Sunday Quote: Pinchas Lapide on the Resurrection

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Sunday Quote: Pinchas Lapide on the Resurrection

"I accept the resurrection of Easter Sunday not as an invention of the community of disciples, but as a historical event. If the resurrection of Jesus from the dead on that Easter Sunday were a public event which had been made known...not only to the 530 Jewish witnesses but to the entire population, all Jews would have become followers of Jesus."

- Pinchas Lapide, Orthodox Jewish scholar, best known for his book, The Resurrection of Jesus: A Jewish Perspective

3 comments :

Nick Potts said...: hmm. is he saying that the resurrection wasn't a public event, because it seems like he is saying that if all Jews knew about the resurrection, they would have followed, but since many Jesus didn't become a follower of Jesus, it wasn't a public event....I'm confused lol.; Sunday, March 6, 2011 at 8:06:00 PM GMT
Ex N1hilo said...: Nick,

I agree. I find the quote confusing. If the risen Christ appeared to 500 people, would that not count as a public event?

And what if he had remained on Earth long enough to "show himself" to every person in Judaea? Could we expect the Jewish people as a whole to affirm the resurrection of Christ? Maybe so. But how many of them would join Dr. Lapide in affirming the resurrection while yet denying Christ as Messiah and Son of God?

We have many examples in the scriptures of people witnessing the miraculous and yet rejecting the message that goes along with it.

Consider the mighty works that God's prophets did in the sight of Jereboam or Ahab. Still, they would not repent nor abandon their idolatry.

It was not that no one confronted them with enough evidence. It was because of the depravity of their hearts. No amount of evidence is sufficient to overcome that. Only a miracle from God, bringing life to dead hearts, will suffice.; Monday, March 7, 2011 at 4:29:00 PM GMT
kpolo said...: I think I can state quite confidently that if the resurrection where a public event, all jews would definitely would not have becomes his followers. How do I know?

Read the story of the 'resurrection' of Lazarus from the dead. The Bible records in the very next verse that the jews plotted to kill Jesus. Hmm so much for miracles having an effect on our depraved hearts. The LORD himself declined to perform miracles to an unbelieving generation.; Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 4:10:00 PM GMT