john 17 i say for their sakes i sanctify myself you know that they also might be sanctified by the truth so that the
Law of righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit all right many other excellent texts here that make it very plain hebrews 2 14 to 18 for as much then as the children who are the children that’s us
All right as much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself likewise took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death if he had sinless flesh he wouldn’t have been able to die adam would never have died if he had
Remained in sinless flesh and if he had remained faithful to god his flesh would not have become sinful flesh jesus came with sin full flesh so that he could die for us you see that to destroy him that had the power of death that is the devil did you know the devil
Had the power of death but jesus took it away from him praise the lord wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren now is this all things is there no how do i want to put this are there any any particulars in which he was not made
Like like us let’s read the next uh statement here 16 mr 182 but as christ humbled himself to to the nature of man he could be tempted he had not taken on him even the nature of the angels but humanity what read this together with me perfectly identical with our own nature except
So is there any exception except what does the word accept mean that means that that was one area that he was not taking on what we have except without the taint of sin a human body human mind with all the peculiar properties he was bone brain muscle a
Man of our flesh he was compassed with the weakness of humanity as it says later on that he was capable of yielding to temptations now james chapter 1 tells us that god cannot be tempted with evil that means impossible it’s impossible for god to be tempted with evil you cannot tempt god
To overeat you cannot tempt god to commit adultery you cannot tell none of the things that we are tempted with are a temptation for god that’s what james says so he had to come close enough to us to be able to be tempted with these things and that’s what he did see
But he did not take the taint of sin in other words he did just like we said before he did not become sinful he was not born in sin but we are born in sin you see the difference okay now i love this one it’s very short medical ministry page 181 was one
Sentence but very significant it says he took upon his what kind of nature sin less nature our sin full nature that he might know how to that are succeed so if we want to consider this is jesus he comes into the world and in his entrance or as he enters
This world what kind of nature does he have by heritage a sin less nature but he takes upon this sinless nature what our sin full nature how many natures that does that give him two you see the point so we cannot see the problem with so many of us is we are
Trying to do exactly what inspiration said not to do to present him as all together human such a one is ourselves he says it cannot be that’s right he wouldn’t be able to save us at all you know that’s right so he took upon what he already had from eternity
He didn’t get rid of that it didn’t disappear it was still there in him but he clothed it that’s another way that ellen white likes to refer to it he clothed his divinity with humanity see so it was close enough to him that he could feel the promptings of this sinful flesh
He could know what it is like notice it says so he could know how to help us aren’t you thankful for jesus he came that close so that he could literally feel in himself what it is to be tempted in your flesh what it is to feel those promptings to
To want to just lash out of somebody when they get on your nerves see all of the things he covered all the bases inspiration says hebrews 4 15 we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities hallelujah but was in all points
Tempted like as we are what a savior now here’s an interesting point as well you and i we’re born into this world we have our line of lineage our lineage and whatever is imparted to us in our particular line those are our particular temptations you have your temptations i have mine
I may have no problem with some of the areas that you have a problem with and vice versa isn’t that right and it all is determined by what came down your particular line but jesus it tells us um this is in your study as well like every child of adam
I’m not looking at it right now but it says like every child of adam jesus accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity see but now jesus somehow this is mysterious but somehow jesus is partaking and accepting of that law of heredity i believe covered all of the lines
Not just his particular line because he had to be able to be tempted in all points like as we are see there’s another thing that only god could do only a divine being could do because he made us see he had the capacity in his soul and his being
Of being able to cover all of the lines of heredity in himself and feel the temptations that all of us feel that i may not feel or you may not feel but there’s not a one of us who will be able to say that you don’t know what
It’s like to be in my shoes jesus he covered all the bases see only a divine being could do that see this is why colossians chapter 3 believe it is says when christ who is our life shall come christ is our life he doesn’t just give you life
He is our life there’s some deep deep ones on that as well uh notice uh confrontation 78 by experiencing in himself the strength of satan’s temptation and of human sufferings and infirmities where did he experience it in himself in himself okay he had all the strength of the passion of humanity
In himself upon him uh 3sm 139 and 40 he came not to our world to give the obedience of a lesser god to a greater but as a man to obey god’s holy law and in this way he is our example so there’s only a slight difference in jesus test to our test
Jesus test was to maintain the holiness that he had from eternity the test was to to determine whether jesus would be able to resist yielding to this sinful equipment that was upon him throughout his lifetime now we on the other hand come into the world already submitted to it
By the laws of heredity we come into the world with these genetic codes already having pre-programmed you to submit to them before you even know about the gospel or you had sufficient uh development or growth to figure out right from wrong this is why children small children four you know it
You’re telling you alive where did that come from who taught them that see where did that come from yes sir you know yeah this is already hardwired into our very being you see so jesus is coming in to overcome res uh the temptation to yield to our equipment
We are coming from the state a different standpoint we are needing to overcome what we have already been subjected to do you see the difference see we’re in the pit already thanks to adam we need a strong hand to reach down and pull us out he couldn’t save us if he got already
All the way down in the pit but he came close enough so that he could experience what we experience and overcome on our behalf all right now let’s skip on to uh page five um just a few things we’ll notice here in in uh section 5 to what extent did
Christ identify with fallen humanity it says in 5 bc 1080 satan assailed christ through every conceivable form of temptation now just conceive in your mind of the types of temptations you know some some people wonder did jesus ever have to deal with this or did jesus ever have to deal with that
What did god say he covered all the bases every conceivable okay now this is this next one you might want to put a asterisk beside this because it is not a published statement you have to get this from the from the uh archives but it’s interesting what it says coming
As he did as a man to meet and be subjected with all the evil tendencies to which man is heir notice what we just mentioned how we all receive a heritage of sin that is particular to whatever our fathers and our mothers and our forefathers have passed on to us
But jesus comes and gets subjected to all of those that man is heir to all right in the next statement he was dependent upon the omnipotent for his life christ did nothing that human nature may not do if it does what partakes of the divine nature that’s a good one isn’t it
That lets us know everything jesus did you can do it by god’s grace by dwelling in him by faith all right it says then the next one the humanity of christ was taxed as none of us will ever know so if you’re tempted to think well jesus had an advantage over me because
He was he also had a divine nature you will never know none of us will ever know just how taxing the test was for jesus jesus was if when you put everything together jesus if anything was at a disadvantage to you and to me let me give you one example when
You and i sin the bible says we have an advocate with the father jesus christ the righteous who was jesus advocate should he send who was going to come and save jesus if he sinned one time was there going to be a second chance for jesus
And we’re going to see we’re going to see i’m i’m going to hold your points because we’re going to have a time for questions and answers but i got some statements in here that answer that question powerful way in fact well i want to skip over some of these but uh notice
On page six it tells us in 21 mr 402 and 3 every step christ took was taken in full entire dependence upon god that’s what we need full and entire dependence on god because we’ve learned we’ve understood that there’s nothing in me you know jesus said when you’ve done
Everything that is commanded of you to do then this is what i want you to say we are unprofitable servants we have done what was commanded of us that’s what jesus said and i looked up that word unprofitable and it means worthless i said i had a hard time with that at
First when i read i was like wow lord you mean we we’re worthless how is it that we are to con how to say that we’re worthless servants but that’s what he said this is the this is how we are to regard ourselves when we do all that god has commanded us
When we adopt health reform when we adopt dress reform when we adopt sabbath reform when we adopt all of the reforms that god has called us to re to adopt and god does expect us to do that right we’re not in any way belittling these things because they are very necessary for your
Preparation to pass the investigative judgment amen god gave us these messages and he means business about it right so we’re not in any way belittling these things but when we’ve done all of these things we’re still to understand that they are not the bases whereby i am being allowed into the
Kingdom of heaven you see that’s not the basis what is the basis christ and his righteousness what he did you see jesus the law i think i have this one in here um anyway it tells us and this is based on galatians uh what paul says in galatians that
Cursed is every man that continueth not in all things that are written in the law to do them and then ellen white comments that the law demands of us perfect unbroken obedience throughout the entire existence of man that’s what the law demands of you now how many of us have that to offer
See not one that’s why you can never be saved based on your record it’s all by grace god has loved us and therefore he has imputed christ’s righteousness to us and credited to us so that we when we’re allowed into the kingdom of heaven we’re allowed based on the supposed fact that
You live the life that jesus did of perfect obedience from birth till death you see that that’s what it means by imputing to you is credited to your account see just as fully as it was credited to our account that we did what adam did when we had no choice in that
It is also credited to us that we did what jesus did even though we didn’t choose that either see that’s the gospel brothers and sisters and it’s incredibly good news it’s so good that people can’t blame bring themselves to believe it they think it’s too good to be true
The thought that the righteousness the perfect record of christ is credited to you and me based on no merit of ours at all it’s a precious thought see all right um okay notice this one this is also on page six 16 mr 1 82 and 3. this is this is significant
As well it says the divine nature combined with the human made him capable of yielding to satan’s temptations here the test of christ was what far greater than that of adam and eve for christ took our nature what fallen but not corrupted and would not be corrupted unless what
He received the words of satan in the place of the words of god so he took our nature fallen but not corrupted remember that very important okay all right let’s go forward in uh page seven notice i’m just picking certain things out of here i encourage you of course to
Read the whole context even beyond what i have in here of all of these statements it will be a very fruitful study for you guaranteed it says we should have no misgivings in regard to the what perfect sinlessness of the human nature of christ perfect sinlessness why because he did not once yield
To that sinful flesh only at that point would it have become his own but he never owned it it was only on him by lone you might say for a temporary period of time does jesus have sinful flesh now no he said he has a glorified body
And if we’re faithful what’s going to happen with us we’re going to have a glorified body like unto his glorified body bible says so thank god he came off victorious um okay go ahead and as i said on your time look at the rest of these we’re gonna skip forward fast forward
For sake of time um page 8 signs of times 12 9 1897 the human nature of christ was like unto ours and suffering was more keenly felt by him why for his spiritual nature was what free from every taint of sin so what part of christ’s nature was sinless spiritual nature
You know a.t jones says it this way don’t drag his mind into it see don’t drag his mind into his taking of sinful nature upon him that nature remained perfectly free from sin thank god all right then the next one youth instructor 6 2 98 in his human nature he maintained key words
Maintained the purity of his divine character see so again this underscores that jesus comes into the world with what he had from eternity he didn’t give that up he ellen white says that he didn’t go out of himself to another but he took humanity into himself and gave humanity and existence out of
Himself that’s deep 1sm 250 is where that’s found he didn’t become somebody else it was still jesus there but it says he maintained what he had by the same methods that you and i must gain what he had amen amen amen all right then um notice at the bottom of the page
21 mr page 11 christ did not need to fast for 40 days because of inward corruption or to subdue self he was sinless it was on our account that he fasted all right um now page nine top notice this one that goes together with one we just recently read signs of the
Times 1 16 96 christ did no sin neither was god found in his mouth he corrupted not human nature and though in the flesh he transgressed not the law of god in any particular the humanity of christ is called what that holy thing where did that come from
Scripture of luke chapter 3 believe it is where the angel is speaking of jesus at what stage in his life in the womb and he calls jesus what that holy thing now could any of us be referred to when we were in the womb as that holy thing that’s in your womb
That’d be blasphemy right this is jesus coming here the what inspiration has to say this whole section goes into the subject of infants and the unborn right we’re going to skip past that and on page 10 um d.a desire of ages 5 14 even the babe in
His mother’s arms may dwell as under the shadow of the almighty through the faith of the praying mother isn’t that a blessing john the baptist was filled with the holy spirit from when his birth wow if we will live in communion with god we too may expect what
The divine spirit to mold our little ones even from their earliest moments wow praise god you know so and now interestingly enough again on this point of what this constitutes ellen white says about john i believe it’s in the same book desire of ages that john had by nature the faults and weaknesses
Common to humanity but the touch of divine love had transformed him see so even though this is the same john that was filled with the holy spirit from his birth from the womb but she says that he had what faults and weaknesses common to humanity see so even this great advantage does not
Render an infant sinless see we all need to be born again amen there’s not a single person that does not need to be born again the second time and now this is another one that’s not in your study this is 2t 391 this one sentence children are born with the animal propensities
Largely developed so on the other side of the equation the parent’s own stamp of character having been given to them so if we’re not living holy lives if we’re living sinful lives what happens to our child they receive notice he says they can actually be born with animal propensities largely developed
That’s very significant now when that child is born how would you be able to tell from looking at the child that its animal propensities are largely developed the animal propensities what do you know the child needs to eat right and the answer that i believe to that is you cannot tell
You cannot tell because there’s not sufficient growth or maturity for him to manifest those animal propensities see until that takes place that’s when you will see now what why do why am i bringing this up because once again this this gets into the genetic code and the fact that while we’re being
Shapen in the womb those cells and this this is a fascinating area of study genetics the cells are loaded with information just like computer chips and when those com those cells start coming together and multiplying they are already pre-programmed with information of how to shape you
How to form you what to impart to you from your mother father grandmother grandfather and on back all of that information is already in those first two cells from the time they come together and start multiplying see and so those parents who are giving loose rain to their passions
This is the context of this statement the fact that we can be intemperate even in the marriage con marriage ban in the marriage relation isn’t that right yeah god says that we’re to be temperate in all things even in our marital privileges amen mighty quiet in all things
So she’s talking about marital excess in this very context and she says when we are out of control with our passions in the marital uh union the child is going to be endowed with animal propensities largely developed you see very important that we understand these things all right on the page 11
You in summary section number eight how can the humanity of christ be described nine be a seven bc 904 she says christ could have done nothing during his earthly ministry and saving fallen man if the divine had not been what blended with the human the limited capacity of man cannot
Define this wonderful mystery the blending of the two natures the divine and the human when will it be able to be explained never so you know we’re just scratching the surface here this this afternoon that’s about all we’ll get we’ll never be able to fully explain
But boy we sure try hard don’t we will never be able to fully explain this wonderful mystery now blending notice she’s using the term blending of the two natures when you take a blender and you put some ingredients in it put some water and you know some oats and
We’re going to make some old burgers you know well i i guess you don’t have to use a blender to make old burgers do you but uh let’s make some soy milk then you know we put some soy powder yeah smoothie you know whatever you whatever you prefer
When we put those articles in the blender before we push the button can you tell where the smoothie uh parts of the banana is and where the uh pineapple is can you can you distinguish all those things you can still distinguish all that but once you push that button what happens
You can’t tell where that banana is and where the pineapple is and where the apple is right it’s all blended up see this is what happened when jesus joined himself to this human race it’s mysteriously blended now come on sir forever brothers and sisters jesus is to be this way
He made an eternal choice for us a fundamental change in the existence of jesus has been made forever he’ll never go back to how life used to be before he left heaven all right in in section 9 there’s much more there about the mysteries and so on but in section 9
What were the risks involved in christ’s mission in human form right notice in hebrews 5 7 it says who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplication with strong what crying and tears unto him that was able to do what save him from death
And was heard in that he feared now it says that jesus was engaging in strong crying and tears about what being saved from death do you think this is talking about gethsemane this is not talking about gethsemane i believe this is giving us a window into what
Life was like in general for jesus because as we just alluded to a little bit ago you know we have a phrase of walking on eggshells this is this is was jesus life see we’re told by inspiration that if satan had touched the head of christ
All it would have taken would be one thought of sin and what would have happened to jesus this is it this is it probation is over and and we’ll see that in these statements that follow jesus had no second chance jesus had no backup redeemer to come and redeem him
This was the last stop not only for jesus but also for us okay 7 bc 926 he became subject to temptation what is the next word there endangering as it were his divine attributes what does that mean it means that jesus being who he was as god being kind being loving being caring
Being patient being temperate all of those divine attributes could have become just the opposite with jesus endangering who he was s t 5 10 99 for a period of time christ was what on probation are we on probation yes can we compare our probation to jesus probation no
He took humanity on himself to stand the test and trial which the first adam failed to endure had he failed in his test and trial he would have been disobedient to the voice of god and what else would have happened the world would have been lost next one
10 mr 386 to the honor and glory of god his beloved son the surety the substitute was delivered up and descended into the prison house of the grave the new tomb enclosed him in its rocky chambers if one single sin had tainted his character the stone would never have been rolled away
From the door of his rocky chamber and the world with his burden of guilt would have perished 1sm 256 page 12 could satan in the least particular least particular have tempted christ to sin he would have bruised the savior’s head as it was he could only touch his heel had the head
Of christ been touched the hope of the human race would have perished divine wrath would have come upon christ as it came upon adam christ and the church would have been without hope isn’t this something brother sis you see what was at risk with jesus every day every day was a new possibility
That he just might fail i’m serious and brothers and sisters this means that if he had failed guess what that’s right and guess what else moses elijah enoch come on back down it’s over that’s right it’s all over paul’s in collection page 400 christ has found his pearl of great price and lost
Perishing souls hallelujah he sold all that he had to come into possession even engaged to do the work and run the risk of losing his own life in the conflict and we’ll just stop there i think that’s a good place for us to pause and think diligently
On what it cost us or rather what it costs god to redeem us from sin what would cause jesus to be engaged in strong crying and tears to his father to save him from death see when we’re finding it so hard to give up those things that we love so
Much it’s because we’re not looking at this right here see when we’re told that the cup trembled in jesus hands that his father gave him the drink for us what does that mean it means that it was a struggle for him it means that it was a very real temptation for him
To let ungrateful man die for his own sins and go back to heaven it’s very real this is how serious sin is so before we entertain uh questions answers comments whatever you have let us bow together and once again ask god to help us to receive the hatred of sin
That we must have to enter the eternal kingdom of god oh lord we are humbled as we think of such a great price that was paid for our redemption we can’t understand it we cannot fathom how we are worth so much to you but lord because you have paid the price you didn’t
Draw back even though you were tempted to do so lord we it is just our reasonable service to surrender all to you it’s our reasonable service lord to do whatever you would have us to do it’s only our reasonable service lord to be perfectly obedient to all of your commandments
And lord we surrender this afternoon take us lord you know we’re powerless in and of ourselves to be perfectly obedient but lord we accept your gospel that in christ what is impossible is possible we thank you lord for this window of viewing our savior and eating his flesh and drinking his blood
May this be but the beginning of a continual feast for us of his flesh and his blood and we know lord that the more time we are spending doing this the more easier it will become for us to separate from sin the easier it will become for us to view
Sin like you view it and the more hateful sin will become in our eyes that cause this that we have read thank you father for your great salvation in jesus name amen amen praise god i saw my brother’s hand if you have any questions or comments you would like to
Make now is that opportunity um yes of the sanctuary with this rope and as i studied and studied the scriptures i never could find a rope being in the century right and this uh kind of related to that that’s what i saw when i threw up my hand i mean i saw that
And and i wanted to ask you about that expound on that could you do that for me sir right right from what uh uh from what i have found i haven’t found anything that actually corroborates that tradition now i heard brother corn say it may be in josephus writings okay
From what i understand that is just an historical um point that’s brought out by jose josephus and saying that’s what they did but it’s not it cannot be found in scripture right right okay okay anyone else pastor i had uh read in the spirit of prophecy we were sharing earlier in the beginning
And i read where it says that christ had designed us or we were designed to be the counterpart of god hallelujah he’s awesome that one word right there is very significant counterpart uh of god you know we we we are only faintly understanding our privileges as having been made in the image and
Likeness of god and you know that brings to mind um the fact that we are told that now you know ellen white says in desire of ages that uh the fact that jesus has come into the world and become one of us or be joined himself to us
He says it brings us even closer to god than we would have been had we never sinned amen you see and this is uh i i think i have this statement somewhere in my notes um yeah i can’t find it right away but nevertheless she does say
That uh we have the privilege of partaking of a nature higher than that which was forfeited by transgression see so in other words uh now that sin has come into the picture and god has put in effect the plan of redemption which was made well back in eternity past
We are now even brought to a higher plane of existence than had we never fallen because jesus is now a permanent member of our race of beings hallelujah yes my question is concerning adam and eve um we know that god cannot be tempted with sin
Right so he cannot be even moved to sin and um i know that adam and eve were created in his image when the temptation came to them was it really a okay i know eve started off because she was deceived and she fell there but with adam was he
Moved to sin or was he created in god’s image where he could not be tempted to sin or move to sin or you understand where i’m coming from maybe you may want to elaborate a little more yeah okay man was created in god’s image but man could not be moved to sin yet
Adam was moved to sin he was tempted with sin okay right so uh you know adam in other words even though he was made in god’s likeness uh nevertheless we know that uh he had obviously the ability to be tempted you know but it was not inward temptation
Because he because as we read he was made holy you know there was not an inward pull it came from without and this is why jesus temptation was far greater because it came from in and out outside with jesus anyone else um i would like to say maybe to add to that
To your question it could kind of be like lucifer how we see that he was created perfect in all his ways but yet he still entertains sin so i don’t know how to explain that that’s the mystery of iniquity but that could possibly be a factor into why adam
Agreed to sin yes yes and uh it was strictly we might say a matter of faith see uh adam and eve had never ever seen anything die and so all they had to go on is what god said now here is a totally opposite saying totally opposite talk
Who are they going to believe as all that that was the whole test who do i believe this serpent or god they chose to believe god i mean uh satan you know yes anyone else all right thank you very much jesus had no advantage over us
But the way he was different from us was that he um spiritual nature was without a taint would you consider that being what enabled him not to sin no because once again uh it was not as we read christ did not rely on his power to as god
Resists sin that would have been no contest whatsoever so the way in which christ maintained his purity was the same way in which you and i must attain purity by total dependence on god praise god amen anyone else okay would you like to do so all right let us pray
Kind heaven father we thank you the lord for this time that we have spent in your place of holiness and your presence and may the things having to follow that we have learned be rooted and grounded within us we will hold on to your unchanging hand and not fall that’s right
For this is the only way heavenly father that we will not fall amen is to be consecrated unto your will that’s right and hold on to your hand your leading your guiding through your holy spirit and may we be overcomers thank you
On Friday we ended the week talking about the physical origins of Jesus and how the miraculous conception happened biologically today we move to a question of what divine attributes were necessary for Christ to lay down in order to take up his humanity the question comes from Matthew in Vienna the capital of Austria
Hello Matthew thank you for writing in dear pastor John thank you for all your work over the years of ministry my small group recently considered the subject of Jesus’s divinity and humanity I looked through desiring God’s resources and found a sermon that you delivered way
Back in 1981 in that sermon on Luke 2:52 you say this quote our text has important implications for understanding the divinity of Christ it helps us understand what Paul meant when he said though he was in the form of God he did not count equality with God a thing to
Be grasped but emptied himself taking the form of a bondservant as Philippians 2 verses 6 & 7 one of the things Christ emptied himself of was omniscience you said later regarding the attributes of God you said this quote they were his potentially and thus he was God but he
Surrendered their use absolutely and so he was man in quote now the question is how do you now understand Philippians 2 verses 6 to 8 and Luke 2 verse 52 do these texts really necessitate that some attributes of the eternal divine nature of Jesus must have been given up or laid
Down at his incarnation pastor John what would you say to Matthew well I’m glad this question is asked and I’m glad they quote my old sermon because the first thing I would say is that I would speak today with more precision and care than
I did in those sentences I as I as I read those I went back and read them in context I thought oh that’s that was not very careful when we say things about Jesus Christ after the incarnation of the eternal divine Sun we have to be careful not to
Give the impression that the divine nature of Christ has the same limitations that the human nature of Christ does and I don’t think I made that distinction clear enough in 1981 I would not want to say for example that Christ in His divine nature emptied himself of any essential divine
Attribute and I think omniscience is an essential divine attribute so when in Matthew 24:36 Jesus says that not even the Sun knows the time of Jesus return I take him to mean that the Son Jesus Christ considered in his human nature operates with a kind of limitation but
Not the divine nature now I know that sounds weird that sounds strange and it is strange it is strange because the union of two natures in one person one divine and one human is beyond our experience and will always be beyond our personal experience we’re never gonna be
God and we we may expect it to sound strange so how then do I understand Philippians 2:5 2:8 and the emptying of himself let me read the verses so we all have it in in front of us though he was in the form of God he did not count
Equality with God a thing to be grasped grasped but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant and being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a so verse six you have the pre-existent
Christ before incarnation in the form of God which the next phrase defines as equality with God then in verse 7 you have him taking the form of a servant in the likeness of men and I think just as the term form of God in verse 6 does not
Mean less than God because of the term equality with God in the same way the term form of a servant or likeness of man in verse 7 does not mean less than human but rather equal with all humans that is a real human nature upshot
Christ is very God and very man and in between those two statements you have this famous phrase he emptied him self what does that mean I don’t think it means that Christ in His divine nature became less than fully divine in other words he didn’t empty himself of deity
One of the reasons I don’t believe that is what Paul meant is because he says the very opposite in Colossians 2:9 he said for in him in Christ the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily you know you even wondered whether he use the word fullness there parceling say he
Didn’t he didn’t empty himself of that he not empty he’s not only not empty he’s full he’s full of deity the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily in Jesus so I don’t think he emptied himself of anything that constitutes the essence of deity I think the best clue for how to think
About the emptying probably comes from John 17:5 where Jesus says father glorify me in your presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed so John had already said in John 5:18 that the Jews recognized that Jesus was making himself equal with God so on the one hand the
Incarnate Christ in the Gospel of John has a divine nature he’s fully God on the other hand there were aspects of his glory which he had laid aside and that’s why he’s praying father restored to me the glory I had with you before the foundation of the world and I think that
Would include at least the privileges of deity that stand between the divine Christ and the shame and degradation and suffering and death of the cross that’s the point that’s the point of Philippians 2:58 that he moved from such height to such shameful degradation on our behalf and that’s the mindset
We’re supposed to have as we serve others but then again and I need to qualify and say it would be a mistake to say that he laid aside all of the divine glory in becoming man because in John 1:14 it says the word became flesh and
Dwelt among us and we behaved see we have seen his glory glory as of the only son from the father full of grace and truth so there was a divine glory in the Incarnate Christ for those who had eyes to see but the fullness of divine glory I think
Would have incinerated sinners and blinded everyone and this he emptied himself of maybe the best way to say it is that what whatever stood between the fullness of the divine glory before the Incarnation and the suffering and shame and degradation and death of the cross whatever stood between there that had to
Be laid aside so that he could he could do it and the the only thing I would say now with regard to Luke 2:52 which was mentioned in the quest Jesus increased in wisdom and stature in favor would God a man the only thing I’d say there is Jesus was in his human
Nature fully man and therefore he grew he grew up through the stages of childhood like other humans and yet without sin Paul says in 1st Timothy 2:5 there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men the man human Christ Jesus so in his divine nature Christ was
Fully God in his human nature he was fully man in his divine nature he had all the essential attributes of God during his incarnation and in his human nature he was finite and could therefore grow in wisdom and stature just just by way of conclusion no book in the Bible
Exalts the deity of Christ better than the book of Hebrews of the son he says your throne O God is for ever and ever Hebrews 1:8 and no book stresses the humanity of Christ for the sake of his sympathy with with our weaknesses like Hebrews does chapter 4 verse 15 we we do
Not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who in every respect was tempted like we are therefore in this Advent season let us do exactly what Hebrews 4:16 says let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive
Mercy and find grace to help in time of need we we have a great divine and human Savior amen what a profound mystery here and beautifully approachable – thank you Pastor John for that answer Matthew thinks for the very good question thank you to everyone who listens thank you for
Making the podcast part of your Advent season this year you can subscribe to our audio feeds and search our past episodes in our archive and even reach us by email with the question of your own even questions about maybe something you’ve seen in an old John Piper sermon
That you would love to have clarified by him you can do all of that through our online home at desiring God org forward slash ask Pastor John well there’s a great danger in worshiping gifts more than the gift giver that of course is idolatry and this topic is especially
Important in a season of gift-giving like this one that we’re in the midst of so how do we love the giver more than his gifts and of course we’re talking about our relationship to God and God as the giver that is next as we ask and answer some Christmas related questions
And the podcast of this year I’m your host Tony ranky thanks for listening we’ll see you next time you
>> NARRATOR: In a backwater of the ancient world, a newborn child heralds new hope for mankind. It is a birth riddled with paradox. A virgin has become a mother; God has become human; a child is King. The biblical account of Jesus’ birth has enraptured millions. But the passage of 2,000 years
Has obscured the historical events that inspired it. What really happened? The answers, though elusive, may still be within our grasp– in clues contained in the Bible, in ancient historical documents and in recent new discoveries by scholars and scientists. Join us as we try to reconstruct the true story of a birth as
Mysterious as it was momentous. [Captioning sponsored by A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS] >> NARRATOR: For many, the search for the truth begins here. This sanctuary in Bethlehem was built in 326 A.D. at the behest of the mother of the most powerful man on Earth. A decade earlier, Constantine
The Great had altered history by declaring Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. His mother Helena became convinced by local residents that his newfound faith began on this spot. Visitors to the Church of the Nativity can descend to a grotto below, where Jesus is said to have been born.
Many share Helena’s belief. Others, who do not, still acknowledge the site’s symbolic if not historic value. Here, both can find satisfaction. Here, they can touch Christmas. For Christians, the birth of Jesus marks the moment when the world was transformed by the arrival of humanity’s savior. To others, it is an epochal
Turning point: the dawn of the dominant figure of Western culture. The mystery of Jesus’ birth is contained in two books of the New Testament: the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. But many scholars believe that they are works concerned not so much with facts than faith. To extract history from their pages is problematic.
>> DANIEL SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: The Hebrews knew that some truths are more profoundly communicated by telling a story than simply narrating historical events. That presents us an interesting difficulty. Sometimes we have to take a biblical passage and decide how much of this is the narration of events and how much of this is
Story and how do we tell the difference? >> ELIZABETH McNAMER: Our idea of history is different from writers who were writing then. We’re interested in the facts and only the facts. People writing at that point were interested not just in what happened, but in the interpretation of what happened.
It didn’t disturb them at all to add things to put forward their own theology, and it didn’t disturb their readers, either. >> JUDY YATES SIKER: They weren’t historians and they weren’t biographers. They were people whose communities had been impacted by the life of one they called Jesus of Nazareth, and it was
Imperative that they tell the story. >> NARRATOR: But did Matthew and Luke base their accounts of Jesus’ birth on actual events? Or did they merely invent the story after Jesus rose to prominence? The answers are all the more elusive because the narrative known to millions is in fact a fusion of two strikingly
Different tales. It begins when God chooses an obscure young virgin named Mary to carry his son. He tells her of his plan in an extraordinary encounter known as the Annunciation. >> “The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in
Your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.’ And Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.'”– LUKE 1:30.
>> NARRATOR: When Mary reveals her pregnancy to Joseph, her fiancé, he disbelieves her story. But when another angel visits him to verify it, his devotion to Mary is restored. Months pass… then a drama begins that is described by Luke but never mentioned by Matthew. The Emperor demands that all the
Roman world, including the Hebrew people, return to their ancestral homes in order to be taxed. >> “Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited Earth. And all were proceeding to register for the census,
Everyone to his own city.”– LUKE 2:1. >> NARRATOR: Joseph, originally from Bethlehem, must escort the pregnant Mary on an arduous journey to his home city, 90 miles away. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: One of the realities that we must always keep in mind in thinking about the Christmas story is that Palestine was Roman- occupied Palestine.
This was not a time or a place when the Hebrew people were in control of their own fate. Rome was very much in control of the fate of these people. So, there’s a human drama: There’s the drama of a father and a mother protecting their child and of trying to do the
Right thing. There’s a larger drama, and that is, this is a Hebrew family trying to do the right thing under the brutal occupation of Palestine by a foreign entity– the Roman Empire. >> NARRATOR: When Mary and Joseph arrive, they discover that Bethlehem is crowded to capacity. With no lodging available, the
Couple’s dilemma worsens. Mary goes into labor. >> “And she gave birth to her newborn son, and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”– LUKE 2:7. >> NARRATOR: The setting where Jesus was born is not specified.
But the presence of a manger– a feeding trough for livestock– has led many to believe it was a stable. Both Matthew and Luke describe how God makes known the miraculous birth to a receptive few. But they differ about who was informed and how. According to Matthew, God conveys the news through a
Wondrous morning star. It serves as a beacon for foreign dignitaries, who travel hundreds of miles to pay homage to the infant Jesus. >> “The star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over where the child was. And they came into the house and
Saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. And opening their treasures, they presented him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.”– MATTHEW 2:9. >> NARRATOR: In Luke’s version, the message of the birth is carried by an angel. It is delivered not to powerful
Foreigners, but to the local area’s most humble inhabitants. >> “There were shepherds in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people.
For today, in the city of David, there has been born for you a savior, who is Christ the Lord.'”– LUKE 2:8. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: The birth of Jesus represents one of those shining moments in human history when there seems to be a kind of sunrise in human darkness.
The birth of Jesus and the life and teachings of Jesus provide us with a level of hope, a message of trust and of just the human possibilities, and I think even non-Christians can come to appreciate that in Jesus as well. >> SIKER: Whether you are a person of faith or not, you have
Echoes of the story in art, in literature, and you can’t avoid it. And so, one needs to be aware of what this story is and what the significance of this story is in order to survive in Western culture. >> MARVIN MEYER: There’s something about the birth of any child that is a wonderful
Moment. It’s a wonderful moment for a family, but in the case of the story of the birth of Jesus, the point of it is, here is a birth that may have some meaning for a bigger family, for the family of Israel, for the family of humankind. >> NARRATOR: One man’s birth
Would turn the world upside down. A new faith would challenge the old order. Jesus, claiming to be the Son of God, would be seen as a threat to Caesar, who claimed to be a god himself. Two charismatic leaders, each asserting their divinity, would offer a revolutionary choice for the future.
>> JOHN DOMINIC CROSSAN: For millions of people, Caesar as divine made sense. He owned the legions, he controlled the Mediterranean world, he brought peace to it and he lived in a huge palace over there on the Palantine Hill in Rome. Now, over here is another story, a counter-story, an anti-story,
Which says, “No, God is not the god of power and violence incarnate in Caesar; God is the Jewish god of justice and righteousness incarnate in a little child who was born in a tiny country, an occupied colony of the Roman Empire, born just about as low as you can imagine.
So you hear of the clash of two gods.” And the question of the story– and it is the Christmas question– “Where is your god? Is your god in power or in justice? Take your choice.” >> NARRATOR: For two people, the choice is never in doubt. The virgin and the carpenter who
Bring Jesus into the world are the first to love him and all he represents. Surprisingly, however, the Gospels tell us little about them. All efforts to trace the historical roots of Christmas lead back to two pivotal figures. The human drama in the story belongs to Mary and Joseph.
They are the parents of God’s only Son, responsible for bringing up the Savior of the world. Yet the Gospels provide little information about them. Today, we think of them simply as a virgin mother and a humble carpenter. Mary’s identity has been obscured by centuries of idealization, encouraged by the Catholic doctrine of the
“Immaculate Conception.” >> SIKER: The phrase the “Immaculate Conception” is often misunderstood as a reference to the immaculate conception of Jesus, when, in fact, it is a reference to Mary. There was a sanctifying grace that preserved her from the stain of original sin. It was important that Mary’s pureness be preserved.
And so, I think that in order for this young woman to be the mother of one who was later, in Christianity, considered God, that it was important that we not have original sin stain this family. >> NARRATOR: For a less romanticized, more accurate portrait of Mary, scholars take
A deeper look into the Gospels. According to Luke, she is neither meek nor mild, but driven by a sense of purpose. She reveals herself in a powerful proclamation now known as the “Magnificat.” >> “My soul exalts the Lord. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich empty-handed.”– LUKE 1:46. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: What is the image that Luke portrays for us of the young Mary? It is not an image of this kind of glowing, white, virginal woman floating in the air. It’s the image of a
Revolutionary young woman in Roman-occupied Palestine, who sees the implications of the coming of her child to be expressed in those powerful words that the rich will be sent away, the poor will be fed, and the powerful will be pulled down from their thrones. This is a very politically savvy young woman.
>> NARRATOR: If Luke saw Mary as a revolutionary, he also saw her as a virgin. For historians, the virgin birth defies analysis. They are not equipped or inclined to discuss miracles. In their quest to understand the Christmas story, they must confine themselves to a conventional approach. In recent years, they have
Discovered other possible explanations for Mary’s dual role as virgin and mother. Advances in reproductive biology have focused attention on a phenomenon called parthenogenesis. It is a rare process in some plants and animals in which an egg can develop into a new organism without being fertilized. No instance of the process
Occurring in a human female has ever been recorded. Still, it leaves open the possibility that a virgin birth could have a basis in science. Some scholars, however, believe the Gospel authors did not base the virgin birth on a real event, but were inspired by an Old Testament prophecy.
>> “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel.”– ISAIAH 7:14. >> NARRATOR: According to some scholars, the Gospel authors likely claimed Jesus was born of a virgin to remain consistent with Isaiah’s prophesy of the
Coming Messiah. >> ROHALD F. HOCK: Isaiah himself, so far as we know, had no intentions of looking that far ahead, but the standard procedure throughout the ancient world was to make connections between the present and the past, and Christians are doing that with Jesus by connecting him with the past Scripture– in
This case, the prophecy of Isaiah. >> NARRATOR: Ironically, however, some claim it is possible that Isaiah never intended to predict that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. His words, written originally in Hebrew, may have taken on an erroneous new meaning when translated into the Greek version available to Matthew and Luke.
>> MEYER: In the original Hebrew of Isaiah, the word that is used for, well, “virgin” is actually ” alma,” the Hebrew word that means “a young woman”– a young woman of the age when women can conceive and bear children. And there is no more baggage than that that is connected to
That particular term. >> SIKER: When this gets translated into the Greek, which is what the early Christians would have been using– the text that they would have had– is ” parthenos,” which is more heavily nuanced as “virgin.” >> MEYER: The fact of the matter is, the doctrine of the virgin
Birth works better with the Greek than it does with the original Hebrew. >> SIKER: I don’t think that the speculation that the whole idea of Mary’s virginity comes from this “mistranslation” is one that argues very well. For one thing, it’s not a mistranslation. It is one of several words that
Is perfectly acceptable as a translation. But it does have a more heavy nuance of virginity. >> NARRATOR: Scholars who scrutinize the virgin birth focus not only on Isaiah’s prediction in the Old Testament, but also the Gospels themselves. In an apparent contradiction, the same biblical authors who celebrate Mary’s virginity also
Write that Jesus had several siblings. >> “Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters with us?”– MATTHEW 13:54. >> McNAMER: The orthodox tradition on this is that they were children of Joseph by an earlier marriage.
The Roman Catholic tradition is that these were simply cousins of Jesus. >> NARRATOR: Matthew and Luke, however, provide no information supporting this interpretation. >> MEYER: If one will insist, theologically, upon the perpetual virginity of Mary, then there are some great problems when it comes to the brothers and the sisters of Jesus.
And then some creative theological and historical work has to be done. The spin doctors have to go to work. I think that the simplest way to read those accounts is to understand that Jesus had real brothers and real sisters. It was that kind of an ordinary family. >> NARRATOR: If Jesus had
Biological siblings, it would negate only the notion that Mary was a virgin her entire life– not necessarily her virgin birth of Jesus. >> “Joseph knew her not until she had borne a son, and she called his name Jesus.”– MATTHEW 1:25. >> NARRATOR: Some scholars argue that this verse implies that Mary conceived Jesus
Miraculously, and later lost her virginity as she and Joseph assumed a conventional sexual relationship. For skeptics, the question remains: “If Mary was not a virgin, and God was not the father of Jesus, who was?” The most likely candidate, predictably, is Joseph. But in the first century, a rumor surfaced of another possibility.
It was chronicled by the Christian theologian Origen, who taught in Egypt in the second century. He wrote of an allegation that Jesus was the offspring of Mary and a Roman soldier. >> “The Jew, speaking of the mother of Jesus, said that she was guilty of adultery, and that
She bore a child to a certain soldier named Panthera. It was to be expected, indeed, that those who would not believe the miraculous birth of Jesus would invent some falsehood.”– ORIGEN, AGAINST CELSUS, CHAPTER 33. >> SIKER: Origen argues that they had to create this lie– this lie of Mary and the Roman
Soldier– because they knew, and they unwittingly admitted in their lie that Jesus’ birth was not a usual birth. And so, if they couldn’t accept the miraculous nature of this birth, what else would they do but create such a lie? >> CROSSAN: The accusation that Mary was raped by a Roman
Soldier and produced a child, therefore out of wedlock, seems to me to be the obvious rebuttal that I would make if I didn’t accept the virginal birth. This is the nasty, within-the- family, and therefore very nasty name-calling that goes on between Christian Jews and non-Christian Jews in the first
Century, each sort of saying rather nasty things about the other. >> NARRATOR: But could this accusation have any basis in fact? One clue scholars have examined is the name of the Roman soldier mentioned by Origen– Panthera. >> MEYER: Lo and behold, it turns out that a tombstone of a
Certain “Panther” has been found in Germany– the tombstone of a Roman soldier whose name was Tiberius Julius Abdes Panther. And it is said that he was a Sidonian archer who was based in Palestine. And so, that leads then to the speculation: Could it be the case that Mary was actually
Raped by, seduced by– but, at her age, we would call that rape– raped by a Roman soldier? And it is one of the historical possibilities. >> NARRATOR: The tombstone, discovered in 1859 in the city of Bingerbruck, is an intriguing yet inconclusive piece of evidence. Some scholars have argued that
Panthera was likely a common name among the ancient Romans. So, finding it etched on an ancient tombstone should not seem surprising. The discovery has become part of a 2,000-year-old theological debate over Jesus’ parentage. But the issue was once a private crisis for one humble carpenter. After Joseph learns Mary is
Pregnant, say the Gospels, he naturally assumes she has betrayed his trust. Under the laws of his time, he could have Mary stoned to death for her perceived infidelity. Instead, he quietly breaks their engagement. God intervenes. He sends an angel to Joseph in a dream, who tells him that her child has been miraculously
Conceived. Joseph accepts the divine explanation. He and Mary resolve to carry out God’s miracle. In 1997, archaeologists make a remarkable discovery three miles from Bethlehem. The pinkish limestone appears utterly ordinary, except it is located precisely in the center of the ruins of a 5th-century church. The church, it seems, was built
Purposefully around it. The diggers believe they have found the fabled kathisma– the Greek word for “the seat.” According to an apocryphal text, Mary rested on it on her way to give birth to Jesus. Ancient Christians gathered here to commemorate her journey to Bethlehem. The find renews debate over an age-old historical question:
Where was Jesus born? >> McNAMER: I believe that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, just as the stories tell us. The reason I believe this is that there were very early traditions in the church of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. These would have surfaced very soon after his death, when
People still remembered things, that he was born in Bethlehem. >> MEYER: I think it was likely Nazareth. Jesus was known as Jesus of Nazareth. And, typically, people were known by their birthplace. This is where the family lived. The way in which Matthew and Luke go through some contortions
To get the family to Bethlehem in order for Jesus to be born there seems to indicate that there’s something that is theologically motivated about this kind of account. >> NARRATOR: Some scholars believe that the Gospel authors knew Jesus was born in Nazareth, but altered the truth in the name of faith.
Their inspiration, once again, may have been a prophecy from the Old Testament. >> “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you one will go forth for me to be ruler in Israel.”– MICAH 5:2. >> NARRATOR: From Bethlehem,
Predicts Micah, will arise a Messiah for God’s chosen people. If Luke and Matthew wished to exalt Jesus as the awaited King, no other city would suffice as his birthplace. Whether inspired by facts or faith, Luke’s account of the journey to Bethlehem is complex and colorful. His story begins in Nazareth,
Where Mary and Joseph await the birth of Jesus. But the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, orders a census of his empire. >> HOCK: A census involved essentially finding out the numbers of people, the wealth of people, for purposes of taxation. So you had to have figures. You had to have concrete data
About what a province could generate in terms of taxes so that when the Empire decided what its tribute should be, they would be able to raise those funds. And, presumably, the reason Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem is because Joseph has property there and, for that reason, is required to register
Himself there rather than at Nazareth. >> NARRATOR: Luke does not specify their means of transportation. But since donkeys were commonly used to move both goods and people, the popular image of Mary riding one is entirely plausible. The roads in Palestine, even by ancient standards, were primitive. The food commonly taken on an
Extended journey was bread and water. Scholars imagine the 90-mile trek would have been grueling. Slowed by Mary’s condition, they would have traveled perhaps ten miles a day. The entire journey would have lasted more than a week. The question remains whether Joseph and Mary really endured such a journey.
The key to the answer may lie in the census that Luke says motivated it. >> “This was the first census taken while Quirinius was Governor of Syria.”– LUKE 2:2. >> NARRATOR: Independent historical sources confirm that a Roman census did occur during the reign of Quirinius. But it occurred in 6 A.D., long
After Jesus was born. It has been suggested that Luke misidentified the Governor; he may have meant to specify the similarly named Quintillus. His reign began in 6 B.C., around the same time that another Roman census was conducted. Even if this is true, however, paradox persists. Roman records indicate that
Every census ordered by Caesar Augustus over a 42-year span involved only Roman citizens. Mary and Joseph would not have participated. Also suspect is a census that required registrants to return to the city where they were born. >> CROSSAN: If everyone goes back to their ancestral home to be recorded and then goes back
To wherever they live, that’s a bureaucratic nightmare. It’s not the way the Romans did it. They wanted you recorded where you were working. “We want to know where you are to pay your taxes.” So, it’s a story which Luke creates in order to get Mary and Joseph and Jesus, of course to
Be born yet, to Bethlehem. But it is not factual. It’s fictional. >> DR. RICHARD HORSLEY: For a long time, we thought that this was just a story, and that this was just a literary device. Well, we’ve discovered papyri in Egypt, now, that put a whole different slant on this.
The Romans required peasants who had found themselves unable to both pay their taxes to Caesar and provide for their families to return to their villages precisely in order to be down on the farm where they would raise crops and pay the Roman taxes. Then that puts some great credibility back in this legend
That Joseph and Mary journey to Bethlehem on the occasion of Caesar having decreed a tax. >> NARRATOR: Whether Luke’s story of the census is credible or not, there may be a completely different scenario that compelled Mary and Joseph to journey to Bethlehem. Some scholars suggest it is possible that Mary was aware of
The Old Testament prophecy in Micah. They believe she may have purposely delivered her baby in the predicted city to bolster his role as the Messiah. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: Let’s remember Luke’s portrayal of Mary as a socially and politically very sophisticated young woman who sees her role as part of the resistance of the
Hebrew people to Roman-occupied Palestine. For this woman to associate the coming of this messianic child with the line of David and to make a move to Bethlehem to emphasize that association would be a politically very savvy move on her part. Is it possible? Absolutely, I think it’s possible.
>> NARRATOR: If Jesus was born in Bethlehem, it is still a mystery as to the precise setting. One passage, however, may hold the answer. >> “And she gave birth to her newborn son, and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there
Was no room for them in the inn.”– LUKE 2:7. >> McNAMER: Luke says to us, “There was no room at the inn.” Actually that can be translated: “It was not the place for them in the inn.” You know, an inn was simply an open field, surrounded by a wall
Where travelers could go to be safe from the animals and robbers, and there was a huge fire in the middle where they could do their own cooking, and many travelers would have been staying there. It probably would be the last place in the world you would want to have a baby.
>> NARRATOR: Luke’s mention of a manger implies Jesus was born in a stable, where it would most likely be found. But it is doubtful it would have been a freestanding structure. The more likely setting is a cave, as caves were commonly used to house livestock in the Holy Land.
Wherever Jesus was born, Matthew and Luke call attention to the modest nature of the setting. Though they decree Jesus a King, they make clear that he was not born in a palace. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: Virtually all of the Gospel accounts want to emphasize the humble beginnings of Jesus– the poor beginnings of Jesus.
Look at the setting for the arrival of God’s Messiah. God chose the least, God chose the powerless as the stage upon which salvation shall be worked out. That’s a very profound and important point. >> NARRATOR: For Christians, Jesus’ birth signifies a new beginning for mankind. 2,000 years later, the centuries
Themselves are measured from this pivotal moment in history. But when it occurred still remains a mystery.ou a merry Christmas We wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year… ♪ >> NARRATOR: Every December 25, millions embrace Christmas with reverence and revelry. >> ♪ Navidad, Navidad, hoy es Navidad… ♪
>> ( chanting in Latin ) >> NARRATOR: But unconsciously, the entire world celebrates it every day. In theory, every minute and second that ticks by is measured from the moment Jesus drew his first breath. On New Year’s Eve, the number emblazoned above Times Square declares how many years we believe have passed since Jesus was born. The only problem is that we are almost certainly wrong. The answer was a mystery even in Jesus’ own time. For the early Christians, the defining moment of his life was not its beginning, but its end. The question of when Jesus was born was not an issue until the second century. Christians found themselves
Challenged by a splinter group of believers who claimed Jesus had never been born in the conventional sense. >> McNAMER: I believe that the birth of Jesus only became important in the second century with Gnosticism. Gnostics were an heretical group within the church who were suggesting that Jesus never had a real body.
They essentially did not believe that matter was good. The only thing that was good was spirit. They did not believe in the incarnation. They believed in what we call the Docetic Christ– he only appeared to have a body– and I believe that the infancy narratives were written to counteract this heresy.
>> NARRATOR: When the early Christians became more curious about the circumstances of Jesus’ birth, they began to speculate about the date it occurred. In Egypt, a bishop named Clement determined that Jesus was born on November 18. Elsewhere in North Africa, an anonymous scholar of the same era declared it to be March 28.
Why they chose these dates is unknown. By the fourth century, Christians were no closer to finding the truth. But they decided which day seemed most appropriate– at least symbolically. December 25 had long been celebrated as the pagan holiday honoring the Sun God, Mithras. It was part of a two-week
Festival of the winter solstice, when the days began to lengthen. For the first several centuries of Christianity, the church found itself in fierce competition with popular pagan religions. What better way to challenge them than to usurp their holidays? >> CROSSAN: In the same way that you might take a pagan temple
And put a Christian shrine right on top of it, you put a Christian feast, the birth of Jesus, right on top of the winter solstice, right on top of a pagan feast. You sort of obliterate the pagan layer with the Christian layer. >> NARRATOR: Beyond the practical motivation was the symbolic.
>> McNAMER: I suppose we could say that Jesus was the light of the world, and this was a wonderful time to have the celebration, when there is darkness and then there is light– this light suddenly appearing. >> NARRATOR: In the year 349, Pope Julius formally designated December 25 as Christmas.
Believers now had an official date on which to celebrate, but the declaration extinguished whatever curiosity remained to discover the actual date of Jesus’ birth. Throughout the centuries, few clues have surfaced to solve the mystery. One is provided by Luke in one of the best-known passages from his Gospel.
>> “There were shepherds in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night.”– LUKE 2:8. >> NARRATOR: In ancient Israel, shepherds guarded their flocks at night only during the season when the ewes gave birth to their lambs. It happened in the spring. In December, sheep were generally kept in corrals, unwatched.
Some scholars believe Luke’s reference suggests we may be celebrating Christmas eight months too late. Ultimately, determining the month and day Jesus was born may be impossible. But determining the year offers scholars more hope. The effort began some 500 years after his birth. By then, the Christian Church had expanded its influence to
All dimensions of life. Perhaps the only untouched dimension was the most intangible of them all: time. To that point in history, calendars measured time beginning with the founding of Rome or the reign of some of its rulers. For Christians, this was no longer acceptable. >> Meyer: As Christians were contemplating a calendar, they
Thought, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there would be a calendar that would be geared into Christian values? Wouldn’t it be remarkable if there could be a Christian calendar that would begin with Jesus?” And then it becomes important to find out: “Well, when did Jesus begin?” >> MOSLEY: The question of the
Nativity– the date of the birth of Jesus– has puzzled people for 1,500 years. >> MOSLEY: Church Fathers decided that rather than count years from the beginning of the reign of an impious, non- Christian Roman emperor, that they should count the years with the birth of Jesus. And so Dionysus Exiguus, a monk
Within Rome, was given the project of determining when precisely Jesus was born. >> NARRATOR: For reasons known only to Dionysus, he decided to place Jesus’ birth in the year 753 of the old Roman calendar. He then invented a new calendar, decreeing that Jesus was born on December 25 in the year 1 B.C.,
With the year 1 A.D. beginning a week later. Today, many scholars believe Dionysus made a critical error. They say he failed to take into account a key piece of information from the Gospels. >> SIKER: One of the details in Matthew and Luke’s infancy stories is that his birth took
Place during the reign of Herod. So, if we can determine the reign of Herod and the death of Herod, then we can more closely determine the date of Jesus’ birth. >> HORSLEY: The question of the timing of Herod’s death is not in question. We’re fairly sure that Herod died in what would be
Chronologically 4 B.C., and then that provides the symbolic if not the actual point at which Jesus must have been born: just before that happened. >> NARRATOR: 4 B.C. Perhaps a few years earlier. Until additional evidence is discovered, this range is as close as we can come to the answer. This renowned astronomer
Believes he may have found the answer. For several years, he has been investigating yet another mystery of the Christmas story. >> NARRATOR: The search for Christmas transcends the bounds of Earth. Light years away might be one of the tale’s greatest mysteries: the Star of Bethlehem. >> “Behold, there came wise men
From the east to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.'”– MATTHEW 2:2. >> NARRATOR: For centuries, the star has endured as a mesmerizing symbol of Christianity– almost as powerful as the cross.
But did it truly exist, or was it created after the fact to make Jesus’ birth seem more miraculous? >> McNAMER: Generally, after people died, it was often said that a star had proclaimed their birth. This was said for Alexander the Great. It was said for the Emperor Augustus himself, that a star
Appeared at his birth. In fact, Shakespeare tells us the heavens themselves tell forth the birth of princes. I don’t believe there was a star. I don’t believe that there were magi who came from the east. >> SIKER: I don’t know what that Star of Bethlehem was, but I do
Think that it’s highly likely that there was an astrological event that occurred in that region that was brought into the legend, brought into the story, brought into the tradition of the birth of Jesus. >> NARRATOR: For centuries, astronomers have tried to determine if the Christmas star was more than a myth, and what
Celestial phenomenon could have accounted for it. >> MOSLEY: The first astronomer to speculate on what the Star of Bethlehem might have been was the great Johannes Kepler, 400 years ago– the man who worked out why it is that the planets move the way they do– and when Johannes Kepler saw an exploding
Star in 1604, he thought, “Aha! That might have been what the Magi saw. What could be more glorious?” And we can look at the old Chinese records and they recorded all stars that exploded that they saw, but none appeared at the time of the birth of Jesus. So, despite the charm of the
Idea, and despite Kepler’s enthusiasm for it, apparently it was not an exploding star. >> MICHAEL MOLNAR: Some astronomers have proposed comets, or in particular, Halley’s Comet, which is probably the most famous comet of all, and it appeared at around the time that we believe Jesus was born. However, if you look at the
Ancient texts and try to understand what the people of ancient times believed in, they feared comets. Comets didn’t indicate the birth of a king. It really meant, usually, the death of a king or the start of a war. So, we really cannot propose that a comet, or in particular
Halley’s Comet, was the Star of Bethlehem. >> NARRATOR: For some modern astronomers, the key to unraveling the truth lies in understanding the point of view of the magi. The term “magi” is the root from which we derive the word “magic.” They were a respected class of advisors in the ancient Near
East who used astrology to predict the future. >> MOSLEY: The magi thought the planets moved because the gods were causing them to move. The gods were making them go this way and that way, and when one planet happened to line up with another planet, that that was because the gods had
Something in mind for us, and there was some correspondence between what happened in the sky and what happened down below. They believed in magic, and they believed in the magic of the sky. >> NARRATOR: In the ancient Near East, belief in astrology began several centuries before the birth of Christ.
It was almost universally accepted throughout the region. The only place where it had little influence was the nation in which Jesus was destined to be born. >> MOLNAR: We find that tiny Judaea is sort of an island in a sea of astrology believers. That is, all the countries, the
Cultures in and around Judaea, they believed that astrology did predict the future, that it was a science, and that it really helped them to understand their own lives. But only when we go to Judaea, we find that it is not practiced or believed in. >> NARRATOR: Judaea’s lack of astrological insight is evident
In a key passage from Matthew that may help explain what the Star of Bethlehem was. >> “Then Herod secretly called the magi, and inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.”– MATTHEW 2:7. >> MOSLEY: An important clue in Matthew is that only the magi saw this star, whatever it was.
Herod and his advisors didn’t know about it. They had to inquire diligently of the magi what they’d seen, so that tells us it wasn’t something spectacular in the sky, like a bright comet, that everyone cave seen. >> NARRATOR: Some astronomers believe that what the magi saw, and the Hebrews did not, was a
Visually subtle conjunction of planets. It happens when one heavenly body appears to cross the path of another. It is a common occurrence. But many scholars believe that 2,000 years ago, a specific conjunction may have been viewed as a sign that the Old Testament prophecy had been fulfilled– that the Messiah had finally
Been born. John Mosley, of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, has had an avid interest in the Star of Bethlehem for 20 years. He believes he has discovered the celestial phenomenon that attracted the magi. >> MOSLEY: I think that what the magi saw was a series of conjunctions. There were three conjunctions of
The planet Jupiter and the star Regulus, and two very close conjunctions of Jupiter and Venus over a ten-month period of time during the years 3 and 2 B.C., and the final of these conjunctions was really spectacular. It’s the sort of thing that I would love to see. Jupiter and Venus were so close,
They almost touched. So, if you were looking for something of great astrological interest– and after all, the magi were astrologers– then I think you could do nothing better than to look at these conjunctions– this series of events– as the sort of thing that would have made the magi think, “Aha, this is important.
The prophecies were fulfilled.” >> NARRATOR: Michael Molnar, an astronomer formerly of Rutgers University, has a different theory. His interest in the Star of Bethlehem began when he discovered a clue on an ancient coin at a New York collector’s show. It was minted in Syria in 13 A.D. His findings represent perhaps
The most significant recent insight into the Christmas story. >> MOLNAR: One side had the god Zeus on it, or our Jupiter. I’ve seen lots of coins with that god on it. But I flipped it over and the other side was a beautiful picture of Aries the Ram, a sign of the zodiac.
There was the ram, leaping across the sky, looking backwards at an overhead star. Aries the Ram is key to the whole puzzle. We astronomers were looking in the wrong part of the sky for the Star of Bethlehem. The star had appeared in Aries the Ram. >> NARRATOR: Molnar’s research into ancient astrological texts
Reveals that each sign of the zodiac represented a particular kingdom. Aries represented Judaea. Molnar discovered that a specific set of conditions occurring in Aries would have convinced the magi that a person of cosmic importance was to be born there. >> MOLNAR: The most important star that would confer
Kingships– make a young boy a king– was the star of Zeus, which we call the planet Jupiter today. So I knew that the star was most likely the planet Jupiter. I found that the moon played a very important role, and that the closer the moon was to Jupiter, the better were the
Conditions to have the birth of a young king. But most important was that Jupiter had to be in the east. Well, “in the east” means, according to the beliefs and practices of stargazers of 2,000 years ago, that it was about to emerge as a morning star– that is, in the eastern morning sky.
>> NARRATOR: Molnar’s challenge was to find the precise moment when this particular set of conditions occurred in the constellation of Aries. >> MOLNAR: Well, to make a long story short, I ran my computer program for a huge swath in time that biblical scholars believe Jesus was born, and we find that
In 6 B.C.– on April 17 to be exact– these events happened. Jupiter was in the east, in Aries the Ram, and at the same time, the moon came extremely close to Jupiter. The moon came so close, in fact, that it eclipsed Jupiter, and these celestial objects in Aries the Ram indicated, according to
The astrologers, that there was the birth of a great king. >> NARRATOR: Molnar’s findings are perhaps the most compelling evidence that the Star of Bethlehem was a genuine phenomenon. His theory is all the more intriguing in that it places the star’s appearance in the very year that many scholars believe Jesus was born.
The magi, whose belief in astrology compelled them to follow the star, are as much of a mystery as the star itself. Tradition holds that there were three wise men, but Matthew never specifies how many there were. Matthew also never tells from what nation they came, but many scholars think they were from
Babylonia– the site of modern- day Iraq. Outside of Israel, no other country was as aware of the tale of a coming Jewish Messiah. 500 years before Jesus’ birth, the Babylonians conquered the Hebrews and exiled tens of thousands of Jews back to their kingdom. Scholars believe that it was therefore inevitable that the
Ancient prophecy became common knowledge among the Babylonians. Ironically, their astrological interpretation of the star would compel them to believe that their true king had emerged from a nation they had vanquished. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: The Babylonians were one of the most brutal ancient regimes to have ever conquered the Hebrew people, and here come the
Babylonian descendants, subservient to the birth of a Hebrew Messiah, so deeply impressed with the significance of this birth that they come on bended knee to this child. There is a wonderful irony in this story, almost as if the Gospel writers are saying to us, “Remember the people who thought
That they were so powerful and who conquered us so many centuries ago? Even they now are on their knees before the birth of our humble Messiah.” >> NARRATOR: According to Matthew, the magi present the infant Jesus gifts of gold and two aromatic resins: frankincense and myrrh. The gifts held deep symbolic
Significance for the readers of Matthew’s day. >> McNAMER: Some believed that the Messiah, when he came, would be a king. Some believed that he would be a great prophet. Some believed that he would be a priest. Gold is for a king, frankincense for a priest, myrrh would signify a prophet.
So, what Matthew is doing in this little story is simply telling his audience, “Whatever you were expecting in the way of a Messiah has been born.” >> NARRATOR: Although every nativity scene depicts the magi honoring a newborn, many scholars believe they arrived when Jesus was as old as two.
The Greek word Matthew uses to describe Jesus is one the Greeks attached not to a baby, but a toddler. For 2,000 years, the comforting images of the Christmas story have warmed the hearts of millions. But the search for the tale’s historical roots leads to one of the most horrifying incidents
Described in the Bible. The birth of Jesus triggers an event that bathes the streets of Bethlehem in blood. It begins when the Magi, led by the star, pause in Jerusalem. They seek an audience with King Herod the Great. For more than 30 years, Herod has ruled despotically over
Judea as a loyal ally to the Roman Empire. His power is matched only by his unpopularity. The Magi hope that Herod can help them find the infant destined to be king. But their questions inadvertently imperil Jesus’ life. >> “The Magi arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he
Who is born king of the Jews?’ And when Herod, the king, heard it, he was troubled.”– MATTHEW 2:1. >> NARRATOR: According to Matthew, Herod regards Jesus as a dangerous political rival. Fate has pitted an innocent child against one of history’s most ruthless and vengeful leaders. >> HORSLEY: This fellow was the
Very epitome of a tyrant. He had secret police. He had informers sort of spying on the people, especially in Jerusalem. The minute he would hear of any resistance, he’d send out the troops first and ask questions later. He was suspicious of his own sons, and he killed his own sons.
He put to death his own sons that would have been his heirs. >> McNAMER: He murdered so many of his own family, including his mother, his favorite wife, Marianna. He was unscrupulous and extraordinarily cruel. >> NARRATOR: Herod’s paranoia is ignited by the Magi’s news of the Messiah’s birth. His thoughts turn instantly to
Murder. But he keeps his intentions secret from the Magi, hoping that they will lead him to his target. >> “And he sent the Magi to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and make careful search for the child, and when you have found him, report to me, that I, too, may come and worship him.'”–
MATTHEW 2:8. >> NARRATOR: After the Magi honor Jesus, writes Matthew, an angel informs them of Herod’s scheme. They defy his order to return to his palace and hastily leave Judea. By taking a different route than the one they used to arrive, they avoid capture by Herod’s soldiers and interrogation as to Jesus’ whereabouts.
Enraged, Herod hatches an alternate plan. Estimating Jesus’ age from the time the Magi first saw the star, he orders that all boys in Bethlehem aged two and under be killed. From Jerusalem, the Christian Era’s first death squad approaches. At this moment, according to Matthew, the unsuspecting Mary, Joseph and Jesus are asleep.
But God sends an angel to alert them to the danger. >> “The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise, and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt.'”– MATTHEW 2:13. >> NARRATOR: As the family escapes, Herod’s soldiers sweep into Bethlehem. The king’s cold-blooded order is
Carried out. The incident becomes known as “The Slaughter of the Innocents.” Matthew’s account of what occurred in these streets is the most dramatic episode of the Christmas story. But many scholars contend it never happened. They cite a lack of any corroboration from other sources. >> SIKER: If this event was indeed as horrific as Matthew
Described it, it seems that it would appear in Luke’s Gospel. It seems that it would have appeared in the writings of one such as Josephus, a significant Jewish historian of the first century. I think that those things indicate to us– especially the absence in Josephus– indicate to us that… Matthew may have
Been up to something else. >> NARRATOR: Some scholars say the lack of corroboration is not by itself proof that the slaughter is simply Matthew’s invention. They point out that the population of Bethlehem was then perhaps 1,000, and that there could have been as few as 20 infants under two.
The limited scope of the slaughter may have kept it from entering the history books. >> CROSSAN: It would certainly have been awful, but it would probably not have been a huge number. And yes, of course, it could easily have escaped Josephus. So I couldn’t argue that it didn’t happen because Josephus does not mention it. It’s quite possible he wouldn’t have heard of it, or he could
Have heard of it and not thought it was important. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: Could the Slaughter of the Innocents have happened? Was Herod the kind of ruler capable of this kind of brutality? The answer to that question is, absolutely yes, he was capable of that kind of brutality. We have account after account of
Ancient rulers terrified of the idea amongst their captive population that a ruler was going to come, that a deliverer was going to come, and their attempts to try to deal with it. This is not at all an unbelievable element to the story. >> NARRATOR: Whether fact or fiction, the Slaughter of the
Innocents is reminiscent of another horrific episode from the book of Exodus. It describes how the Egyptian pharaoh tries to murder another messenger of God– the infant Moses– by ordering the execution of all Israelite boys. Some scholars believe Matthew’s account is an invention based on the older story, and an effort
To reinforce Jesus’ role as the deliverer of his people. >> CROSSAN: In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is the new Moses. So the same way that Pharaoh tried to kill all the children and almost killed Moses but Moses escaped by divine power, bad Pharaoh becomes bad Herod. This is Matthew working the
Parallelism between Jesus, the new Moses in his life, so Jesus must be born, as it were, and almost killed like the old Moses was. >> NARRATOR: In Egypt, writes Matthew, the young Jesus finds safety from Herod’s wrath. But Matthew provides no details about how Mary and Joseph endure
The 250-mile trek to bring him here. Some scholars speculate that they finance the journey by selling the gold, frankincense and myrrh given to them by the Magi. But other scholars doubt they ever venture here. No historical evidence has been found to support Matthew’s account. And Luke’s Gospel contradicts it, describing how Mary and
Joseph travel uneventfully with the newborn Jesus back to Nazareth. Where the holy family lived and how long they stayed in Egypt, Matthew does not say, but a number of legends have survived. In Cairo, the Church of Saint Sergius is built upon the site where it is believed that they stayed for three months.
Outside Cairo, Christians since the fifth century have gathered at this ancient sycamore. They call it the Tree of Mary… for here they believe she sought shade beneath its branches. >> McNAMER: I have visited those sites in Cairo, and they are fun to go to, and if they help people’s piety, that’s fine, but
I don’t think they have any, uh… have any basis in history. >> NARRATOR: One reason that scholars believe Jesus never visited Egypt is that his teachings many years later bear no sign of Egyptian influence. >> CROSSAN: I don’t find anything that Jesus would have learned in Egypt, even if I take
Literally the idea that he went there as a young child and lived there for a length of time. I do not find anything in the teachings of Jesus or the life of Jesus that does not come straight out of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Jewish tradition. >> NARRATOR: Despite the lack of
Any Egyptian nuance to Jesus’ ministry, some scholars believe he may have indeed spent time in Egypt. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: Jesus would’ve been a member of a minority in Egyptian culture. It could very well be that the Egyptian influence on Jesus was exactly the opposite of what some people speculate.
In other words, it may have solidified his Hebrew identity and not so much made him open to Egyptian influence. After all, we know that living in exile, living in Diaspora, sometimes makes people intensely more interested in their cultural tradition, and so less interested in the influences of the majority culture around them.
>> NARRATOR: After an unspecified time in Egypt, writes Matthew, Mary and Joseph receive a message from God that it is safe to return. >> “When Herod was dead, an angel appeared, saying, ‘Arise and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the
Child’s life are dead.'”– MATTHEW 2:19. >> NARRATOR: Joseph escorts his family back to Judea to the city of Nazareth. There, some 30 years later, Jesus will begin his earth-shaking ministry. Reconstructing the history of Jesus’ birth begins by examining the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. But there is another version of
The first Christmas unknown to millions of believers: The Infancy Gospel of James. It was purportedly written soon after Herod the Great died, which scholars believe happened in 4 B.C. The author claims to be James, one of the brothers of Jesus alluded to several times in the New Testament.
James is identified as Jesus’ brother in the books of Matthew, Mark and Galatians. And Josephus, the first-century historian, corroborates James’ identity when he writes of James’ death at the hand of a treacherous high priest. >> “So he assembled a council of judges and brought it before James, the brother of Jesus,
Known as Christ, and several others, on a charge of breaking the law and handed them over to be stoned.”– JOSEPHUS, THE JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. >> NARRATOR: Although The Infancy Gospel of James was accepted by early Christians, the church never authorized it as scripture. As such, it has been relegated
To the biblical literature known as the Apocrypha. It presents many of the same elements as the traditional story. There is the census, the trek to Bethlehem, the Magi and the Star. But there, the similarities end. James writes that Mary goes into labor not in Bethlehem, but before they are ever able to
Reach the city. >> “When they came to the middle of their journey, Mary said to him, ‘Joseph, take me off the donkey, the child is pushing from within me to let him come out.’ So he took her off the donkey and said to her, ‘Where will I take you and shelter you?
This area is a desert.’ And he found a cave and led her there while he went to find a Hebrew midwife in the land of Bethlehem.”– THE INFANCY GOSPEL OF JAMES 17:10. >> NARRATOR: In contrast to Matthew and Luke, James specifies that Jesus is born in a cave which coincides with what
Many scholars believe to be the true setting. While Joseph is away searching for a midwife, Mary begins to deliver the baby Jesus. At the same moment, a bizarre phenomenon occurs. Joseph is stunned as time literally stands still. >> “With utter astonishment, I saw the birds of the sky were not moving.
And I looked at workers picking food up and they were not picking it up. And I saw sheep being driven, but the sheep were standing still.”– THE INFANCY GOSPEL OF JAMES 18:4. >> HOCK: He is suddenly struck by everything in nature– the heavens, the stars, the birds, the workers, the animals all
Around him stopping right in their tracks, and then suddenly, everything returns to the way it was, and life goes on as it had formerly. And presumably in the context of that story, the moment of the suspension of time, Jesus himself is being born. >> NARRATOR: Joseph returns to the cave with two midwives.
But Mary has already given birth. One of the midwives believes Mary’s claim that she is a virgin. But the other, named Salome, is skeptical. >> “The midwife said ‘Mary, position yourself, for not a small test concerning you is about to take place.’ When Mary heard these things, she positioned herself.
And Salome inserted her finger into her body. And Salome cried out and said, ‘Woe for my lawlessness and the unbelief that made me test the living God. Look, my hand is falling away from me and being consumed by fire.'”– THE INFANCY GOSPEL OF JAMES 20:1. >> NARRATOR: Salome begs
Forgiveness for her lack of faith. God hears her prayer and sends an angel to heal her. James’ account reaches its dramatic peak with a version of the slaughter of the innocents that differs slightly from Matthew’s. >> HOCK: You do have the murder of the infants with Herod attacking the babies.
Mary, who had given birth to Jesus in a cave, now hides Jesus by placing him in the manger so the familiar manger from Luke is now used in a different way in The Infancy Gospel of James. >> NARRATOR: Is it possible this intricate tale is the most accurate version of the Christmas story?
Although James’ Infancy Gospel was supposedly written just after the death of Herod in 4 B.C., scholars believe it was produced as much as 150 years later after the books of Matthew and Luke. They note that it is written in a literary style not invented until the second century.
The style is known as an encomium, which follows strict rules of composition to praise virtuous persons– in this case, the Virgin Mary. And James, they argue, could not possibly have been the author. The historian Josephus records that he died in 62 A.D., a hundred years before the document was apparently written.
>> HORSLEY: One of the reasons why The Infancy Gospel of James seems to have less credibility, perhaps, than the stories contained in Matthew and Luke is it doesn’t seem to be quite as familiar with local color in Palestine– the thought being that maybe whoever put this together, didn’t really have
Much direct knowledge of Palestine. >> SIKER: It was also probably not someone who was Jewish, because there are errors in the understanding of Jewish customs and traditions. >> NARRATOR: Many scholars believe that the only knowledge the author had of Jesus’ birth was what had been recorded several decades earlier in the
Gospels now familiar to millions. >> CROSSAN: The major source that the author of The Infancy Gospel of James has is Matthew and Luke. There is not any clear evidence that he has any other real information. It does not seem that he has any sort of raw, unfiltered traditions that Matthew and Luke
Didn’t know about, but somehow this author has found out about. It’s possible, of course, but that doesn’t seem to be what the author has. What the author has simply is two sources and a very, very good imagination. >> NARRATOR: Although its value as an historical source is questionable, the Gospel of
James still provides valuable insight. Many scholars believe it represents the earliest effort to idealize Mary– an effort that centuries later would culminate in the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: The significance of these writings is often that they give us a picture into the concerns and
The cares of the time they come from. So sometimes these writings give us very interesting insights in what were Christians thinking and worried about in the 200s, in the 300s, in the 400s. For that question, these writings are very important and very valuable. But for missing historical information, not very important.
>> NARRATOR: The Infancy Gospel of James is ultimately more intriguing than it is enlightening. Rather than holding any key to the truth about Christmas, it is perhaps the earliest effort to speculate on what that truth may be. To what degree the Christmas story should be considered historical fact may never be known.
To Christians, the Christmas story is an imponderable miracle– God’s invasion of human history in a stable 2,000 years ago. The miracle, however, lies dormant for some 30 years. Then, as told by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Jesus emerges with a message that redefines man’s purpose. The man born in the most humble
Setting imaginable teaches that the poor are imbued with as much dignity as the most powerful king. The man born beneath a shining star teaches that hope will burn brightly as long as men love each other as brothers. The man born of a virgin teaches that the world can be
Transformed by the pure in heart. >> McNAMER: The message of Jesus was the most powerful and the most idealistic message ever. I mean, to stand on that mountain and say, “Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are you when you forgive your enemies. Be good to them that hurt you.”
>> MEYER: “To do unto others as you would have them do unto you. To turn the other cheek. To go the extra mile.” To do those sorts of things that may make our world a better place for all of us to live in. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: Suddenly we’re presented with an
Incredible hope that burns brightly, a hope that there is a god who cares about us, a hope in the possibility that we can live with each other differently than the way we so often have, a hope that there’s a different way of being a human society, and the very coming of Jesus
Embodies that hope in a profound sense. >> HORSLEY: Not only was he understood as the Savior and Christ by the new religion Christianity that developed, but Jesus was the one who really defined and articulated the agenda for ordinary people who were struggling for independence from domination by foreign powers and their own unjust
Rulers, and laid out an idea of what a life of justice and mutual caring could be. >> NARRATOR: Jesus’ revolutionary ministry is but a continuation of the Christmas story– as the Son of God carries out his plan to save mankind from sin and death. It continues further with his arrest, trial and execution.
The significance of his birth in the manger can be understood only by recognizing his sacrifice on the cross. Still, it is Jesus’ resurrection that marks the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan. 30 years after a miracle brings Jesus into the world, another enables him to rejoin his heavenly Father.
From the empty tomb emerges the faith destined to transform the world. >> SIKER: There are those who would argue that it’s based on a lie, that’s it’s based on false rumors of disciples who stole the body of Jesus to make a good story, and yet, somehow, this story has made its way through
History and time in a way unequaled. >> NARRATOR: Beginning as a fringe faith, Christianity receives widespread acceptance after the Roman Emperor Constantine accepts Jesus as his God and Savior. 300 years after Jesus’ birth, Christianity becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire. As the centuries pass, its influence becomes immeasurable:
Art and science, politics and economics, self and society– all are transformed by Christianity. But Christianity’s impact on history is not always positive. During the crusades, medieval Christians try to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims. In the name of Jesus, they kill thousands of innocent men, women and children. During the Inquisition, the
Church supports torture as a means of coercing confessions from those considered heretics. By the 16th century, the church grows so powerful, it becomes corrupted by its own success. One measure of its decline is that salvation, once only earned by the faithful, can now be purchased by the rich. A German monk, Martin Luther,
Declares his outrage. Inspired by Jesus, who cast the moneychangers from the temple, he fights for reform. The Reformation splits its believers into Catholics and Protestants. Today, millions of Christians still struggle to live up to the high standards of their own faith. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: We have had a very checkered history as
Christians of trying to embody the teachings of a peaceful Messiah who calls on us to care for each other rather than dominate each other, to share with each other rather than hoard from each other. And it’s unfortunate that the first 2,000 years of our attempt as humans to embody the
Teachings and example of Jesus have not been terribly successful. >> McNAMER: Gandhi once said about Christianity, “It is so magnificent. What a pity it’s never been tried.” I do believe it has been tried. There are just hundreds and hundreds of wonderful people in the pages of history of Christianity that show that
It has been tried and has made a difference. >> CROSSAN: Christianity has done many things in the name of Jesus for which I, as a Christian, am ashamed. It has also done many good things in the name of Jesus for which I am very glad as a Christian, and which makes me
Very glad to be a Christian. >> NARRATOR: 2,000 years after Jesus was born, a third of the world’s population professes to be followers of the faith he inaugurated in a manger. For Christians, Christmas celebrates how God gave the world a gift it never deserved but needed more than anything. To accept the gift is to acknowledge the responsibility of giving something back. >> SMITH-CHRISTOPHER: The Christmas story is intended to question us on the deepest levels of being a human being.
Here was the coming of a new way of living. Here was the coming of a new hope. Here was a profound challenge to how we as humans think that the world has to run, as opposed to our belief that the only way that we can live together is to
Be armed to the teeth and to be ready to fight. Here was one who brought a message: “No, that’s not the way. We can care for each other; we can take care of each other; we can live justly; we can live at peace.” If we miss that profound challenge, then we miss the
Significance of the Christmas story. >> SIKER: For me, the Christmas story is an account of the recollections of people like you and I who had an experience of God’s presence that was so powerful that they couldn’t hold it in. It’s a story of mystery and a story of hope replete with the
Possibilities of peace and goodwill in a world where both are in short supply. >> NARRATOR: For generations to come, the search for the historical truth of the day it all began– the search for Christmas– will continue. No matter what is discovered along the way, millions will always find comfort in the story.
They will find fulfillment in the images of an infant’s gentle smile and a virgin mother’s loving glance. [Captioning sponsored by A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS Captioned by The Caption Center WGBH Educational Foundation]
-We’re about to start my initiation ritual, into the “Luciferian” religion. -I saw him, an angel, he was enormous, with seven wings. I’m organizing an army of Lucifer’s children. What would be the ultimate goal of this army? To confront them. -Who, you wonder? -The grand whore. -The grand whore, you mean Catholic church?
We bring this man before you. LUCIFER’S TEMPLE Hi, I’m Andrés Páramo. We’re really close to what is called the Luciferian Temple, Seeds of Light, led by a guy called Victor Damian Rozo. Hello friends from Latin America, I’m Victor Damian Rozo Villareal. Founder of the Association, Luciferian Temple, Seeds of Light.
We came here to interview him and to do a satanic initiation ritual. And to also see what people think about this and what their opinions are regarding this phenomenon. Until now he hasn’t revealed himself. Some girls that entered that place came out mentally insane. The way they adore Lucifer by sacrificing innocent animals,
Killing them in such a cruel way so they can drink their blood and idolizing Lucifer’s image. We’re carrying out some legal proceedings, not because of the religion they practice but because they don’t have the legal requirements to construct their building. They’re going to be fined
$64 million pesos. He has to pay it if not they’ll demolish the place. Even the police have visited but they didn’t find anyone in there. The devil for us is a negative thing, a symbol of all bad things like, no values We haven’t done anything here because we haven’t found anything
But we will keep our doors closed if we do. The people we interviewed at Quimbaya square all had the same opinion about Victor Damian and his temple. They all rejected the idea and were afraid of it so they kept the emergence of this Luciferian religion at a cautious distance.
A different story emerged when we traveled to his farm. Alberto Trujillo, a neighbor who worked for him doing many things, took us on a ride, recounting a kinder, more humane side of Lucifer’s son. -Yes, I’m his driver. He’ll ask me to go and buy materials for him since he’s sick.
-Yeah, and do you live close to him? Our properties are close to each other. -Yeah, and what do you think about the temple? Nothing, everyone has the right to do their own thing. -Even if it’s Satanic? -Yes. -And if he’s the devil, he’s just as bad. Yes or no? -Yes.
He’s evil so we have to take care of ourselves. -Well, what about Damian? -What do you think about him? -No, he’s very professional. -Very professional. -Hail Mary, for sure. -He just built that temple about a year ago. -And nothing has happened? No, nothing has happened. -Nobody has gone there? No, no.
-And don’t you find that a bit weird? A temple where nothing happens? Some people say that they use it to film horror movies. So they made that space to film horror movies. about vampires. The ranch has two houses, two swimming pools, a couple of German Shepherds, and finally, in the distance,
The construction of a building with inverted crosses. From the outside, the temple looks deserted, abandoned and totally private. And for being a church, it doesn’t really feel welcoming. -Victor or Hector? -Victor is more of an alias. But my real name is Hector Londoño Villegas. Victor Damián Rozo is more of a personality.
-So, Hector, please tell us what this space is about? On this side we have a shield, “Satanas Rae”, with an inverted cross on the shield, which represents the rebellion, a worldwide rejection of religion, of Christianity. And why do you reject Catholicism? Because of their history and what they have done to us.
Because of what they represent, this huge scam that they’ve embroiled us in for thousands of years. This is a Luciferian shield. It represents good and evil. And what is the evil part? Evil for us does not exist. Got it? What’s important to us is your character and behavior.
If you do good things than you’re going to have a good life. It all depends on your behavior. As followers of Lucifer, we do not believe in evil as something that’s imposed on us. If you do this, you’re bad. That having sex with your neighbor’s wife is bad. No.
We don’t believe in that. To make a pact with the devil is to change your doctrine, change your religion. To make a pact with the devil is nothing else but to embrace him and accept him. I wanted to deliver this message and grab the people’s attention in a certain way.
My goal here on Earth is to gather souls for him. So I had to send a message since people know him like this. So, I had to do something like a marketing campaign. Hello friends from Latin America. I am Victor Damian Rozo Villareal. Lucifer’s representative here on earth.
And, founder of Lucifer’s Temple, Seeds of Light. The only Luciferian temple in the world. Don’t let yourself be fooled! Don’t you let them take your money anymore. Don’t let them scam you. If they do, you’re gullible. Don’t be fooled! This is Victor Damian Rozo, the founder of the Luciferian Temple, Seeds of Light.
-Tell me, where are you from? -I come from a very spiritual family. From witch doctors and sorcerers. My mother was a renown spiritist. My grandfather too, he healed and cursed as he wished. I stared studying this when I was in school. I remember I used to get my books and a Ouija board,
And I would go study. I would go to the bathroom and I began playing with the Ouija board there. I explored new things. And as I got older I started to work as a spiritist. As a sorcerer. Like what your mom did? Exactly. But, it was a side job
Because before this, I used to do random jobs. I use to be a normal person, working in shoe warehouses, selling clothes. -All day? -All day. But when was the moment where you decided to work for Lucifer, and nothing else? In a dream, I saw him, he was an enormous angel,
And he told me that he had big plans for me. He told me, you are the chosen one. Got it. I chose you to gather my children. We have to organize the army of the children of Lucifer. What would that army’s goal be? We would confront them. Who, you wonder? The great whore.
The great whore? The Catholic church? Yes, the Catholic church. I’m here on earth, sent by my father, Lucifer. I was sent by him, to gather souls. To gather souls, devoted followers for Lucifer. For our amazing God, I am the chosen one. -We’re in front of La Crónica building,
One of the most important and established newspapers in this region. In there, Oliver Gomez is waiting for us. A journalist that has been following Lucifer’s son very closely. Among other things, he has reported that this guy hasn’t traveled around the world, but has actually photoshopped himself into these pictures.
So let’s hear what he has to say. I found out about him from a report that I wrote about a person that has no legs. -Why do you do this? Because it’s easier for me to receive what I need from the devil than with God. And I hope that Mr. Damian helps me.
What tangible things has Lucifer given to you, what do you have now? Right now, I have some money saved, a car, and my health. He has given me what I dreamed of, and I have more dreams that he’s going to help come true for me.
But then he told me that it was a lie. It was a scam, he received money to do that. And that guy ended up scamming him as well. Journalistically speaking, what do you think was the most serious thing? His false advertising. You can’t play with people’s hopes and dreams.
We seen his videos on the internet, I think he’s deleted them all but fortunately we downloaded one of them and we uploaded it to our platform. We saw a powerful, rich man telling people that they could get all these material things Just as he did with the handicapped man,
The man with no legs, who’s asks for help in southern part of the city. This was all a lie. So lying to people and playing with their dreams is the worst thing about Damian Rozo, or whatever his name is. He’s destroying people’s dreams.
Hello, friends from a Latin America. This is Victor Damian Rozo. The founder of the Luciferian Temple, Seeds of Light. Your temple. The benefits are clear and obvious. You’ll leave your sadness behind. Rebel against the regime and start worshipping Satan, the true god, Lucifer.
Are you tired of looking for God and answers that you can’t find? Contact me, from anywhere in the world. I’ll tell you how you can be a true believer and make a pact with Lucifer. My name is Victor Damian Rozo Villarreal. Dare to do it! Let yourself be surprised.
As night fell, we came back to Victor Damian’s farmhouse to see him in action. To see how far or close we were to the possible manifestation of this serious religion. We are about to start my initiation ritual into the Luciferian religion. Victor Damian is anxiously awaiting, but I think I’m more anxious.
There are some of his followers. He’s wearing a red tunic the rest of them are wearing black tunics. and they’re about to dress me up to convert me into a believer. We’ll see what happens tonight. We’re gathered here, once again to venerate the name of our father, Lucifer.
We need a lot of discipline and consistency. In the name of our father, Lucifer, the God we worship, please, let’s “hit a home run” as they colloquially say. King of Earth. Planetary King. Before you, Lucifer, is this man. Open up his eyes. He’s here before you, God of freedom.
God of love, God of the universe. Oh, Lucifer. We present this man before you. Praying for you. I curse the presence of that false God they taught us to adore. I curse the presence of that God that I used to follow. Your revenge is my revenge. Your power is my power.
Your light is my light. Your goodness is my goodness. You taught me the true meaning of goodness. Your gave me freedom, you gave me power. Your gave me a true reason to live. For eternity, our eternal celestial father, we stand before you, Lucifer. My soul evokes your presence.
Our souls are longing for the end of times. The day when we will finally fight at your side. The day of the final battle, when we will be victorious. Glory to you, Father Lucifer. Repeat after me: -Before you. -Before you. -Powerful God of freedom. -Powerful God of freedom. -Powerful Lucifer. -Powerful Lucifer.
-God of the Universe. -God of the Universe. -God of freedom. -God of freedom. -God of love. -God of love. -God of power. -God of power. -God of richness. -God of richness. -I come before you. -I come before you. -Here we are. -Here we are. -In your temple. -In your temple.
-Looking for. -Looking for. -The path. -The path. -That leads me. -That leads me. -To you. -To you. -It is for you to judge, not me. The Luciferian ceremony has come to an end. One of the thousand ceremonies that have taken place here at the Luciferian Temple, Seeds of Light.
How did feel me throughout the ritual? You were very relaxed, very calm and curious. What about what we did in the temple, like making me go down on my knees What was that for exactly? That was an invocation to our father, Lucifer.
But it all depends on him, he knows if you really want it. I feel that you really don’t want to be a Luciferian. That’s what I believe. I think that your beliefs are different. I don’t know what your beliefs are, but I respect them.
But I don’t think you’re really interested in being a Luciferian. Now it depends on him, if he decides to accept you. The ceremony has come to an end. It was intense. It seems now that Lucifer is going to decide if I’ll be a part of his reign. We’ll see tomorrow how I feel.
-We are back in Montenegro Quindío, the day after the ceremony. We were left with some doubts yesterday. Everything went too fast. I’d like to know how this place usually works. Victor Damián is really charming. I found him fascinating during the interview.
He’s very kind, recieved us openly and he put on a good show. The ceremony was incredible, but there were some details that disappointed me a little bit. His cellphone kept ringing throughout the ceremony. He paid his followers. We have an audio recording
Where he told them he’ll give them a certain amount of money for their time. -How much for you? $10 pesos? -$11 pesos. -$11 pesos? -Fine, $11 pesos. -May God bless you, my son. That man has $50 pesos for each one of you. Arrange it with him.
Guys, please head out fast. Hurry up! Hurry up! Oh! This is what I love the most about parties. These are the tunics that the believers used. Today we found them in the swimming pool, in a very visible place. We also found the cross thrown over there.
The cross they used to purify me yesterday is now laying here at the entrance. All the things that we found the next day after the ceremony make me doubt the faith that Lucifer’s son has in his father. However, that doesn’t take away from his charisma when speaking about
The subject, or the grandiosity of the ceremony he conducted. There’s no doubt that this guy knows how to put on a show. What’s the purpose of forgiveness, if they keep cheating on people? If they keep subjugating them? If they keep taking people to churches
So they can take away the little money they have. While they continue to get richer and richer, and the people get poorer. Don’t close your eyes during the day, and say, “It must be nighttime since I only see darkness.” No! Dare to join us, and you will be surprised.
The Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, is the most holy and solemn day of the Jewish calendar. It is the only day when the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, the most sacred place within the Tabernacle and ancient temples.
It was the only day when the high priest reconciled Israel with God and symbolically brought them back into the presence of the Lord. No other day, and no other ancient ritual comes closer to the full meaning and purpose of the atonement of Jesus Christ.
The fall season of festivals begins with Rosh Hashana, the beginning of the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashana marks the start of a ten-day period of repentance and preparation for the Day of Atonement. During these ten days, Israelites would seek to draw closer to God in preparation for these sacred rituals.
On the Day of Atonement, all of Israel would be forgiven for their sins of the previous year, thus allowing them to be cleansed and prepared for the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot to occur five days later. Feast of Tabernacles was the final and most joyous of the three major Jewish feasts of
Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. The Day of Atonement followed a complex, yet beautiful ritual, symbolizing that all of Israel now had been forgiven and was able to re-enter the presence of the Lord through the high priest. The ritual began with the high priest, dressed in his normal colorful golden garments,
Offering the daily morning ritual of sacrifices and burning of incense on the altar of incense. He then would wash his flesh and change into simple white robes. The act of washing and changing clothes would actually occur five separate times throughout the ritual. The wearing of just the white robes could symbolize the Savior
Who leaving His heavenly throne, “laid aside all the glory … [and] put upon Himself the plain robe of humanity … becoming like one of us.” The color of white is also a powerful symbol of purity, representing the absolute purity of the true Great High Priest, even Jesus Christ.
Next, the high priest would bring two goats into the Tabernacle or temple and cast lots for each of them. One lot was for Azazel, or the scapegoat, and the other was for the Lord. A red ribbon was tied around the horns of the scapegoat to distinguish it from the other goat.
The high priest would then take a bullock, or young bull and place his hands on its head, symbolically transferring his own sins and the sins of his fellow priests to the bull. He would then slit the throat of the bull and catch the blood in a dish to be saved for later services.
He then would bring a burning coal from the altar of sacrifice and incense into the Holy of Holies through the veil for the first time. Here dressed in all white, the high priest would burn the incense before the Lord. The room would fill with smoke,
The cloud of smoke often being a symbol of the presence of God. The high priest then would exit the Holy of Holies, wash again, and take the blood of the bull and re-enter the Holy of Holies for a second time.
He would then sprinkle seven times the blood of the bull on the Ark of the Covenant. The shedding of the blood of the young bull represented that the high priest was forgiven and reconciled to enter into the presence of the Lord.
The high priest would then kill the goat that was chosen for the Lord, again saving the blood in a dish. He then would enter the Holy of Holies with this blood for the third and final time. As he did before, he would sprinkle the blood of the goat seven times before the ark.
As the goat was the offering for the people, this act of bringing its blood into the Holy of Holies represented that all of Israel was symbolically able to enter the presence of the Lord, through the high priest and because of the shedding of the blood of the sacrifice.
Just as the high priest could only enter by blood, so too it is only by the shed blood of Jesus Christ that we can enter God’s presence. As the high priest exited the Holy of Holies,
He would then sprinkle the combined blood of the bull and the goat before the veil of the Tabernacle. He would also use the blood to cover the four horns of the altar of incense. The remaining blood would be poured out at the base of the altar of sacrifice in the outer court.
The high priest would then return to the scapegoat and place his hands upon its head symbolically transferring the sins of all the people to the goat. He then would utter the sacred name of the Lord, which was never to be said except on this holy day, “Oh, Jehovah! I intreat Thee!
Your people, the House of Israel, has been iniquitous, sinned, and erred before you. Oh, then Jehovah! Cover over, I intreat Thee, upon their iniquities, their transgressions, and their sins!” The goat was then taken outside of the Tabernacle and led into the wilderness.
The guiltless goat, dependent upon its owner for its care and protection, would become lost and die in the desert. Perhaps no symbol of the Savior is more powerful than the scapegoat. Innocent of any wrongdoing, just like this goat, the Savior has had laid upon Him the sins of the world.
As Isaiah so beautifully stated, “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Modern readers often gloss over the significance of the Day of Atonement as simply an outdated,
Archaic ritual of death and covering of blood. However, as one better understands each of the aspects, it teaches a powerful message of the atonement of Jesus Christ. The word atonement, or kaphar in Hebrew, actually means to cover. Thus, as the high priest literally covers with blood the ark,
The veil, and the altars of the Tabernacle, he symbolically shows that atonement has been made, and that the way is now open to progress back through the Tabernacle because of the shedding of blood. From the scriptures we learn that when the Savior went to pray and suffer in Gethsemane,
He first left eight disciples at the entrance, then took Peter, James, and John further into the garden, and then by Himself, went further in to pray. Though it is impossible to know the exact reason for this three-level progression the
Savior creates within the garden, it has a strong correlation to the three levels of the Tabernacle with the outer courtyard, the holy place, and the holy of holies. It is as if the Savior desired to recreate these three levels, to show that He was officiating
As our Great High Priest and interceding on our behalf. How beautifully the symbolism of the Day of Atonement teaches us that it is only through the shed blood of the Lamb of God, even Jesus Christ, that we can once again enter the presence of the Lord.
It is only because He took upon Himself our sins and iniquities, that we can be forgiven and our burdens made light. Because of Him, we can have our sins covered over, blotted out, or atoned for. The book of Hebrews teaches, “But Christ being come an high priest …
Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” How wonderful it is that unlike ancient Israel, who only could be forgiven once a year,
We can daily come to the Lord, lay our sins and guilt upon Him, and continually be forgiven and cleansed because of His atonement!
The Christian faith professes that Jesus Christ is true God and true man. That is, that the eternal Son of God, the Word of the Father, entered into time and assumed a complete human nature to himself, thus truly becoming man for us and for our salvation. This is the central claim of Christianity.
It’s a truth that’s at once beautiful, high and mysterious. St. Thomas Aquinas meditated deeply on it. In the third part of his Summa Theologiae, he sought to show its deep intelligibility and its coherence. Now, Aquinas always takes his starting point from the divine Revelation about Christ contained
In Sacred Scripture as understood according to the Church’s apostolic Tradition, including the great church councils that excluded false interpretations of what Scripture teaches about Christ. It helps to start by reviewing these early errors about Jesus so that we can better understand the mystery of the Incarnation.
In the early centuries of the Christian age, everyone agreed that God can neither change nor suffer, but this raises a big question. How can we affirm this while also saying that the Son of God became man and suffered on the cross?
One erroneous response to this was offered by the heresy called docetism, which comes from the Greek word meaning to appear or to seem. On this view, Jesus only seemed to be a man and therefore he only appeared to suffer.
This early heresy was ruled out very quickly by the Church as undermining what Scripture teaches, that Jesus really was human, he really did suffer and die on the cross for our sins, and he really rose from the dead in his human body on the third day. Another early error was adoptionism.
It claimed that Jesus was a man adopted by God the Father. Some thought this happened when he was baptized in the Jordan River, and that from that point onward, he comes to be called the Son of God. The Church rejected this too.
The Son of God did not assume a man who was already existing, rather the Son of God pre-existed in eternity with the Father and then became incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary in time. Arius and the Arian heresy erred in a different
Direction by saying that the Son of God was not truly God, but was rather a creature. A high creature, but still a creature. The church condemned this at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, where it professed that
The Son of God is, ” … true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father.” That is, of the same being or substance as the Father. After this, the error of Nestorianism arose. Although there’s dispute today about what Nestorius actually taught, the Nestorian heresy
Seeks to insulate the eternal Son from change and suffering by distinguishing the man Jesus Christ from the divine Word. Nestorianism claimed that the Word dwells within the man Jesus according to grace, but that we can’t necessarily attribute to the Word all of the things that we say about Jesus.
For example, that he was born of Mary or that he suffered on the cross. The church condemned this at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD; and two decades later, the Council of Chalcedon formulated a definitive statement of the Church’s belief in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is one person who is true God and true man. To put this more precisely, the eternal Son of God is a divine person who assumes a complete human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary body and soul, having a human mind and a human will.
From that point forward then, he subsists in two natures, the divine nature and an individual human nature. These two natures are united in the subsisting person of the Son, and this is called the hypostatic union, which comes from the Greek word hypostatis, which means a subsisting individual. Aquinas studied these early church councils
Carefully, and he provides an insightful synthesis of their teaching. The key points that he makes can be summarized like this. First, when we say that this man Jesus Christ really is God, we’re making a metaphysical claim about being.
Its foundation is the hypostatic union; that is, that the two natures of Christ are truly united in his person. In fact, Aquinas says that person is a metaphysical term. It means a subsisting individual of a rational nature.
So the union of man and God in Christ is not simply by indwelling or by habitual grace, rather the divine person of the Word now subsists in, or according to, a complete human nature in addition to the divine nature. Second, the union of the divinity and humanity
In Christ doesn’t change either of these natures. The Son is and remains fully and truly divine, eternal and unchanging as God. Likewise, the humanity of Christ is not absorbed into the divinity, it remains human, which means it’s in time, it can change, and it can and does suffer.
Next, this union is completely unique. It’s not an accidental union like the way a quality exists in a substance, and it’s not like a human person who puts on new clothes. Aquinas actually uses an analogy to what we would today call an organ transplant. Suppose you received a transplant of a third arm.
Now this arm left to itself won’t continue to exist for very long on its own disconnected from a body; but once it’s joined to your body, it begins to exist by your existence or the subsistence of your soul.
That is, your soul is the principle of your body’s life, and now it is animating this new addition to your body, this transplanted arm. Aquinas doesn’t think this is a perfect analogy, especially because an individual human nature is the sort of thing that normally does exist
On its own, and that’s what the Son is assuming. But this analogy does help us understand that in Christ the eternal Son doesn’t change in his divinity; rather, he joins an individual human nature to himself so that from its first
Moment, that human reality subsists according to the very being of the person of the Son. The man Jesus is the Son in person. St. Thomas follows the Church Fathers in saying that because of the hypostatic union, the humanity of Christ is like an instrument joined to the person of the Word.
Think of a saw in the hand of a carpenter. The saw provides something important. Because it’s iron, it can be sharpened and can cut wood. That’s something that the carpenter’s hand by itself can’t do. But the saw isn’t able to cut wood without the activity of the carpenter.
So by being taken up into the carpenter’s activity, the saw now shares in what the carpenter does. The carpenter is making a bench. This is also what happens in the Incarnation. The eternal Word of God takes up a human nature; and now it’s not a separated instrument like
A saw is separated from your hand, but rather an instrument that is conjoined in the person of the Son himself. In his divine nature as a pure spirit, the Word of God cannot be seen by human eyes. He can’t walk on the shores of Galilee. He can’t lay hands on a blind man.
Above all, in his divine nature, he cannot suffer and die. But by the hypostatic union, the Son assumes a human nature as his instrument, and he uses that humanity so that he himself acting in person can do all those things as man. This is a wonderful truth of the Christian faith.
The Word of God is not only present in the world as God, but joins a creature to himself in the most intimate of all unions. In doing this, he raises up our fallen humanity and creates it anew. Indeed, he lifts it unsurpassingly high to the very divinity itself.
As St. Thomas says following Pope St. Leo the Great, “This is a marvelous exchange. He humbled himself to share in our humanity so that we might be raised up to share in his divinity.” For readings, podcasts and more videos like this, go to Aquinas101.com.
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