Alright, so let's say that Jesus' "spirit" (or the Christ spirit) left him when he died on the cross in Mark. This brings up some questions. How does this idea fit with what Jesus says in Mk. 10:33-34?
They will condemn Him to death and hand Him over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise again.
What, then, is the difference between Jesus' spirit leaving him and Jesus' resurrection after three days?
And how does it fit with what Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:3-5?
... Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.
If Jesus' spirit had left him on the "first day," why did it/he wait until the third day to appear to people?
And who/what exactly is sitting at the right hand of God, Jesus' spirit that left him on the first day, or Jesus' physical body that was resurrected on the third day?
And why does 1 Peter not mention Jesus' physical body being resurrected in 3:18-19?
He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits ...
And what is the point of the empty tomb scene in Mark if Jesus' spirit was already in heaven? Why not end it there, then?
And I'm not sure I fully appreciate the significance of the Temple veil being torn and such at Jesus' crucifixion. I suppose these things are a "bookend' of sorts to the baptism, but the empty tomb scene also has an accompanying "bookend" in 16:4-7:
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ ”
This seems as (or more) significant to me than the Temple veil being torn and the centurion proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God (which I think pertain to Homer, as per MacDonald). This scene seems like the culmination of what Jesus had said in 10:33-34 rather than Jesus' spirit leaving him on the cross, and the dying part is only the first part of what Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:3-4 ("died ... buried ...raised on the third day"). To see 15:37 as a "bookend" to the baptism seems to ignore the significance of the "bookend" of Jesus being resurrected "on the third day" (and which literally
is the bookend of Mark).
What is the point of the resurrection if Jesus' spirit was already in heaven? Are there thus two "Jesuses" in heaven sitting at the right hand of God, the Christ spirit that left him when he died and Jesus' physical body that was resurrected three days later?