If belief in the resurrection is to be more than a glossing over of facts which hare otherwise thought to be depressing, if it is to be a real endorsement of Jesus as the Messiah and as one who achieved what he set out to do, then it must uphold both the Jesus of faith and the Jesus of History. It must be able to confirm not only Christian convictions about God’s eternal plan of salvation in his “only begotten Son,” but also the purposes and expectations of the country carpenter from Galilee who was crushed by a power-hungry Jerusalem aristocracy in co-operation with the flawless machinery of the Roman imperial occupation forces. The resurrection can only establish that Jesus succeeded if it also confirms that the pre-Easter Jesus fulfilled his purposes.
- M. Bockmuehl, This Jesus, pg. 96-97
1 comment:
Nice quote. I agree. Among the many things that the resurrection means it should be emphasized that the resurrection is God the Father vindicating Jesus's life and death.
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