seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Matthew 27:57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
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I'm looking for the person or persons who started the Apostate [Fake] Church. Here's the link to the commentary I am reading.
This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus: Customarily, the bodies of crucified criminals were left on their crosses to rot or to be eaten by wild animals. But the Jews wanted no such horror displayed during the Passover season, and Romans were known to grant the corpses of executed men to friends or relatives for proper burial.
He wrapped it in a clean linen cloth: Joseph followed the burial customs of that day — the best he could, considering that they had very little time because the Sabbath drew near (Luke 23:54).
Laid it in his new tomb: He came into the world from a virgin’s womb; He came forth again from a virgin tomb. No body had ever been set in that tomb, so that when a body came forth and the tomb was empty, there was no possible confusion as to which body came forth.
He rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb: This was the customary way to seal an expensive tomb. A rich man like Joseph of Arimethea probably had a tomb carved into solid rock; this tomb was in a garden near the place of crucifixion (John 19:41). The tomb would commonly have a small entrance and perhaps one or more compartments where bodies were laid out after being somewhat mummified with spices, ointments, and linen strips. Customarily, the Jews left these bodies alone for a few years until they decayed down to the bones, then the bones were placed in a small stone box known as an ossuary. The ossuary remained in the tomb with the remains of other family members.
Sir: They gave Pilate a title of honor and respect. But the day before these same religious leaders rejected the King of Kings. They mocked and despised Him, putting Jesus to open shame, but they honored Pilate.
On the next day: “It must mean that the chief priests and Pharisees actually approached Pilate on the Sabbath with their request. If they did that, it is clear to see how radically they broke the Sabbath Law.” (Barclay)
We remember…how that deceiver said, “After three days I will rise”: Ironically, the enemies of Jesus remembered His promise of resurrection better than His own disciples remembered.
While He was still alive: In this, the enemies of Jesus admit that Jesus is dead. They did not believe the “Swoon Theory,” a conjecture that denies the resurrection, saying that Jesus never really died, but just “swooned” on the cross, and then somehow wonderfully revived in the tomb.
Lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away: They couldn’t have been afraid of the disciples. They knew they were terrified and in hiding. They knew they were gone from the crucifixion scene. Their intelligence sources and informants let them know the disciples were terrified. Instead, they were afraid of the power of Jesus.
Command that the tomb be made secure… you have a guard… make it as secure as you know how: This shows that both the Jewish leaders and the Romans were well aware of the need to guard the tomb, and that they took all necessary measures to secure it. These security measures simply gave greater testimony to the miracle of the resurrection. If Jesus’ tomb was unguarded, one might suggest that an unknown person or persons stole the body, and it would be difficult to refute. Yet because the tomb was so well guarded, we can be certain that His body wasn’t stolen.
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This is from the same commentary, but I wanted to make sure it got "proper respect". It's a great way to explain the "Swoon Theory".
A humorous letter to the editor to a Christian magazine accurately evaluated the “Swoon Theory”:
Dear Eutychus: Our preacher said, on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think? Sincerely, Bewildered
Dear Bewildered: Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him in the sun for 6 hours; run a spear through his heart; embalm him; put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours and see what happens. Sincerely, Eutychus.
Notice.... it was a preacher in a "church" who started the "Swoon Theory". [See the Apostate Preacher?]Verse 57 says Joseph of Arimathea had become a disciple of Jesus. I think this is where the apostates might have started to work. If Jesus got up and walked out of the sealed [and guarded] tomb, it would be "supernatural".
Humans put other humans in boxes just like they try to put God in a box. No human could go through what Jesus did, and then walk out. Jesus is just too big for a human box. He's the Only Begotten Son of God. He's naturally bigger and badder than any human.
Jesus is "supernatural".
So, since humans couldn't put Jesus in a box, then that little devil who sat on the shoulder of all the big mouth, ignorant, lie spreading moronic humans, including apostate preachers, said the whole thing is a hoax.
They couldn't believe that any dead man could get out of a sealed and guarded tomb, especially after all the abuse Jesus had been put through.
So, the Apostates came up with the "swoon theory".
Apostate means...
a person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle or abandoning a religious or political belief or principle
Matthew [the Apostle and author of this Gospel] had been employed by the government as a tax collector. He knew how Pilate and the system worked. He's reporting that Jesus' tomb was sealed and guarded so no one could "steal" the body to support the "swoon theory". Matthew knew it would have been a black eye for the government if Jesus, the Son of God, got past the guard at the cross by swooning, and then somehow got walked out of the sealed and guarded tombstone.
Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man. He too had reasons to know the way government worked. He also knew what ends the Pharisees and Sadducees would go to prove themselves right. They were already labeling Jesus as just a bastard child, since no human would [could] put their name on the line that says "father" on the birth certificate.
Joseph had a seal put on the tomb and got Pilate to put troops at the entrance. No one could get in or out. Joseph anticipated the "swoon theory".
So... It wasn't Joseph of Arimathea who started the Apostate Church. He was working to make sure everyone knew Jesus was really stone cold dead when he had Pilates Guards seal Jesus in the airtight tomb.
It wasn't Joseph of Arimathea or Pilate who started the Apostate Church.
The "Swoon Theory" is a tool of the Apostate [Fake] Churches.
