Resurrection – Part One
by Shawn Henry Potter and Lois Carol Potter
renatuspress@gmail.com
Jesus was Jewish, his apostles were Jewish, and the first Christians – many thousands of them – were Jewish. In fact, during the first few decades after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, all Christians, including the growing number of Gentile converts, were considered to be members of a Christian branch of Judaism.[1] When Jesus taught, he spoke as a Jewish Rabbi, drawing lessons from the experiences of the Jewish people and referencing the messages of the Jewish prophets. Jesus even said: “… until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”[2] And, following his resurrection, we read that, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”[3] In this context, it seems important to begin our examination of the resurrection of Christ with a review of the prophetic descriptions of the coming Messiah.
Messiah
The Prophets Described the Messiah as Savior
As we searched the Scriptures, we discovered that the prophets described the Messiah as savior. For example, the prophet Isaiah (c. 700 BC) said the Messiah would:[4]
- be a descendant of Jesse,
- judge righteously,
- bring peace, and
- gather the dispersed of Judah.
In another place, Isaiah’s language was even more exalted as he described the Messiah:[5]
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
The prophet Jeremiah (c. 600 BC) described the Messiah in a similar way:[6]
- descended from David,
- king of Judah,
- righteous judge,
- called “The Lord is our righteousness,” and
- gatherer of the offspring of the house of Israel.
A few years later, the prophet Daniel (c. 530 BC) recorded a vision of the victorious Messiah:[7]
I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
Through the centuries, God inspired the prophets with messages about the victorious Messiah to encourage the people of Israel and to prepare the way of the coming savior. Other prophecies even foretold the day of the Messiah’s appearing. See Day of His Appearing – Part One, Day of His Appearing – Part Two, Day of His Appearing – Part Three, and Scepter of Judah. So, Judeans were living in hopeful expectation of God’s long-awaited deliverance during the lifetime of Jesus.
The Prophets Described the Messiah as Sacrifice
Still other prophecies described the Messiah as sacrifice. This message was just as clear, but perhaps less welcome. People wanted a victorious Messiah who would establish an earthly kingdom. They could not comprehend the Messiah as sacrifice. Yet, Jesus explained the truth. On one occasion, the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, and he said:
The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.[8]
Jesus wanted everyone to understand that their temporal concept of the kingdom of God was a misunderstanding of Jesus’ true and eternal kingdom. Yet, this was not a popular message. Even after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, as his followers were beginning to understand the grandeur of the Messiah’s broader mission, his disciples asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”[9]
It was difficult to understand and accept the prophetic message regarding the Messiah’s passion on the cross and resurrection to reconcile rebellious humanity – people from every nation – to our loving God. Yet, the prophetic description of the coming Messiah as sacrifice was equally clear.
Crucifixion of Christ
Foretelling the crucifixion and resurrection, David (c. 1000 BC), said the Messiah would be:[10]
- laughed at and scorned,
- challenged to call upon God to save him,
- stripped of his garments,
- crucified – his hands and feet would be pierced, and
- saved by the Lord.
The prophet Isaiah (c. 700 BC) further explained that the Messiah would be:[11]
- despised and rejected,
- wrongly accused,
- pierced for our transgressions,
- crushed for our iniquities,
- intercessor for our sins,
- silent before his oppressors,
- like a lamb led to the slaughter,
- cut off out of the land of the living,
- buried with a rich man, and
- raised up by the Lord.
As we discussed in Day of His Appearing – Part Three, the prophet Daniel (c. 530 BC) foretold that the Messiah would be “cut off.”[12]
And the prophet Zechariah (c. 520 BC) recorded the following divine message in which God referred to himself as “him whom they have pierced:”[13]
And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
These prophecies of the Messiah as sacrifice conflicted with popular hopes and dreams. Yet, speaking through Isaiah, God reminded us:[14]
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
We do well to seek the Lord with humility, allowing for the possibility that our assumptions may be mistaken. God’s plans for us certainly are more wonderful that we can imagine.
Resurrection
Harmonizing the Prophecies
Who were the prophets? In Deuteronomy, we read that God promised to raise up prophets from among the people of Israel who would speak in his name. God further explained that the people of Israel would recognize a true prophet by whether the prophet’s message happens.[15] The people of Israel recognized David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Daniel as true prophets of God.[16] Therefore, the messages of these prophets must be true.
These prophets described the coming Messiah as savior and sacrifice. How can these two understandings of the Messiah be reconciled? The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus alone harmonizes these seemingly contrasting prophecies. Therefore, if we accept that David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Daniel were true prophets of God, we must conclude that Jesus rose from the dead. This is the only way that the Messiah could be both savior and sacrifice.
Our faith is further strengthened when we consider that Jesus entered Jerusalem before his crucifixion and resurrection precisely when the prophets said the Messiah would appear. See Day of His Appearing – Part One, Day of His Appearing – Part Two, Day of His Appearing – Part Three, and Scepter of Judah. No one else could fulfill the prophecies regarding the Messiah the way Jesus does.
For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (2 Cor 5:14-15)
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[1] As the apostle Paul preached the gospel throughout Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome following his conversion in about AD 34, he first proclaimed the gospel in local Jewish synagogues. From there, he reached out to Gentiles. Over time, Gentile Christians became increasingly numerous. At the Council of Jerusalem, in about AD 50, the apostles agreed that Gentile converts to Christianity did not need to follow the Mosaic Law. This decision, in time, contributed to the eventual distinction between Jews and Christians.
[2] Matt 5:18.
[3] Luke 24:27.
[4] Isa 11:1-11.
[5] Isa 9:6-7.
[6] Jer 23:5-8.
[7] Dan 9:26.
[8] Luke 17:20b-21.
[9] Acts 1:6.
[10] Ps 22.
[11] Isa 53.
[12] Dan 9:26.
[13] Zech 12:9-10.
[14] Isa 55:8-9.
[15] Deut 18:18-22.
[16] Maimonides, translated by Joseph I. Gorfinkle, The Eight Chapters of Maimonides on Ethics, Chapter 7, https://www.sefaria.org/Eight_Chapters.7.3?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en
Maimonides cites 2 Sam 23:1-7 as evidence for his statement that David was a prophet.
See also the Jewish Tanakh which includes the works of David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Daniel. https://www.sefaria.org/texts/Tanakh