Χριστοσ Ανεστη! Christ is Risen!
Happy Easter to all my substack readers!
I hope you have a great holiday, whatever your beliefs are.
The Resurrection narrative in John 20-21
It has been said that John’s gospel is the beginning of modern literature, because John depicts the kinds of details that earlier literature does not. Surely this is because he was present at the events and saw these things himself.
The sprint of Peter and the other disciple to reach the tomb, the fact that the other disciple got there first, then Peter went past and saw the linen cloths rolled up neatly, is very detailed and realistic; nothing like this appears in the apocryphal gospels and fictional stories of the First Century, or the true histories. This anecdote is a small indication of Jesus’ character by the way: had I risen from the dead I probably would have thrown off those cloths and left them lying on the ground. Jesus neatly rolled them up and left them in separate piles
If the whole story had been made up, they would not have made the first witness of the Resurrection a woman, Mary Magdalene (a woman’s testimony in First Century Judaism was not considered legally valid1), and one who had been mentally ill, furthermore - this is an argument for the truth of the claim, for unless it was true they would not have had two very strong reasons for not having Mary as the first witness.
The gospel of John, chapter 20
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we do not know where they have put Him!”
Then Peter and the other disciple set out for the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and looked in at the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.
Simon Peter arrived just after him. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in. And he saw and believed. For they still did not understand from the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
Then the disciples returned to their homes. But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and the other at the feet.
“Woman, why are you weeping?” they asked.
“Because they have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I do not know where they have put Him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there; but she did not recognise that it was Jesus.
“Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked. “Whom are you seeking?”
Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
“Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’ ”
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what He had said to her.
It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them. After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”
Now Thomas called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger where the nails have been, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.”
Eight days later, His disciples were once again inside with the doors locked, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
Chapter 21
Later, by the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus again revealed Himself to the disciples. He made Himself known in this way: Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. Simon Peter told them, “I am going fishing.”
“We will go with you,” they said. So they went out and got into the boat, but caught nothing that night.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not recognize that it was Jesus. So He called out to them, “Children, do you have any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
He told them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it there, and they were unable to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it) and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came ashore in the boat. They dragged in the net full of fish, for they were not far from land, only about a hundred yards.c
When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it, and some bread.
Jesus told them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.
“Come, have breakfast,” Jesus said to them. None of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and He did the same with the fish.
This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after He was raised from the dead.
When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.”
Jesus replied, “Feed My lambs.”
Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.”
Jesus told him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?”
Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?”
“Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.
And after He had said this, He told him, “Follow Me.”
Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. He was the one who had leaned back against Jesuse at the supper to ask, “Lord, who is going to betray You?” When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you? You follow Me!” Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. However, Jesus did not say that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you?”
This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who has written them down. And we know that his testimony is true.
There are many more things that Jesus did. If all of them were written down, I suppose that not even the world itself would have space for the books that would be written.
Other firstfactcheck posts that might interest you:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.15650/hebruniocollannu.82-83.119?read-now=1&seq=6#page_scan_tab_contents The most important Jewish historian of First Century Palestine, Flavius Josephus, holds this opinion Jewish Antiquities 4.8.15: “Let the testimony of women not be accepted because of the levity and boldness of their gender.” Tractate Shevuot in the Mishnah states: "An oath of evidence applies to men but not to women, to those who are not near of kin but not to such as are kinsfolk, to those who are eligible but not to those who are not qualified. And it applies only to such as are fit to give evidence"" The Mishnah tractate Rosh Hashanah also lists those disqualified to give testimony, concluding: "This is the general principle: all evidence that a woman is not eligible to give, these also are not eligible to bring.”
Indeed Christ unlike other faiths has its founder with the ONLY track record of rising from the dead Period!.... witnessed by more than 500 after the event, the eyewitnesses accounts written with a generation. The 'dunamos' of God that split history from BC to AD by rolling back the stone of death. What better way to show that He actually is who He claimed to be! Lord, master over death, fear, elites, geopolitical forces, but most of all over the enemy of good, 'Satan'. This is great news! Thank God he did - the enemy is now powerless - Jesus did that! Only God has the power to do that. He is none other than the Lord of Creation and therefore of us. Honestly, the implications of his seemingly arrogant claim, to bow the knee, is what offends people. Either way 'Everyone will' ...when He appears as a He said he will, to execute justice. He came first as a suffering servant. Then he will come as the judge. Which one do you prefer to face? Thats the way God says it's going to go down. Read Gods love letter folks(the bible)...its all planned and evil is panicking because they know whats coming...do you? (Highly recommend FOI's intense, honest hermaneutic of background to Revelation here: https://subsplash.com/frontierallianceinternat/fai/li/+4mjd7gk