Resurrecting Jesus: Embodying the Spirit of a Revolutionary Mystic

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In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene found the tomb empty and informed Peter. She then saw two angels, after which Jesus himself appeared to her. In the evening, Jesus appeared to the other followers, followed by another appearance a week later. [64] He later appeared in Galilee to Peter, Thomas, and two other followers, commanding Peter to take care of his followers. [65] Smith argues that Mark has integrated two traditions, which were first separate, on the disappearance (from the tomb, interpreted as being taken to heaven) and appearance (post-mortem appearances), into one Easter narrative. [126] [127] According to Géza Vermes, the story of the empty tomb developed independently from the stories of the post-resurrection appearances, as they are never directly coordinated to form a combined argument. [128] While the coherence of the empty tomb narrative is questionable, it is "clearly an early tradition." [128] Vermes notes that the story of the empty tomb conflicts with notions of a spiritual resurrection. According to Vermes, "[t]he strictly Jewish bond of spirit and body is better served by the idea of the empty tomb and is no doubt responsible for the introduction of the notions of palpability (Thomas in John) and eating (Luke and John)." [129] Ehrman rejects the story of the empty tomb, and argues that "an empty tomb had nothing to do with it [...] an empty tomb would not produce faith." [130] Ehrman argues that the empty tomb was needed to underscore the physical resurrection of Jesus. [131] Resurrection of a transformed body [ edit ]

Another reason the resurrection of Jesus Christ is important is that it proves His sinless character and divine nature. The Scriptures said God’s “Holy One” would never see corruption (Psalm 16:10), and Jesus never saw corruption, even after He died (see Acts 13:32–37). It was on the basis of the resurrection of Christ that Paul preached, “Through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin” (Acts 13:38–39). Early on, the stories about the empty tomb were met with skepticism. The Gospel of Matthew already mentions stories that the body was stolen from the grave. [114] Other suggestions, not supported in mainstream scholarship, are that Jesus had not really died on the cross, was lost due to natural causes, [115] or was replaced by an impostor. [116] In the Gospel of Luke, "the women who had come with him from Galilee" [60] come to his tomb, which they find empty. Two angelic beings appeared to announce that Jesus is not there but has been raised. [61] Jesus then appeared to two followers on their way to Emmaus, who notify the eleven remaining Apostles, who respond that Jesus has appeared to Peter. While they were describing this, Jesus appeared again, explaining that he is the messiah who was raised from the dead according to the scriptures "and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem". [62] [63] In Luke–Acts (two works from the same author) he then ascended into heaven, his rightful home. [63]Thomas Sheehan, First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity (New York: Random House, 1986) pp. 110, 118 The life of Jesus offers each one of us a map to the direct realization of our eternal and divine nature. On Resurrecting Jesus, Adyashanti excavates the deep, mythic underpinnings of the Gospels to show how we can all find in the story of Jesus the spark for our own spiritual unfolding. In the Gospel of Matthew, an angel appeared to Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb, telling her that Jesus is not there because he has been raised from the dead, and instructing her to tell the other followers to go to Galilee, to meet Jesus. Jesus then appeared to Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" at the tomb; and next, based on Mark 16:7, Jesus appeared to all the disciples on a mountain in Galilee, where Jesus claimed authority over heaven and earth, and commissioned the disciples to preach the gospel to the whole world. [58] Matthew presents Jesus's second appearance as an apotheosis (deification), commissioning his followers to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you." [45] In this message, the end times are delayed "to bring the world to discipleship". [59] The three Marys at the Tomb of Christ (1470) at the west portal of Konstanz Minster, Baden-Württemberg, Germany The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our Christian faith. [1] This event, which occurred almost two thousand years ago, is the best attested fact in human history and experience. The resurrection of Christ was predicted in the Old Testament and by Christ Himself. [2] During the forty days following His resurrection, Jesus showed Himself to be alive from the dead by "many infallible proofs." [3] He appeared at various times and places to many people who told others what they had seen. [4]

The days following Jesus’ crucifixion must have been some of the darkest times for his followers. They had placed all their hope in him and now he was dead. Hope seemed gone. But three days later when the women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body, they found the stone rolled away. The tomb was empty, and Jesus had risen! The curse of sin and death is broken. Jesus has overcome. Now let resurrection hope fill your heart. Grab ahold of resurrection hope; a hope that is found only in the gospel message. Let faith arise. Jesus is alive. He is risen!!! Hosanna in the highest. Easter is the reminder that because Jesus is alive, we have hope. The belief that Jesus did not really die on the cross but only appeared to do so is found in a wide variety of early texts, and probably has its historical roots in the earliest stages of Christianity. [117] According to Israeli religion scholar Gedaliahu Stroumsa, this idea came first, and later, docetism broadened to include Jesus was a spirit without flesh. [118] It is probable these were present in the first century, as it is against such doctrines that the author of 1 and 2 John seems to argue. [118] Cynthia Bourgeault is currently one of the core faculty members at The Living School for Action and Contemplation. Scholars differ on the historicity of the empty tomb story and the relation between the burial stories and the postmortem appearances. Scholars also differ on whether Jesus received a decent burial. Points of contention are (1) whether Jesus's body was taken off the cross before sunset or left on the cross to decay, (2) whether his body was taken off the cross and buried specifically by Joseph of Arimathea, or by the Sanhedrin or a group of Jews in general, and (3) whether he was entombed (and if so, what kind of tomb) or buried in a common grave. The absence of any reference to the story of Jesus's empty tomb in the Pauline epistles and the Easter kerygma (preaching or proclamation) of the earliest church has led some scholars to suggest that Mark invented it. [note 12] Allison, however, finds this argument from silence unconvincing. [120] Most scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John contain two independent attestations of an empty tomb, which in turn suggests that both used already-existing sources [121] and appealed to a commonly held tradition, though Mark may have added to and adapted that tradition to fit his narrative. [122] Empty tomb and resurrection appearances [ edit ]Jesus told his disciples and tells us today: I am the resurrection and the life. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations. They hurried away from the tomb, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly [ a] Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!”

The 5th-century theology of Theodore of Mopsuestia provides an insight into the development of the Christian understanding of the redemptive nature of resurrection. The crucial role of the sacraments in the mediation of salvation was well accepted at the time. In Theodore's representation of the Eucharist, the sacrificial and salvific elements are combined in the "One who saved us and delivered us by the sacrifice of Himself". Theodore's interpretation of the Eucharistic rite is directed towards the triumph over the power of death brought about by the resurrection. [258] Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jesus–God and Man translated Lewis Wilkins and Duane Pribe (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968) p. 90 Contra a decent burial, Martin Hengel has argued that Jesus was buried in disgrace as an executed criminal who died a shameful death, [91] [92] a view which is "now widely accepted and has become entrenched in scholarly literature." [91] John Dominic Crossan argued that Jesus's followers did not know what happened to the body. [93] [note 8] According to Crossan, Joseph of Arimathea is "a total Markan creation in name, in place, and in function", [94] [note 9] arguing that Jesus's followers inferred from Deut. 21:22–23 that Jesus was buried by a group of law-abiding Jews, as described in Acts 13:29. The evidence from Jewish texts and from tomb inscriptions points to a more complex reality: for example, when the author of the Book of Daniel wrote that "many of those sleeping in the dust shall awaken", [72] religion scholar Dag Øistein Endsjø believes he probably had in mind a rebirth as angelic beings (metaphorically described as stars in God's Heaven, stars having been identified with angels from early times); such a rebirth would rule out a bodily resurrection, as angels were believed to be fleshless. [73] Other texts range from the traditional Old Testament view that the soul would spend eternity in the underworld, to a metaphorical belief in the raising of the spirit. [74] Most avoided defining what resurrection might imply, but a resurrection of the flesh was a marginal belief. [75] As Outi Lehtipuu states, "belief in resurrection was far from being an established doctrine" [76] of Second Temple Judaism.

The Resurrection of Jesus Overtook Death

Mary looks inside and sees Jesus’ body gone. Her focus is only on the area where Jesus’ body once laid. Mary must not have seen or realized the fact that two angels were standing next to where Jesus’ body had once laid. Her eyes filled with tears, her mind captivated with fear and her heart broken. Not only is Jesus dead but now his body has disappeared. It has been taken away and is nowhere to be seen. In an earlier publication (2003), Ehrman recognized that "Some scholars have argued that it's more plausible that in fact Jesus was placed in a common burial plot, which sometimes happened, or was, as many other crucified people, simply left to be eaten by scavenging animals," but further elaborated by stating that "[T]he accounts are fairly unanimous in saying [...] th In the Antiquities of the Jews, a 1st-century account of Jewish history by Josephus, believers of the resurrection are discussed. However, this reference to the resurrection is widely believed to have been added by a Christian interpolator. [168] Within the non-canonical literature of Gospel of Peter, there is a retelling of the resurrection of Jesus. [169] Ushering in the last days [ edit ] In Christian theology, the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus are the most important events, and the foundation of the Christian faith. [3] [147] [note 15] The Nicene Creed states: "On the third day [note 1] he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures". [148] According to Terry Miethe, a Christian philosopher at Oxford University, the question "'Did Jesus rise from the dead?' is the most important question regarding the claims of the Christian faith." [149] According to John R. Rice, a Baptist evangelist, the resurrection of Jesus was part of the plan of salvation and redemption by atonement for man's sin. [150] According to the Roman Catechism of the Catholic Church, the resurrection of Jesus causes and is the model of the resurrection of all the dead, as well as the cause and model of repentance, which the catechism calls "spiritual resurrection." [151] Summarizing its traditional analysis, the Catholic Church states in its Catechism:

Have you missed any of the subtle ways God inspires hope? It may come in the form of a song, a text message, an everyday conversation at the grocery store, a note card, a word of encouragement of someone praying for you. Or God may use a dream, a memory, a sign on the side of the freeway. Jesus loves you. You are not alone. And your hope is renewed. During the first millennium AD, the ransom theory of atonement was the dominant metaphor, both in eastern and western Christianity, until it was replaced in the west by Anselmus's satisfaction theory of atonement. [247] The ransom theory of atonement says that Christ liberated humanity from slavery to sin and Satan, and thus death, by giving his own life as a ransom sacrifice to Satan, swapping the life of the perfect (Jesus), for the lives of the imperfect (humans). It entails the idea that God deceived the devil, [248] and that Satan, or death, had "legitimate rights" [248] over sinful souls in the afterlife, due to the fall of man and inherited sin. After surviving the crucifixion, Jesus and his mother migrated to another land [295] where he continued his mission.She has been a long-time advocate of the meditative practice of Centering Prayer and has worked closely with fellow teachers and colleagues including Thomas Keating, Bruno Barnhart, and Richard Rohr. Cynthia has actively participated in numerous inter-spiritual dialogues and events with luminaries and leaders such as A.H. Almaas, Kabir Helminski, Swami Atmarupananda, and Rami Shapiro. According to Sheehan, Paul's reference to Jesus having risen "on the third day [...] simply expresses the belief that Jesus was rescued from the fate of utter absence from God (death) and was admitted to the saving presence of God (the eschatological future)." [36] When the eternal and the human meet," writes Adya, " that's where love is born--not through escaping our humanity or trying to disappear into transcendence, but through finding that place where they come into union." Resurrecting Jesus is a book for realizing this union in your own life, with heart and mind wide open to the mystery inside us all.