Killing Jesus and False Testimony

Killing Christ and False Testimony

by Mike Robinson

This is faith’s great and bold venture upon the grace, faithfulness, and truth of God, to stand by the cross and say, “Ah! He is bruised for my sins, and wounded for my transgressions, and the chastisement of my peace is upon him. He is thus made sin for me. Here I give up my sins to him that is able to bear them, to undergo them. He requires it of my hands, that I should be content that he should undertake for them; and that I heartily consent unto.” This is every day’s work; I know not how any peace can be maintained with God without it. If it be the work of souls to receive Christ, as made sin for us, we must receive him as one that takes our sins upon him. Not as though he died any more, or suffered any more; but as the faith of the saints of old made that present and done before their eyes [which had] not yet come to pass, Hebrews 11:1, so faith now makes that present which was accomplished and past many generations ago. This it is to know Christ crucified (John Owen).

During the time of Christ, there were three chief categories of testimony according to the Mishnah: irrelevant or useless testimony, a standing testimony, and a satisfactory testimony. The irrelevant testimony was rejected. The standing testimony was accepted if and when it was confirmed. The satisfactory testimony was based on the agreed testimony of two or three witnesses. The testimony collected in the trials of Jesus was inadmissible since it was irrelevant testimony (Mark 14:56).

Jesus had two primary trials (Jewish ecclesiastical and Roman criminal) and numerous legal proceedings within each. The ecclesiastical trial yielded a conviction of blasphemy. The Roman trial never produced a guilty verdict but ended with the death sentence for Christ. Pilate declared that Jesus was innocent (John 18:29-30). Jesus was initially brought to Pilate without formal charges since Rome would not accept a Jewish blasphemy charge for indictment. The elders and Pilate came together together, trying to come up with a charge that would stick—one that was within the jurisdiction of Roman law. They tried various accusations; finally they charged Christ with treason against Caesar and Rome. They misrepresented Christ’s view on taxes and kingship: “We have found this man subverting the nation… He opposes taxes to Caesar … and claims to be a king” (Luke 23:2). Jesus was a target of religious persecution and Roman injustice, but was completely innocent. Pilate sentenced Christ to die by crucifixion (John 19:16), even though he declared Him guiltless (Luke 23:14-22).

Christ was executed without a Roman verdict of guilt; nonetheless He was crucified for religious reasons. The Jewish leaders insisted: “We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God” (John 19:5-7). Jesus was killed because Temple authorities asserted that He was guilty of blasphemy.  Additional charges were raised because the Jewish leaders knew that Pilate would never approve an execution on a point of religious law. Other charges that fell short of indictment were: Jesus’ threat to destroy the Temple (a misunderstanding of His body metaphor); subverting Caesar; prohibiting the payment of taxes to Rome; inciting rebellion; and claiming to be a king. Perhaps Pilate allowed the unjust sentence to be carried out in fearful deference to Caesar, but, criminally, the chief reason for the crucifixion was not for tax prohibition (Bill O’Reilly) or revolutionary ideas (Reza Aslan). Christ was crucified for blasphemy (John 19:5-7).

Moreover, atonement for sins was the supreme reason for the execution of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 53; John 3:15-19; Romans 3:20-26, 4:5; Titus 3:4-7). Jesus died to atone for the sins of men and to set them free.

He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification (Romans 4:25).

Jesus is the vicarious substitution since He died for our sins on our behalf.  Christ was offered in place of us. Jesus accomplished that which we could simply not.  He vicariously stood in our place and bore our sins on the cross as He made propitiation for our sins.

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10).

Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed (Romans 3:25).

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To see fresh insights into the arrest, trial, and killing of Jesus Christ see my new book Killing Christ HERE. It looks at the death of Christ using ancient Jewish and Roman sources. In it, the reader discovers how the story of the killing of Jesus is at once transcendent, historical, and religious, yet true truth.

Follow Jesus Christ Not Mere Religion

Seek Jesus Not Mere Religion

Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except by Me” (John 14:6).

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

There is only one door, one bridge, one ladder, between earth and heaven: the crucified Son of God (J.C. Ryle).

Luis De Leon said of Jesus: “Christ is given so many names because of His limitless greatness and the treasury of His very rich perfections.” Napoleon admitted:  “I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.”

   James Froude spoke of Jesus as “the most perfect being who has ever trod the soil of this planet.” Antony of Padua professed that “Christ is the dazzling bright start.” John Knox confessed: “No one else holds or has held the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds. Other gods have been as devoutly worshiped; no other man has been so devoutly loved.”

   “There is something so pure and frank and noble about Him that to doubt His sincerity would be like doubting the brightness of the sun,” so said Charles Edward Jefferson. Chardin declared that “Christ is the Alpha and Omega; the principle and the end; the foundation stone, and the keystone; the plentitude and the plentifier.” T.S. Elliot inscribed: “Christ came as a tiger.” 

   Philip Schaff famously recorded: “Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander the Great, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of school, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.”

   Crashaw delighted as he contemplated Jesus: 

“All wonders in one sight; Eternity shut in a span; Day in night; Heaven in earth; and God in man.” Augustine added that Christ is the “best husband.” Eusebius exclaimed: “Christ is the divine and Heavenly Logos; the high priest of the world; the only King of all creation; the only Arch-prophet of the prophets of the Father.” Rolheiser professed that “Jesus is the vein, the blood, the pulse, and the heart.” Even H.G. Wells had to acknowledge: “I am a historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”

   Blaise Pascal observed: “Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.” Einstein adds: “As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.... No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.” “An unsurpassed master of the art of laying bare the inmost core of spiritual truth,” writes Geza Vermes apropos Jesus.

Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me (Saint Patrick).

“Jesus was the greatest religious genius that ever lived,” avowed Ernest Renan. Honsell ascribed that Jesus is “rest for the weary; joy for the sad; hope for the dreamy; light of the glad; home of the stranger; strength to the end; refuge from danger; and Savior and friend.” Isaiah the prophet announced that Jesus is “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.” 

   But the most important designations given to Jesus were from the Father who declared: “Your throne O’ God is forever and ever.” Jesus as God manifested in the flesh is the altogether lovely one.

Look unto Jesus

Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith … (Hebrews 12:2).

see my new book Killing Christ: Contesting Trendy Critics Regarding Jesus HERE

 

Jesus: The Greatest Treasure

The Pearl of Great Price

by Mike Robinson

Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it (Matthew 13:45-46).

Help us to recognize your voice, help us not to be allured by the madness of the world, so that we may never fall away from you, O Lord Jesus Christ (Albrecht Durer).

The enjoyment of [God] is our highest happiness, and is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to Heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams. But God is the ocean (Jonathan Edwards).

Jesus' birth in Bethlehem was a moment preceded by eternity. His being neither originated in time nor came about by the will of humanity. The Author of time, who lived in the eternal, was made incarnate in time that we might live with the eternal in view. In that sense, the message of Christ was not the introduction of a religion, but an introduction to truth about reality as God alone knows it. To deny Jesus' message while pursuing spirituality is to conjure an imaginary religion in an attempt to see Heaven while sight is confined to the earth. That is precisely what Jesus challenged when he said, "I have come that you may have life" (John 10:10). His life spells living. Your life or my life, apart from Him, spells death (Ravi Zacharias, Jesus Among Other Gods).

At the time of Jesus many pagans throughout the Roman Empire worshiped pearls and Roman emperors often wore them in their hair and ears. The Jewish Talmud considered them almost priceless. 

   The man in this parable sees the pearl of pearls and he must have it! He must possess it for it possesses his heart. Consequently, he sells everything he owns to obtain this pearl of great price. Likewise, the Kingdom of God in Jesus is worth more than everything in the universe collectively.

   Hence the Christian should have the attitude: “I must have Jesus. I have to have Jesus. Without Jesus I’m nothing. I need the Lord Jesus. I desperately want Jesus; He’s everything to me!”

Jesus Christ is not valued at all until He is valued above all (Augustine).

Jesus is Priceless

Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:23-24).

During the course of time men have gone to great lengths, both legal and illegal, to obtain diamonds, gold, pearls, and money; yet all men die and they cannot take a dime with them. The Pearl of Great Price, Jesus as King of the Kingdom, never leaves us and we have Jesus forever. Jesus is utterly priceless; more valuable than all the wealth in the entire world. This King in His Kingdom is the source of true joy.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing (John 15:4-5).

see my new book Killing Christ: Contesting Trendy Critics Regarding Jesus HERE

Mike Robinson on Bill O'Reilly's "Killing Jesus: A History"

Robinson Critiques Bill O'Reilly's Killing Jesus: A History

"Killing Jesus" is about all the hum and commotion within the historical details surrounding the crucifixion of Christ (and it's loaded with pertinent maps). The religious operatives unite with their Gentile overlords to unjustly arrest, judge, and execute Jesus of Nazareth. He had to live and teach moral truth, but His death would achieve atonement for sin in order to realize a larger objective: salvation for millions of people.[1]

Indeed, as O'Reilly narrates, Jesus had to teach core morality, lessons on civil duty, impartiality of individuals, among an abundance of other doctrines. He had to use a relentless stream of words, parables, Old Testament citations, and arguments to draw people to the truth. He had to live a perfectly holy life with a group of disciples and petitioners forever wanting things that are not eternally essential. If anything, "Killing Jesus" understates how important the atonement is. It unfolds a lot of fascinating history, but it is a volume written by a historian who is guided by irreligious presuppositions--rational precommitments that direct his views (we all have presuppositions).

Writers always respond to their own day, especially biographers. For O'Reilly vis-à-vis Jesus Christ, that means following the trend of history writing influenced by naturalistic methodology, which values empirical data over religious claims; materialism over the transcendent. In key places the author follows this inclination. This volume is an enjoyable read, breezy and interesting, but not winsome. Its weakness flows from its ultimate criteria and methodology. O'Reilly's foundation limits the book's authenticity and explanatory range.

Mr. O'Reilly is a terrific researcher, and "Killing Jesus" disinters numerous stirring facts and details[2]. Few of O'Reilly's conclusions will be recollected in the years to come, but his book reads with extraordinary smoothness.

Since the core of Christ's mission is principally ignored, there's no eternal lesson in "Killing Jesus," other than maybe pay your taxes[3]. What there is, in its place, is a very solid work of history written utilizing modern assumptions and methodology. For me, it would have been better if Mr. O'Reilly had treated Jesus Christ more sacredly. But it is also a work of our age and of its author's own presuppositions. After all, as the Son of God once said: "You are either for me or against me."

Nonetheless, despite the missteps, Mr. O'Reilly's very interesting chronicle is a welcome contribution to pop-literature concerning the historical Jesus.

Review by Mike Robinson author of numerous apologetics books including Killing Christ: Contesting the Trendy Critics Regarding the Death and Resurrection of Jesus HERE

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1. Atonement for sins was the supreme reason for the execution of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 53; John 3:15-19; Romans 3:20-26, 4:5; Titus 3:4-7). Jesus died to atone for the sins of men and to set them free. "He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification" (Romans 4:25). Jesus is the vicarious substitution since He died for our sins on our behalf. Christ was offered in place of us. Jesus accomplished that which we could not. He vicariously stood in our place and bore our sins on the cross as He made propitiation for our sins. "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10). "Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed" (Romans 3:25). 
2. See the Section in the book "The World of Jesus." 
3. At times the authors focus on the "exorbitant" and "unbearable" taxes that were imposed on the nation of Israel by Rome. But tax avoidance was not the central reason Christ was arrested and executed. Jesus had two primary trials (Jewish ecclesiastical and Roman criminal) and numerous legal proceedings within each. The ecclesiastical trial yielded a conviction of blasphemy. The Roman trial never produced a guilty verdict--Pilate declared that Jesus was innocent (John 18:29-30). Contrariwise, the Roman trial ended with a death sentence for Christ. Jesus was initially brought to Pilate without formal charges since Rome would not accept a Jewish blasphemy charge for indictment. The elders and Pilate came together, trying to come up with a charge that would stick--one that was within the jurisdiction of Roman law. They tried various accusations; finally they charged Christ with treason against Caesar and Rome. They misrepresented Christ's view on taxes and kingship: "We have found this man subverting the nation... He opposes taxes to Caesar ... and claims to be a king" (Luke 23:2). Jesus was a target of religious persecution and Roman injustice, but was completely innocent. Pilate sentenced Christ to die by crucifixion (John 19:16), even though he declared Him guiltless (Luke 23:14-22). Christ was executed without a Roman verdict of guilt; nonetheless He was crucified for religious reasons. The Jewish leaders insisted: "We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God" (John 19:5-7). Jesus was killed because Temple authorities asserted that He was guilty of blasphemy. Additional charges were raised because the Jewish leaders knew that Pilate would never approve an execution on a point of religious law. Other charges that fell short of a guilty verdict: Jesus' threat to destroy the Temple (a misunderstanding of His body metaphor); subverting Caesar; prohibiting the payment of taxes to Rome; inciting rebellion; and claiming to be a king. Perhaps Pilate allowed the unjust sentence to be carried out in fearful deference to Caesar, but criminally, the chief reason for the crucifixion was not for defying taxation (Bill O'Reilly) or revolutionary ideas (Reza Aslan). Christ was crucified for blasphemy (John 19:5-7). Moreover, atonement for sin and transgression was the ultimate purpose of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Quotes on the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

The Cross of Jesus Christ

Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us (John Stott).

Our sins are debts that none can pay but Christ. It is not our tears, but His blood; it is not our sighs, but His sufferings, that can testify for our sins. Christ must pay all, or we are prisoners forever (Thomas Brooks).

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see my new apologetics book that defends the truth regarding the death of Jesus Christ: Killing Christ: Contesting Trendy Critics Regarding the Death and Resurrection of Jesus HERE