Good Friday? Maybe Not.

No, I am not going to go into the whole thing about the passion of Christ being a 'good' thing or not.  That is not what this post is about.  My issue is the day of the crucifixion.  I am not really sure Jesus was crucified on Friday is all.

What got me thinking about this is one of those nit picky details that I ran into several years ago.  The nit picky detail?  Jesus prophecy of his own death to the Pharisees.  Matthew 12:38-40:

 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”  But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;  for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (NASB - emphasis mine)  

It's the 'three nights' thing that nails you.  Because, if you have Jesus crucified on Friday and coming back to life on Sunday, you only get two nights no matter how you try to dance around it.  The truth is the only way this prophecy could be wholly accurate is if for Jesus is laid to rest on Thursday. 

Yes, I know Joseph of Aramathea and Nicodemus were trying hard to get Jesus buried before the sabbath, but it never says this was a normal sabbath.  There actually is some good Biblical evidence that this was a special sabbath.  It is called the 'day of preparation', etc.  One of those, Passover falls on Friday (thus making Friday a Sabbath too)  and then Saturday as the normal Sabbath, things.  This would make a two day long - Sabbath.  Passover falls on whatever day it falls on.  Could be Tuesday or Friday.  The issue is then it creates a two day rest period off that would be known as "Sabbath".  This actually happens a lot with the Passover and it is quite possible that is what happened here.

So the next question is: "Is there a year that fits this pattern during the life of Christ?"  The answer is 'yes' but it isn't the year 33 AD.  Its the year 29 AD.  This is actually something that has been long debated by scholars for this very reason.  It changes Jesus' birth year to 4BC, but that also fits history with Augustus Caesar and Herod the Great and all that history stuff.  If so, then Jesus dies and is raised from the dead in 29AD.  He is killed on a Thursday and then rises from the dead on Sunday.  Three days. Three nights. Prophecy fullfilled.

What difference does all this make?  Not much as I suspect we will still be celebrating 'Good Friday' forever.  It is tradition and tradition is a tough thing to change, especially religious ones.  I also don't think it is a bad tradition as traditions go.  It means at least all of us Christians are celebrating something of significance in Jesus' cross and death at the same time.  That isn't all bad.

The real issue is an apologetic one, because I am pretty sure the opponents of the faith have not let this 'discrepency' go unnoticed.  But, if we strive to reconcile it with some real history and evidence, the history still works.  'Good Thursday' just doesn't sing off the tongue.                

Rabyd Opinion: Pat Robertson's Definition of Justice

Preacher Hopes for Manning Injury

Oh Boy!  It really is hard enough enough to deal with the whole Tim Tebow thing without some preacher butting his opinion in.   It gets of course weirder when it is Pat Robertson shooting off his mouth. The link above will take you to the story in question.

OK. As a football fan, I think there are a lot of stupid moves here.  Tebow was getting the one stat that matters 'Wins' and to be blunt if it hadn't been for his involvement in last years season the Broncos would have never made the playoffs.  How is Tebow rewarded for his effort and results? He is traded to the Jets because John Elway wants Peyton Manning.  To me this is symptomatic of the lack of loyalty that is rampant in the NFL, but it is also simply business.  There is noting really unethical about being traded, it is the way of things.  We can question John Elway's intelligence and that of the team that took Tebow (The New York Jets) who already signed their starter to a three year extension, but there is nothing unethical about it.  Can we say 'Quarterback controversy' in both towns at the start of the season?  Yes, we can.

Lack of Intelligence aside, there is nothing ethically wrong in sport with being traded.  It is business.  So when the Christian darling Tim Tebow (Who should fire his agent) gets traded, that is what it is - business. 

Along comes Pat Robertson:

"And you just ask yourself," Robertson said, "OK, so Peyton Manning was a tremendous MVP quarterback, but he's been injured. If that injury comes back, Denver will find itself without a quarterback. And in my opinion, it would serve them right."

*Sigh* Really, it would be justice for Payton Manning to be hurt as fit punishment for trading Tebow?  Sorry, this does not work. 
1) It was the Broncos, not Peyton Manning that traded Tebow.  To punish Manning for their actions would not be justice.
2) This is business, sorry it is true.  Maybe not smart business, but there is nothing illegal or immoral about it.
3) Robertson has placed Peyton (who God also loves as much as Tebow) on a lesser status than Tebow.  That somehow, it would be OK if God, or more likely a destructive Defensive End, would hurt him to teach the Broncos a lesson.  Bad theology.
4) So much for the teaching of Christ: Pray for your enemies, do good to those who despitefully use you and all that.
5) I find such remarks to be self-righteous, like any of us know who deserves what as far as justice.  Pat has placed himself in a position of judgment and a definer of justice and I am not sure he is qualified to do that.  He really has no right to speak for God unless he is quoting Him from the Bible.  

Pat Robertson has been doing this for a while. Shooting of his mouth without thinking or considering the teachings of his Lord and Savior, so it really comes as no surprise.  He really should read James 3 again and take it to heart.  His remarks on Hurricane Katrina were as stupid as they were bad theology, so the fact that he continues to do this with other issues should not be any surprise.  I have personally lost all respect for a man who in his twilight years of ministry chooses to use them to sensationalize so his name gets mentioned on the Web and in the news, rather than use them to legitimately for the cause of Christ.  He owes Manning and the Broncos an apology.  Probably, God too.

IMHO

Jesus and the Pharisees - Part 1 - Introduction

Sometimes in the course of studying for something, you discover something else.  Recently I have been looking at Nicodemus in John 3:1-21 and elsewhere to get ready for a dramatic presentation and I have run smack dab into the middle of the whole dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees about self-righteousness.  It is not only a heated debate but it encompasses so many subjects that I am certain it can be only covered in a series of articles.

Self-righteousness is one of the most insidious spiritual conditions because not only do you think you do not have it; you will also fight those who point it out to you.  It means that you cannot see your spiritual reality at all.  It is one of the most deadly spiritual conditions and one of the most prevalent.

The more I look at the church of Jesus Christ, particularly in the good ole' United States of America, the more I am convinced that the reason it is struggling in a classic case of self righteousness.  We condemn the world and exalt ourselves.  We impose our moral codes on others without doing them ourselves.  We find all manners of way to get in people's face about how sinful they are, while all the while sinning ourselves. 

For me, this enlightenment has been a long journey, but as I look through the Bible at the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees, I now realize that conflict would take place today but it would be between the church and Jesus.  Bold words I suppose.  I plan to back them up in this series.

In this series I will do what I always do.  First, I will observe the conflict between the Pharisees and Jesus.  Secondly, I will offer up some interpretation of what I see in this conflict.  Finally, I will offer up application to our life and world here in the 21st century.

Next: Who Were the Pharisees?

Rabyd Theologian 3.0? Really?

OK.  I am sitting around on my birthday a few days ago and wondered what has been agonizing my soul of late.  I have felt something has been out of sorts for a while now and it had nothing to do with the church, work or otherwise.  All of those thing have been OK for the most part.  Something was simply out of balance and I couldn't put my finger on it.

Something happened on my missions trip to Romania and to be quite honest I could not figure it out.  I simply stopped being inspired to write anything.  There was simply too much to digest from my trip and I think my mind and heart got log jammed.  Inspiration and desire simply stopped.  I am not sure that was a bad thing. 

At the time, I had purchased two URLs, one for the Rabyd Theologian 2.0 and the other for Open Theism.  Odd thing, I began to move from writing because I loved it into this world where I was trying to make money with it and BAM!!!, nothing.  I am pretty sure with me now that pressure of this kind leads to the well drying up a little.  I am no longer trying to make this my lifeblood source of income, but enough to justify the time spent would be nice.

Back to the missions trip, ever have one of those events in your life that make you think hard for a long time?  That trip to Romania did it for me.  I simply can't express the feelings and lessons in words.  There is a far larger world out there for me now and yet smaller too.  My theology and its direction needed a little bit of an overhaul.

Then came the angst.  Angst is a great German word that deals with the great unsettled feeling we have when facing the unknown within us.  I need to write again to let it out.

Why not just pick up the old Rabyd Theologian 2.0?  Because I simply feel it is time for a fresh start.  Don't worry though, I will probably transfer everything over here eventually, but I want to edit and relabel each post.  Some stuff will probably get dropped for simply being B.S. posts or rambling junk.  Patience please.  This time I want to do it right and leave nothing unfinished, except maybe the last series or post I do.

Blessings and Welcome to the Rabyd Theologian 3.0