No ke aha i kahaha ai na haumana?

It is often alleged that the disciples, having been told by Jesus of his impending resurrection, simply could not accept that this could really be the end; and so deluded themselves into believing that Jesus was still alive. Eia naʻe, this is at odds with the New Testament evidence, as discussed below.

ʻAʻole i manaʻo nā haumāna i ke alahouana.

a) Ke haʻi mau nei nā ʻeuanelio iā mākou, although Jesus had predicted his death and resurrection, the disciples completely failed to understand what he was saying and didn’t believe the news when they heard it (e.g. Mt 16:21-3, 17:22-3, 20:17; Ua haʻi aku ʻo Mk 16:11,13,14; Lk 24:11,25; Ua haʻi ʻo Jn 2:19, 16:16-32, 20:2,25).

b) The disciples had regarded Jesus as the Messiah (ka Kristo) Ua haʻi ʻo Jn 1:49, Ua haʻi ʻo Jn 6:69, Mt 16:16 [Ua haʻi aku ʻo Mk 8:27, Lk 9:20], Ua haʻi ʻo Jn 11:27, Lk 24:21. The problem was that, as with Jews in general up to the present day, their concept of the Messiah was as a victorious deliverer who would free his country from foreign oppression. I ka manao Iudaio, a dead Messiah was no Messiah at all. Iesu’ death had dashed their expectations and proved them wrong. No laila ka ʻike maopopo ʻole ʻana o nā haumāna ʻelua ma ke ala ʻo ʻEmausa, ʻoiai ua lohe mua lākou i ka moʻolelo wahine (Lk 24:17-24).

c) Although there are a few resurrection miracles recorded in the Old Testament, the general apprehension in Jesus’ lā, as much as in ours, ʻaʻole hoʻi i ola ka poʻe make. I ke ʻano wae, even though Jesus had raised two dead people himself, no-one had ever been raised except through the agency of a mighty prophet – and their prophet was dead: none had ever raised themselves.

D) The women’s concern was that they hadn’t had time to give Jesus a decent burial (the body had not been removed from the cross till the evening, e like me ka mea i hoike mua ia). They had spent their time over the weekend preparing spices so that they could finish the job when the Sabbath was over (Ua haʻi aku ʻo Mk 16:1, Lk 23:56-24:1).

Hoʻi i ka ʻatikala nui.

A non-physical resurrection would have been easier for them to accept than a physical one.

a) Although traditional Jewish thought tended to regard spirit, soul and body as an integrated whole, and the Sadducees denied any possibility of a separate spiritual existence or of any resurrection, the Pharisees, with whom Jesus sided on this issue, acknowledged that the spirit survived after death. The Old Testament includes an account of a confrontation between King Saul and the spirit of Samuel (1 Sam 28:11-9). This belief is also reflected in Jesus’ parable of Dives and Lazarus (Lk 16:19-31). Other examples could also be cited.

b) More significantly the gospels indicate that the disciples’ own thoughts tended naturally to this type of interpretation. We can see this in the account of Jesus walking on the water; where the first assumption they are stated to have made was that they were seeing a spirit (Mt 14:26 [Ua haʻi aku ʻo Mk 6:49, Lk 24:37]). Like me, we have the account of the transfiguration, where Jesus is seen conversing with Moses and Elijah (Mt 17:3 [Ua haʻi aku ʻo Mk 9:4, Lk 9:30]). (The point to note here is that, irrespective of what you make of the miraculous events described, they still give us an insight into the way they thought.)

Hoʻi i ka ʻatikala nui.