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>>Ankerberg: And Mr. Naland, you in your article have said that there is contradictory conclusions
that discounts the evidence that is given. And I'd like to take one that is the basic
premise of this article, namely, what happened to the body? ObviČously, everybody agrees
that the tomb was empty. Now, what happened to the body? The disciples said, "Jesus arose.
They saw Him. That's why it's empty." Others down through history have come up with other
conclusions that some have said it will take more faith to believe that than what the disciples
actually testify to. Your conclusion that you have come to is found in your article,
and you say this: "If it is true that Joseph of Arimathea was a pious Jew who out of human
kindness and not Christian loyalty hurriedly interred the lifeless body of Jesus in his
own tomb, it is also possible that when the Sabbath ended at sundown on Saturday, Joseph's
servants removed Jesus' body and deposited it in a less imposing final resting place."
Now, that's your conclusion, but you have to wrestle with the actual eyewitness accounts
themselves, and this is one of them. It says in John Chapter 19, "Later, Joseph of Arimathea
asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now, Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretČly because
he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission he came and took the body away. He was accompaČnied
by Nicodemus, the man who had earlier visited Jesus at night" -- that's in John 3. "Nicodemus
brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the
two of them wrapped it with the spices in strips of linen. This was in accordance with
Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified there was a garden, and
in the garden a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish
day of prepaČration and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there." Now, you go
against that statement that John wrote. Please tell us why you came to your concluČsion.
>>Naland: Okay, well we have to start with the question, "Was Joseph of Arimathea a disciple
or follower of Jesus or not?" And you quoted John -- a late source...
>>Montgomery: But he's a good deal earlier than you are.
>>Naland: That's correct. But Luke and Mark are earlier than he is, and Luke and Mark
do not present Joseph as a follower of Jesus.
>>Montgomery: Do they state that Joseph of Arimathea was not a disciple? If they did,
then you would have a contradiction between their accounts and the account just read by
Mr. Ankerberg.
>>Naland: Let me quote Luke for you...
>>Ankerberg: All right.
>>Naland: That should suffice. That "Joseph was a good and righteous man who had not consented
to their purpose and deed, and he was looking for the kingdom of God." And Mark...actually
it's reversed. Mark says it and Luke copies it: "...looking for the kingdom of God." Now,
that does not say that he was a disciple of Jesus, and my question is...
>>Ankerberg: Let me challenge you...
>>Naland: One more question.
>>Ankerberg: Okay.
>>Naland: Joseph of Arimathea, member of the Supreme Council of the Jews, if he was a follower
of Jesus, what happened to him?
>>Ankerberg: Let me answer both of those for you...
>>Naland: Why isn't he later on in Acts, as the...
>>Ankerberg: Well, let me see if we can discuss them...
>>Montgomery: What happened to Pontius Pilate?
>>Naland: What happened to Joseph and Mary? There are a lot of...
>>Montgomery: Well exactly. And you can't judge history by whether or not the acČcounts
give you a complete biographical description of the career of every person mentioned.
>>Naland: But it would seem to me, and I could be incorrect, that if Joseph was a follower
of Jesus, he would have been the most influenČtial early follower of Jesus.
>>Montgomery: For heaven's sake, maybe he had a heart attack two weeks after the resurrection!
There are a thousand explaČnations that are possible for this. The point is, that none
of the accounts would deny what John said, that he was a "secret follower of Jesus."
>>Naland: But why don't they state it then?
>>Montgomery: I don't know. I didn't write it.
>>Naland: Well, I think I know.