The Testimony of the Bible Concerning the Assumptions of Destructive Criticism by S. E. Wishard
page 62 of 77 (80%)
page 62 of 77 (80%)
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and three nights in the whale's belly, _so_ shall the Son of man be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." _As_ the one, _so_ the other. As certainly and literally the one, so certainly and literally the other. If Jonah's preservation and coming forth from the fish that God had prepared was only a legend, then was Christ's death, burial, and resurrection a legend. And in consistency with their critical theory some of the rationalists have reduced them both to legend. For _as_ one was, _so_ was the other to be. The statement is plain, definite narrative, from which there is no escape. Others of the critical school hold to the historical verity of Christ's burial and resurrection, but assert that he made use of the assumed legend concerning Jonah, as we might illustrate any fact in history by a familiar statement from fiction. To such an assumption we reply that our Lord was dealing with tremendous realities, such as could not be belittled by turning for support or illustration to a fictitious story. He quoted from Old Testament history to illustrate and enforce New Testament truth. On another occasion he said: "_As_ Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even _so_ must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life." Shall we hand over to legendary literature the great historical fact of the twenty-first chapter of Numbers--God's deliverance of the people from the fiery serpents--by one look at the uplifted brazen serpent by the hand of Moses? We may as well reduce one passage to fiction as the other. "_As_ Jonah ... three days and nights, _so_ the Son of man. _As_ the serpent was lifted up, _so_ the Son of man shall be lifted up." This comparison has a definite meaning. The apostle uses it in his Epistle to the Romans, fifth chapter and twelfth verse. "_As_ by one man sin entered into the world, ... _so_ death passed upon all men for that all have sinned." As certainly as sin entered into the world by |
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