Easter questions - sabbath day restriction from tomb-sitting

[Rhea]

I saw a post about how the fact that Jesus was crucified on Friday made it *extra* traumatic for his followers, because the next day was the Sabbath and they couldn’t do anything, not even go to sit by his tomb. So they had to “sit with it” for a whole day thinking of the loss and the worry that he would not arise.

Gives me two questions. Did the bible actually promise that he would arise after two sunsets and so they were looking for verification? Or were they surprised to find him gone?

And second, if this is actually the story, then who’s to say he didn’t wake up Saturday afternoon and spend the night in a pub and no one was looking for him until Sunday so they didn’t even know?

 

[Ford]

My Easter question is a bit more simple:

Why ham?

I mean, here in the US and A, you serve turkey on Thanksgiving (I get that) and ham on Easter. How did that start? Because I'm pretty sure that Jesus - being Jewish as he was - might have some misgivings about pork products being used to celebrate his resurrection.

That's like celebrating him by wearing a Roman cross around your neck! Oh...wait...

 

[Elixir]

That's like celebrating him by wearing a Roman cross around your neck! Oh...wait...

B-b-b-but there are SO many depictions of Jesus apparently looking quite well (so before crucifixion) wearing a cross. And not a little discreet one, a great big honker!
Wassup wid dat?

 

[steve_bank]

According to Christians Jesus ended the Old Testament aka Leviticus and Mosaic law ad created a New Testament between god and people. Dietary rules no longer applied.

I don;t see anything in the NT were Jesus rejected Judaism. I think it was Paul who dispensed with food requirements and circumcision.

As I like to say it should be called Paulism not Christianity.Now that you mention it think I'll have a grilled ham and cheese sandwich for dinner.


Seek and you shall find, ask and it will be answered pilgrim.

I would have guessed cost was the issue. I remember canned hams for Easter.

While The Daily Meal notes lamb was originally the main course for most Easter dinners, a tradition that spanned 3,000 years and still holds true for many, including the Jewish holiday Passover. Ham became a less expensive alternative to lamb on Easter once there was less demand for wool in the U.S. after World War II.Apr 3, 2021

 

[bilby]

According to Christians Jesus ended the Old Testament aka Leviticus and Mosaic law ad created a New Testament between god and people.

According to Matthew 5:17-18 Jesus himself explicitly and emphatically says exactly the opposite.

It's contradicrions all the way down.

 

[Rhea]

But LAMB for dinner is equally weird and gross and kinda dark.
All the allegories or metaphors or what-have-you about Jesus being the lamb… and then you eat him?


Weird, right?

 

[bilby]

But LAMB for dinner is equally weird and gross and kinda dark.
All the allegories or metaphors or what-have-you about Jesus being the lamb… and then you eat him?


Weird, right?

Meh, the Catholics have been eating Jesus and drinking his blood for centuries.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

But LAMB for dinner is equally weird and gross and kinda dark.
All the allegories or metaphors or what-have-you about Jesus being the lamb… and then you eat him?


Weird, right?

It depends on what you mean by weird. If you think about it, it's very consistent with the whole vampiric theme of Christianity. You eat him and drink his blood. A priest even rings a bell or something making the wine his actual real blood. When you drink it you become an immortal....and this is supposed to be a reference to the Last Supper. So, in the sense of weird meaning "unusual," it's not unusual within the context of eating and drinking Jesus.

Now, if you detach yourself from this stuff (or never were inundated with it) and can observe it from a distance, then in that sense it is weird...like batshit crazy and irrationally creepy.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I saw a post about how the fact that Jesus was crucified on Friday made it *extra* traumatic for his followers, because the next day was the Sabbath and they couldn’t do anything, not even go to sit by his tomb. So they had to “sit with it” for a whole day thinking of the loss and the worry that he would not arise.

Gives me two questions. Did the bible actually promise that he would arise after two sunsets and so they were looking for verification? Or were they surprised to find him gone?

If memory serves, the Messiah is supposed to arrive the first time, there isn't supposed to be a redo.

And second, if this is actually the story, then who’s to say he didn’t wake up Saturday afternoon and spend the night in a pub and no one was looking for him until Sunday so they didn’t even know?

There was a large stone blocking the cave... or not. And there were guards... or not. So clearly couldn't just leave the cave... or not.

This is the problem with fan fiction and trying to remain in Canon.

 

[southernhybrid]

I saw a post about how the fact that Jesus was crucified on Friday made it *extra* traumatic for his followers, because the next day was the Sabbath and they couldn’t do anything, not even go to sit by his tomb. So they had to “sit with it” for a whole day thinking of the loss and the worry that he would not arise.

Gives me two questions. Did the bible actually promise that he would arise after two sunsets and so they were looking for verification? Or were they surprised to find him gone?

If memory serves, the Messiah is supposed to arrive the first time, there isn't supposed to be a redo.

And second, if this is actually the story, then who’s to say he didn’t wake up Saturday afternoon and spend the night in a pub and no one was looking for him until Sunday so they didn’t even know?

There was a large stone blocking the cave... or not. And there were guards... or not. So clearly couldn't just leave the cave... or not.

This is the problem with fan fiction and trying to remain in Canon.

Yeah, but Jesus had magical powers, so he might have just floated out of the cave like a ghost when the guards were sleeping or sprinkled some magic fairy dust on them so they didn't know what happened, or he might have taken them to the pub with him for some wine. After all, he did know how to turn water into wine, or so they say.

Maybe Jesus wasn't really dead or maybe Jesus was just some guy. Btw, my husband showed me some photos of some guys that actually get nailed to a cross on Good Friday every year. Seriously.

And, why do they call it Good Friday when that's the day their favorite guy was crucified. Shouldn't it be called bad Friday or sad Friday? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

The weeks run up to Easter had me having The Monster Mash stuck in my head.

Zombie Jesus did The Mash
He did Monster Mash

 

[ideologyhunter]

According to Christians Jesus ended the Old Testament aka Leviticus and Mosaic law ad created a New Testament between god and people.

According to Matthew 5:17-18 Jesus himself explicitly and emphatically says exactly the opposite.

It's contradicrions all the way down.

Yep. Jesus makes sense in a Jewish context. He seems to have been a wanna-be prophet, and many of his concerns were exclusively Jewish. The disciples were to proselytize only to Jews; in the afterlife they would re-establish the 12 tribes of Israel; celebrating Passover just before his death -- Christians today don't care about this stuff, but it's there because (apparently) it was part of the collection of sayings the early church had. And don't forget the way he speaks to the Gentile woman he encountered near Tyre -- telling her that her people were dogs and that she was not part of his mission, until she made a heartfelt statement of faith. And MT 5:17-8, that you cite, a very strange text if Jesus meant to end the law.
Paul cements into place the break with Mosaic law. Eph. 2: 14-5: 'Christ brought us peace by making Jews and Gentiles one people. With his own body he broke down the wall that kept them apart as enemies. He abolished the Jewish law with its commandments and rules.' (Where did he do this?)
Eph. 3: 5-6: 'In past times mankind was not told this secret, but God has revealed it now by the Spirit to his apostles and prophets. The secret is that by means of the gospel the Gentiles have a part with the Jews in God's blessing...' In other words, Paul through his seizure on the road to Damascus and (apparently) other visitations of the Spirit has received this vision, opening up the Hebrew God's promises to the Gentiles. But you could call it a hallucination-based religion and make a case for that, easier than you can build a case for Paul's teachings from the four Gospels.

 

[Politesse]

I saw a post about how the fact that Jesus was crucified on Friday made it *extra* traumatic for his followers, because the next day was the Sabbath and they couldn’t do anything, not even go to sit by his tomb. So they had to “sit with it” for a whole day thinking of the loss and the worry that he would not arise.

Gives me two questions. Did the bible actually promise that he would arise after two sunsets and so they were looking for verification? Or were they surprised to find him gone?

And second, if this is actually the story, then who’s to say he didn’t wake up Saturday afternoon and spend the night in a pub and no one was looking for him until Sunday so they didn’t even know?

Their reaction later in the story strongly suggests that they were not expecting to see him again at all, save as a lifeless body. But being denied your culture's customary funeral rites is stressful in its own right. Remember everyone flipping out about no graveside service during Covid?

 

[Politesse]

And, why do they call it Good Friday when that's the day their favorite guy was crucified. Shouldn't it be called bad Friday or sad Friday? Inquiring minds want to know.

"Good" in the now antiquated sense of holy or sacred. The whole of holy week used to be referred to similarly, good wednesday, etc.

Though, I've heard many a confused preacher extolling the virtues of the day, and how great human sacrifice is when it's Jesus, so it seems linguistic evolution can become theological innovation at times.

 

[Rhea]

I saw a post about how the fact that Jesus was crucified on Friday made it *extra* traumatic for his followers, because the next day was the Sabbath and they couldn’t do anything, not even go to sit by his tomb. So they had to “sit with it” for a whole day thinking of the loss and the worry that he would not arise.

Gives me two questions. Did the bible actually promise that he would arise after two sunsets and so they were looking for verification? Or were they surprised to find him gone?

And second, if this is actually the story, then who’s to say he didn’t wake up Saturday afternoon and spend the night in a pub and no one was looking for him until Sunday so they didn’t even know?

Their reaction later in the story strongly suggests that they were not expecting to see him again at all, save as a lifeless body. But being denied your culture's customary funeral rites is stressful in its own right. Remember everyone flipping out about no graveside service during Covid?

Wait. Was Jesus the first Jew to ever die on a Friday afternoon?
This is confusing. It was their own religion that said they couldn’t go to the tomb (assuming this scenario in the OP is actually accurate according to the bible). No one kept them from it but themselves.

 

[Politesse]

I saw a post about how the fact that Jesus was crucified on Friday made it *extra* traumatic for his followers, because the next day was the Sabbath and they couldn’t do anything, not even go to sit by his tomb. So they had to “sit with it” for a whole day thinking of the loss and the worry that he would not arise.

Gives me two questions. Did the bible actually promise that he would arise after two sunsets and so they were looking for verification? Or were they surprised to find him gone?

And second, if this is actually the story, then who’s to say he didn’t wake up Saturday afternoon and spend the night in a pub and no one was looking for him until Sunday so they didn’t even know?

Their reaction later in the story strongly suggests that they were not expecting to see him again at all, save as a lifeless body. But being denied your culture's customary funeral rites is stressful in its own right. Remember everyone flipping out about no graveside service during Covid?

Wait. Was Jesus the first Jew to ever die on a Friday afternoon?

Surely not. In modern Judaism it's actually considered sort of good luck to pass on during Shabat, even if it means not being able to tend to the body until a few days later. Eternal rest on the day of rest and all that. But then, the cause of death is not often execution by public crucifixion followed by a hasty interment by a third party without the proper rites, which is what happened to Jesus in the story.

 

[southernhybrid]

And, why do they call it Good Friday when that's the day their favorite guy was crucified. Shouldn't it be called bad Friday or sad Friday? Inquiring minds want to know.

"Good" in the now antiquated sense of holy or sacred. The whole of holy week used to be referred to similarly, good wednesday, etc.

Though, I've heard many a confused preacher extolling the virtues of the day, and how great human sacrifice is when it's Jesus, so it seems linguistic evolution can become theological innovation at times.

Thanks for the clarification, but I still am surprised they haven't changed the name, but then again, they still call it Easter, which was originally named after a pagan goddess, so like many aspects of Christian mythology, it doesn't make much sense. I guess it's not really supposed to make sense since a guy dying and then coming back to life 3 days later is magic.

 

[Politesse]

And, why do they call it Good Friday when that's the day their favorite guy was crucified. Shouldn't it be called bad Friday or sad Friday? Inquiring minds want to know.

"Good" in the now antiquated sense of holy or sacred. The whole of holy week used to be referred to similarly, good wednesday, etc.

Though, I've heard many a confused preacher extolling the virtues of the day, and how great human sacrifice is when it's Jesus, so it seems linguistic evolution can become theological innovation at times.

Thanks for the clarification, but I still am surprised they haven't changed the name, but then again, they still call it Easter, which was originally named after a pagan goddess, so like many aspects of Christian mythology, it doesn't make much sense. I guess it's not really supposed to make sense since a guy dying and then coming back to life 3 days later is magic.

Good Friday is also named for a Pagan goddess (Friday takes its name from Frigga, the Norse goddess of spousal fidelity) and much for the same reason if you ask me.

 

[Jarhyn]

a guy dying and then coming back to life 3 days later is magic

Well, in the bronze age certainly not. In the next decade? I'm not so sure.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

The thing I like about Easter is asking practitioners if they know where the word "Easter" comes from. I always ask them how their holiest of days got named for a pagan goddess.