Resurrection witnessed by women - ridiculous!

From the very earliest time we have people, Celsius in this case, deriding Jesus's resurrection, not least because it was witnessed first by "[a] hysterical female":

"... but after death he rose again and showed the marks of his punishment and how his hands had been pierced. But who saw this? A hysterical female, as you say, and perhaps some other one of those who were deluded by the same sorcery, who either dreamt in a certain state of mind and through wishful thinking had a hallucination due to some mistaken notion (an experience which has happened to thousands), or, which is more likely, wanted to impress the others by telling this fantastic tale, and so by this cock-and-bull story to provide a chance for other beggars." Celsus in Origen Contra Celsum 2.55, from Huffman, Douglas S, 1997, "The Historical Jesus of Ancient Unbelief", JETS, 40/4, p.560.

If you make something up you wouldn't have, to a Roman mind, such an 'unreliable' witness!

Jesus is risen. HE is risen indeed. Hallelujah!

Wisdom is an eschatological virtue (Snodgrass, 2018, p.503)

I very much like Snodgrass's phrase which forms the heading for this post. He is discussing the parable of the Faithful/Unfaithful Servant (Matt.24:45-51/Lk. 12:42-46) and Jesus's call for us as faithful servants to do good and act justly. As Simon Ponsoby said in a recent sermon (20/10/19) "it is always the right time to do the right thing".

Snodgrass goes on to explain that "The church cannot afford to neglect the eschatological aspect of its message. An understanding of the gospel that does not include the future is not the Christian gospel and is insufficient for dealing with the problem of evil. ... At the same time Christians must avoid any fascination with and speculation about the end. The nature of the documents does not encourage or allow drawing of charts and schedules to plot out the sequence of events. Any attempts to do so founders on the NT evidence itself, and that was not the purpose of the eschatological teaching. Its purpose was to give warning, to give hope, and to teach people how to live in the present."

Snodgrass then goes on to consider the fact that 2,000 years have passed and stresses the need both for patience AND IMpatience:
"Patience undergirds the faithful living which is the primary concern of this parable. The wise and faithful Christian is the one who understands the significance of the end and actively serves, whether the time is long or short. Impatience is called for as well. We should be impatient with those who assert they do know the time and draw eschatological charts. We should be as impatient with those who deny the importance of Jesus's future vindication. Further, we should be impatient for the end to come, weary of evil and longing for that time when evil is set aside and righteousness is established. Christian faith is always faith on tiptoe, looking to that day, and because of that day, living in accord with such anticipation. ... Christian faith is not about believing certain ideas but about living out convictions over the long haul. The church is often impressed with claims to faith. Claims and short-lived faith suffice for nothing. What counts is faithfulness to the end." (Snodgrass, KR, 2018, Stories with intent, p.504-5)

Truly "Wisdom is an eschatological virtue."

Jesus's preparation of his disciples for his death and resurrection

Jesus often spoke of his death and resurrection but the disciples just failed to understand (see eg The Disciples Who Didn’t Get It). What I think is often missed is that Jesus spoke in HIS parables about the Master/King going away and coming back. Five in particular:

• The Doorkeeper (Mark 13:34-36)
• The Talents (Mat. 25:14-30)
• The Minas (Luke 20:9-19)
• The Wicked Tenants (all Synoptics eg Mark 12:1-12)
• The Faithful or Unfaithful Servant (Mat. 24:45-51 & Luke 12:42-46)

There are also allusions in others. Most poignantly in The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) at the conclusion "... If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." (NRSVA).

Now these are considered (correctly as I have no great insight to suggest otherwise) about Jesus's Second Coming but I would like to venture that these might also have prepared the disciples for Jesus's death and resurrection, albeit if only subliminally?

Snodgrass's wise caution on parables

"... we must remember that parables are vignettes, not systems, and certainly not systematic theologies." p429

(Snodgrass, KR, 2018, Stories with intent, 2nd edition.)