Jesus' Death Eye Witnessed by His Disciples and Others(Mainstream Apologetics)

Jesus' Death Eye Witnessed by His Disciples and Others

Evidence ID: HIS-EV55

Evidence: Jesus' Death Eye Witnessed by His Disciples and Others

Summary: Jesus' crucifixion was witnessed firsthand by the beloved disciple John. Many other friends and disciples attending him at the Passover celebration witnessed his death from a distance. Finally, many pilgriming Jews at the Passover were witnesses at Jesus' trial and crucifixion.

Description: The disciples witnessed the crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus. Those who eye witnessed these events were Matthew (Matthew 27:31-60), Peter (Mark 15:16-46) and John (John 19:16-42).

John Witnessed Jesus' Death Firsthand

We know from the Gospel of John that John eye witnessed the full crucifixion of Jesus. We learn from his account for following facts:

John was present at the foot of the cross. He was close enough to hear Jesus speak. John was likely attending Mary, Jesus' mother, during her time of agony. While Jesus was still alive and hanging on the cross, he commissioned John to take Mary into his home and care for her. (John 19:26-27)
John witnessed Jesus' death. After much suffering on the cross, Jesus finally died. This event was evidenced by the drooping of Jesus' head. (John 19:30)
John witnessed the Roman soldier thrust the sword into Jesus' side. We infer from the text that the soldier wanted to make absolutely sure Jesus was dead. (John 19:34)
John witnessed the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies regarding Jesus' death. (John 19:35-37)

These accounts of John certify him as the prime witness of Jesus' death.

Many of Jesus' Closest Friends Witnessed Jesus' Death

We learn from the gospel accounts that Jesus had a regular entourage attending him. This entourage consisted of his closest friends. This is evidenced by the following passages:

⁴⁰ There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. (Mark 15:40-41)

And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. (Luke 23:49)

We learn from these passages that many of his closest friends witnessed his death "from a distance". This group of witnesses consisted of both men and women, not just women.

Hundreds of Others Witnessed Jesus' Death

Roman crucifixions were a public display of criminal justice to deter people from breaking Roman law. Therefore, Jesus trial and crucifixion were open to the public to witness.

Because Jesus was crucified during Passover, thousands of Jewish pilgrims were in Jerusalem for the celebration. A great many of these Jews would have known of Jesus because of his many tours throughout Israel during his 3-year ministry. He was extremely popular and his attendance at the Passover was greatly anticipated. This anticipation is evidenced in the following passage:

⁵⁵ Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. ⁵⁶ They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?" (John 11:55-56)

⁹ When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, ¹¹ because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. ¹² The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³ So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" (John 12:9-13)

Hundreds of people were watching Jesus during the weeklong Passover celebration. They were expecting him to challenge Roman/Jewish authorities and elevate himself as King of the Jews. We can assume that these same people were watching Jesus during his public trial (Matthew 27:15-26) and crucifixion.

This assumption is strongly supported by Luke 24:17-24. In this passage Cleopas asks Jesus why he had not heard of all the events concerning Jesus.

Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" (Luke 24:18)

Cleopas was dumbfounded that Jesus did not know what transpired in Jerusalem during the Passover celebration. Cleopas proceeded to give him a detailed account of how Jesus suffered and died. Cleopas was one of the many in Jerusalem that witnessed these events. This line of evidence establishes that Jesus' death was witnessed by hundreds of people, many of whom were his closest friends and disciples.