Luke 23 -- who ya gonna believe?

Nasrettin Hoca, the classical folk-hero of Turkish literature, was asked for the loan of his donkey. "I don't have a donkey," he told the neighbor. At this moment, the beast brayed loudly from the barn. When the neighbor asked what was braying, if he had no donkey, Hoca replied, "Who are you going to believe? Me? Or some donkey?"

Here we have a carefully described death scene, with many witnesses:

Luk 23:46 İsa yüksek sesle, "Baba, ruhumu ellerine bırakıyorum!" diye seslendi. Bunu söyledikten sonra son nefesini verdi.
Luk 23:47 Olanları gören yüzbaşı, "Bu adam gerçekten doğru biriydi" diyerek Tanrı'yı yüceltmeye başladı.
Luk 23:48 Olayı seyretmek için biriken halkın tümü olup bitenleri görünce göğüslerini döve döve geri döndüler.
Luk 23:49 Ama İsa'nın bütün tanıdıkları ve Celile'den O'nun ardından gelen kadınlar uzakta durmuş, olanları seyrediyorlardı.
Luk 23:50 Yüksek Kurul üyelerinden Yusuf adında iyi ve doğru bir adam vardı.
Luk 23:51 Bir Yahudi kenti olan Aramatya'dan olup Tanrı'nın Egemenliği'ni umutla bekleyen Yusuf, Kurul'un kararını ve eylemini onaylamamıştı.
Luk 23:52 Pilatus'a gidip İsa'nın cesedini istedi.
Luk 23:53 Cesedi çarmıhtan indirip keten beze sardı, hiç kimsenin konulmadığı, kayaya oyulmuş bir mezara yatırdı.

In vs. 46, Jesus expires, uttering a Jewish bedtime prayer -- "Baba, ruhumu ellerine bırakıyorum." Father, / my spirit / your hands to / I commit.

In vs. 47, another witness speaks up, a leader of 100 soldiers (centurion, yüzbaşı). "This was a righteous man.

In vs. 48, the crowd who'd showed up for the show (seyretmek için to view / in order to. Seyretmek is the verb you use when watching TV, or a movie. için is another of those wonderful postpositions.)showed grief as they walked away, "Show's over, folks!"

In vs. 49, a gaggle[1] of older ladies who had followed Jesus all the way from Galilee, and supported his ministry financially, watched him die.

Then, a high leader of Israel notes the death of Jesus, and goes to the governor asking for the body. In one of the other gospels, we read that Pilate was surprised to learn that Jesus was already dead, and sent for one of the Roman soldiers just to make sure this was so.

All of these primary sources concurred that Jesus was well, thoroughly, and properly dead. Luke, a careful and meticulous historian, talked to eye witnesses, including many overlooked by the other gospel writers.

So who should we believe about this event that is so critical to our eternal welfare? The folks who were there? Or a poet in another land, more than 500 years later?

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[1] Back when folks lived closer to the land, there were many collective nouns for the creatures they shared the land with. A group of larks was an exaltation. A group of crows was a murder. Sheep came in flocks, and cows in herds, and dogs in packs. A popular domestic bird, the goose, was grouped in gaggles.