Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah · 5. The Crucifixion
Not inspired or foretold — but eyewitness testimony?
In short
- 1.The Gospels are anonymous; the traditional attributions come from the late second century (Irenaeus, c. 180 CE).
- 2.They are written in Greek by educated authors, whereas the disciples were Aramaic-speaking Galilean fishermen described as unlettered [Acts 4:13].
- 3.Mark, the earliest, dates to around 70 CE — some forty years after the events.
- 4.'Then all the disciples deserted him and fled' [Matthew 26:56] — by the Gospels' own account no disciple witnessed the arrest through to the end.
- 5.The women watched 'from a distance' [Mark 15:40].
The claim being examined
If the Gospels are not divinely inspired, Christians argue they are at least eyewitness reports of the crucifixion.
The Islamic position
Islam notes that the Gospels are anonymous, late and not by eyewitnesses, and that the Gospels themselves say the disciples fled.
Analysis
The eyewitness claim faces a chain of difficulties: anonymity, language, date, and the Gospels' own narrative of abandonment. Even on a conservative dating, the earliest account stands a generation from the events and depends on intervening oral transmission. This does not by itself prove the crucifixion did not happen — most historians hold that it did — but it does show that the sources are not the kind of first-hand, contemporaneous testimony that would settle a disputed detail beyond question.
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 4:157
وَمَا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ
They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption.
From the Bible
Matthew 26:56
τότε οἱ μαθηταὶ πάντες ἀφέντες αὐτὸν ἔφυγον
Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Read it in their BibleMark 15:40
ἦσαν δὲ καὶ γυναῖκες ἀπὸ μακρόθεν θεωροῦσαι
There were also women watching from a distance.
Read it in their BibleActs 4:13
ἄνθρωποι ἀγράμματοί εἰσιν καὶ ἰδιῶται
They were unschooled, ordinary men.
Read it in their BibleSources
Abu Zakariya, Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah · Bart D. Ehrman · Irenaeus, Against Heresies · Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah — ch. 5, pp. 105-109
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