tfs:
Therefore Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple… many of the crowd put faith in him…(emphasis mine) --Matt 7: 28-31 (John 7:31 See also:John 8:30;John 10:42
I said ‘many’ and the scripture says ‘many’. One scripture alone saying that ‘many’ put faith him should suffice but if you take the time to look up the scriptures cited here you will find several instances of this being recorded. It appears that the religious leaders of the day were also concerned about the numbers that were being convinced.
and the Pharisees gathered the San'he·drin together and began to say: “What are we to do, because this man performs many signs? If we let him alone this way, they will all put faith in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. John 11: 47-48 –NWT
See also John 12:42 (quoted below)
All the same, many even of the rulers actually put faith in him --NWT
See also Mark 2:15; John 2:23; 12:11.
The 120 gathered at Pentecost did not necessarily comprise all of the believers. This is yet one more example of liberties being taken with the scriptures, one more argument based on a foundation of sand.
You mentioned the resurrections that Jesus performed. I now call your attention to one of these, namely the resurrection of Lazarus. It’s in one of the scriptures I cited above but I’ll quote it here for your convenience. Concerning what happened after Jesus resurrected his friend, here is what John records at John 11:44
Therefore many of the Jews that had come to Mary and that beheld what he did put faith in him
Did you notice the phrase “many of the Jews…put faith in him”? One of your own examples defeats your argument.
Your statement: “The "MANY," you have referred were not among the Jewish nation at all. “ Now you are arguing against scripture. You will now have to qualify your statement (revise it) or stand in opposition to scripture. Which will it be?
You further state:
So, the "many," you must be referring to, then, are the ones that truly manifested faith, and obedience to God's Word, the "many," who really responded, the "gentile" converts.
The scriptures cited speak only of Jews. There are reference to many Samaritans putting faith in Jesus but I left these out since you have chosen to argue against there being many Jews doing so. If you go back to my post, however, you will find that nowhere did I qualify the ‘many’ that I mentioned. You chose to assume (presume) that I was speaking of Jews and therefore take issue with what I said. This is yet another very common tactic, that of obfuscation of the real issue. However, I accepted your unmerited challenge and have provided you with scriptural proof (no interpretation needed here) that you are the one in error. How will you respond to this? Will you be forthright about it?
no "many" among them (Israelite nation) that did. Only a "few", just as Jesus said. So, you are greatly mistaken, sir.
What say you of the scriptures that contradict you? Again, you are going to have to back up and qualify (revise) your assertions in order to save face. Such is the fate of all who presumptuously lunge forward to correct their fellow man on God’s will. Jesus cautioned against this sort of behavior with a simple but powerful illustration of a straw and a rafter. You have just been presented with facts that you obviously overlooked when you made your rash statements in retaliation to my posts. This does nothing as far as instilling confidence in your ‘sacred secrets’. I would have been far more impressed (now I am amused) had you approached this in a more balanced and humble manner. Your demeanor betrays you.
-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-