“If Jesus was such a “dangerous” element in Israel as the Bible portrays him, don’t you think the Sanhendrin would not have freaked out if they found us He is back!? I think so. Yet no one seems to have been perturbed for the entire 40 days that He was appearing before people to write about it!”
Jesus answered that before he died.
Luk 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. and he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that [would come] from thence.
Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Luk 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
Luk 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
This is the effect of the empty tomb on those that witnessed it and yet didn’t believe.
Matt. 28:11-15 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
In addition some now say:
Jesus was in a swoon and recovered and rolled the door stone away while the soldiers slept.
His disciples were “victims of hysterical delusions”.
Even the disciples were skeptical of the resurrection and it did not occur to them Jesus would be raised from the dead until after their understanding was opened by the Holy spirit.
John 20:24-29, But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
“Are you talking about the so-called Passion-Naratives? I don’t buy into their date. The next closest source would be the (in)famous “Q”, and that one is missing as well”
No, not the Passion Narrative, but what critical historians like Pannenberg called an ancient early church “creed” formulated just after the resurrection and recited during the liturgy in the early church. It is thought that Paul learned it on his first trip to the Jerusalem Church.
The “Q” document has never been found nor has there any proof of it in any church early church documents. It arose in the 19th century out of the critical school to make sense of the similarities in the Gospels. It was an invention of skeptical scholars.
“You are writing about it as if it were a news account.”
How are the accounts any different than what you read in the newspapers or news magazines today? They are either eyewitness accounts, like Matthew, John and perhaps Mark since there is some speculation that he was the boy who ran away without his clothes in the garden, or from unnamed sources who corroborate the eye witnesses accounts as reported by Luke and Paul.
Just sayin' ....
Wow! One is carried by the angels and the other one is just buried. How telling. By the way, this is also thoroughly Jewish. Judaism taught that, upon death, everyone's soul goes to Shoel where the righteous abode in Abraham's bosom, in bliss, and the unrighteous were just there, unhappy. Our dear Luke did not believe in heaven, and being with the risen Christ—yet.
But, what's the moral of the story? It's Luke's typical "rich is evil" message. But, rich is evil if it is used for evil ends.
Any blessing we receive can be used for good, in God's name, or for evil ends. Luke seems to believe that wealth and lack of care and compassion go hand in hand, and he may well be right, but wealth itself has nothing to do with it. One can be poor and evil too.
But I still don't see the answer to my question? Pontius Pilate would have been interested to know how did the man he sent to his death came back to life! If I were Pilate, I would be seriously concerned for my health! Talk about an instant Pauline-style conversion!
Of course, none of the Sanhedrin were upset either. don't you think this would have been a newsworthy item even as a rumor? I do.
Of course, we learn that the Roman guards were paid off and obeyed instructions from Jewish elders and no one was alarmed. I seriously doubt Roman soldiers could have been summoned by Jewish elders or persuaded to follow their instructions. Its' a simplistic way to deflect the issue of questions and alarms going off if Christ's presence were noticed after the Resurrection. My words versus yours. That's all. It's no evidence at all. It does not answer the question.
One more thing, going back to rich man and the beggar. You quote
Think about it: what would be more persuasive to a human being? Of course, Luke is cleverly narrating this but there is no doubt that someone who rose from the dead would be more convincing to human psyche. Otherwise, why all the miracles?
According to the Gospels, Jesus received His following precisely because of the miracles and not by preaching Moses. If He didn't perform the miracles why would anyone have believed Him?