Why this Friday is good
As a human being with seasons and emotions, I have those occasions, now and then, when I’m tired, haven’t communicated much with God due to busyness, and just overwhelmed by life. It’s at those very low moments when the question flits into my mind – “What if this thing about Christ and salvation isn’t really true?”
My more flippant response to that is to ask myself what I’m losing by living the way I’m living, with the beliefs I have that direct how I think, speak, and act. The answer is NOTHING. On the contrary, I live with hope and faith that bring me peace, joy, fulfilment and a sense of purpose. I don’t feel my life is a waste or that I’m an inconsequential blob of matter amongst other equally inconsequential blobs of matter.
However, what always lifts me – without fail – is going back, in my mind, to Square One. I ask myself, “Is there a God?” I don’t look to scriptures to answer this (since the authenticity of what is in the scriptures is what is in question); I look around me – at nature. This is even easier when you’re in a location that has preserved its natural beauty, rather than a ‘concrete jungle’.
I play back the things I learned about the anatomy and physiology of mammals (which human beings are classified as by characteristics), especially the intricate details involved in the process of the development of new life during gestation (pregnancy, but I use the term as a veterinarian); I am 100% convinced, again, that nothing in nature happened by accident. There is definitely a Creator with an amazing eye for detail.
That becomes my starting point.
Next, I ask myself, “Are human beings really naturally prone to do evil, to be sinful?” I don’t have to look far. I picture very young children telling lies without being taught to do so; their selfishness is evident in their “Gimme, gimme, gimme” (a behaviour that is modified by maturity but not eliminated). If I look at the world around me – the oppression, wickedness, selfishness, hatred, deception – I know that all the motivational speaking in the world cannot change the core of what we are as human beings.
Therefore, we are indeed sinners from birth and do need a way to be delivered from the power of sin over us that makes us still sin when we don’t want to. My train of thought leads me back to Jesus Christ and the good news (gospel) of salvation through Him. By the time I get back to this truth, I’m filled with joy again, and I am strengthened on the inside.
Today, a day that Christians have tagged ‘Good Friday’ to commemorate the day Jesus was crucified for the sins of humankind, I woke up with a song in my heart – One Found Worthy by Justin Rizzo. I lay in bed thinking about Jesus – his birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection. It occurred to me that there must be non-Christian accounts of his life that prove that he actually lived and was crucified on a cross. I did some googling, and I found the following excerpt:
Non-religious, non-Christian historical accounts from the 1st and 2nd centuries affirm the existence of Jesus as a historical figure, confirming he was a teacher in Judea executed by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. Key sources include Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius, and Jewish historian Josephus, who offer accounts independent of the Gospels.
Key Non-Religious Accounts
Flavius Josephus (c. 37–101 AD): A Jewish historian who mentions Jesus twice in Antiquities of the Jews. He describes Jesus as a wise teacher, a “wise man,” and a wonder-worker. One passage notes his execution by Pilate and reports that his followers claimed he appeared to them alive after three days.
Tacitus (c. 56–120 AD): A Roman historian and senator who, in his Annals (c. 116 AD), documents that “Christus” (Christ) was executed under Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius. He refers to Christianity as a “mischievous superstition” and describes the punishment of Christians in Rome, proving the faith was active early on.
Suetonius (c. 69–122 AD): A Roman historian who mentions “Chrestus” in his work Lives of the Twelve Caesars, noting that disturbances among the Jews in Rome were instigated by him. This likely refers to Jesus and his influence.
Pliny the Younger (c. 61–113 AD): A Roman governor who wrote to Emperor Trajan around 112 AD, documenting that Christians met on a specific day to sing hymns to Christ “as to a god”.
Mara bar Serapion (late 1st century AD): A Syrian philosopher who wrote a letter from prison mentioning the execution of a “wise king” of the Jews (widely identified as Jesus), noting that his teachings persisted.
Lucian of Samosata (2nd century AD): A Greek satirist who mocked Christians, confirming that their leader was crucified in Palestine for introducing new teachings.
The Talmud (compiled 400-700 AD): Mentions Jesus (“Yeshu”) as a practitioner of magic who led Israel astray and was executed on the eve of Passover, confirming his reputation in early Jewish tradition.
These sources, while not endorsing Jesus’s divinity, confirm the key events of his life (existence, teaching, and execution) as documented in the Roman and Jewish records of the era.
I believe that anybody serious about finding out the truth would look deeper into these references to come to their own conclusions. I just stumbled on a clip on a podcast I watch, The Diary of a CEO, that is very relevant to this blog. Please watch the clip here, and you can see the full podcast here.
Having heard and believed the gospel of Jesus Christ as a teenager, I’m so thankful for the gift of faith that set my life on the course it’s been on for the past 38 years. Over the years, I’ve understood more of the intricacies of what happened that day I believed and confessed Jesus as Lord of my life, as well as the journey. The more I know and understand, the more I love and worship Him.
I pray that on this Good Friday, you too will take the time to ponder over the implications of Jesus’s birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection to you as a person. I recommend a book – The Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ: His Substitutional Work by Cyril Yerifor.
Happy Easter.