RESURECTING LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN
Luke 16:19
There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day...ย
- High Priests were required to wear a purple robe during this time period, -
1 Maccabees 10
20 And so we have appointed you today to be the High Priest of your nation; you are to be called the king's Friend and you are to take our side and keep friendship with us." He also sent him a purple robe and a golden crown only the High Priest was allowed to wear.ย
- while no one else, person or priest, was allowed to dress in purple -
1 Maccabees 14
38 "In view of these things King Demetrius confirmed him in the high priesthood... 43 and that he should be obeyed by all, and that all contracts in the country should be written in his name, and that he should be clothed in purple and wear gold. 44 None of the people or priests shall be permitted to nullify any of these decisions or to oppose what he says, or to convene an assembly in the country without his permission, or to be clothed in Purple.
- And during recent excavations of the High Priests residence at the Jerusalem Temple, archaeologists found a large number of murex snail shells, which were used to make the blue and purple dyes for religious garments.ย
[archaeology .org/issues/november-december-2020/letters-from/Israel-purple-dye]ย
Additionally, consistent with with the description of the rich man in -
Luke 16:28
28 for I have five brothers โ that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.'ย
-, Caiaphas, who was the High Priest during Jesusโs ministry, had exactly 5 brothers, -
โข Eleazar ben Ananus
โข Jonathan ben Ananus
โข Theophilus ben Ananus
โข Matthias ben Ananus
โข Ananus ben Ananusย
[en.m.wikipedia .org/wiki/Caiaphas]
- each of whom also later served as High Priest.ย
This, combined with the fact that the High Priest was required to dress in purple while no one else was allowed, confirms the identity of the "rich man who was dressed in purple" in Lk 16.19 as the High Priest Caiaphas, beyond any reasonable doubt. As the story continues -
Luke 16:29-31
29 Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them." 30 He said, "No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent." 31 He said to him, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."
- when Abraham was unwilling to grant Caiaphas's request to raise Lazarus from the dead, Jesus was. -
John 11:43-44
43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
- After Jesus resurrected Lazarus, Caiaphas then became resurrected from Hades (earthly hell / spiritual death), as evidenced by his new attitude -
John 11:47; 49-52
47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, "What are we to do? This man is performing many signs... 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all! 50 You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed." 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God.ย
- towards his new friend, Jesus.
It is also worth noting that the names Ciaphas and Cephas (Peter) are a "shoot from the same root", the Aramaic root word Kepa, which means rock or stone.
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May the Spirit of the One Truth be Within us ALL ๐