Was Jesus crucified body buried -- or just eaten by dogs?

http://therealjesus.com

This three minute video clip is made up of "left-overs" from The Real Jesus DVD which was recently released in December.

You can find ordering information at the link above.

I know that on the surface this video clip title seems blasphemous, but that is what the post-modernists have recently hurled at Christian orthodoxy in a vain and stupid attempt to defeat the truth of the resurrection.

(And by "hurled," I do mean "hurled.")

Jesus Seminar scholar, John Dominic Crossan, lives a few miles up the road from me in Clermont, Florida. Crossan thinks that Jesus' body must have been eaten by dogs, despite having no evidence or documents to back this up.

I've heard "experts" claim that crucified bodies were NEVER buried as the Gospel describes, despite having a corroborating passage in Josephus that tells how Jews often took crucified bodies off the cross for burial before the scavenger beasts came out at sundown.

J.P. Holding offers evidence to refute this.

And just for fun I asked James P. Holding:

"I hear a lot of comments from Jesus Mythists about how there are no evidence of the crucifixion of Jesus in "Roman records."

They think that somehow the argument from silence applies here, even though there is not one existing "crucifixion record" from Judea during the time of Jesus' crucifixion.

People don't know how common an occurrence crucifixion was in the first century.

People also don't know that Josephus' description of crucifixion closely matches that of the Gospels in recounting what happened with Jesus' body.

How many times does Josephus describe or record crucifixions in his History? Does any of this information corroborate the record of Jesus body being taken from the cross and buried?

"Nay, they proceeded to that degree of impiety, as to cast away their dead bodies without burial, although the Jews used to take so much care of the burial of men, that they took down those that were condemned and crucified, and buried them before the going down of the sun" (Josephus Wars 4.5).


Compare this with Gospel account about Joseph of Arimathea.

"Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near" (Luke 23:50-54).

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• apologetics
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• J.P.
• Holding
• Josephus
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[MrHass68]

Jesus never died, read Luke 24:36-41 and then go and read quran 4:157-158

No offense just tring to point to truth. Peace

[jcr4runner]

This is ridiculous. It does not say he didn't die.

Further Luke 23:46 explicitly says Jesus did die. He gave up His spirit to the Father.

[SuperSpiritedaway]

@jcr4runner

i dont agree... Jesus he didnt die... Allah told us in the Coran that he was lifted to the heaven.. and he will be back in the end time to finish his message to the humanity, then he will die like everybody else, because as Allah said every soul will test death.

[jcr4runner]

It's hard to argue with a book that says the Bible is God's Word everywhere except whee the Koran contradicts it.

QUESTION:

If the Bible was God's Word, how did a holy God allow t to become corrupted?

And why could not the Koran also have been corrupted?

The Christian view is that only the Bible is God's Word.

[SuperSpiritedaway]

the problem of the Bible you havent got the original texts... it was writen by the time of the Roman empror constantine, in the Nisea meeting.

About the Coran... it was writen and memorized from cover to cover from the time of Mohamed (saw)... even today there are millions worldwide they can recite by memory to ALL Coran, page by page... no other book is memorised this way.

[jcr4runner]

There are copies of the NT books that are as close to the originals as the Q'uran -- there are actual copies from the second century -- not fourth century Nicene era.

No ancient book has an "original manuscript" or "autograph" -- all are copies.

[vlunney]

what this guy misses is the FACT that the real pilate would NEVER have turned over the body

as he was by genuine accounts a brutal sadist who got off on making people suffer.if there was a real jesus who was crucified he would have been disposed of the same as anyone else as the romans would NOT have given a crap about appeasing jewish burial sensibilities.

[EdM021]

@vlunney Correct (well, almost). It was against Roman Law to release the bodies of those guilty of crimen maiestas like Jesus. In Judea, they would bury those who died on the cross before sunset themselves lest the Jews riot or the Chief Priests send an embassy with a complaint to Tiberius. Elsewhere, the crucified would go to rot.

[EdM021]

No, vlunney's facts are mostly right. Digest 48.24.1 states the bodies of those who committed high treason were NOT to be handed over to anyone requesting burial for the executed convict. Now do the gospel writers say Jesus was guilty of high treason? Absolutely! For he let himself be acclaimed "King of the Jews" by his followers. Pilate was not going to overlook that.

What the Romans would have done in Judea was to bury the body by themselves in their own dishonourable burial ground. Properly.

[EdM021]

@vlunney Exactly, and Josephus said he tried to do away with Jewish Law and Philo said he was corrupt, cruel and possessed of endless savage ferocity. Someone committing high treason like Jesus was said to have committed (let himself be proclaimed King by the masses and interfered with the functioning of a legally established religion) according to the NT would have been crucified naked on top of a seat which was really an impaling stake which the crucified "rode".

[john1801rambo]

I think there is only one archeological find of a crucified body given a burial in a tomb. Given the number of such executions that took place round this time, this would strongly suggest that most were either left to rot or put in a shallow communal grave - where the wild dogs would have no difficulty....

[TSavage1953]

You didn't listen. ROMAN practice not JEWISH

Both of you are wrong there is no evidence for either form of disposal of the body. To say you know is just speculation based on your personal belief not evidence

[MsPaparatz]

All religious scripts no matter which one... can not fully be explained because everyone interprets the words differently, All I know is... I do believe in a higher power... I know that I definitely don't understand it all. But I know it exists. I know right from wrong...and i try my best everyday to choose the right out of the wrong. no one can be perfect though, but as long as i continue to be the best person i can i know god or whatever you'd like to call the higher power... will except me.

[illini554]

Is there any historical evidence from classical, Jewish, or Roman historians that suggest Jesus of Nazareth was not buried in the Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea? Somebody please, produce it; otherwise quit grasping at straws in order to avoid the truth, it looks so pathetic to the dispassionate observer.

[politicaltourist]

@vlunney Your "FACTS" are wrong! Jews consisted of 25%-35% of all Roman citizens and 10%-25% of all Romans were Jews so the Romans cared very much about Jewish sensibilities. Fast forward 100 years to the Bar Kokhba revolt and you will understand why. Not to mention North Africa where a majority of the local population was Jewish as late as the 4th century AD and the last thing on Rome's mind was to give them an excuse for rebellion due to ill treatment in Judea

[mysty0]

@vlunney You forget a few details.., Pilates wife had begged him not to crucify Jesus after she had dream. Pilate was deeply troubled in the last few days before.., the whole act of presenting Barabbas to be freed or Jesus to be freed was Pilate discerning the moral intention of the Jews to which he washed his hands of after the fact in front of everyone. You may be confusing Nero with Pilate.., Nero was a true sadist.

[ScissorHand26]

@SuperSpiritedaway

It's hilarious watching Christians and Muslims arguing. Most of the arguments both you guys use work against your own religion too. Why trust the bible? Why trust the Koran? Both were written by men who can lie and we know man is fallible. Muslims claim the Koran is completely unchanged, but that doesn't even matter! It was written by people in the first place :P

In summary, you're all silly and I love you all lol.