Revisiting The Resurrection - addressing Jewish Skepticism

The Resurrection of
Yeshua
Addressing Jewish Skepticism

Born from above
 accepting the evidence in 1986

 Why revisit?

A Shared starting position?
 The One God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob;

 The TaNaK, the Hebrew Bible

 Thus, the acceptance of the ‘resurrection of the body’
as an act which God has declared to his prophets and
which many of his prophets have spoken on and
believed in, from Job & Daniel, to many in the Misnah
including during the Second Temple Period,

 Mishna: ‘We make mention of the mighty deeds of rain
in [the benediction of] The Resurrection of the Dead’
(M. Berakhotv, 2).

‘The body is as necessary to the soul as a garment to the body,
and if it is unseemly to walk about undressed, how much more so
is it unbecoming to appear before the Creator naked; hence the
soul must arise at resurrection clothed in a new and shining body.
―

There can be no doubt that in various passages of the Bible—in
almost all its parts—there are to be found figures of speech and
similitudes that recognize the possibility of the resurrection of the
dead and the power of God— and even of the prophets—to
revive the dead. …

The subject is mentioned in the Mishna: „And these are they that
have no share in the world to come: he who says that there is no
resurrection of the dead, and (he who says that) the Torah is not
from Heaven, and an Epicurean.‟ - from „The Sages‟ by Ephraim

 This ‘resurrection’ even if primarily referring to the ‘end
of days’ was a resurrection of the righteous and thus
of righteous Jews.

Why has Judiasm fought the
resurrection so strongly

 Was the destruction of the 2nd Temple a factor?

 Other factors:
 the inclusion of Gentiles?
 What about the teachings of Yeshua?
 The adoption of Greek/Hellenistic thoughts/beliefs?
 The walk of ‘Christians’?

 No true child of Abraham raised in the beliefs and traditions
of his elders could, with full knowledge and obedience to
the One God, even for a moment entertain such an
idolatrous belief.

 If acceptance of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus
meant that you must also believe he is Almighty God, then I
can fully appreciate why any of HaShem’s first born
children, or for that matter any sane person would reject
the resurrection.

The great task
 To convince biblically literate Jews given the great
many failures of Christianity to walk as our Messiah
walked.

 Deut 10:16; Lev 26:41; Micah 6:8

 Rom 11: 11-15 „I say then, Have they stumbled that
they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their
fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for toprovoke
them to jealousy.‟

 The witness of much ‘bad fruit’

- Matthew 7:16-20; Luke 13:6-9; John 15:2-16.

 John 15:10 “If you keep my commandments, you will
abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's
commandments and abide in his love.”

Objective History?
 … all knowledge of the past, as indeed of everything else,
is mediated not only through sources but also through the
perceptions, and hence also the personalities, of the
knowers. There is no such thing as detached objectivity
 …. (the fact that) all historical work consists of a dialogue
between the historian, in community with other historians,
and the source materials; and that at every point the
historians' own worldview-perspectives are inevitably
involved.
 But this does not mean that all knowledge collapses into
mere subjectivity.
 NT Wright „The Resurrection of the Son of God‟

 When all is said and done, the historian is still bound
to address the question: how did Christianity actually
start, and why did it take the shape it did?

The importance of the historical account

 A Gospel which cares only for the apostolic
proclamation and denies that it either can or
should be tested for its historical antecedents, is
really only a thinly veiled gnosticism or docetism
and, however much it may continue to move by a
borrowed momentum, will prove ultimately to be
no Gospel. Moule 1967, 80f

A Court of Law:
Simon Greenleaf (Professor of Law at Harvard University–
early 1800’s) Four ‘rules of law’;

 In trials of fact, by oral testimony, the proper inquiry is
not whether is it possible that the testimony may be
false, but whether there is sufficient probability that it is
true.

 A proposition of fact is proved, when its truth is
established by competent and satisfactory evidence.

 In the absence of circumstances which generate
suspicion, every witness is to be presumed credible,
until the contrary is shown; the burden of impeaching
his credibility lying on the objector.

 The credit due to the testimony of witnesses depends
upon, firstly, their honesty; secondly, their ability;
thirdly, their number and the consistency of their
testimony; fourthly, the conformity of their testimony
with experience; and fifthly, the coincidence of their
testimony with collateral circumstances.

 “Either the men of Galilee were men of superlative wisdom, and
extensive knowledge and experience, and of deeper skill in the
arts of deception, than any and all others, before or after them,
or they have truly stated the astonishing things which they saw
and heard…
 His business is that of a lawyer examining the testimony of
witnesses by the rules of his profession, in order to ascertain
whether, if they had thus testified on oath, in a court of justice,
they would be entitled to credit and whether their narratives, as
we now have them, would be received as ancient documents,
coming from the proper custody.
 If so, then it is believed that every honest and impartial man will
act consistently with that result, by receiving their testimony in all
the extent of its import.”
 Greenleaf

Juan Baixeras
Existence of Jesus:

Nobody seriously disputes that a man named Jesus of Nazareth
actually existed.

There is more written about Jesus than any other individual or event in
the history of mankind.

If Jesus did not exist then how can we say that Julius Caesar,
Napoleon, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington or anybody else for
that matter ever really existed.

He is mentioned by Roman Historians Suetonius in AD 49 in Claudius,
25,4, and by Tacitus AD 115-117 in Annals, XV,44, and by the Jewish
historian Flavius Josephus in the first century AD in Josephus
Antiquities, XX,200.

The stone and the tomb:
 The tomb that was closed off by a huge stone - an
entrance of 4 1/2 to 5 feet high.
 Modern engineers estimate that a stone of those
proportions would have to weigh a minimum of 1 1/2 to 2
tons.
 These stones were placed in front of the tomb in a slight
incline and were held in place by a wedge. When the
wedge was removed the stone rolled slightly forward and
sealed the tomb
 In order to enter the tomb after it had been sealed required
that the stone be removed, which required a lot of effort
and man power.

 The Roman guards - probably the Governor‟s
Custodian Guards, - the elite of the elite in the Roman
army.

 Custom in the Roman army: - if you were ordered to
guard a prisoner and he escaped, the penalty was
death.

 In Acts 12:19 when Peter escapes from jail, Herod
questions the guards and then has them executed.

 Guards ordered by none other than the Governor
himself - highly motivated to perform their duty.

 They knew their lives depended on it!

 Out of the three groups that were interested in the body
of Jesus, the disciples were definitely not interested in
taking his body.
 They were sceptical - waiting to see if what Jesus
had predicted would happen.
 Highly illogical that the Apostles would want to take his
body and thus deny themselves of that certainty.
 Thomas did not believe that Jesus had resurrected
even after the other ten Apostles told him that they had
seen the resurrected Jesus.
 When they told him, he said in John 20:25: "Unless I
see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger
into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will
not believe.”

 If you do not believe that Jesus resurrected,
 Either, sixteen Roman Custodian Guards placed
personally by the Governor under a penalty of
death for failure to carry out their duty, all fell
asleep, and did not wake up as the Apostles
moved a two ton stone,
 or they did wake up to see them, but did nothing to
stop them.

Proof in the lives of the Apostles. It is in how they lived
and in how they were treated.

 Paul - most powerful witness to the resurrection.
 WHY?
 WHY would someone who was openly against the
followers of Yeshua to the point of standing by and
condoning the stoning of Stephen, someone who as a
Pharisee held an esteemed position among his people,
 WHY follow Jesus and be considered an outcast by his
family, friends and the community.

The reason
 that the Apostles lived such a hard life,

 and died such gruesome deaths is because they had
to.

 It was part of God‟s plan.

 indisputable proof for future generations.

 God designed it so that the Apostles would live the
kind of lives that they for our benefit, in order for us to
have proof of the resurrection in the years to come.

why did Jesus appear to
only a few?
 Why didn‟t he just appear to all of Jerusalem and end
the argument once and for all?

 First, if had appeared to everyone in Jerusalem, then
everyone in Jerusalem would have believed in him as
the Messiah.

 The Apostles would not have been necessary, anyone
could have spread the news to other Jews living
outside of Jerusalem.

 This would have eliminated the proof for future
generations - the lives of the Apostles.

 Now as soon as a few generations pass and there are no more people left
alive who actually witnessed the supernatural event of Jesus‟ resurrection,
people will start to question it.

 They will say, "Can you prove it really happened?"

 Or, they will say that it is just a myth like the Greek myths of old. It is
basically impossible to prove a supernatural act in itself.

 Can you prove the Red Sea actually parted?

 Unfortunately no. This is what would have happened had Jesus appeared to
all of Jerusalem.

 It would eventually have become a myth with no concrete proof that it
actually happened.

 In order to believe it people would have to have blind faith, which is a very
weak faith.

 These are the reasons why the Apostles had to live
such harsh lives - it was necessary for us and for all
future generations.

 This proof has no time limit.

 It is plain to see today as it will be plain to see in
50,000 years.

 God‟s plan is truly perfect.

 Everything has been worked out to the smallest detail.

Scientific approach
To establish a casual claim:

 Evidence that the cause proposed was present;

 Evidence that on other occasions it has demonstrated
the capacity to produce the effect under study, and

 That there is an absence of evidence, despite a
thorough search, of any other possible causes.

The best explanation
 Example:
 Successionism – if a fact, what possible explanations are
there; and how do we determine the ‘best’ explanation?
 Reliability of any hypothesis dependent on
 Relevance.
 Testability.
 Compatibility.
 Predictive power.
 Simplicity.

Prof. Flusser‘Judaism and the Origins of Christianity’ (p
429):
The Oracles of Hystaspes and the Book of Revelation
reflect the idea that the eschatological prophet will be killed;
they also speak about his resurrection.
It was almost inevitable that such a belief arose: the idea of
resurrection became for many part of the Jewish faith; at
that time not only Jews believed that a wondermaker could
raise a man from the dead; one could learn from the Bible
that Enoch and Elijah were brought up to heaven, and
there were some Jews who thought that this was also true
of Moses' end.
As it was difficult to accept that at the End of Days the
great prophet will come to a tragic end, it was easier to
assume that he will finally resurrect and ascend to
heaven.

Belief in Prophet being raised
Seen in the example of John the Baptist:

He was executed by Herod Antipas, but many believed that he was the prophet
Elijah who was to reappear at the End. "It was at that time that reports about
Jesus reached the ears of Prince Herod. This is John the Baptist', he said to his
attendants, 'John has been raised to life‟. Not only Herod believed it.

One day Jesus asked his disciples: "Who do the people say I am?" They
answered: "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, others one of the prophets”.

Here also we find the belief that John the Baptist, who had been killed by Herod,
was raised to life. It is also clear enough that the people thought that Jesus was
the eschatological prophet. Later, as we know, Jesus himself was killed, and, as
Christianity believes, "he was buried andwas raised to life on the third day
according to the scriptures” …

The cases of John the Baptist andof Jesus show that the motif of the violent
death and resurrection of the prophet was then well known among the Jews.

 Yehezkel Kaufmann, (also a Professor at Hebrew
University) states:
 “There are scholars who opine that the belief in Jesus'
resurrection derived wholly from his appearance before the
disciples (that is, in a vision unconnected with bodily
resurrection), which opinion is, however, in error. Jesus'
appearance was considered a miracle; it brought renewal
of faith after the disappointment of Golgotha — and
reunited the scattered disciples. The appearance, on the
other hand, of the "spirit" or ghost of a departed in a vision
would not have been a miracle.”
 ‘Christianity & Judaism – Two Covenants’ p133)

 „The fact of the resurrection is often mentioned: it is both an
historical experience and a cornerstone of Christ's
metahistorical biography.‟ „Judaism and the Origins of
Christianity’, David Flusser, p 621

 „Is it indeed credible to suggest that when the Synoptic
Gospels are studied scientifically they present a reliable
portrayal of the historical Jesus’ ‘Jesus’, Flusserp 21

 „Hence, Luke and Matthew together provide the most
authentic portrayal of Jesus' life and teachings‟.‘Jesus’, p
22.

 “I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must
confess as a historian that this penniless preacher
from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history.
Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all
history.”--H.G. Wells

 PinchasLapide, an orthodox Jewish scholar, (1922-
1997), “against all plausibility, his adherents did not
finally scatter [and] were not forgotten,” and that “the
cause of Jesus did not reach its infamous end on the
cross.” “His disciples, who by no means excelled in
intelligence, eloquence, or strength of faith, were able
to begin their victorious march of conversion only after
the shattering fiasco on Golgotha—a march which put
all their successes before Easter completely into the
shadow.”

 Lapide argues that if Judaism and Christianity both derive from the same
God, then Christianity could not be founded upon a lie. And since it
"stands or falls" with the Easter story, Lapide concludes that the church
was "born out of an act of the will of God, which all the New Testament
authors call the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead."

 Two centuries before Jesus was born, Lapide points out, Judaism began
believing in a future, generalized resurrection of believers, which
became a tenet of Orthodoxy. In addition, the Jewish tradition includes
six accounts of God reawakening the dead, three of them in the Old
Testament (I Kings 17: 22, II Kings 4: 35 and 13: 21). Lapide sees no
religious reason why Jesus could not have been the seventh "dead Jew
revived by the will of God," although the New Testament describes
Jesus' resurrected body as having a changed nature.

 The Jewish resurrective tradition, he contends, provided the basis for the
Christian Apostles' faith. "This certainty of the future rising of the dead and
the possible reawakening by God of some dead before the end of days
was the precondition for their hope against hope that their beloved teacher
and master had not been abandoned by the God of Israel."

 However Easter is interpreted, says Lapide,
"one thing is certain: since all the witnesses of the resurrected Jesus were
sons and daughters of Israel, since, moreover, he appeared only in the
land of Israel, his Resurrection was a Jewish affair which must therefore be
judged by Jewish standards if we are to gauge its authenticity.”

By Jewish standards - a certain skepticism is understandable.

But, Lapide argues, "if the Disciples were totally disappointed and on the
verge of desperate flight because of the very real reason of the Crucifixion,
it took another very real reason in order to transform them from a band of
disheartened and dejected Jews into the most self-confident missionary
society in world history." He concludes that a bodily resurrection could
possibly have been that reason.

 “When this frightened band of apostles suddenly could
be changed overnight into a confident mission
society… Then no vision or hallucination is sufficient
to explain such a revolutionary transformation.”
 PinchasLapide, The Resurrection of Jesus: A Jewish Perspective (Fortress Press,
1988), p. 125

 ‘The Lord's brother, James, came to believe as a
result of a resurrection appearance. In 62 AD James
died for his faith in his brother; he was murdered by a
Sadducean high priest. The other brothers were later
converted to faith, and with their wives they accepted
the hospitality of the congregations.‟
 1 Cor. 9:5; 1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 2:9;

the early Christians speak of one major aspect of the Jewish hope as already
emphatically realised. Jesus himself was and is the Messiah, and they
looked for no other.

Yet, Jesus had not done what Messiahs were supposed to
do.
He had neither won a decisive victory over Israel’s political
enemies, nor restored the Temple (except in the most
ambiguous symbolic fashion).
Nor had he brought God’s justice and peace to the world; the
wolf was not yet lying down with the lamb.
But the early gospel traditions are already shaped by the belief
that Jesus was Israel’s Messiah; and in Revelation, Jesus is
the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
The historian is bound to face the question: once Jesus had
been crucified, why would anyone say that he was Israel’s
Messiah?

 Nobody said that about Judas the Galilean after his revolt ended in
failure in AD 6.

 Nobody said it of Simon bar-Giora after his death at the end of Titus’s
triumph in AD 70.

 Nobody said it about bar-Kochbar after his defeat and death in 135.

 On the contrary:

 Where messianic movements tried to carry on after the death of their
would-be Messiah, their most important task was to find another
Messiah.

 The fact that the early Christians did not do that, but continued, against
all precedent, to regard Jesus himself as Messiah, despite outstanding
alternative candidates such as the righteous, devout and well-respected
James, Jesus’ own brother, is evidence that demands an explanation.

 Psalm 2:6
“Yethave I setH5258 my king upon my
holyhill of Zion.”

 The word translated ‘set’ (or installed in many versions –
Strongs # H5258) is the Hebrew word ‘nacak’, which is a
primitive root; meaning primarily ‘to pour out’, especially a
libation, or to cast; or by analogy to anoint a king, that is to set
or install a king.
 Why did the translators follow the Septuagint’s led in
translating this as ‘set or ‘installed’ when these are not the
normal or main use of this word?

 Libation : The pouring of a liquid offering as a religious ritual. The liquid so
poured.

 We have no explicit statement in scripture that Jesus understood that Psalm 2 v6
should be read as referring to a sacrifice of a ‘king’ and ‘Son’ of God. We do
however have a fairly strong inference in Acts 13 v29-33:

 “When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from
the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many
days he was seen by those who had travelled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.
They are now his witnesses to our people.

 "We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us,
their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:
"You are my Son; today I have become your Father.””
Note the connection and inference Luke makes here. He states that by ‘raising up
Jesus’, Jesus has become the Son of God as per Psalm 2. The context of the
previous few sentences makes it abundantly clear that this ‘raising’ he is referring
to, is from the dead, not from the womb or from some other situation.

 That is, this raising is a result of or part of the whole prophecy of Psalm 2. In fact, it
is the key that unlocks the seeming impossibility of ‘nacak’ referring to a sacrifice
rather than an installation of a King (not that installing a king is not a plausible or
even secondary meaning).

 No other potential Messianic figure has been sacrificed on the Holy Hill of Zion and
then had his followers argue that this sacrifice and subsequent resurrection was a
part fulfilment of Psalm 2.
 For more of Ps 2v6 see my article at http://www.charismacomputers.com.au/Christian%20site/Psalm%202%20verse%206%20commentary.pdf

Jewish Genetics
 In a study of over 200 Jews from cities in three different countries, researchers
found that all of them descended from a founding community that lived 2500 years
ago in Mesopotamia.

 Results of the analysis also tally with biblical accounts of the fate of the Jews. Using
their DNA analysis, the authors traced the ancestors of all Jews to Persia and
Babylon, areas that now form part of Iran and Iraq.

 The genetic tree shows that between 100 and 150 generations ago –the equivalent
of 2500 years –the founder population split in two, with half the Jews being
dispersed into Europe and North Africa, the other half remaining in the Middle East.

 This corresponds with accounts of the expulsion of the Jews into exile in 587 BC by
the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.

 The genetic analysis shows that amongst modern Jews, the populations that are
most genetically similar are those originating from Iraq and Iran. The rest share
much more of their DNA with non-Jewish Europeans and North Africans, which may
be why many Jews whose recent ancestors lived in Europe or Syria have blond hair
or blue eyes.

 The team found genetic traces of a period of intense conversion to Judaism during
the time of the Roman Empire, when up to 10 per cent of citizens were Jewish.
Among modern non-Jewish Europeans, Italians, Sardinians and the French are
most closely genetically similar to modern Jews, the team found.

Conclusion:
 What is the most compelling answer or solution to the
power of the resurrection story, a story and historical
event that has led to the founding of whole nations;
that sits as the foundation stone to the incredible
technological and societal success of the Western
World; that by its very success highlights the
desolation and despair that alternative belief systems
such as Islam engender.

 Can the world believe a lie? Yes, the majority of the world can be
easily duped it seems into believing in such falsehoods as
Darwinian evolution and arthropogenic global warming.
 However, close inspection of such lies will reveal their lack of
utilitarian success.
 Some scientists have shown that virtually no breakthroughs in
scientific understanding and technological improvements can be
traced to any research based on Darwinian principles, even
though the researchers may have given lip service to Darwinian
evolution in their scientific papers.

 See for example, Philip Skell’s ‘Why do we invoke Darwin’
http://www.the-scientist.com/2005/8/29/10/1/

 However, when truth whether scientific, historical or biblical
is the basis for action and progress, then such action and
progress is much more likely to be successful.

 Thus, the practical, technological and societal success of
the Judeo-Christian ethic and of all who commit themselves
and their lives to the God of Jacob, and His only begotten
Son, Jesus should be a powerful witness to the veracity of
the resurrection.

 After all, the Apostle Paul said that if the resurrection is a
lie, those who profess to believe in it are to be the most
pitied of men. In contrast to this, if it is true, then the
Apostle Paul argues that it brings life from death

 Nothing is more incredible and miraculous that returning the spark of
life to something dead.

 No only did this occur with the resurrection of Jesus but it has
symbolically occurred in many thousands of lives when they have
recognized the truth of this event, repented of their folly and trusted
Jesus as their Saviour.

 In fact, the most miraculous outpouring of such power, which will dwarf
that incredible Shavuot (Pentecost) described in Acts 2, is still before us
and will have a two fold outpouring, first with the resurrection of the dry
bones of Israel and second with the resurrection and transformation to
immortality of all who have the faith of Jesus.

 See my article ‘Your daughters will be carried on their shoulders’ at
http://www.charismacomputers.com.au/OneGod/meetings.html

 In conclusion, to refute the resurrection story is a most
momentous task when the absolutely earth shattering impact of
this event is recognized and acknowledged.

 But what is required is much more than the rejection of the
witness of over 500 Jewish men and women of the raising from
the dead of a Jewish man;
 because the empty tomb must also be explained;
 the life changing impact on his followers and disciples;
 the miracles witnessed through the apostles;
 the enduring impact on all who accept Jesus’ Lordship, and so on.

 To refute this event it would seem is to, in reality, bring into
question the whole authority of the Hebrew Scriptures and the
One God of Israel.
 But here we also have the revelation of nature and of the long
history of the Jewish people; a history and story which in itself is
miraculous.
 The resurrection of Jesus is very much a Jewish expectation and
a Jewish story, but a story which is only half told.
 It will only be fully told, and the Messianic prophecies all fulfilled,
when the Messiah returns and
 “Then Adonai will be king over all the earth. On that day
Adonai will be one and his name one.”Zec 14:9.
 PDF version available from www.circumcisedheart.infos

Revisiting The Resurrection - addressing Jewish Skepticism

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