This week I was on the jury of a trial in the Manukau District Court. It’s the first time I’ve ever had to do that. The trial lasted from Monday to Friday. The Judge told us that the charge had to be proved beyond reasonable doubt and that the burden of proof is always on the Prosecution. The Defence does not have to prove anything. We heard from 7 witnesses, some were more reliable than others. Alcohol was a big factor in what had gone wrong and the reason why some of the testimony was unreliable. One of the Prosecution witnesses damaged the Prosecution case because he was in his words « smashed » and couldn’t remember anything that he was called to account for. The Police provided a colour booklet of photographic evidence with sketches of the scene and even though some of the witnesses were vague, we were able to build a pretty good picture in our minds of what transposed that evening nearly 3 years ago. And after considerable deliberation over 2 days, the verdict was guilty.
Trials do not go on forever. A decision must be made and a verdict must be given. When we looked at the Resurrection a few weeks back, we examined what the eye witnesses said and the facts of the case and we reached a conclusion.
Josh McDowelll wrote a book called « Evidence that Demands a Verdict » and there have been several other authors like Frank Morison and Lee Strobel who started writing their books to disprove the Resurrection and in the course of writing became convinced it was true. They shifted their position, like Thomas, from one of doubt to belief.
You will recall that testimony is God’s way of establishing the facts and Science is man’s way. The Bible says;
“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.
Deuteronomy 19:15
Thomas was like a modern man, he wanted physical proof, he would not believe the witness accounts of several women. Jesus gave him the physical proof he needed by telling to look at his hands where the nails had gone and put his hand in the side which the spear had pierced.
Jesus called him blessed because no-one else throughout history has gotten to do that;
Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:29
It’s been since October last year but today we continue on in our series on the Apostle’s Creed. We need to ensure our faith is built on the Rock - Jesus, the Word of God, otherwise we will be tossed by every wind of doctrine that sweeps across the Earth in these dangerous times we live in. By the time we’ve finished, you will know the Apostle’s Creed by heart. Today we will look at the easiest part of the Creed to accept and that is that Jesus
« Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. ». Feel free to join in...
1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
3. who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
5. He descended into Hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead.
6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
7. From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Spirit,
9. the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
10. the forgiveness of sins,
11. the resurrection of the body,
12. and life everlasting.
Amen
The fact that Jesus died on the Cross is not in dispute with historical scholars. Even so it is still in the Creed and you are challenged to believe it. Did you know that Islam emphatically rejects that Jesus died on the Cross.
The Quran says;
That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:- Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;-
Quran 4:157-158
According to most classical Muslim commentators, the Quran teaches that Jesus did not die but ascended into Heaven gloriously without any suffering. They do not believe that only the individual can pay for their own sins. And they certainly don’t believe that even if there was a Son of God (which they deny) that he would ever stoop so low as to die a shameful death on a Cross.
Imagine for a moment you are on the jury of a case for whether Jesus was murdered on the Cross. The Prosecuting lawyer for Islam brings their witness Muhammad to the stand.
The jury’s collective eyebrows raise when they hear Muhammad state that he was born in 570 AD.
Then Muhammad tells the Court that on the day of the crucifixion another person - whether his disciple or his betrayer - was miraculously transformed and assumed the appearance of Jesus. It was this other person who was taken away, crucified and was killed meanwhile God (Allah) raised Jesus body and soul into Heaven. This is what Islam teaches.
Remember it is the Prosecution that has the burden of proof. They have to prove that Muhammad is telling the truth. Can you tell us who was the substitute sir ? Was it John, was it Judas, was it Peter, was it Thomas, who was it because we need to prove it was the Substitute who died on the Cross. « I don’t know ».
There was a moment in the case I sat in this week where the accused got trapped by something they said while being cross-examined by the Prosecution which was a defining moment in the trial. If it was true what he was saying, then how to explain the rest of the nights proceedings.
It’s kind of a giveaway isn’t it. If Muhammad teaches that Jesus is not the Son of God but just a man, then what problem is there with accepting his death on the Cross, which is beyond reasonable doubt. Muhammad denies it because he then doesn’t have to explain the empty tomb and the resurrection proving Jesus is the Son of God which incidentally has also been proven beyond reasonable doubt many times.
The cross-examination finishes and the Judge tells Muhammad he is excused and is free to go home.
And then John is brought in as a witness for the Defence and he says in his concluding remarks;
Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.
John 19:31-35
Notice the many details that John recalls from what he saw. And notice that his account fits the bigger story of Jesus’s life. Mohammed cannot say which disciple was supposedly miraculously transformed because he wasn’t an eye witness and even if he could name someone then the Defence would be able to easily prove him wrong. He’s making it up. People telling the truth are able to easily recall details of what they saw and their story doesn’t change over time.
The case of Islam v Christianity on the Crucifixion of Christ would be over very quickly I can assure you.
I want you to listen to Bart Ehrman who describes himself as both agnostic and atheist on whether Jesus existed. I include this because Bart has not disputed that Jesus died on the Cross. You can take his words on whether Jesus existed to mean the same thing.
If you selected from history a jury of all the main critics of Christ you would find the atheist, the sceptic, the wicked unbeliever, the Pharisees and the teachers of other religions. In other words, if you loaded the jury in the worst way possible, the case for the Crucifixion of Christ which has been retrialled many times to this day, would still be proven to be historical fact. Here we are 2000 years later and an atheist like Bart Ehrman cannot dispute the fact that Jesus died on the Cross. All the people on the jury have reached a verdict and the judgement is that this is an historical fact.
Even though the judgement of history has been made that Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, died and was buried, why are we still continually revisit it and trying to disprove it, now 2000 years later. What is wrong with us !!!
Of course there is a lot of emotion in a trial. The accuser usually wants the full weight of the law thrown at the defendant.
Sometimes it’s true you get a wrong verdict in a trial. The Judge and Jury have their own personal bias built up from their life experience and sometimes we project that on someone else erroneously. In famous cases of misjustice, an appeal is made, there is a new trial. But retrials do not happen repeatedly over and over again. The second time reaches a final conclusion.
In the court case this week, we were presented with a list of undisputed facts. These are the facts that both the Prosecution and the Defence agree are true.
For example, both parties were present at the night in question.
These are 10 undisputed facts about Jesus agreed between believing and unbelieving scholars;
1. Jesus really did exist
2. Jesus was a good and profound moral teacher
3. Jesus had disciples
4. Jesus did extraordinary things like healings
5. Jesus claimed to be the Messiah of Israel and the unique Son of God
6. Jesus was crucified by the orders of Pontius Pilate
7. Jesus corpse was buried in a tomb and given a proper burial by Joseph of Arimathea
8. Jesus tomb was found empty by a group of his women followers
9. Jesus’ disciples had experiences with Jesus as a living reality after his death
10. Jesus disciples belief that he had risen from the dead was life changing
Jesus dying on the Cross is a fact, just accept it ! Don’t waste your time trying to disprove it.
Jesus was tried in the Highest Court, the verdict of Death they got from Pontius Pilate was what they wanted. There were no appeal and retrial for Jesus. It is beyond reasonable doubt that Jesus died on the Cross you can say that with confidence when you recite the Creed.
When a person is put on trial, they may have a lawyer represent them or they may represent themselves.
No one defended Jesus on his day in Court. One day we will all stand before the Judge and we need to decide now whether we will represent ourselves or whether a defence lawyer will. Muhammad chose to represent himself, many people do. The French word for defence lawyer is Avocat from which we derive advocate in English.
Don’t you want Jesus to be your Avocat, he’s never lost a case.
One trial, one verdict. If you have not received the pardon of God already, you are still waiting for the final judgment on your life. That day in court will come. You will be standing in the dock while the judge and jury review the witnesses and the facts of your life.
What will the verdict be on your life ?
