Jesus would then be a liar. His ruse would not stand the test of time. Martyrs don’t die for a ruse. What makes it stand the test? The things He did. The miracles. The Resurrection. The witness of over 500 people. All of this validates His claim. It all ties.
Yes, you could - but would people still believe it, two thousand years from now?
No Father of the Church holds the Magi to have been kings. Tertullian (“Adv. Marcion.”, III, xiii) says that they were wellnigh kings (fere reges), and so agrees with what we have concluded from non-Biblical evidence. The Church, indeed, in her liturgy, applies to the Magi the words: “The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall offer presents; the kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall bring him gifts: and all the kings of the earth shall adore him” (Psalm 71:10). But this use of the text in reference to them no more proves that they were kings than it traces their journey from Tharsis, Arabia, and Saba. As sometimes happens, a liturgical accommodation of a text has in time come to be looked upon by some as an authentic interpretation thereof. Neither were they magicians: the good meaning of magoi, though found nowhere else in the Bible, is demanded by the context of the second chapter of St. Matthew. These Magians can have been none other than members of the priestly caste already referred to. The religion of the Magi was fundamentally that of Zoroaster and forbade sorcery; their astrology and skill in interpreting dreams were occasions of their finding Christ. (See THEOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE AVESTA.)
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Something like 700 prophecies have been fulfilled by Jesus. The odds of this are like going into the Sahara desert blindfolded and on the very first try picking up the only red grain of sand in the entire desert.
You’re missing the point. In His crucifixion and death, He fulfills the prophecies, finishes His mission on earth and has truly become “the anointed one”. As you know, the Hebrew word “Messiah” means “anointed one”. You are so concerned about “burial rituals” that you entirely miss the significance of his anointing. Yes, it’s unprecedented to anoint a king at His burial! I wouldn’t expect the burial of the Messiah to be anything but unprecedented. You think the Messiah would have an entirely “ordinary” Jewish burial?
Thanks! That’s the point I was making.
It’s interesting how many non-Christian religions try to lay at least some claim to Jesus as one of their own (even if only as a teacher or holy man or what have you). Apart from the Jews (obviously you have a legitimate claim - He was one!) and Muslims, there are also Hindus who will tell you He trained as a yogi or something - and even a place in India that claims to be His burial spot - and now some claim Him as a Zoroastrian Magus. Fascinating.
Of course it was written after Jesus died - Christian scholars have always known that that was the case.
I hope this isn’t the sole point of contention for our Jewish fathers. That would be sad.
It’s funny to see the argument that because Jesus’ burial wasn’t “ordinary”, He couldn’t be the Messiah, isn’t it?
No, it’s not. But it’s a good illustration of how differently we approach the idea of the Messiah. The OP expects the burial to be an ordinary Jewish burial and deviations from that course must only mean that Egyptian burial rites have been interjected into the text by dummies who know nothing about Jewish ritual. For us, the unusual circumstances are further proof that Jesus was no ordinary Jew.
Jesus was a magician? Now I’ve heard everything:dts:
“Jesus was a magician” is a rumor/slander that has been floating around the Jewish people since the second century, or even earlier. It goes along with the rumor that His father was actually a Roman soldier. Robert Wilkens’ The Christians As the Romans Saw Them goes into a lot of this stuff.
Oh my God…what next? Just like the other rumor that Jesus’s body was stolen from the tomb…
I’m sorry if that’s all you see.
He is all things to all men: Prophet, Buddha, Avatar, Christ, Saoshyant.
Oh yes, Hashem. You will also tell me that the Jews do not bury the dead in the cave, will you not? I know in modern time that no Jew buried the dead into a cave nor embalm it. What about the ancient time. My supplier from Israel (His first name is Hanan, and I don’t remember his last name) talk the same things you did when I asked him. He did not answer me about the ancient practice of the Jews 2.000 years ago.