Sufferin' Succotash, Did the pre Jesus Jews Think Their Hero Was Supposed to Suffer


Christians have claimed since the alleged time of Jesus he was the leader Jews had prophesized. Many claim Jesus was predicted to suffer. Bart Ehrman says this is not true.

From the early Old Testament writing, the figure that was to return to free Jews of their problems was a fearless political and military leader. The model for this figure was King David. Would a King David figure be humiliated and captured then hung up like a common criminal? Of what use would that be to a people who had been under the thumb of various countries for centuries? And, if it was at the hands of a third or forth level bureaucrat like a Pontius Pilate all the worse. The martyr myth came along sometime after the alleged life. Plenty of Jews before, during, after and to this day do not believe it. How could it have come to play such a big part of the Christian faith?

Ehrman believes the Paul was among those Jews who had no use for the idea the Jesus character was the messiah Jews had been waiting for. For whatever reason he changed his mind. Lots of Jews later changed their minds when the story started circulating that Jesus had come back to life. Even though it has never been clearly established this happened, the belief that it happened changed lots of minds--maybe the King David-like figure did not happen but a different version we never heard about until now came and went.

To keep the dead-and-back-to-life myth going has required some fancy foot work by those who claim expertise in the Bible. Ehrman tells that whenever he teaches a freshman class the Resurrection was not prophesized students will challenge him with Isaiah 23. This passage goes on about how "he" will be despised and rejected, borne of our infirmities, tormented for our transgressions...by his bruises we are healed, etc, etc. 

Ehrman asked students to find where it says this refers to the "messiah." It refers to something that happened earlier, 600 years before the alleged time of Jesus. Not one Jew, Ehrman says, would have thought back at the time Isaiah was written would it referred to the coming Messiah. 

Since the beginning of Christianity Christians have been clever rascals at making the Old Testament something different than what its writers meant it to be.

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