The Death that Saved the World

The Death that Saved the World

“From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.  
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 
When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” 
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.  
The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” 
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.  
The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.  
They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” 
Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.  
Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.”
Matthew 27:45-56
There is something interesting here. The events noted here and the miracles of Jesus are noted in a piece of work that is not Christian at all, it’s Jewish, the Talmud,
Although not explicitly referred to by name, later rabbis identify the person as Jesus. These references to Jesus are neither sympathetic to Him or His Church. Also these writings were preserved through the centuries by Jews, so Christians cannot be accused of tampering with the text.
“The Talmud makes note of Jesus' miracles. No attempt is made to deny them, but it ascribes them to magical arts from Egypt. Also His crucifixion is dated as "on the eve of the Feast of the Passover" in agreement with the Gospel (Luke 22:1ff; John 19:31ff). Similar again to the Gospel (Matt. 27:51), the Talmud records the earthquake and the tearing in two of the Temple curtain during the time of Jesus' death.”
Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian, also tells of these events.
Flavius Josephus was born in 34AD. He became a Pharisee at 19, later he became a Roman Jewish historian.
Josephus writes,
“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many Jews, and many of the Gentiles. 
He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first, did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.”
So we have proof these events were real from the records of his enemies. If these things are true then its not much of a leap to say all of Jesus teachings are true.
For me the evidence both inside and outside the bible is irrefutable. Jesus is the Son of God. The Savior of mankind.
If there is any problems with the teachings of Jesus it is due to interpretational errors of man.
Many of these errors are due to men taking verses and phrases out of context. It is therefor incumbent on us to read the bible correctly. Studying it as a whole and not taking words and phrases out of context and changing the meaning to suit one’s own way of thinking.
The teachings of Jesus, and the apostles have real meaning for those of us living in the twenty-first century. All we have to do is study them correctly and they can change our life for the better.
Not only that they point us to life eternal.
Think about it.