(JKK's Notes)
-Julius-Kei Kato, PhD
"Easter" ... You know that this refers to Jesus's resurrection, right? Have you ever wondered what “resurrection” really means … I mean, its full implications? Many think, it simply means that Jesus who was crucified and laid in the tomb just got up and walked out by his own divine power. And this proves his divinity, that he was God-walking-on-earth, so the argument goes. (I'm reminded here of the last scene in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.) Well, if you thought that was all “resurrection” meant, think again. It's not all that simple.
In these notes, let us deepen our knowledge of Easter and of what resurrection means … in a fuller sense.
SOURCE: I am heavily dependent on New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan and the various points he makes in his work: Resurrecting Easter: How the West Lost and the East Kept the Original Easter Vision (2018). Other resources mentioned below.
[1] Clarifying Terms: Resurrection vs. Ascension
Many modern Christians—and even some scholars—use the term “resurrection” without understanding its original meaning in the Mediterranean world of Jesus and the first Christians. So, let's clarify first and distinguish between the precise meaning of—what we refer to in English as—"resurrection" with some related but different concepts.
In the first-century Mediterranean world, there was already a widespread belief that special individuals (such as Moses in the Jewish tradition or Romulus for the Roman empire) could be taken up to the divine realm after death. This phenomenon is known as apotheosis, a Greek word that literally means "the process of becoming divine." In practice though, apotheosis referred to an extraordinary person being accorded a kind of exaltation or going up into heaven after their earthly lives.
The more proper English words to express what apotheosis means could be: “ascension” or “assumption.” In fact, these words have been appropriated in the Christian tradition to refer to: (1) Jesus' going back up into heaven (ascension) and (2) his mother Mary being "assumed" body and soul into heaven after her death (Mary's assumption).
However, neither "ascension" nor "assumption" is what the New Testament refers to when it refers to what happened to Jesus after his death on the cross. The New Testament uses the Greek word anastasis (regularly translated as "resurrection"). That word literally means: "to rise", "to stand up."
To summarize:
·
Apotheosis as
ascension or assumption is not the same as resurrection.
·
Apotheosis was
a common concept across Mediterranean cultures as a way of
glorifying special, exceptional people after their earthly existence.
· Anastasis as Resurrection, by contrast, was not universally accepted in the Mediterranean world. Rather, its use was sectarian. That is, it was used by a sect within Second Temple Judaism.
[2] Resurrection as a Pharisaic, Eschatological Concept
Respected New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan argues that resurrection (anastasis) in the first century was used specifically by Pharisaic Judaism.
Its meaning was precise:
·
It referred to a future, collective
event. This means: Anastasis (resurrection) was not originally
an event that happened to an individual. It was a significant, big-time happening
that the Pharisees thought would involve a large number of people.
·
Concretely, this is what anastasis
referred to: At the end of time, God would:
o Raise all
humanity
o Conduct
final judgment
o Assign reward or punishment. That eventually came to be understood concretely as “heaven or hell”
If you're a Christian, those concepts will be familiar to you. But now, you know their origins! What you probably don't know is that resurrection was not primarily about an individual returning from death in isolation. Rather, it was primarily about cosmic justice being fulfilled. This belief stood in contrast to another dominant party at the time, the Sadducees, who denied such a future resurrection and were generally aligned with the status quo under Roman rule.
[3] Paul’s Radical Claim in 1 Corinthians 15
It is logical to think that Paul the Apostle (who was a Pharisee before he encountered the risen Christ) uses the term resurrection (anastasis) in this full Pharisaic sense. Therefore, when Paul says that Jesus is raised (1 Corinthians 15), he is making a noteworthy theological claim. (Chronologically speaking, this passage in 1 Corinthians 15 is the earliest mention of the “resurrection,” even before the gospels were written.)
What did Paul mean by saying “Jesus was raised”? He meant
that:
·
Jesus’s resurrection is not an
isolated event
· Rather, it is the beginning of the general resurrection of all humanity (It is a collective event)
The essential point about Paul's logic, therefore, is that:
·
Both Jesus’s resurrection and the
resurrection of all humans are just one thing: If there is no general
resurrection, then there is no (individual) resurrection of Jesus! Try
to wrap your minds around that. I’m sure it’s difficult if you are a Western
Christian.
· Conversely: Jesus’s resurrection only makes sense as part of the resurrection of all people at the end of time.
Crucially, JD Crossan argues the following point which might
surprise you:
It never occurred to Paul that Jesus could be raised as a special exception (e.g., because he is Messiah or Son of God). Why? If one wanted to claim a unique privilege, the appropriate category to use in Paul’s world would be, as mentioned above, ascension (apotheosis), not resurrection (anastasis).
