Sam Pitrone, What makes the Bible right?

[meangreen4321]

Other story elements that were added are:

The casting lots for clothing.

The wine/ vinegar/ myrrh/ gall mixture Jesus drank.

None of his bones will be broken.

They will look on the one they have pierced.

See, these allusions from the Psalms are to show that David was foreshadowing some of the events of Jesus life. The allusion to Zechariah 12 is particularily interesting, but a careful reading shows that it is not referring to the crucifixion, since it says, "the whole land will mourn".

[sampitrone]

Why do you think this statement is true:

"Even when the prophesy fits, remember that the gospel writers were trying to make Jesus' death work as an atonement and used imagery from the old testament to bolster their views."

That seems to be be a very big bias in your foundation. Why would they be willing to die martyrs deaths for their testimony of Christ if your thought above were true?

[meangreen4321]

Fair question. Sincerety and conviction do not guarantee correctness and truth. The gospel writers were as sincere as Mohammed, who wrote the Koran. The Muslims, (more than the Christians), are willing to die as martyrs for their beliefs, yet the Christians believe that the Muslims are deceived: Satan has blinded them. (The Muslims think likewise for the Christians.)

Hellenistic Christianity believed that Jesus' death brought atonement for the sins of the world.

(cont'd)

[meangreen4321]

Paul acknowledged that Jesus was accursed: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us (Galatians 3:13 NASB)

The terms Son of God, Messiah and Christ were synonymous terms, which were commonly used in Israel in those days. The Jews used the terms Son of God and Christ to refer to their awaited Messiah, whom they expected to be a mere man.

Therefore, the gospel writers were making Jesus fit into the model of the "suffering servant" of Isaiah 53.

[meangreen4321]

Here's an example: Mark and Matthew record that Jesus was silent to his accusers in order to fit the account of Isaiah 53, which says, "like a sheep silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth". Matthew records, "he did not answer even one accusation, so that the governor was quite amazed." However, John records that Jesus made four defences to Pilate himself. The writers wrote story elements to fit with the old testament prophesies.

[meangreen4321]

"The more you dig, the more it will verify the Bible's accuracy".

That's funny, the opposite happened for me. If you dig even deeper, you will find how verses of the Old Testament were used out of context. Even when the prophesy fits, remember that the gospel writers were trying to make Jesus' death work as an atonement and used imagery from the old testament to bolster their views. Isaiah 53 is a perfect example of how elements were written back into the story of Jesus' life.