Steven Carr

Acts 1
9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky?

The word for taken up is 'epeiro'. Does this imply vertical motion , so that the resurrected Jesus got to heaven , by travelling via the sky?

Isn't that just absurd? Should we trust eyewitness accounts of the resurrected Jesus, when they so clearly contradict science?

On the other hand, on page 655 of 'The Resurrection of the Son of God', NT Wright says there may not have been a vertical motion involved.

Of course, he never discusses the meanings of 'epeiro' to be found in lexicons. Perhaps some experts in tracking down sources can find out what sources Wright used for his claim that 'epeiro' in Acts 1 is not to be taken as a vertical motion to a region somwehere above us.

jgibson000

To be precise, the word that is translated as "taken up" in the translation you cite is EPHRQH (epe^rthe^), the aorist indicative passive 3rd person singular form of EPAIRAW (not epeiro), And if you look in LSJ and BDAG you'll see that the verb in the passive (as well as in the active) was not used so much (or all that frequently) to signify literal vertical motion as it was to signify such activities as "rising up against/opposing someone", "adopting the posture of prayer" (when used with the noun for "hands"), " taking on airs", "leaving the table after finishing a meal", "inducing or persuading someone", "regaining courage" (when used with the noun for "head") and, notably, when used of persons, "exalting someone" – a meaning which is particularly fitting in Acts 1:9 since what we have in the larger passage is a story which ultimately is speaking of Jesus exaltation to the right hand of the God of Israel.

Hope this helps.

Jeffrey

Steven Carr

If Jesus stayed where he was, and just exalted himself, why did the disciples look into the sky?

2 Corinthians 10:5 has the meaning of exalting someone

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

as does 2 Cor. 11:20 For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour [you], if a man take [of you], if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face.

In both cases, exalting someone is regarded as a bad thing, and you don't have to look towards heaven to see them doing it.

Otherwise, it is used almost exclusively in the NT to mean lifting something up, often eyes - vertical motion is implied.

jgibson000

Acts 1:9 does not say Jesus exalted himself. The verb is not middle. It's passive. Given this and the implication of what the two men in white robes say in 1:11, the actor here is the God of Israel.

Jeffrey

Steven Carr

Jesus was the God of Israel, was he not?

Jesus was God the Son. How can you be God, and then get exalted? Surely being God is quite an exalted position in the first place.

And if Jesus did not move ,but stayed in the same place , with a new exalted job title, why did the disciples look into the sky, and why could they not see him any more?

Clearly the word means 'was lifted up'.

The idea that Jesus was fully human, and became 'exalted' in status is purer Mormonism.

Curiously, on page 529 , of the Resurrection of the Son of God , the Bishop of Durham uses exalted to mean lifted up 'According to His mercies He exalted me [or: raised me up]'

I guess the two meanings are not so far apart after all.

Clivedurdle

Is there a basic problem here because of passive and active verbs?

Dog bites Prime Minister is active, but a newspaper headline writer would write "Prime Minister bitten by dog" to attract attention because here the object is more important than the subject.

Use of the passive allows subjects to be left out or assumed. Does use of the passive then allow the subsequent insertion of fictional subjects - like God?

Has religion been argued by anyone to be something caused by language?

Steven Carr

The New Testament often uses passive tense with no mention of an actor, to imply that God was the agent. For example, 'Your sins are forgiven'

jgibson000

Not according to the author of Acts, he wasn't (cf., e.g. Acts 2:32).

Jeffrey