Psalms – Any Messiah Prophecies?

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Psalms – Any Messiah Prophecies?

 

Psalms are quoted in the New Testament more than any other book from the Old Testament, the Tenakh.  Many Psalms include praises, songs, travails, and salvation; some describe characteristics of God; and others are considered to be parallels to the Messiah. The question is whether any of the Psalms are actual prophecies about the Messiah.[1]

Messiah prophecies have to be fulfilled by the one who claims to be the Messiah. If not, then either he is not the Messiah or they were not Messiah prophecies in the first place. Psalms identified by Jesus of Nazareth as prophecies to be fulfilled by himself raises the bar to the highest level – they must be fulfilled if his claim to be the Messiah is credible.[2]

MT: 5:17-18 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” (NRSV) * [3]

Pharisees had been watching and listening to Jesus since early in his ministry. One day Jesus took an opportunity to engage them directly asking, “”What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?”[4] Seemingly the question was simple and the Pharisees answered, “The son of David.” Jesus responded pointedly quoting from Psalms 110:1:

MT 22:45 “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool’? If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”(NKJV)

PS 110:1 ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’? (NKJV)

No answer came from the Pharisees, according to Matthew. They were unable to explain the conundrum posed by Jesus from Psalms 110:1 – how could the Christ (Messiah) be the son of David when call David himself called him, ‘LORD’ (Jehovah)?

Judaism regards Psalms 118 as the concept of salvation pointing to the arrival of the Messiah recited in the Hallel during Festival holidays.[5] The Jewish Encyclopedia in it’s article entitled “Hosanna,” states Psalms 118 refers to “…the advent of the Messiah (see Midr. Teh. to Ps. cxviii. 17, 21, 22; comp. Matt. xxi. 42).”[6]

MT 21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’S doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (NKJV)

PS 118:22-23 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.This was the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. (NKJV)

Jewish sage Rabbi Rashi viewed Micah 5:1(2) as a prophecy predicting the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. In his phrase-by-phrase commentary of the Bethlehem prophecy, the Rabbi quoted from Psalms 118.22:

“from you shall emerge for Me the Messiah, [Rabbi Rashi:) son of David, and so Scripture says (Ps. 118:22): ‘The stone the builders had rejected became a cornerstone.”

Visiting Bethany just days before entering Jerusalem for the last time, oddly some Pharisees warned Jesus to watch out for Tetrarch Herod Antipas who wanted to kill him. Ignoring the warning, Jesus said he was busy casting out demons and performing cures, then finished with a prophecy quoting from Psalms 118:

LK 13:35 “I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’” (NKJV)

PS .118:26 “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.” (NKJV)

Mere days later, Jesus rode into Jerusalem seated on the unbroken colt of a donkey while a crowd of people chanted and placed palm branches in his path.[7] All four Gospel authors write about that triumphal day:[8]

JN 12:12-13  “… a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ The King of Israel!””[9]

Teaching in the Temple just 3 days before he would be crucified, the Pharisees again questioned Jesus by what authority he was teaching. His answer included one of the few parables common to Matthew, Mark and Luke.[10]

Winery tenants who refused to pay rent, beat-up those sent to collect it, and stoned to death the owner’s only son when he personally attempted to collect the rent. Reaction by the Pharisee’s:  “Bring those wretches to a wretched end!”[11] Jesus responded to them, first by quoting Psalms 118:22-23. The Pharisees became angry when they realized the Psalms and parable were about them.[12]

Passover meal became “The Last Supper” for Jesus and as they were eating, Jesus identified a prophecy soon to be fulfilled.[13] He quoted Psalm 41:9 as a prophecy of duplicity foretelling he was imminently to be betrayed by one of his own Disciples.[14]

JN 13:18-19 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfil the scripture: ‘He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’ “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. (NIV)

PS 41:9 Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. (NIV)

According to Jesus, the act of betrayal by Judas was predicted in the Psalms about himself and occurred shortly thereafter.[15] Once Judas Iscariot knew his illicit intentions were known by Jesus, he quickly left the Passover meal.

During his nighttime trial by the Jewish leaders, Jesus spoke only once. When he did, it was earth-shattering in more ways than one. Admitting he is the Messiah, again he referred to Psalms 110:1.[16]

MK 14:62 “‘I am,’ said Jesus, ‘and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.’”(NIV)

Psalms 22 is generally recognized by Christianity as either a foreshadowing or prophecy about the crucifixion of Jesus. The Psalm, written 1000 years earlier, describes agonizing physical and mental effects remarkably matching an execution by Roman crucifixion.

Two specific actions by others, mocking and gambling, are also described in Psalms 22.[17] According to all four Gospels, the mockers at the crucifixion spewed the same words found in Psalms 22 and the Romans cast lots for the clothes of Jesus.

Another quote from Psalms 22 occurred at the crucifixion. In his excruciating dying moments on the cross, Jesus quoted Psalms 22:1:

MK 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”— which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

PS 22:1 …“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” (NIV)

If specific Psalms about the Messiah all came true during the appearance of Jesus of Nazareth, are they then Messiah prophecies about him?

* Greek word nomos translated as “law” means “anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, a law, a command” i.e. the word includes the Law of Moses as well as other established customs or traditions.

Updated January 30, 2023.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] “44 Prophecies Jesus Christ Fulfilled.” Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas More, Swiss Cottage. n.d. <https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/swisscottage/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2014/11/44-Prophecies-Jesus-Christ-Fulfilled.pdf> Kranz, Jeffrey. “Which Old Testament Book Did Jesus Quote Most?” 2014. <http://blog.biblia.com/2014/04/which-old-testament-book-did-jesus-quote-most> Morales. L. Michael “Jesus and the Psalms.” TheGospelCoalition.org. 2011. <https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/jesus-and-the-psalms>  Wilson, Ralph F. “10. Psalms: Looking Forward to the Messiah.” (Psalms 2, 110, and 22).” JesusWalk.com. 2020. <http://www.jesuswalk.com/psalms/psalms-10-messianic.htm>  Rochford, James M. Evidence Unseen. The Psalms. image. n.d. <https://www.evidenceunseen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/psalminternet-1024×538.jpg>  “Hallel.” MyJewishLearning.com. 2020. <https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hallel>
[2] Luke 24:44.
[3] “nomos <3551>.” Greek text. Net.Bible.org. 2020. <http://classic.net.bible.org/strong.php?id=3551>  “G3551” LexiconConcordance.com. n.d.  <http://lexiconcordance.com/greek/3551.html>
[4] NET, NIV, NASB, NRSV, NKJV. NetBible.org. Greek text. <http://classic.net.bible.org/verse.php?book=Mat&chapter=22&verse=42> Lexicon-Concordance Online Bible. n.d. <http://lexiconcordance.com/greek/5547.html>
[5] “Psalms 118.” JewwishAwareness.org. 2011. <http://www.jewishawareness.org/psalm-118>  McKelvey, Michael G. “The Messianic Nature of Psalm 118.” Reformed Faith & Practice. 2017. <https://journal.rts.edu/article/messianic-nature-psalm-118> “Hallel” EncyclopædiaBritannica. 2020. <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hallel>
[6] “Hosanna.” Jewish Encyclopedia. <http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7893-hosanna>  CR Mark 12:11; Luke 20:17.
[7] “Hosanna.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7893-hosanna>
[8] CR Matthew 21:2-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:12-16.
[9] NKJV.
[10] Matthew 21:33-41; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19
[11] Matthew 21:42. NIV, NASB.
[12] Matthew 21:46.
[13] Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-20; John 13:1-3.
[14] CR Matthew 26:21-25; Mark 14:17-21; Luke 22:21-23.
[15] Matthew 26:46-56; Mark 14:42-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:1-11a.
[16] Mark 14:62. CR Matthew 26:64. Luke 22:69-70.
[17] Psalms 22:8, 18; Matthew 27:41-42, 46; Mark 15:24, 31, 34; Luke 23:35-37; John 19:24. Zugibe, Frederick T. “Turin Lecture:  Forensic and Clinical Knowledge of the Practice of Crucifixion.” E-Forensic Medicine. 2005. <http://web.archive.org/web/20130925103021/http://e-forensicmedicine.net/Turin2000.htm>

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Third Day Resurrection Prophecies

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Third Day Resurrection Prophecies

 

Nowhere in the Old Testament or Tenakh can be found a prophecy predicting the Messiah would rise from the dead after three days. Only in the Gospels can these prophecies be found, all belonging exclusively to Jesus of Nazareth.

Psalms 22 describes a death wholly consistent with the horrors of Roman crucifixion a 1000 years later. Zechariah 12:10 distinctly predicts the Messiah would be killed. Isaiah 52-53 describes the death of the Servant of God who would be despised, suffer greatly, be judged, killed and live again. What isn’t stated is how long the Servant would be dead before he would live again.

First of the third-day Resurrection predictions by Jesus occurred in Caesarea Philippi early in his 3-year ministry.[1] Up to this point, Jesus had been in Galilee giving amazing sermons interspersed with performing miracles of healing incurable diseases and birth defects; casting our demons; and raising the dead – to his Disciples, it didn’t get much better than this.

Word of these miraculous events got back to the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem who began watching and listening to Jesus. According to Mark, Jesus openly prophesied that he would be rejected by the Jewish leaders, killed and then rise again after three days:[2]

MK 8:31-32 “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.” (NKJV)

Peter took Jesus aside and said, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”[3] Seeing that Peter’s comment came straight from Satan, Jesus responded directly, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”[4]

While in Galilee Jesus gave another third-day Resurrection prophecies.[5] Healing and casting out demons, the crowds had been amazed at everything Jesus was doing, but the Disciples were warned by Jesus that their jubilation was only temporary:

MK 9:31 “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” (NASB)

Reaction to the prophecy this time “greatly distressed” the Disciples. They seemed to be focused only on the prediction their teacher and miracle worker would be killed, but not about the prediction he would rise from the dead.[6] Nevertheless, the Disciples were afraid to ask Jesus about the true meaning of the prophecy.[7]

Midway through his ministry, Jesus quoted Jonah 1:17 to liken himself to Jonah’s situation when the prophet was swallowed by a large sea creature. Jesus equated his own death and Resurrection to Jonah being inside its belly for “three days and three nights.”

MT 12:40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. (NRSV)

Many religion experts believe the reference to three days and three nights are based, in part, on the Jewish reckoning for a day that begins at sunset and on the Genesis description where a night and a day equaled one day.  A day assumes the concept of three days as a whole – not literally including the nights, too.

Corroborating the Jonah view, the other three-day prophecies by Jesus do not include any reference to nights. Day one, Jesus died and was buried in a tomb; day two, he was still in the tomb; day three, he was still in the tomb until sunrise for the resurrection event.[8]

Nearing the end of his three-year ministry, it was just days before entering Jerusalem for the last time at the Festival of the Passover. Luke’s account reports how Jesus again predicted his death, this time providing more specific details.

Jesus foretold that the Jews would hand him over to the Gentiles when he would be mocked, spat on, scourged, and killed in fulfillment of the written prophecies:[9]

LK 18:31 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.” (NRSV)

It was a three-fold, inconceivable scenario. Not so much that the Jewish leadership wanted to eliminate their arch nemesis because such a prediction would not be a shocking revelation.

Gentles killing Jesus at the behest of the Jews was an incomprehensible concept since the Romans and the Jews reviled each other. Moreover, it was the seeming impossibility of rising from the dead, especially three days later.

Shortly before his arrest on Mount Gethsemane, Jesus made one last indirect prophetic reference of his Resurrection to his Disciples. He foretold to them, “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”[10]

Matthew uniquely reports the incident between the Jewish leadership and Pilate that took place the day after Jesus was buried. It is obvious that the author of Matthew had an  insider source to the Jewish Council in order to obtain this exclusive information.

Jewish leadership approached Pilate to explain their concern about the burial of Jesus and tried to convince him it was a problem requiring his assistance. To do so, an unpleasant concession had to be made – the Jewish leaders had to acknowledge that Jesus did, in fact, predict he would rise from the dead saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’[11]

Next, the Jewish leadership had to convince Pilate of the possible risk of the Disciples stealing the body in an effort to falsely claim fulfillment of his predictions of rising from the dead on the third day:

“Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”(NKJV)[12]

Lastly, they wanted to convince Pilate this was a short-term problem only wanting “the tomb be made secure until the third day” confirming their recognition that a Resurrection would occur on the “third day” by Jewish reckoning. Pilate conceded saying “…make it as secure as you know how.”[13]

One other seemingly ambiguous point was cleared up by the Jewish leadership by acknowledging the Resurrection prediction. They understood the “Son of Man” references in the Resurrection prophecies were about Jesus himself, no one else.

Only Jesus of Nazareth foretold multiple times he would rise from dead on the third day, unique from any other Messiah prophecy. Were these Resurrection prophecies fulfilled by Jesus rising from the dead the third day?

 

Updated July 12, 2024.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Matthew 16:13, 21,; Mark 8:27, 31. CR Luke 9:18.  “Third Prophecy of the Passion.” The Good News. photo. 2021. <https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h0pVwogCw_Y/YEAFtTQQv-I/AAAAAAAAQo0/G4rEW9MEHKA0esRitHNcD4xqv9t9dHA3QCLcBGAsYHQ/s441/OIP.jpg> 
[2] Matthew 3-15; Mark 1-8; Luke 4-9.
[3] Matthew 16:22. NKJV.
[4] Mark 8:33. NJKV.
[5] Matthew 17:22; Mark 9:30. CR Matthew 17:22-23; Luke 9:44.
[6] Matthew 17:23.
[7] Luke 9:45.
[8] Genesis 1:5; Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:20. BibleHub. “Commentaries.” n.d. <https://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/12-40.htm>  “yown <03117> NetBible.org. Hebrew text. n.d. <https://classic.net.bible.org/strong.php?id=03117> “H3117.” Lexiconcordance.com. n.d. <http://lexiconcordance.com/hebrew/3117.html>
[9] Matthew 20:18-19; Mark 10:33-34; Luke 18:31-33.
[10] Matthew 26:32. NASB.
[11] Matthew 27:63. NKJV.
[12] Matthew 27:64.
[13] Matthew 27:64-65. NKJV.

Sanhedrin Insiders – Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea?

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Sanhedrin Insiders – Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea?

 

One of the mysteries of the Gospels is how the authors gained knowledge of inner workings of the Jewish Council. Two possibilities were Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, members of the the ruling Sanhedrin’s Jewish Council.[1]

Early on, Nicodemus wanted to learn more about this new celebrity, Jesus of Nazareth. With his stature in the Jewish Council, it opened the door to set up a meeting with Jesus. Great caution was necessary with Jesus being the archenemy of the Council where exposure of their meeting could have dire consequences.

Taking the big risk, they agreed to a secret night-time meeting. An unofficial summit, so to speak, where one of the rulers of the Jewish Council, Nicodemus, met clandestinely with the leader of its arch-nemesis, Jesus of Nazareth.

Miracles performed by Jesus rang an element of truth with Nicodemus asking, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no-one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”[2]

It was the response that completely threw Nicodemus when Jesus said, “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Incredulous, Nicodemus asked, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”[3]

For a Pharisee who prided himself for righteously following the letter of the Law, a single act, to be born again was an entirely foreign concept. It was completely contrary to logic, much less Judaism’s beliefs that are unclear about the afterlife.[4] Pulled from a MyJewishLearning.com webpage header: “We Don’t Know, So Must Make Our Lives Count.”[5]

Jesus continued, “What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.”[6] Explaining further led to the most famous quote of Jesus in all the Gospels, often seen on signs and T-shirts and the name of a song by country music superstar, Keith Urban, “John 3:16”:[7]

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (NKJV)

Later in John’s account, another incident involving Nicodemus is a confidential meeting among the Jewish Council members themselves. The scenario would not otherwise be known unless someone who was present during the private meeting divulged the details to John.

Sanhedrin officers had been sent to listen to Jesus hopefully teaching heresies, then bring him back to the chief priests and Pharisees for judgement. When the officers returned empty-handed, the Council authorities were baffled and asked, “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?” The officers responded, “No one ever spoke like this man!”[8]

Nicodemus asked his fellow Sanhedrin peers, “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”[9] Their response did not answer the question, rather mocked Nicodemus, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”[10]

At the crucifixion scene of Jesus another Sanhedrin Pharisee is introduced, Joseph of Arimathea, a Judean town.[11] Joseph is identified as a rich man, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin Council and a follower of Jesus.[12]

Joseph appears in all four Gospel accounts in the scene when Jesus hung dead on the cross. Taking great courage to overcome his fear of both the Sanhedrin and the fearsome Roman ruler responsible for having Jesus crucified, Joseph approached Pilate to ask for the body.[13]

Arriving at Pilate’s headquarters before the execution squad Centurion’s report, Pilate was surprised to hear Jesus was already dead.[14] Pilate first wanted confirmation from the Centurion that Jesus was, in fact, dead.[15]

Forced to wait for a decision, it was no doubt nerve-wracking – a despised Jew waiting at the Roman government local headquarters. Upon confirmation from the Centurion, Pilate granted the body of Jesus to Joseph.[16] Knowledge of these distinctive details were limited only to Pilate and Joseph plus any other Roman staff who may have been the the room.

Back at the Golgotha crucifixion scene, Joseph claimed the body from the Roman quaternion. He was joined by none other than Nicodemus who brought 75 pounds of burial spices, a mixture of myrrh and aloes – very specific details.[17]

Together, the two Pharisee Council rulers carried the body of Jesus to the nearby unused tomb owned by Joseph. There they wrapped the body in linens with the burial spices according to Jewish custom.[18]

In the next phase of the Gospel accounts, the Resurrection, neither Nicodemus nor Joseph are mentioned again, but they are still part of the story. As members within the ruling Jewish Council, if not present, they were at least aware that the Jewish leaders again approached Pilate the next day.[19] It was a meeting with only the Romans, namely Pilate with his staff, and the Jewish leaders in attendance – none of the followers of Jesus were present.

Affirming to Pilate that Jesus was dead and buried, the Jewish authorities requested a means to secure the tomb to protect against theft of the body by followers of Jesus. To convince Pilate, they had to acknowledge Jesus prophesied he would rise from the dead after three days.[20] Pilate seemed annoyed by yet another meeting with the Jews and told them to secure the tomb as best they could.

No one had informed the followers of Jesus about the joint Roman-Jewish security actions according to Gospel account. The exclusivity of the information is demonstrated by the women of Galilee who planned to go to the tomb at sunrise after the Sabbath. Wondering if anyone would be there to help roll away the stone from the entrance, they apparently were not aware that the tomb was sealed and guarded by the koustodia.[21]

As members within the ruling Sanhedrin Jewish Council, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were privy to the inner workings of the Jewish leadership, each was called out by name in the Gospels. John, the eyewitness author, even quoted Nicodemus indicating he was a source.[22]

Insider information of the Jewish Council lends significant credibility to the truthfulness of the Gospels. One key consideration is a fact that goes unstated – the Jewish Council did not deny the statements or actions of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea as written in the publicly distributed Gospels.

Were either or both Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea the insiders who provided important details of the Jewish Council?

 

Updated October 1, 2023.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:;

[1] John 12:42. John 3:1. Net.Bible.org. Greek text. 2020. <http://classic.net.bible.org/verse.php?book=Joh&chapter=3&verse=1> “archon <758>” Net.Bible.org. 2020. <http://classic.net.bible.org/strong.php?id=758>  Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50. Net.Bible.org. Greek text. <http://classic.net.bible.org/search.php?search=Arimathea&mode=&scope=> “bouleutes <1010> Net.Bible.org. 2020. <http://classic.net.bible.org/strong.php?id=1010>
[2] John 3:2. NIV.  “Who was Nicodemus in the Bible?” GotQuestions.org. image. n.d. <https://www.gotquestions.org/img/OG/Nicodemus-in-the-Bible.jpg> 
[3] John 3:4. NRSV.
[4] Josephus, Flavius. Wars of the Jews. Book II, Chapter VIII.14. Trans. and commentary. William Whitson. The Complete Works of Josephus. 1850. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> Moffic, Evan. “Do Jews Believe in an Afterlife?” ReformJudaism.org. 2020. <https://reformjudaism.org/practice/lifecycle-and-rituals/death-mourning/do-jews-believe-afterlife>  Gilad, Elon. “What Is the Jewish Afterlife Like?” Haaretz.com. 2019. <https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-what-is-the-jewish-afterlife-like-1.5362876>
[5] Rose, Or N. “Heaven and Hell in Jewish Tradition.” MyJewishLearning.com. 2020. <https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/heaven-and-hell-in-jewish-tradition>
[6] John 3:6. NET.
[7] Rossen, Jake. “The Unbelievable Life of the ‘John 3:16’ Sports Guy.” 2017. <https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/500515/unbelievable-life-john-316-sports-guy#:~:text=The%20%22John%203%3A16%22,%2C%20but%20have%20everlasting%20life.%E2%80%9D>  Urban, Keith. “Keith Urban – John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16 (Official Music Video).” YouTube.com. 2015.< https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEB_enUS885US885&ei=X8ffXtCaI8-WsAXMz4fIAg&q=john+3%3A16+keith+urban&oq=john+3%3A16+keith+urban&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzoECAAQR1CC2hBYpO4QYP_wEGgAcAN4AIABSIgB_QSSAQIxMZgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwiQxsi_ofXpAhVPC6wKHcznASkQ4dUDCAw&uact=5>
[8] Luke 7:45. NET.
[9] John 7:51. NKJV.
[10] John 7:52. NSRV.
[11] Luke 23:51.
[12] Matthew 27:57, Mark 15:43, Luke 23:50-52, John 19:38. Mark 15:43. Net.Bible.org. Footnote #1. <http://classic.net.bible.org/verse.php?book=Mar&chapter=15&verse=43#> Luke 23:50. Net.Bible.org. Footnote #2. <http://classic.net.bible.org/verse.php?book=Luk&chapter=23&verse=50>  “Who was Joseph of Arimathea? GotQuestions.org. image. n.d. <https://www.gotquestions.org/img/OG/Joseph-of-Arimathea.jpg> 
[13] Matthew 27:58-59; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:51-52; John 19:38.
[14] Mark 15:44.
[15] Mark 15;44-45.
[16] Luke 23:51.
[17] Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17-19, 39. CR Luk3 23:33.
[18] Matthew 27:57; John 19:40-42.
[19] Matthew 27:62-66; Luke 23:54; John 19:42.
[20] Matthew 27:62-27.
[21] Mark 16:3.
[22] John 3:1, 4, 9; 7:50, 19:39.