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How Old Was Jesus When He Died? A Fresh Look At The Historical Clues

...the other apostles also, and heard the same account from them, and bear testimony to this statement. He argued that the line in John 8:57: Then the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ …would only make sense if Jesus were already in his forties (or at the very least, close to that age). If Jesus had been just thirty, Irenaeus reasons, they would have said, “You are not yet forty” (Adv. Hae. 2.22.5). Although it’s a minority view in the early church, John Chrysostom also appears to agree with Irenaeus. In the fourth century, commenting on verse 57 in his Homily 55 on the Gospel of John, Chrysostom makes a...

Lent: Day 9 - Ignatius to the Philadelphians

..., and the apostles, and the Church”. Christ is now the way, and only way, to God the Father and as such they old ways of Judaism are no longer in effect. He emphasises this even more by pointing out that, “the Gospel possesses something transcendent [above the former dispensation]” and that is: “the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ” along with his death and resurrection. The “prophets announced Him, but the Gospel is the perfection of immortality” and so, why would we need anything more? Judaism pointed the way to the Gospel and to the Messiah, but now that his appearance has been made known, the old is superseded by the new. As the writer of...

The Resurrection as a historical event

...Table of Contents Jesus was raised bodily – and historically The resurrection is what makes Christianity unique! Evidence from Paul The mystery of the resurrection The nature of the resurrection The resurrection is more than physical What with Easter still ringing in our ears, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the topic of resurrection, but from a historical standpoint and why we can trust it as a real, world-changing event. So, what really is the resurrection? How will we be resurrected, and what does it mean for us that Jesus rose again? Let’s explore what this means for us as Christians, and see what the Scriptures say. Jesus wa...

Is fasting an expectation for Christians?

...The season of Lent is here once again which of course brings up the topic of fasting, since the tradition of Lent comes from following Jesus’ example of his time in the wilderness (Luke 4:1–2). I wasn’t planning on writing anything specific this year like I have previous in previous years, but I felt inspired today at church from one of Gospel readings: Matthew 9:14–15 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is t...

Jesus, Mithras and Ancient Roman Cults: Separating Fact from Fiction

...For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, “This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;” and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, “This is My blood;” and gave it to them alone. Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done. For, that bread and a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or can learn. In this passage, Justin Mart...

Great Lent: The Season of Fasting

...Fasting A spiritual and physical discipline If you are looking for a Lenten reading plan, make sure to check out my book, 40 Days with the Fathers: A Journey Through Church History, which will take you through the first 400 years of church history in forty days! Lent is upon us once again (according to Western tradition), and so I thought it’d be good to write something on the discipline of fasting, which is often neglected or overlooked in many Protestant churches. And much like any major holiday, there is the usual arguments and accusations about how it's all just pagan festivities with a "Christian mask". Easter is no different, and usually gets hit...