A handbook of Freethought : $b containing in condensed and systematized form a vast amount of evidence against the superstitious doctrines of Christianity
Religion
A handbook of Freethought : $b containing in condensed and systematized form a vast amount of evidence against the superstitious doctrines of Christianity
Christianity -- Controversial literature; Free thought
These teaching are so plain and repeated so often that it is
inconceivable that his disciples should not comprehend his meaning. If
these passages had been as enigmatical as the following, there might
have been some grounds for the claim of ignorance or dullness on the
part of the disciples: "For as Jonas was three days and three nights
in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth." (Mat. 12 : 40.)
But the above predictions have nothing dark or obscure about them. The
time of his resurrection is always specified as the third day.
None of the Disciples Looking for a Resurrection.
With these numerous predictions of his resurrection before us, let us
see whether they can be made to harmonize with other statements on the
subject. When immediately after the transfiguration Jesus warns his
disciples not to reveal what they had seen until after he had risen
from the dead, we are told that they questioned among themselves
"what rising from the dead should mean." (Mark 9 : 2.)
How is it possible that such doubt and surprise could be expressed
by men who had first witnessed the resurrection of Moses and Elias,
and who had also seen the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus,
the son of the widow of Nain and Lazarus!
Now it is plain that if they had ever witnessed these miraculous
resurrections, they could not possibly have wondered "what the rising
from the dead should mean." Both statements cannot be true, for if
they thus wondered, it is proof enough that they had never seen the
dead raised to life; and if they did not so express themselves, then
the gospels are unhistorical. That they never queried in this manner
among themselves is evident from the fact that the resurrection from
the dead was at that time a doctrine generally accepted by the Jews. It
is evident that those who undertook the embalmment of Jesus had no
thought of his resurrection within forty-eight hours. But suppose it
conceded that Jesus was deserted by his immediate friends, and his body
handed over to Joseph and Nicodemus, who embalmed it in "a mixture of
myrrh and olives about one hundred pound," possibly being ignorant
of the repeated predictions of his resurrection on the third day,
which were made to the disciples; still this is unavailing, as the
disciples are also ignorant of any rising from the dead to take place
on the third day. The women undertook the task of embalming the body
of Jesus, but they seem not to have got fully prepared for the task
until the third day. When his body was taken down from the cross and
wrapped in linen and put in the sepulcher, "the women also which came
with him from Galilee followed after, and beheld the sepulcher and how
his body was laid, and they returned and prepared spices and ointments,
and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. Now upon the
first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account