Truth 11: The Post-Crucifixion Anomalies …
Truth #11: POST-CRUCIFIXION ANOMALIES TESTIFY TO JESUS’ SURVIVAL OF THE CROSS … The post-crucifixion events portrayed in the Bible contain a number of unusual happenings & occurrences that seem to indicate that Jesus survived his ordeal on the cross. Once again, feel free to consider the following evidence from the Bible itself:
*Initially, we have angels proclaiming that Jesus did not die at all in Luke 24:4-5+23 (“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”) …
*Secondly, we have Jesus apparently triumphing over death and the stark & unjust persecutions of both the Romans & the Jewish religious elite, with no mention whatsoever of him showing himself to those same authorities after his “resurrection” …
*Thirdly, we have Jesus only meeting with his disciples in private, secretive locations after his ‘return from the dead” (see Matthew 28:9, 28:16, Mark 16:9, 16:12, 16:14, Luke 24:15, 24:36, 24:41-42, John 20:14, 20:19, 20:26 & 21:1-4+) …
*Fourthly, we have Jesus himself never once proclaiming that he had transcended death. Instead, we have him comparing his ordeal to the one experienced by Jonah – where Jonah entered the belly of the whale (actually, the “large fish”) alive, only to came out still alive three days thereafter (see Matthew 12:39-40, Luke 11:29-32, Jonah 1:17) …
*Fifthly, we have Jesus taking nourishment with his disciples in a supposedly divine & perfected “resurrection body” (see John 21:12-13), and we have that same divine & perfected “resurrection body” having fleshly wounds still evident to human sight & touch (see John 20:27) …
*Sixthly, we have Jesus apparently reneging on a promise to one day return to the “lost tribe of Israel” (see Matt 15:24) – a promise that we would not have been able to fulfill had he ascended into the heavens. On the other hand, if he was “merely” one of the bravest men of all time – if he had merely organized his own crucifixion to provide one final “sermon” to the masses; one last flagrant example of the selfless Way he had come to champion, then surviving that ordeal would have enabled him to leave the region and fulfill said promise …
*And finally, we have the quite odd behavior of those who apparently knew Jesus best – namely, his disciples’ repeated doubts of the news that Jesus had survived his crucifixion (see Matt 28:17, Mark 16:11, Mark 16:13, Luke 24:11 & John 20:25), along with their repeated inability to even recognize him when he showed up to visit them in person (see Luke 24:16, John 20:14, John 21:4).
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