#656 Was God Deceiving His People by Raising Jesus?

Q

Dear Dr.Craig,

It seems that the core validation of Jesus is based on the historicity of the resurrection. That is, if we have a rational basis to believe the resurrection narrative is historical, it would seem to be a vindication of Jesus's claims of messiahship and divinity. Being that most of your debate opponents are naturalists, they would presumably agree; if Jesus was indeed raised from the dead, it would inevitably lead to theological consequences. That is why most of your discussions on the issues have revolved around the historical verification of the event and the possibility for naturalistic explanations.

One issue with this is that it presupposes that there is no super-naturalistic explanation. However, In Deuteronomy 13:1-6 (In the KJV it is 12:32-13:6) it states as follows:

Be careful to observe only that which I enjoin upon you: neither add to it nor take away from it. If there appears among you a prophet or a dream-diviner and he gives you a sign or a portent, saying, “Let us follow and worship another god”—whom you have not experienced—even if the sign or portent that he named to you comes true, do not heed the words of that prophet or that dream-diviner. For the Lord your God is testing you to see whether you really love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Follow none but the Lord your God, and revere none but Him; observe His commandments alone, and heed only His orders; worship none but Him and hold fast to Him. As for that prophet or dream-diviner, he shall be put to death; for he urged disloyalty to the Lord your God—who freed you from the land of Egypt and who redeemed you from the house of bondage—to make you stray from the path that the Lord your God commanded you to follow. Thus you will sweep out evil from your midst.

As I read these verses, it seemed like a gaping hole in the resurrection narrative from a Jewish perspective; as certainly the resurrection was to serve as a sign:

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:38-40)

I reached out to an Orthodox Jew, and as I expected, the response went something like this: God revealed himself at Sinai and established a covenant with us. He told us explicitly how to vet a potential false prophet; if he tells you to worship a god you nor your fathers have known – he is a false prophet – supernatural feats notwithstanding. The Jews certainly did not know nor worship Jesus or a triune god in the desert!

The first verse in Deuteronomy 13:1 (12:32 in KJV) cast even more doubt on Jesus as the sum total of Christianity requires an overhaul of the Mosaic law. In my correspondence with Christians they are quick to point out that Jesus was not coming to abolish the mosaic law: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17) But surely from a Jewish perspective, you can see why this would be rejected. Call it “fulfilling” if you want, the bible was abundantly clear; “…observe only that which I enjoin upon you: neither add to it nor take away from it…”.

To a Jew, I’m sure you can understand why Christianity would be viewed as a detraction. Why is a Jew to believe this is anything other than what God warned against? Christians are also quick to point out that Jesus did not claim to be a different god, rather he was a manifestation of the same God Israel had known. But this too is easily deflected; why should a Jew believe that Jesus is the same God? Jesus is an unknown mediator in their eyes!

In an attempt to answer this, Aron Wall, the author behind the “Undivided Looking” blog comments:

Suppose I instead use the evidence for the resurrection to argue that the resurrection happened. Do you take seriously the possibility that God did raise Jesus from the dead, but as a test for Israel? It seems from Deut 32:39 that only God would have the power to produce this particular sign. That might correspond to the literal words of Deuteronomy 13 if one interprets "testing" to mean that God himself produced the sign. But that would be a pretty strange religious worldview...

This answer seems wholly inadequate for a few reasons: 1) God seems to have clearly indicated that he will in fact test Israel: .“..do not heed the words of that prophet or that dream-diviner. For the Lord your God is testing you to see whether you really love the Lord…” 2) In Deuteronomy 32:39 it also states “There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life” Are we to believe that only God can kill? Surely, I can murder at will! 3) “Testing” Could be defined as God giving those he doesn’t condone abilities to perform supernatural stunts. Balaam would be a good example of this.

Others claim that resurrection is an exception and therefore not included in Deuteronomy 13. This seems like special pleading to me. As one blogger put it: “Deut 13 explicitly grants the possibility of miracles in false traditions and says, "Do not hearken unto that prophet." It says nothing about surviving an execution as an exception or some big standard. Why do Christians think the resurrection cancels/changes the Torah? According to what standard?” Seems reasonable to me. The only way I see the resurrection playing a role is if there is a priori reason to believe that Jesus is divine and is the messiah of the Old Testament. I have paid close attention to that discussion via the debates and writings of Dr.Michael Brown and Rabbi Tovia Singer etc. and it is far from a clear matter. Awaiting your response.

Ayal