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Death on the Cross
Ten Arguments from the Bible
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This shows that both the Jews and the Christians have gone to the opposite extremes as regards Jesus’ birth. The Muslims on their part believe that Jesus, no doubt, was born without agency of an earthly father, but he was not the son of God. A fatherless birth may be a strange incident but it is not unnatural. There have been cases in medical history where virgins have given birth to babies. The Muslims believe that Jesus was a true prophet of God. His birth, without the agency of man, has nothing to do with his son-ship or his divinity.
His death is equally a
controversial affair with the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims. The
Jews believe that Jesus died on the cross because he was a false
prophet. In this Connection they quote the Bible.
"And if a man have
committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang
him on a tree" is "the accursed of God".(Deut.21:22-23).
According to them,
Jesus was a false prophet; therefore he died on the cross as the
accursed of God. The Christians also believe that Jesus was hanged on
the cross and died an accursed death. Says Paul:
"Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it
is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree". (Galatians 3:13)
But the Holy Quran
declares that Christ did not die on the Cross. God saved him from death
by crucifixion in the same way as He saved His dear ones from
tribulations; did not Jonah the Prophet come out alive from the belly of
the whale? The fact of the matter is that Jesus Christ only fell into a
swoon on the Cross, but when he was taken down from it, he recovered
then died a natural death at the good old age of 120.
On the strength of
their belief that Jesus was a false prophet the Jews, Particularly the
Pharisees of his time brought serious political charges against him
alleging that he was disloyal to the Roman Emperor, and that he claimed
himself to be the King of the Jews. The governor, Pilate was not
convinced of his guilt but being influenced by the tumult of the
multitude he delivered Jesus to be crucified. They put him on the cross
where he remained, at the utmost, for three or four hours only and then
was taken down in a swoon and placed in a sepulchre in a garden nearby.
Now in those days it
took several days for criminals to die on the cross. They suffered the
pangs of hunger and thirst and in most cases their legs were broken.
They died a lingering death extending over several days. But it was not
so in the case of Jesus Christ. Incidentally, he was put on the Cross on
a Friday afternoon. The following being the Sabbath - day a day of
religious observance by the Jews - no criminal could remain on the Cross
on that Holy day, so he was taken down from it after about three or
four hours. The loss of blood from the wounds caused him to fall into a
swoon. He was taken for a dead man. His body was placed in a spacious
sepulchre in a garden by Joseph of Arimathaea, his own disciple. Jesus
being still alive in the sepulchre, left it on the third day in
disguise, met his disciples at Galilee and ate with them. His wounds
were healed by the application of an ointment especially prepared by his
disciples for the purpose.
This is the natural
story of Jesus’ Crucifixion but the Christians gave a strange version of
his death which is not only unnatural but also against historical
evidence as well as logic. They believe that Jesus actually died on the
Cross but on the third day he rose up to the heavens. What a paradox!
What a myth! Modern Christianity rests on the belief that Jesus died on
the Cross. But if it is proved that he did not die on the Cross nor did
he rise from the dead, then the whole edifice of Christianity tumbles to
the ground. Paul, who is the real founder of modern Christianity,
himself says:
"And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain and your faith also vain" (Corinthians 15:14)
Now we proceed with our arguments from the Bible itself to show that Jesus did not die on the Cross.
I - Jonah's Sign
We read in the New Testament:
"And when the
people were gathered thick together, he (Jesus) began to say, this is an
evil generation: they seek a sign: and there shall no sign be given it
but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was a sign unto the
Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man to this generation". (Luke 11: 29, 30)
Again:
"But he answered
and said unto them; an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a
sign: and there shall be no sign given to it, but the sign of the
prophet Jonah: for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the
whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth". (Matthew 12: 39, 40)
Jesus Christ is said
here to give a sign to the people of his own time as Jonah, the prophet,
had given to the Ninevites? Now what was the sign given by Jonah to the
Ninevites? The Bible says:
"Now the Lord had
prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of
the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord
his God out of the fish's belly. And said, l cried by reason of mine
affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell
cried I, and thou heardest, my voice". (Jonah 1:17-2; 1,2).
According
to this verse is the Bible, Jonah was swallowed up by a big fish where
he remained three days and three nights and then came out alive from the
belly of the fish. It was a sign given to the Ninevites. Jonah prayed
to God for deliverance while in the belly of the fish. The Lord heard
his prayer and Jonah came out alive. Jesus says that no sign shall be
given to the evil and adulterous generation of his time except that of
Jonah. Now what is the resemblance between the two signs of Jonah and
Jesus? It is nothing but going alive into the belly of the fish and the
heart of the earth and coming out alive. Both Jonah and Jesus cried by
reason of their respective afflictions and prayed to their Lord for
deliverance. The prayers of both were heard. If Jesus did not enter the
heart of the earth (sepulchre) alive, and come out alive, where is the
resemblance of the two signs? Jesus promised to show only one sign to
the generation of his time, but even if that sign be not proved to be
true, is there anything also to prove the truth of his claim to be a
prophet? Jesus’ reference to the sign of Jonah simply means that he
would not die on the cross. Therefore, there is every reason to believe
that the swoon theory is not based on a wrong hypothesis.II - Pilate's Wife Sees a Dream
"When he (Pilate)
was set down on the Judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have
you nothing to do with that just man (Jesus): for I have suffered many
things this day in a dream because of him" (Matthew 27:19)
The lady's dream was
really true and quite opportune. It purports to mean that Christ be
saved from the accursed death on the Cross. God saves his dear ones by
means of dreams of others as was the case with Joseph who was released
from jail having interpreted the two dreams of Pharaoh. God wanted to
protect Jesus against his enemies, hence the dream of the Roman
governor's wife which influenced his judgment.
III - The Roman Governor's Sympathetic Attitude
The Jews presented the
case of Jesus Christ to Pilate, the Roman Governor of Palestine. He
held a judicial inquiry into the case and declared that he was not
guilty of the charges brought against him. He said unto them:
"Ye have brought
this man unto me as one that perverteth the people: and behold, I,
having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching
those things where of ye accuse him" (Luke 23:14)
"He went out again
unto the Jews and said unto them, l find in him no fault at all. But ye
have a custom that I should release unto you one at the Passover: will
ye, therefore, that l release unto you the King of the Jews? Then cried
they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas.” (John18:38, 40)
And from
thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out,
saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesars friend: whosoever
maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar" (John 19:12.
From
the references given above, it is evident that the Governor regards
Jesus innocent of all the charges brought against him by the Jews, he
tries his utmost to release him but when the Jews threatened to report
him to the Caesar at Rome he yielded to them and handed Jesus over to
them. However, secretly he took measures to see that Jesus should be
saved. It is notable in the New Testament testimony that Pontius Pilate
believed Jesus to be innocent and did not want him executed. One of the
influences was a dream Pilate's wife convincing her of Jesus' innocence,
and the message she passed on to Pilate was "leave that innocent man alone" (Matthew 27:19).IV - Pilate's Scheme to Save Christ
Pilate, the Governor,
was thoroughly convinced of the innocence of Jesus Christ; he therefore,
had a pre-planned scheme to save Jesus' life. As a responsible official
of the Roman Empire he could not openly come to the forefront, but he
was the master-mind behind the whole scheme and the chief actor in the
drama. Other characters of the show were Joseph of Arimathaea, an
honorable Councilor and disciple of Jesus Christ. He had already had a
sepulchre hewn out in a rock garden nearby. Another actor in the drama
was a learned Jew named Nicodemus who was also in the know of the whole
matter. We read of him in St. John:
"And there came
also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night and brought a
mixture of myrrh and aloes about a hundred pound weight" (John 19: 39)
It
was very clever of Pilate to choose Friday afternoon as the time for
Jesus’ crucifixion so that he could not remain on the cross after
sunset, the following day being Sabbath, so holy to the Jews. He
selected Joseph and Nicodemus as the most trusted friends to execute the
pre-arranged scheme. All necessary measures were adopted to bring Jesus
to consciousness. Otherwise what did Nicodemus mean by bringing the
mixture of myrrh and aloes? Jesus was shown to have died in official
records to pacify the Jews and the Imperial government at Rome. Joseph
of Arimathaea boldly asked the Governor to hand over the 'body' of Jesus
which request he readily granted. If the plan was not pre-conceived how
could the Governor hand over the 'body' of Jesus to a stranger from
outside? There is reason to believe that Jesus Christ himself must have
been informed of the plan so that his prophecy might come true that as
Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly so shall the
Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Nicodemus's meeting with Jesus Christ the previous night brings into
lime-light the whole story.V - Duration of Crucifixion
The duration of
crucifixion or the period of time for which Jesus remained on the Cross
was not long enough to warrant his death on the Cross. Criminals
generally took several days to die a lingering death on the cross on
account of the loss of blood from the wounds on hands and feet, the
physical pain and the pangs of hunger and thirst. The minimum time of
death on the cross ranged between 24 and 28 hours, but in some cases it
took several days to die on the cross. In such cases it became necessary
to break the legs of the criminals so that death may be hastened and
consummated.
Let
us now probe into the matter of Jesus' crucifixion. The New Testament
tells us that Jesus remained on the cross for a few hours only. The
actual duration of time Jesus remained on the cross was not more than
three or four hours. Jesus Christ, who was in the prime of his youth (33
years) and enjoyed excellent health, could not be expected to have died
within so short a time. Especially as his legs were not broken as was
done in the case of the two robbers crucified with him on the same day.
It may not be out of place here to note that, according to the Roman
calendar the day began with the rising of the sun and ended with its
setting. The same custom is in vogue even to this day in Arab countries.
According to John (19:14) it was about the sixth hour of the day
(Friday) that Pilate spoke last to the Jews vis-a-vis Jesus crucifixion
and handed him over to them.
"And when the sixth
hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth
hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying,
Eloi, Eloi, LAMA SABACHTHANI, My God, My God why hast thou forsaken me?"(Mark 15:33, 34)
This shows that Jesus
retained his consciousness up to the ninth hour of the day and then he
fell into a swoon, that the New Testament writers call "giving up the ghost”. None
of the writers were present on the spot to stand as eye-witness. The
'swoon' was taken to be 'death' and 'death on the cross' means an
accursed death. Do we not read in the Bible?
"For he that is hanged is accursed of God". (Deut. 21: 23)
What an audacity on
the part of Christians to call a true prophet of God an accursed of God.
The New Bible Dictionary also concluded based on the historical facts
of crucifixion that
"death by this
method was usually quite protracted, rarely supervening before
thirty-six hours, and on occasion taking as long as nine days"(1962 ed, Intervarsity Press, Page 282)
VI - Coming Out of Blood and Water
"Then came the
soldiers and break the legs of the first and of the other which was
crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was
dead already, they break not his legs. But one of the soldiers with a
spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water". (John 19: 3-234)
The soldiers did not
break the legs of Jesus for they took him for a dead man while actually
he was in a state of swoon, or just to silence the angry Jews he was
declared be a 'dead' man. But one of the soldiers incidentally "pierced
his side and forthwith there came out blood and water", which is a surer
sign of life for blood and water do not come out of a dead man's body.
There is much food for thought here for those who care to ponder over
it. Blood pouring out is a sign of intact circulation, with the spear
injuring an arteriole. Note the words 'sudden flow' which implies blood
pressure. The 'water' was perhaps pleural fluid, present between the rib
cage and lungs.
As blood does not rush
out of corpses, the quoted verse did present a problem to at least one
Church Father, Origen. In his exegesis of John 19:34, he admitted that
blood coagulates after death, but the flow of blood in this case
constituted a miracle and thus needed no explanation. (Contra Celsus, by
Origen, translated by H. Chadwick, Cambridge University).
The spear thrust into
the side of Jesus was not meant as a kind of definitive blow, but as a
rough (and actually inaccurate) indicator if death had occurred. If the
intent were to kill, the soldier would have stabbed into the front of
the chest to injure the heart. However, in the event the person was not
on the cross for sufficient length of time, death was usually caused by
breaking the legs, as was done with the individuals hanging alongside
Jesus.
Breaking with Protocol
The
Gospel testimony it should be pointed out is inconsistent on the point
of the centurion wanting to ensure the death of Jesus. On the one hand,
the centurion saw that Jesus was 'already dead' so he did not bother to
break his legs (see "Legs not Broken") as against the demand of the Jews
to hasten death by breaking his bones on account of the Sabbath (John
19:31) which was the standard protocol. On the other hand the centurion
pierced Jesus' side. Was this done to cause death if he was uncertain
about it? If so, why were the bones not broken also which was the
standard, brutal method? How can we not assume there were some elements
of sympathy from at least some of the Romans, starting from Pilate on
top (see "Pilate's Plot") and going down the chain of command?
It is alleged the
Romans executioners were cold, brutal and blood thirsty experts in the
art of putting people to death. Not only do we have some inconsistency
in actions documented on the part of the centurion, we also have what
appears to a be a very sympathetic Roman officer and even a closet
follower of Jesus, as marked by his words when he was looking on at the
cross when Jesus supposedly died:
"Truly this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:39).
VII - No Eye-Witness of Crucifixion
Three
writers of the Gospels state that there was darkness over all the land
from the sixth to the ninth hour and that there was an earthquake and
the rocks were rent and the veil of the temple was rent in twain. It is a
matter of common experience at the time of a severe dust-storm
accompanied by an earthquake, people generally hasten to go home and
they do not enjoy the luxury of a bloody sight-seeing. Now imagine for a
moment, who could stand as an eye-witness to tell the story that Jesus
actually died on the cross. The Jews, if, at all, there were any on the
spot, must have run away at the sight of the rising storm and the
shaking of the earth must have frightened them to turn on their heels
and hasten to their homes. As to the disciples they had already fled
from the scene of the crucifixion.
"Peter began to curse and to swear saying, l know not this man (Jesus) of whom you speak" (Mark 14:50).
"And they forsook him (Jesus) and fled" (Mark 14:71).
To be brief, there was no one present on the scene who could definitely and certainly say that he
saw Jesus 'giving up the ghost'. This is all mere conjecture and imagination.
VIII - Jesus’ Mission to the Lost Sheep of Israel
"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost". (Luke 19:10)
"And other sheep I
have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall
hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one
shepherd" (John 10:16)
"And he said unto them, l must preach the Kingdom of' God to other cities also; for therefore l am sent". (Luke 4: 43)
"But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel". (Matthew 15: 24)
From
the quotations given above, it is clear that Jesus’ mission was to
preach to all the twelve tribes of Israel that were scattered in the
eastern countries extending from Palestine to India at the time of
Jesus’ appearance. Of the twelve tribes of Israel there were at that
time, only two tribes in Palestine while the other ten were found
scattered in the lands stretching from Palestine to the confines of
India. Jesus cannot be said to have been successful in his mission if he
does not address and preach to the ten lost sheep of Israel. Jesus’
supposed death on the cross at the early age of 33 gives a shattering
blow to the mission on which he was sent. The truth of the matter is
that Jesus Christ, after his escape from the cross, did migrate to the
East in search of the lost sheep for which there is ample historical
evidence and is recently supported by the modern 'finds' of archaeology.
Jesus found his lost sheep in Persia, Afghanistan and Kashmir, preached
to them and comparatively he was much more successful here than in
Palestine. He died a natural death and was buried in Srinagar, Kashmir.IX - Jesus’ Victory over His Enemies
Addressing his disciples Jesus says:
“Before, the hour
cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his
own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the
father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye
might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation but be of good
cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:32,33)
Now what does Jesus’
victory consists of? In his death on the cross or in his escape from the
cross? If he died on the cross then the Jews were successful because
the very aim of theirs was to prove that he was false in calling himself
the Messiah. They had in their support the Biblical statement "he that is hanged is an accursed of God" (Deut. 21:23).
But
is we believe that he was taken down from the cross alive (in a state
of swoon of course) and he entered the heart of the earth alive, then he
can rightly be said to have overcome his enemies and frustrated all
their evil designs. Jesus says:
"For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation"
In other words Jesus
said to the Jews that God Almighty would save him from the clutches of
death in the same way as He had saved Jonah from the belly of the whale.
The similarity between the two incidents can be real and genuine only
when Jesus enters the heart of the earth (grave) alive and comes out
alive.
X - His Prayer Was Heard
From study of the
Bible we learn that God listens to the prayers of his apostles and saves
them from trials and tribulations. Says the New Testament:
"The effectual
fervent prayer of a religious man availeth much. Elias was a man subject
to like passions as we are and he prayed earnestly that it might rain:
and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six
months. And he prayed again and the heavens gave rain, and the earth
brought forth her
fruit". (James 5: 16-18)
Again we read:
"And Jesus lifted
up his eyes and said father I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me. And I
knew that Thou hearest me always: but because of the people which
standby I said it that they may believe that Thou hast sent me" (John 11:14, 42)
And he said, Abba,
Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from me:
nevertheless not what 1 will but what Thou wilt" (Mark 14:36)
From
the quotations given above it is clear that Jesus was terribly afraid
of being put to the cross, so he fervently prayed that the bitter cup be
taken away from him. Jesus passionately and fervently prayed to God
that he might be saved the accursed death on the Cross, how could he
then, say that he had overcome the world; in case he died on the Cross,
the mission of his whole life would come to naught and wrongdoers could
challenge his claim to prophet hood. The thought of death on the cross
was simply grating upon his soul. Being a righteous prophet he was not
afraid of mere death: he was certainly
afraid of dying on the cross as such a death could be interpreted to
mean an accursed death which was the very negation of his prophetic
mission. He:
"In the days of his
flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong
crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death and was
heard in that he feared" (Hebrews 5:7)
Finally, when death looked imminent and he was in agony on the cross he cried "Eli Eli lama sabachthani"* (Matthew 27:45-46)
* Translation: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!
Because he did not expect that it would come to this. He fully believed the prayer would be accepted.
Hence we must presume
that his earnest prayer was, no doubt heard and he miraculously escaped
death by crucifixion and lived long enough to preach his mission to the
lost sheep of the Israelite in the East.
These arguments
prove that the idea of the crucifixion of Christ cannot be justified
even from the Biblical point of view. Therefore, it is evident that the
present Christian faith based on that erroneous idea, cannot hold
ground.
Original source http://www.alislam.org/library/dcross.html
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