Month: July 2008

UPDATE: Ben Witherington weighs in on the find.

The NY Times released an article today that discusses the impact of a new archaeological find, a large stone that bears hebrew script describing a messianic figure who would die and rise again three days later. If authentic, this will provide unique 1st C B.C. Jewish evidence for messianic death-resurrection:

A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.

Ironically, Jewish scholars are saying this should shake the foundations of Christianity; however, it seems to me that in only strengthens the already Jewish-rooted faith:

“This should shake our basic view of Christianity,” he said as he sat in his office of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem where he is a senior fellow in addition to being the Yehezkel Kaufman Professor of Biblical Studies at Hebrew University. “Resurrection after three days becomes a motif developed before Jesus, which runs contrary to nearly all scholarship. What happens in the New Testament was adopted by Jesus and his followers based on an earlier messiah story.”

It is unclear to me how this should shake the foundations of the Christian faith. After all, Jesus himself referred to the Jewish prophet Jonah’s experience of being in the belly of a whale for three days as a type of his own death-resurrection (Luke 11;29-32). Jesus called it the “sign of Jonah” which pointed to Jesus as something “greater than Jonah.”

Another Jewish reading:

“His mission is that he has to be put to death by the Romans to suffer so his blood will be the sign for redemption to come,” Mr. Knohl said. “This is the sign of the son of Joseph. This is the conscious view of Jesus himself. This gives the Last Supper an absolutely different meaning. To shed blood is not for the sins of people but to bring redemption to Israel.”

The apostles claimed very similar things; however, in their account of Jesus death the connect Jesus death with redemption for Israel, through the forgiveness of sins, which was also extended to the Gentiles:

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:36-38)

If this stone is authentic, then I see no reasons why Christians should be alarmed. Rather, it is further evidence of Augustine’s maxim: “The New is in the Old contained but the Old in the New explained.” What we need is a whole Bible theology, not just a Jewish or Christian reading, an Old versus New testament approach.