The Top 10 Shocking Things Christians Don't Know About the Bible

As I was researching for a sermon last week I came across a website that is written by a self-proclaimed atheist named David Stockin. In the introduction to his article, he writes the following:

"It never ceases to amaze me how little Christians know about their religious texts. My experience is that the more religious a person is, the less he or she knows about their religion."

He then compiles a list of "top 10 things about the Bible Christians don't know." in order to "demonstrate exactly how shockingly out of touch modern Christians are from the teachings found in the Bible."

And so, for the next 10 days or so, we will take a look at each of these 10 "facts" that have been presented, one at a time, in order to see if Mr. Stockin is correct (in some cases he will be right), mistaken (in some cases, he uses verses out of context or defines words in such a way as to prove his point), or just flat out wrong (yep, he's wrong some, too).

As Christians, hopefully this will give us insight into the mind and workings of an atheist, and hopefully give us some practice in discerning truth from fiction.

And so, without further adieu.... (in my best David Letterman voice).... NUMBER 10

10. Despite Mel Gibson's movie, there is almost no crucifixion account.

David Stockin's Statement: "One thing that stuns most Christians is that there is actually little to no text describing the crucifixion of Jesus. In general, all the Gospels have to say is that he was convicted and crucified. That's pretty much it. Of the few details that are in the Gospels, they don't actually relate to the actual crucifixion. There are a few details regarding some comments made by Jesus (each Gospel has a different account), crowds mocking him, thieves beside him, etc. But most folks are surprised at how little there actually is in the Bible regarding the crucifixion of Jesus. So what did Mel Gibson base his grotesque movie on? You'll have to ask him."

I have so much to say about this particular issue, but I will try to limit my comments so this post is actually readable. Let's start with the biblical accounts of the crucifixion as described in the four gospel accounts.

First we have to realize that each gospel was written to a specific people, which determined the style of writing and content of the message. For instance, the book of Matthew is written primarily to the Jews, and as a result, there is a heavy reliance upon Old Testament scriptures and Jesus' fulfillment of those scriptures. As a result, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all tell identical stories as well as stories that are unique to their own gospel.

This in no way attacks the validity of the scriptures any more than 4 different individual accounts of D-Day would make any of us question the fact of the invasion of Normandy. As a result, Stockin's parenthetical statement about each gospel containing a different account, although somewhat accurate, doesn't prove anything.

But one area in which the gospels are in striking agreement is on the events of the last week of the life of Christ. In fact, huge portions of the gospels are devoted to this one week's events.

In Matthew, chapters 1-20 follow Jesus for three years of teaching and healing on this earth. Chapters 21-28 (that's 28.5% of the book) are devoted to the final week of Christ's life.

The other gospels follow suit:

Mark: Chapters 1-10-- 3 years; Chapters 11-16 (37.5%)-- One week

Luke: Chapters 1-18-- 3 years; Chapters 19-24 (25%)-- One week

John: Chapters 1-11, 21-- 3 years; Chapters 12-20 (42.8%)-- One week

It is obvious, with at least 1/4 of the gospel writings devoted to this final week of Christ's life on earth (prior to resurrection) that each gospel is just an extended passion narrative. In other words, it is Christ's death, burial and resurrection that finds itself at the core of the message. It is so important to the gospel writers, that each of them slams on the breaks and devotes huge portions of their book to discussing the events that surround this final week.

As far as the actual crucifixion event, each gospel mentions the crucifixion, some giving more detail than others.

Matthew 26:47-27:26 discusses the arrest and trial of Jesus. Verse 26 states that they had him flogged. It is this flogging practice that typically began the crucifixion process in the Roman world. The flogging (to which Mel Gibson gives great detail and screen time) was brutal and often left the criminal with exposed muscle and bone.

Matthew 27:27-31 discusses the mocking and physical abuse that occurred at the hands of the soldiers

Matthew 27:32-56 describes what happened during the 6 hours that Jesus was actually on the cross during which time he cried out to God, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

In total, Matthew devotes roughly 83 verses to describing what took place in a period of time less than 24 hours

Mark, the shortest of the gospel accounts, also gives an account of his crucifixion.

Mark 14:43-15:15 describes the arrest and trial of Jesus

Mark 15:15 says that he was handed over to be flogged (per custom of Rome, see above)

Mark 15:16-20 discusses the mocking and physical abuse at the hands of the soldiers

Mark 15:21-41 describes the 6 hours on the cross, during which time he cries out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

In total, Mark devotes 71 verses to the events of less than 24 hours

** Note, Matthew and Mark agree in the sayings of Jesus while on the cross without ANY discrepancy

Luke 22:47-23:25 discuss the arrest and trial

Luke 23:26-49 describe the 6 hours on the cross, during which time, Jesus says, "Father, forgiven them for they do not know what they are doing (23:34)," "Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise (23:43)," and "Father into your hands I commit my spirit (23:46)."

In total, Luke devotes 72 verses to the events of less than 24 hours.

John 18:1-19:16 describe the arrest and trial of Jesus

John 19:16-37 discusses the events that transpired during the 6 hours on the cross, during which time Jesus says, "Woman, here is your son," "Here is your mother (19:26-27)," I am thirsty (19:28)," "It is finished (19:30)."

** again, note that just because each gospel records different words uttered from Christ's mouth, that does not mean that he didn't say all of these things (and perhaps more) while on the cross. But each gospel records what is important for its readers (and writers) to understand and know. For instance, John records the interchange with Mary (see vs. 19:26-27) because John was involved in the dialogue. No other disciple would have had the personal connection to those events that John had. It would make sense that he would record it, while others would not.

All in all, John devotes 77 verses to the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Christ, the events that took place in less than 24 hours of time.

We could go on, and mention additional passages from both the Old Testament and New Testament that discuss the crucifixion of Christ as a central theme (along with his resurrection) of the gospel message, but it seems clear that Mr. Stockin is only interested in what is recorded in the 4 gospels.

In this brief post, I have show that the gospels devote 29 chapters of material (More than the entire length of any one gospel account) to the final week of Jesus' life, and a total of 303 verses (nearly twice as many as Psalm 119-- which is the longest chapter in the entire Bible) to the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus.

Now, his argument is going to be this: When it comes to the actual time that Jesus spent on the cross, very little is said.

My response is two-fold:

1) What do you want to be said? Crucifixion was a gruesome process, it was painful-- both physically and mentally. He would have had an increasingly difficult time breathing, and as a result, he would not have spoken much. Most of the time that Jesus was on the cross his followers would have been found in mourning, as they watched as their son, friend, brother, and savior die. Additionally, he was only on the cross for a total of around 6 hours. This is a relatively short amount of time for someone to hang on the cross. As a result, it is not surprising that the gospel writers didn't have chapters worth of material.

2) Years from now, when we read of the execution of Saddam Hussein or of the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, there will not be chapters and books of details that surround their death, but no one will dispute the historicity of the events. We don't need all of the gory minute by minute details. Why? Because it doesn't really matter. For historians, it is important that we have recorded that Hussein was killed by hanging, while Bin Laden was killed in a military raid of his compound.

And although Jesus was NOT a criminal (he was convicted of false crimes), nor had he committed ANY wrong (unlike Hussein or Bin Laden), he was put to death as a part of political and judicial action.

And as Christians, the important aspects that follow this final day of Jesus' life (prior to resurrection) are the facts that he was crucified on a Roman cross (a detail that each of the gospels (and the rest of scripture) is in complete agreement on); and that he rose from the dead (another fact, as we will see later, that the gospels, and the early church all agree on.) We should not doubt the historicity of the accounts simply because we don't have every gory detail. We don't apply the same criteria in any other event in history.

So, as far as Mr. Stockin's first statement, that there is almost no crucifixion account, I beg to differ. It is the consistent testimony of scripture (and extrabiblical accounts too, but that is another story) that Jesus Christ died on a Roman Cross.