After Jesus’ death, unjust civil proceedings, torture, and
other evils could have ended. However, his movement only grew in power through
the Holy Spirit, and the religious and political authorities took action to
victimize his followers and tarnish his legacy. We know that Paul, one of the
most important early converts to Christianity, was involved in persecuting and
killing early converts to Christianity (Acts 8:1, 3), and that early leaders in
Jerusalem, including the deacon Stephen (Acts 7:59-60) and James, the brother
of John (Acts 12:2). In fact, this persecution was one of the challenges facing
the early church for the first several centuries of its existence within the
Roman empire, with large scale persecutions breaking out in 64, 96, 250, 257,
and 303 AD resulting in numerous martyrs killed for the faith. Meanwhile, from
the earliest days of Christianity, the New Testament claims that a
misinformation campaign was begun about what happened, with guards being told
to circulate the rumor that Jesus’ followers took his body and hid it (Matthew
28:11-15). Another ancient account from the Talmud claims Pilate called for
witnesses for forty days to defend Jesus from charges of heresy, but none were
found to come forward. Even after his life was taken, Jesus was still victim of
injustices done to his legacy and his followers.
Jesus was a victim whose followers were victimized for
associating with him. He was also God in the flesh, Lord, and Savior.
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