Question — Why didn’t Jewish authorities dig up the dead body of Jesus?

[Scooter]

My claim about belief systems, specifically Christianity, being a plagiarized mass of ancient writs conjured up to persuade uninformed masses of folk to invest their time, money and belief is self-evident.

“Self-evident” is not evidence. Your claim that Jesus did not resurrect needs to be supported. Do you have any writings from the time period that dispute the resurrection story? Any eyewitness accounts? Anything besides your opinion?

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

Do you have any writings from the time period that dispute the resurrection story?

In the Gospel of Matthew, it says something like the Saints or Sages rose. This would have been written about. Plus, it says there were earthquakes.

Josephus is something evangelical Christians sometimes point to. There’s both a really “great” paragraph in his writings and a merely so-so. I think most mainstream scholars agree that the great paragraph was added later. There’s even a fancy word for that, something which begins with “inter . . ”

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

When Jesus talks about the kingdom of God at hand, he can be viewed as talking about opening your heart so that a person can think, What an opportunity this morning is, this afternoon is, this evening is . . .

Also opening your heart so you care about others more, some of which can happen as a person gets older.

 

[Scooter]

In the Gospel of Matthew, it says something like the Saints or Sages rose. This would have been written about. Plus, it says there were earthquakes.

Josephus is something evangelical Christians sometimes point to. There’s both a really “great” paragraph in his writings and a merely so-so. I think most mainstream scholars agree that the great paragraph was added later. There’s even a fancy word for that, something which begins with “inter . .

You’re presenting an argument from silence which is a skeptical approach. It’s difficult to establish a firm position arguing from silence. A much better method to support a position is to offer solid evidence. In this case, contemporaneous writing that refutes the claim that Jesus arose.

Again, the religious leaders could have stopped the spread of Christianity if they had drug the body of Jesus out of the grave. Three times Peter was arrested for preaching Jesus had risen. James was executed for preaching the resurrection. If the dead body of Jesus Christ was still in the tomb, I believe the Sanhedrin would have produced it. It’s obvious the preaching of the Gospel was bothersome to the religious leaders, but apparently they was helpless to stop it.

 

[Scooter]

When Jesus talks about the kingdom of God at hand, he can be viewed as talking about opening your heart so that a person can think, What an opportunity this morning is, this afternoon is, this evening is . . .

Who holds this view? I have never heard of this before.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 27 - English Standard Version

Jesus Delivered to Pilate - When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor. Judas Hangs Himself - Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus...

www.biblegateway.com

52 “The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”

— English Standard Version

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Emphasis added by me.

If many saints were raised and appeared to many, this would have been written about.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

Again, the religious leaders could have stopped the spread of Christianity if they had drug the body of Jesus out of the grave. Three times Peter was arrested for preaching Jesus had risen. James was executed for preaching the resurrection. If the dead body of Jesus Christ was still in the tomb, I believe the Sanhedrin would have produced it. It’s obvious the preaching of the Gospel was bothersome to the religious leaders, but apparently they was helpless to stop it.

Maybe the person tasked with digging up Jesus’ body really didn’t want to do it. He tried a little bit. And then maybe he went back to the religious leaders and said, Oh, my God, it’s such stinking bodies, it’s not going to convince anyone of anything.

And religious leaders tend to be more verbal and contemplative, and not active.

Or, maybe they did present Jesus’ decayed body, and Peter or James said, No, that’s not Jesus. People who want to believe are highly motivated to keep believing.

Things could have happened a lot of different ways.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

When Jesus talks about the kingdom of God at hand, he can be viewed as talking about opening your heart so that a person can think, What an opportunity this morning is, this afternoon is, this evening is . . .

Who holds this view? I have never heard of this before.

Pretty much every minister who’s talked about Jesus giving abundant life. And I know you’ve heard many such sermons and references.

You’re a good man.

I just think maybe you could get more done by helping homeless persons, seniors, and maybe young people age 19 - 23 who are often neglected. And there’s not as many good jobs as there used to be, and this is a decades-long phenomenon.

And maybe worry a little less about what happens to us after we die.

But then again,

it’s your hand of cards to play.

 

[Scooter]

If many saints were raised and appeared to many, this would have been written about.

It was written about by Matthew. Are you rejecting this account because it wasn't recorded in the Jerusalem Times? Just because the 6:00 PM news anchor did not report on it, it must not have happened, right? If it had been written about, the nay-sayers would have claimed it wasn't accurate, or the account must have been added later. You know, like the Josephus writing. Again, no amount of evidence will suffice if a person does not want to believe.

 

[Scooter]

Maybe the person tasked with digging up Jesus’ body really didn’t want to do it. He tried a little bit. And then maybe he went back to the religious leaders and said, Oh, my God, it’s such stinking bodies, it’s not going to convince anyone of anything.

And religious leaders tend to be more verbal and contemplative, and not active.

Or, maybe they did present Jesus’ decayed body, and Peter or James said, No, that’s not Jesus. People who want to believe are highly motivated to keep believing.

Things could have happened a lot of different ways.

Maybe, maybe, maybe...No, the Pharisees wanted the preaching of Jesus' resurrection to stop. They were willing to kill the apostles to stop the preaching. If the body of Jesus had still been in the tomb, they would have presented it. Now, if you can claim the resurrection of the saints did not happen because no outside source recorded it, then I can just as easily claim the Pharisees went to the tomb and saw the body was gone. If speculation is as good as evidence, then I can speculate as well as anyone.