Resurrection -One: A Investigation !!!

We shall have a look at of of the pillars of I should say one of the corner stone of the Christianity i.e. The Resurrection. Anything which profess itself to be historical, factual or even accurate need to satisfy certain parameters before it can be accounted as an authentic event of some credibility According to the Biblical historian James D. Tabor in his book The Jesus Dynasty:

" The standard Christian proclamation is well known: that Jesus was raised from the dead, that he appeared to many witnesses, and that he ascended into heaven, where he sits as the glorified Christ at the right hand of God, from where he will return at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead.Three of our four New Testament gospels report “sightings” of Jesus to support the idea that he had been raised from the dead—Matthew, Luke and John. But  what about Mark? Here we come to one of the most ignored and underrated facts of our story. As shocking as it may sound, the original manuscripts of the gospel of Mark report no appearances of the resurrected Jesus at all!" ^[1]

Mark’s original ending has Mary and Salome flee in fear never to tell anyone about the empty tomb (Mark 16:8), in fact Mark does not even account for the virgin birth. If they didn’t tell anyone, then how do the authors of the rest of the Gospels find out about it? Also there is no evidence that James worshiped his brother or considered him divine.

Possible Explanations of Empty Tomb:

No one in the Gospels is questioned whether or not the tomb was empty; they just tried to give excuses as to why it was empty:

A. The Disciples removed the body. Why should they? How did they get past the guards? Were they all imposters too?

B. Joseph removed the body. Why and where? Was he also an imposter? (Mark 15:43 "an honourable counsellor."

C. The Jews removed the body. If they did they would have been first to produce it to prove He had not risen!

D. The Roman soldiers removed the body. Why would they risk their lives by doing so?

E. He removed His own body because He really did not die (Swoon theory of lapsing into unconsciousness). This is a preposterous thought of a lost mind and soul. There is no doubt that He Rose Again!

The Word Play

 Egeiro

The word used ‘raised’. That's not the word "resurrected." The word for resurrected is "anastasis "(n) or "anistimi (v)”. The word Paul used is "raised" is the word "egeiro" -- "egergetai." That is the word that is used throughout the New Testament for the word "to wake up," to "awaken."

 When the disciples were on this boat and there was a storm and Jesus was asleep down below? They were scared, and they went down below and they woke him up? [Matt8:25] They used that word "egeiro". In Romans, Paul said, "Now it is high time to awaken out of sleep." [Romans 13:11] "Egeiro.

Discrepancies in Gospel Account:

What time did the women visit the tomb?

ü  Matthew said "as it began to dawn." Mark said "when the sun had risen." Luke said "at early dawn." John said, "When it was yet dark."

Who were the women who came to the tomb?

ü  Matthew said it was Mary Magdalen and the other Mary. Mark said it was Mary Magdalen, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. Luke said it was Mary Magdalen, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women. John said Mary Magdalen.

What was their purpose?

ü  Matthew said it was "to see the tomb." Mark said, it was to bring spices to anoint the body. Luke said they had already seen the tomb, and brought spices. John said the body had already been spiced, before they arrived.

Was the tomb open when they arrived?

ü  Matthew, it was not. The tomb was opened in their presence. But Mark, Luke, and John say, yeah, the tomb was open when they arrived. One of these guys is wrong. They both can't be right.

Who was at the tomb when they arrived?

ü  Mark said there was one "young man." But Luke said there was ‘two men’. Matthew said there was ‘one angel’, and John, the last writer, said, ‘ two angels’.Can you note how the myth is growing and getting more exaggerated?

Did the women tell what happened after they left?

ü  Matthew said yes. Luke said yes: "They returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest." But Mark said, no”.

When Mary returned, did she know that Jesus had been resurrected? 

ü  According to Matthew, Mark and Luke, yes; but according to John, she did not know that Jesus had been resurrected.

Did Mary first see Jesus before or after she returned to the disciples?

ü  Matthew and Mark say before, but John says after.

Where did Jesus first appear to the disciples?

ü  Matthew, “it's on a mountain in Galilee, 60-100 miles from Jerusalem.” But according to Mark, “Jesus first appeared to two men strolling in the country, [and] as they sat at meat”. According to Luke, “it was to two men at Emmaus at evening, and then later to the rest in a room in Jerusalem. In John it was just in a room at evening.”

Did Jesus stay on the earth for a while?

ü  According to Mark, no. You can compare Mark 16:14 with John 20:19 to show that this all happened on Sunday. According to Luke, no, it all happened on Sunday. According to John, yeah, he stayed at least eight more days, and according to Acts he stayed at least 40 days.

Suffice is it to say that with such type of historical recording it won’t  even take a single stroke to decimate the very notion of the Christ’s resurrection.

In The Name of Humanity
Robert Mascharan !!!

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[1] ^{James D. Tabor, The Jesus Dynasty, pp. 228, 230}