Jesus & the Prophets – the conspired Crucifixion … (10/22/18)
While many cite Jesus’ crucifixion and supposed resurrection as proof that he was the Davidian Messiah, the verses seemingly prophesying the same were well known at the time, and thus actually prove far more convincingly that Jesus purposefully orchestrated the entire event – that he enlisted the help of a small-yet-dedicated cadre of accomplices to help him bring his ministry to a close in a way that perfectly illustrated his ministry’s self-sacrificial message. Consider …
.*Quite significantly, Jesus loudly quotes the first verse of Psalm 22 from the cross itself; a Psalm that was well-known to all Jews in attendance, and a citing thereof that clearly showed that Jesus had pre-arranged its symbolic fulfillment.1
.*Despite his disciples and later “followers” professing otherwise (e.g. Peter in Acts 2:24-32 & Paul throughout his biblical epistles), Psalm 16 did not prophesy Jesus’ post-crucifixion resurrection as much as it foretold “the path of life” (Psalm 16:11a) – the Way of Christ; a way of selfless living that embodies the omni-generous and ever-forgiving “right hand” of the Father (Psalm 16:11b).
.*Though Isaiah 53:5 does mention a “man of suffering” who would be “wounded for our transgressions” (and while Acts 8:26-36 does show Philip citing the same), this apparent prognostication is not crucifixion-specific, nor does it accurately describe Jesus Christ – a man who did not suffer on the cross, but rather willingly & joyfully endured his painful three+ hours thereupon (see Luke 23:34-43 & John 19:36-30). Indeed, in actuality the author of this section of Isaiah2 is specifically referring to the suffering of the Jewish people at the hands of “the nations” (see Isaiah 41:8-9, Isaiah 44:1, Isaiah 44.21, Isaiah 45:4, Isaiah 48:20, & Isaiah 49:3), not the longed-for Messiah.
.*While some Christians cite Zechariah 12:10‘s “when they look upon the one whom they have pierced” as prophesying Jesus being speared while on the cross3 (interestingly, a graphic event mentioned in only one of the four Gospels – John 19:32-37), there are number of problems with this postulation. First, it is difficult to base prophecy upon this particular verse – both because it has remained theologically charged for so many centuries, and because its Hebrew wording is unusually complex. A second validity-dispersion is cast by the Septuagint, which provides the very different “when they look upon the one whom they have reviled” (an equally acceptable translation of the Hebrew daqar – Strong’s #1856). Thirdly, while the Greek of John 19:37 does indeed use the language “look upon one,” the actual Hebrew in Zechariah reads “look upon me” (calling to question why John would misquote Zechariah at this juncture – especially ironic considering that the Greek plirow in John 19:36 means “match” more than “fulfill”). Finally, the text of Zechariah was clearly contemporary (see Zechariah 12:9‘s “it shall come to pass in that day”), meaning that it could only have referred to Jesus had he been pierced during a time when God was destroying all of Israel’s enemies.
*Most telling of all, Jesus himself went out of his way to tell his disciples quite plainly that he had already organized his crucifixion, his burial, and his subsequent escape from the grave – telling them in no uncertain terms on a number of occasions that “the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders & chief priests & scribes, and be killed, and then on the third day be raised” (see Mark 8:31 & Luke 9:22 – also Matthew 16:21, Matthew 17:12b, Matthew 17:22-23, Matthew 20:18-19, Matthew 26:12, Mark 9:12, Mark 9:31, Mark 10:32-34, Mark 14:8, Luke 9:44, Luke 13:32b-33, Luke 17:25, Luke 18:31-33, Luke 22:22, Luke 24:46, John 5:25, John 7:6, John 7:33-34 , John 8:20-21, John 10:11-18, John 12:7, John 12:23-24, John 12:27-33, John 13:1-3, John 13:33, & John 16:10 et al). This would explain why he was so brash in confronting the Roman authorities during his ministry (see Matthew 27:11-13, Mark 15:2-4, Luke 13:31-32a, Luke 23:3, Luke 23:8-9, & John 19:8-11), why he was so boldly confrontational in his dealings with the priests of the Temple (as well as “the scribes & Pharisees” – see Matthew 21:12-16, Matthew 21:23-27, Matthew 21:43-46, Matthew 23, Matthew 26:62-64, Mark 11:15-18, Mark 11:27-33, Mark 12:38-40, Mark 14:60-62, Luke 4:21-29, Luke 6:1-11, Luke 16:14-16, Luke 18:9-14, Luke 19:45-48, Luke 20:1-8, Luke 20:17-19, Luke 20:45-47, Luke 22:70, John 7:32-34, John 8:3-9, John 9:39-41, John 10:31-39, & John 18:19-23 et al), and even why he wept so bitterly in Gethsemane the evening before his incredibly courageous (and obviously terrifying) sacrifice (see Matthew 26:37-38, Mark 14:34-35, & Luke 22:41-44).
.*Indeed, the evidence in the biblical texts is overwhelming that the crucifixion of Jesus was pre-planned – from him sending out 72 disciples ahead of time (probably to reconnoiter important locations and make critical arrangements – see Luke 10:1), to the assistance he clearly pre-acquired related to the donkey he obtained before entering Jerusalem (see Matthew 21:1-3, Mark 11:1-3, & Luke 19:29-34), to the obvious preparations he had made for the “Last Supper” with his disciples (see Matthew 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16, & Luke 22:7-13), to him flagrantly enlisting Judas’ assistance in “betraying” him to the Jewish authorities4 (see Matthew 26:20-25, John 6:70-71, & John 13:18-27), to the obvious pre-orchestration of his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane (see Mathew 26:54-56, Mark 14:43-49, Luke 22:47-53, & John 18:1-9), to the clear pre-arrangements he made related to his “burial” thereafter (see Matthew 27:57-66, Mark 15:40-47, Luke 23:50-56, & John 19:38-42), to the surreptitiously secretive meetings he held with his disciples after his “resurrection” (see Matthew 28:8-20, Mark 16:14-16, Luke 24:13-45, John 20:19-23, & John 21:15-19 – also Acts 1:4-8).
“And as for the resurrection of the dead,
have you not read what was said to you by God? …
He is God not of the dead, but of the living.”
~ Jesus Christ (Matthew 22:31-32 –
also Mark 12:26-27 & Luke 20:37-38)
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1 Contrary to popular belief, Psalm 22 was not a call of despair, but was rather an evincing of pure gratitude – not a “Why have you forsaken me, God,” but rather a “Thank you no matter what, God.” Indeed, the contents of this particular Psalm loudly announced Jesus’ summons to willing self-sacrifice by reflecting many of the more important portions of his 3-year ministry – the resilient endurance he displayed during the same (Psalm 22:2), the innate viability of humbly faith-full living (Psalm 22:4-5), the scorn he had felt from strangers and the indignation he had received from fellow Jews (Psalm 22:6), the mockery he had been given by his accusers (Psalm 22:7), the legend still told of his supposed holy birth (Psalm 22:9-10), the fickleness of his weak-willed disciples (Psalm 22:11), his thirst that was then quenched by the drugged wine (Psalm 22:15), the Roman soldiers and other “evildoers” who surrounded him while on the cross (Psalm 22:16-17), the lots that were cast for his clothing (Psalm 22:18), the profound & humble gratitude professed to God by every true follower of The Way of Christ (especially during times of poverty, pain, trial, or trauma – Psalm 22:23-26).
2 The vase majority of biblical scholars recognize that the book of Isaiah had three separate authors (Isaiah I, who wrote Isaiah 1-39 – Isaiah II, who penned Isaiah 40-55 – & Isaiah III, who scribed the rest), with the second of whom – at least according to how many times he referenced it in the Gospels – clearly being Jesus’ personal favorite.
3 NOTE that a suffering Messiah figure was not unknown in Zechariah’s time, and that Zechariah himself spoke of an ill-treated “shepherd” in his scroll, and even intimates (counter-prophetically, at least as far as Jesus is concerned) that he will pierced by a sword (not a spear – see Zechariah 13:6-7).
4NOTE first of all that Jesus comes right out and admits to Judas’ enlistment in John 13:18a (“I know whom I have chosen”) and even states why he did so in John 13:18b (“It is to fulfill the scripture: The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me” – referring to Psalm 41:9). Secondly, NOTE that any Judas-type of betrayal – along with its obvious logistical advantages – provided a fulfillment of the additional apparent prophecy mentioned in Zechariah 11:12-14 (“So I took my 30 shekels of silver and threw them into the treasury in the house of the Lord. Then I broke my second Staff of Unity, thereby annulling all brotherhood ties between Judah & Israel”). Finally, NOTE that Jesus cryptically announces said collusion to all in attendance by answering “You said so” (in essence “No, you are my assistant, not a traitor” – see John 6:15+John 18:33-37, along with Matthew 27:11 & Luke 23:3) to Judas’ query in Matthew 26:25.
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