Easter

I have issues with Easter. I don't believe that Jesus bodily rose from the grave. I don't believe that he walked the earth as a human being before ascending to "heaven". I believe that his "resurrection" was not what many Christians believe happened. So, there is a reason I was hesitant to write about Easter. It makes me uncomfortable. But I do have a few (probably heretical) ideas about what might of happened.

I think that Jesus was seen "in spirit". What people saw was a full bodied apparition. I have seen one of those and I believe it was entirely possible that he appeared to his followers in that form. Jesus' soul or spirit was what was walking on earth, not his body.  It was Jesus' ghost that was being seen. And yes, ghosts can "speak", though its not in the same way a live human can speak. I believe that Jesus had a very strong, vibrant soul and it would have survived his crucifixion. I also believe that since his death was so traumatic that his soul stayed on earth for awhile and eventually it went to the light which is God.

That is not say some kind of resurrection didn't happen. It just wasn't a bodily resurrection. When Jesus' soul left his body and later ascended to God, he wouldn't have taken his bones with him. They (the bones) would have been laid in a family tomb for a year - the flesh would have disintegrated - and then a gathering of family and friends would have put the bones that were left in an ossuary (bone box). It would have been then put into a niche inside the family tomb and it would have lain there for centuries. Or perhaps it's still laying somewhere. What I just described was the way that most Jews were buried in the first century C. E. (Common Era). Though most people who were crucified were just left on the cross after they died, Jesus probably was taken down, because some of his followers were either in the priest class in Judaism or were Roman citizens.

Now we get to how it was that Mary Magdalene was the first one at the tomb after three days (well, actually more like 2 1/2). The people who prepared the bodies for burial in the tombs were the immediate family of the deceased. Women were usually the ones to do the preparation, because they didn't have to worry about being ritually unclean. In Judaism, touching a dead body made one unclean. One would have to go through a specific set of rituals to cleanse oneself, so they were no longer unclean. So, the women of the family would have gone back to the tomb to wash, anoint, and wrap the body in a clean linen cloth. In some of the Gospels there are a group of women who go to the tomb to do that, in others there's just one. But, you must remember it has to be members of the family. There is always one woman mentioned in all the Gospels who is there: Mary Magdalene. But why would she be there? She's not a member of his family. There is only one explanation for who she really was - Jesus' wife. The wife was a member of the immediate family of the one who had died. Wait a minute - it doesn't say in the Gospels that Jesus was married. Yes, that is true. That information could have been in there, but later taken out when it was decided that Jesus was celibate. Non-canonical gospels hinted at their relationship, but it was never spelled out. But only family members prepared the body, so otherwise why would she have been there?

It is always hard to describe what happened to Jesus after he was crucified, but I hope I have given you some food for thought.