PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “A MOST MISCHEVIOUS SUPERSTION”-“ROOTED IN HISTORY!”
As we celebrate Christmas again this year there is a troubling trend that I think never quite gets addressed by Christians. Christmas celebration each year is a mixture of fact and fiction that somehow neutralizes the impact that Christmas should have for each generation each year. We celebrate the fact that Jesus was born into the world on Christmas day-(though even the fact that His birth may not have been on the 25th of December casts a fiction-like shadow of uncertainty about Christmas’ historical basis). There are mentions in the Gospel narratives of Caesar Augustus, Herod the Great, Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph…all with historical relevance. But then we add the visit of Three Kings of the Orient; The Angels from on High; The Shepherds-in such a way that it dramatizes the historical reality. Then we throw Santa Claus into the mix; with the Christmas trees; and the Feast of Saturnalia; and the worship of the Evergreens as idols; and the fact that early Christians did not celebrate Jesus’ birth at first; and that even in America Christmas was outlawed during the early years of our nation, and suddenly Christmas and Jesus seem somewhat of a religious story…a nice one about the Baby Jesus; the Shepherds; the Innkeeper; and of course those Wise men…but come on did all of this really happen? Like we have it in the Gospels? Is all that historically believable?
There have been those who have set out to investigate whether Jesus was really a real historical figure. One of the most famous and prominent scholars to do that of course was Albert Sweitzer. Sweitzer is best known as a great humanitarian who spent his entire life from 40 on as a medical doctor giving his life to aid the poor natives of Africa. But before he did that, he was known for his magnus opus-his book entitled The Quest For the Historical Jesus, which he wrote in 1906. His book betrays Sweitzer as less than an historian or a theologian. He concluded that book with a view of Jesus that was far from orthodox. He stated that Jesus had brought about his own crucifixion; he also left Jesus without a resurrection. Sweitzer taught that Jesus thought he was the Jewish Messiah, with a “messianic consciousness”, but thought that the only way to bring about the end of the world was by forcing his own death; and that, according to Sweitzer, was Jesus’ glory. He died as a martyr to His belief in His “messianic character”. Is that what history tells us about the Jesus story? There are others who would have us believe that the only references we have to Jesus, in history, is the narratives written about Him by his own followers-Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Can we trust them to give us an unbiased historical perspective of Jesus? Is there anything written in secular history about the real historical Jesus. Well…I not only majored in Pastoral Ministry at the University. I had a double-major, and my second major was history, with an emphasis on Ancient History. I am glad to report to you that there are some very reliable secular historical references to Jesus in the history books. Unfortunately, they are not often referred to in our recounting the Christmas story; or in the study of the Life of Jesus. Let me briefly share the three or four of the most significant ones.
The great Jewish historian Josephus makes two references to Jesus in his writings. Josephus was a very important Jewish historian of the 1st Century. When the Roman general Vespasian was taking the city of Jotapata by siege, and most Jewish colleagues of Josephus committed suicide, Josephus surrendered and volunteered to be a defender of the hated Romans to his own people. Thus, he wrote his narrative concerning the Jewish-Roman War with a very defending view of Rome. His most ambitious work was his The Antiquities. This work was a history of the Jewish people from creation until his own time. It is in this work that he makes his first historical reference to Jesus. He describes how that the High Priest Annas took advantage of the death of the Roman Governor Felix, and had James killed. He writes, “He (Annas) convened a meeting of the Sanhedrin and brought before them a man named James, the brother of Jesus, who is called the Christ, and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law and delivered them up to be stoned”. There you have his first reference to the historical Jesus. He was the brother of James, who Annas had put to death. That corroborates the historical narrative of the Book of Acts. Then later, in Book 18, chapter three of the Antiquities, Josephus makes a reference to Jesus that has been called the Testimonium Flavianum. This is what he writes, “About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Christ. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared to them restored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvelous things about him. And the tribe Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared”. Concerning this reference to Jesus Christian historian Edwin Yamauchi says, “That passage in Josephus corroborates important information about Jesus: that he was the martyred leader of the church in Jerusalem and that he was a wise teacher who had established a wide and lasting following, despite the fact that he had been crucified under Pilate at the instigation of some Jewish leaders.” When you consider that Josephus gives us a very accurate account of the Jewish War that has been confirmed by the archaeological evidence found at Masada, and the parallel accounts of Tacitus, then his references to Jesus can be seen as accurate representations of the historical Jesus. This was written probably around 93 A.D.
Josephus is not the only secular historian to speak of Jesus. Edwin Yamauchi says that the most important reference to Jesus outside the New Testament is the reference by the Roman Historian Tacitus. Yamauchi says, “In A.D. 115 Tacitus explicitly states that Nero persecuted the Christians as scapegoats to divert suspicion away from himself for the great fire that had devastated Rome in A.D. 64”. This is what Tacitus writes, “Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius, at the hands of …Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome…Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty: then, upon information, and immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.” (Tacitus-Annals). What impact does this reference have? Yamauchi explains, “This is an important testimony by an unsympathetic witness to the success and spread of Christianity, based on the historical figure of Jesus-who was crucified under Pilate. It is significant that Tacitus reported that an immense multitude held so strongly to their beliefs that they were willing to die rather than recant”.
Another reference to Jesus is found in Pliny the Younger. He was Governor of Bithynia. He was a close friend of the Emperor Trajan. The reference to Jesus is a personal letter he wrote to the emperor. He writes, in book 10 of his letters to the emperor, “I have asked them if they are Christians, and if they admit it, I repeat the question a second and third time, with a warning of punishment awaiting them. If they persist, I order them to be led away for execution…their stubbornness…ought not go unpunished…their guilt…they met regularly before dawn…to chat verses …in honor of Christ as if to a god, and to bind themselves by oath to abstain from theft, robbery, or adultery”. This quote shows us that Christians worshipped Jesus…to the death.
One of the most fascinating historical references to Jesus from the first century is by a historian named Thallus in 56 A.D. (referenced by Julius Africanus in 221 A.D.) In the third book of his histories, Thallus makes reference to the darkness that occurred at Jesus’ crucifixion. He says it was caused by an eclipse of the sun. Africanus, argues with Thallus’ claim given when the darkness occurred…at the Passover. So, Jesus’ life, crucifixion, and resurrection, and even the darkness at his cross, has been rooted in the historical records of the first century. Historian Paul Maier puts this all in perspective…”This phenomenon, (of darkness) was visible in Rome, Athens, and other Mediterranean cities. According to Tertullian…it was a cosmic and world event. Phlegon, a Greek author from Caria reported that in the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad-(i.e. 33 A.D.) “There was the greatest eclipse of the sun…it became night at the sixth hour of the day, (noon), so that even stars appeared in the heavens. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicea”. (Pontius Pilate Paul Maier. 1968.) So, this Jesus, born in Bethlehem really lived. He really died. He really rose again. He is the central figure of history! Don’t let anyone cause you to ever doubt that! He still lives and impacts lives today as the first century.
Chuck Colson tells of this reality when he visited a notorious prison in Brazil. He went to visit the notorious Humaita prison in Brazil. The recidivism rate for most prisons worldwide is 75 percent. (recidivism means “returning to prison for further criminal activity when released”). But this notorious prison had reduced it return rate to 4 per cent. Colson said “I saw the answer when my inmate guide escorted me to the notorious punishment cell once used for torture. Today, he told me, that block houses only a single inmate. As we reached the end of a long concrete corridor and he put the key in the lock, he paused and asked, ‘are you sure you want to go in?’ ‘Of course,’ I answered, ‘I’ve been in isolation cells all over the world’. Slowly he swung the door open, and I saw the prisoner in the punishment cell: a crucifix beautifully carved by the Humaita inmates-the Prisoner Jesus hanging on the cross!” ‘He’s doing time for all the rest of us’, my guide said softly”. That was the secret of changed lives. They had met Jesus. He took their guilt to His cross. He set them free from their sin. They were new creatures in Him. That is the key to their success in not returning to crime. That is the historical message of the Christ born into history on the first Christmas. That is the message of each new Christmas! That is God’s footnotes on history. It is indeed “His” “Story”.
SERMON: EPIPHANY: TALE OF TWO COMINGS
TITUS 2:11-14
I. CHRIST OF CHRISTMAS-GIFTING US HIS GRACE
II. CHRIST OF 2ND COMING: GIFTING US HIS GLORY
