Did the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Really Happen?
The early historian Eusebius (260-before
341 A.D.), Bishop of C¾sarea in Palestine and known to us as the "Father
of Church History," calculated that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ took place on the
fourteenth of Nissan, likely Friday, April 7th in the year of Rome
783, 30 A.D.. The event is dateable with a reasonable accuracy.
The importance of the resurrection
ÒThe resurrection of Jesus was an act of God in history, an
act of decisive importance for the Christian faith and comparable, according to
Paul, only to the act of creation from nothing (Rom. 4:17).Ó
1)
Everything that Jesus Christ taught, lived and dies for
depended upon His resurrection.
2)
Christianity is not founded upon an ideology, it is founded
upon a historical event.
A)
Christianity can only be affirmed if the resurrection is
presented as a historical event—else Christianity is a myth and our faith
is in vain.
3)
Without his
resurrection from the dead, JesusÕ crucifixion would only be seen as the final
disaster of JesusÕ career.
4)
The resurrection moves Christianity from the philosophical
realm and forces it to be an issue
of history
A)
Viewed from history the resurrection of Jesus Christ is either
historyÕs greatest delusion or the most fantastic fact ever recorded.
Christianity rises or falls on one historical event: the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus rose from the dead, then everything he
claimed is true–he is the Son of God, the Savior, the Messiah. If he did
not rise from the dead, then all the things he said and taught are worthless.
Paul says that if Jesus is not risen from the dead, the Christian faith is
empty and meaningless (1 Cor 15:17-19). Christians believe that Jesus did
indeed rise from the dead. One cannot claim to be a Christian unless he
believes this central doctrine (cf. 1 Cor 15: 1-4).
Did the Resurrection Happen?
Whether or not an event took place in the past can only be
settled by historical argument.
The scientific method relies upon observable and repeatable
events. Because individual events from history are not necessarily repeatable,
the scientific method cannot settle the historicity of past events. Therefore
the veracity of the resurrection can only be examined by the same criteria used
to verify the historicity of any other past event.
1. PREMISES
In order to
accept the resurrection, our presuppositions must include:
1) Truth is objective and to some degree
knowable.
2) Theism
(the existence of God).
3) The
possibility of miracles.
4) The
historical reliability of the Bible, esp. the NT.
The empty tomb
ÒThe empty tomb—taken by itself—is not the
decisive evidence for the Christian claim that Jesus had been raised from the
dead. But without admitting that friend and foe at Jerusalem knew the tomb was
empty, the situation of the early Christian proclamation of JesusÕ resurrection
at Jerusalem, of all places, is historically not conceivable.Ó
2. DID
JESUS RISE FROM THE DEAD?
All opinions
about the resurrection may be classified into nine groups. These nine groups
can be further clarified visually (with thanks to Josh McDowell, The
Resurrection Factor [San Bernardino,
Calif.: HereÕs Life, 1981], 63-103)
THE
EVIDENCE: In small groups, read over the
evidence regarding the resurrection.
The NT writers have rather obviously reached a conclusion in favor of
JesusÕ resurrection, but I want us to simply concentrate on the
evidence—factors to be reckoned with—and how that evidence fits
with the proposed options.
1 Corinthians
15:1-8
Mark
15:42-16:14
Matthew
27:57-28:15
Luke 23:50-24:12
Luke 24:13-49
John
19:31-21:1
FACTORS TO CONSIDER
1. Legend
2. Wrong/Unknown Tomb
3. Spiritual Resurrection
4. Hallucinations
5. Stolen by Authorities
6. Stolen by Disciples
7. Swooned
8. Mutant Bacteria (!)
9. God
ANALYSIS
A) Factors:
1)
500 eye witnesses
2)
Variety of witnesses at various times
3)
Jesus died
4)
Believers still believing
5)
Joseph—knew where the tomb was
6)
Women knew the tomb
7)
Women saw Jesus first
8)
Confirmed dead
9)
Tomb was sealed by Romans
10)
A Roman guard was set
11)
Jesus talks and has a touchable body
12)
Disciples were not expecting a resurrection
13)
The tomb was empty—witnessed by Peter, John and Mary
14)
Grave cloths were still there (i.e., why take the body and not
take the ceremonial wrappings?)
15)
Jesus eats
16)
Jesus has wounds
17)
Stabbed in the side by Roman Òdeath expertÓ flies in the face
of the Swoon Theory
1)
Motive
2)
Means
3)
Opportunity
B)
Wrong tomb theory
a)
Joseph and the two Marys knew where the tomb was
b)
All the authorities would have had to do to refute the
disciples was go to the ÒrightÓ tomb
C)
Legend theory
B)
If only a legend, then they could have produced a
body—but they could not
D)
Body stolen by the authorities
a)
If so, why did they not produce the body when the disciples
were preaching Jesus risen in the Temple?
The best answer is that the New
Testament reports the truth because too many people knew the truth.
We can
suggest the following in support of JesusÕ resurrection.
1. The
death of Jesus was actual, literal and genuine. He did not just pass
out, faint or temporarily lose consciousness. The crucifixion extinguished
JesusÕ physical life.
Roman soldiers crucified
Jesus and finished the execution. To quicken death, they broke the legs of the
two criminals crucified on each side of Jesus. But when they came to Jesus they
did not break his legs, because from experience they knew he was already dead.
As a final precaution, however, they thrust a spear into his side, thus
insuring his death. Further, those who handled JesusÕ body after removing it
from the cross were convinced that he was really dead.
2. The
gravesite was secure.
The Jewish leaders met with
Pilate to urge him to secure the gravesite. They said Jesus had predicted he
would rise in 3 days. To assure that the disciples could not conspire in a
resurrection hoax, Pilate ordered the official seal of Rome to be attached to
the tomb to prevent any grave-robbers from tampering with the tomb. To enforce
the order, soldiers stood guard. A huge stone was rolled in front of the tomb
as added security.
3. The
tomb was found empty.
On the morning after the Sabbath,
some of Jesus' followers went to the grave to anoint his body. But when they
arrived, they were surprised at what they found: the huge stone had been moved
and Jesus' body was gone. As word got out, two disciples rushed to the burial
site. The tomb was empty except for Jesus' burial wrappings, which were lying
neatly in place. In the meantime, some of the guards had gone into Jerusalem to
tell the Jewish officials that they had fainted in the presence of a
supernatural being that rolled the stone away. And when they woke up, the tomb
was empty. The officials paid the guards a large sum of money to lie and say
that the disciples stole the body while the soldiers slept.
4. Many
people claimed to have seen the resurrected Christ.
Paul wrote that himself, Peter
and the other apostles, James, and more than 500 people at one time had seen
the resurrected Christ (1 Cor 15:5-8). By making such a public statement, he
gave critics a chance to check out his claims for themselves. In addition, Luke
begins his second book (Acts) by saying that Jesus Òpresented Himself alive
after his suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by [the apostles]
during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of GodÓ
(Acts 1:3). Eyewitness testimony is very strong.
5. The
apostles changed dramatically after the resurrection.
JesusÕ disciples were in a
state of panic and utter depression after the crucifixion. Even Peter, who
earlier had insisted that he was ready to die for his teacher, lost heart and
denied that he even knew Jesus. But the apostles went through a dramatic change
after the resurrection. Soon they were courageously standing face to face with
the ones who had crucified their leader. Their spirit was like iron. They
became unstoppable in their determination to obey the risen Christ. Even
threats of imprisonment, torture and death did not stop them (Acts 5:42).
6. The
apostles were willing to die for their claims.
While itÕs not uncommon for
people to be willing to die for what they believe to be the truth, few if any
will die for what they know to be a lie. That fact is important because the
disciples of Christ did not die for deeply held beliefs about which they could
have been honestly mistaken. They died for their claims to have seen Jesus
alive and well after his resurrection. They never would have willingly gone to
their deaths for what they knew to be a lie.
7. Jewish
Christians changed their day of worship.
The Sabbath day of rest and
worship was basic to the Jewish way of life. Any Jew who did not honor the
Sabbath was guilty of breaking the Law of Moses. Yet Jewish followers of Christ
began worshiping with Gentile believers on a new day. The first day of the
week, the day on which they believed Christ had risen from the dead, replaced
the Sabbath. For a Jew, it reflected a major change of life. The new day, along
with the Christian conversion rite of baptism, declared that those who believed
Christ had risen from the dead were ready for more than a renewal of Judaism.
They believed that the death and resurrection of Christ had cleared the way for
a new relationship with God.
8. Jesus
and the prophets predicted the resurrection.
Jesus repeatedly claimed that
it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem to die and be resurrected from the
dead. Isaiah also predicted a suffering servant who would bear the sins of
Israel, being led like a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53).
9. The
resurrection is central in the preaching of the Gospel.
The message that the apostles
took to the Òends of the earthÓ was a message of the resurrection of Christ. As
one reads through the book of Acts, he finds that the good news always included
the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. The resurrection was not added to the
message years later. The Gospel without a resurrection is no Gospel at all.
Faith in the resurrection is not a side issue; it is the essence of
Christianity.
10. The very existence
of the Church argues for the reality of the resurrection.
If the resurrection never
happened, what explains the transformation of that small band of terrified
disciples in to men and women who were willing to suffer and die because of
their refusal to renounce JesusÕ resurrection? What changed them into bold,
confident, courageous witnesses, willing to carry the gospel to every corner of
the world? Only the resurrection explains it.
The conclusion to all this evidence strongly suggests
that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead. Good, honest, trustworthy people who
had nothing to gain and everything to lose believed that Jesus rose from the
dead. However, skeptics and critics of the Bible suggest the following false
theories as to what ÒreallyÓ happened after the crucifixion:
x
The Swoon
Theory
Jesus did not really die, he
only fainted; therefore the disciples saw only a revived or resuscitated
Christ. When he was placed in the tomb, he was still alive and the disciples,
mistaking him for dead, buried him alive. After several hours, he revived in
the coolness of the tomb, arose, and departed.
The absurdity of this theory
is apparent.
First, the Roman soldiers
were convinced that he was dead even before they speared him.
Second, the idea that Jesus
could revive in the tomb, push away the stone, overcome the soldiers and
convince his disciples that he had miraculously risen from the dead is simply
beyond belief.
Third, the linen wrappings
that clothed JesusÕ dead body were undisturbed in the tomb.
x
The Hallucination Theory
Those who claimed to see
Jesus after the crucifixion were hallucinating. The apostles so desired and
expected to see Jesus that they experienced mass hallucinations.
Again, the impossibility of
this is apparent. How could so many people have hallucinations–especially
500 at one time? Hallucinations are not contagious. Furthermore, the
appearances happened under different conditions and at different times. And,
donÕt forget, the disciples were reluctant to believe in the resurrection in
the first place! Plus, they didnÕt simply see Jesus; they touched him and spoke
to Him. This false theory simply is irrational.
x
The Impersonation Theory
This is the view that the
appearances were not really Christ at all, but someone impersonating Him. This,
the opponents say, is evident because in some cases they did not recognize him
at first (or at all). However, several facts show this theory to be implausible.
1. The
disciples were reluctant to believe in the resurrection, were doubtful and
would have been hard to convince unless it was really him, as was the case with
Thomas.
2. It
would have been impossible to impersonate ChristÕs wounds. This was ChristÕs proof
to Thomas that it was really he (cf. John 20:24f).
3. At
times their inability to recognize him was a phenomenon of his glorified body
brought about by his own purposes as in Luke 24:16, ÒBut their eyes were
restricted that they should not recognize Him.Ó
4. These
men had close personal interaction with the Lord for three years. It is highly
improbable that an impersonator could have deceived them.
5. They
were meeting in locked chambers in some instances, and he suddenly appeared and
then vanished. No one could fake such miraculous acts.
x
The Spiritual Resurrection Theory
This is the view that
ChristÕs resurrection was not a real physical resurrection. Proponents of this
theory assert that ChristÕs body remained in the grave and his real
resurrection was spiritual in nature. The story was told as it was to
illustrate the truth of spiritual resurrection. This is what many liberals
believe. However, this theory lacks credibility for several reasons.
1. A
physical body did disappear from the tomb. If it was only a spiritual
resurrection, then what happened to the body? History shows there was a body
there and it disappeared.
2. The
resurrection accounts are not presented in parabolic or symbolic language, but
as hard fact. John 20 is full of what Greek grammarians call vivid historical
present tenses to stress the historical reality of the Gospel message.
3. The
record states he was touched and handled, that he had a body, and
that he even ate with the disciples (Luke 24:30, 41f; John 21:12f).
4. First
Corinthians 15 teaches us that Christ not only arose, but that he arose bodily.
He possessed a glorified body which had unique capacities. First Corinthians
15:44 calls it a spiritual body, but it was nevertheless a physical body as
well. Note the following facts about the body of Christ:
Ÿ
He could appear in different forms (Mark16:12).
Ÿ
He could eat, though it was not needed for
sustenance (Luke 24:30).
Ÿ
He could appear and disappear and could pass through
solid objects (John 20:19, 26).
Ÿ
He could pass in a moment from one place to another
(Luke 24:31).
Philippians 3:21 shows that
his body was glorious and unique, but nevertheless, still a body according to
which our bodies will one day be fashioned. So, it was spiritual, glorified,
and yet a physical body of flesh and bone.
x
The Theft Theory
The disciples or someone else
stole the body. Matthew 28:11-15 indicates that the Jewish leaders paid off the
soldiers who guarded the tomb, encouraging them to tell the authorities that
the disciples stole the body.
Who COULD and WOULD steal the body under the circumstances?
1. The
Romans could have but would
not have. Pilate had agreed to have guards
watch and seal the tomb in order to prevent such a theft.
2. The
Jewish leaders could not and would
not. They were the ones who had requested a
guard to protect the tomb against theft (Mt 27:63-66). The presence of the
soldiers and the seal over the door made it virtually impossible for anyone to
steal the body.
If any of the enemies of Jesus
had taken the body, they would have brought it forward as soon as any claims of
resurrection were made. The easiest way to end the whole affair would have been
to parade the corpse of Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem, proving to
everyone that he was still dead. The fact that they didnÕt do that suggests that
they didnÕt have the body.
3. The
women could not and would not, for they were wondering who would remove the stone
for them when they went early Sunday morning to finish burial preparations (cf.
Mark16:3-4).
4. The
disciples could not and would
not because they were perplexed and
scattered, huddled together in locked rooms. Some had even left town. The
likelihood of these timid, anxious, disorganized men stealing the body of Jesus
out from under the noses of a guard of highly disciplined and skilled soldiers
while they all slept (an offense punishable by death) is ridiculous.
x
The Mistaken (or Unknown) Tomb Theory
One of the earliest false
theories suggests that the disciples did not know where the tomb was located
and probably went to the wrong empty tomb. This theory depends on the belief
that those who were crucified were tossed into a common pit and that no one was
sure where the authorities put the corpse.
This theory also disregards
the straightforward historical narrative about the events surrounding ChristÕs
burial and the post-resurrection scene. The Gospel record indicates that Joseph
of Arimathea received permission from Pilate to take the body to his own
private tomb, not to a public mass burial ground. According to Scripture, the
body of Christ was prepared for burial according to the burial customs of the
Jews. Everyone involved knew where the tomb was. ItÕs simply irrational to
think that the disciples would all go to the wrong tomb.
None of these theories adequately deals with the
evidence of the known facts that surrounded the resurrection of our Lord. In
order to believe such theories, one must totally reject the NT record, which
there is no good reason to do. The evidence clearly asserts that he arose, and
the resurrection marks him out as the Son of God (Rom 1:4), the Savior of the
world.
If one comes to the conclusion that the NT records are
basically reliable, he would also have to grant that Jesus must have risen from
the dead. If so, He is exactly who he claimed to be.
Conclusion:
WeÕve seen that there is adequate
evidence to believe that the resurrection actually did occur. ItÕs an
historical event beyond doubt. All the theories that attempt to explain away
the resurrection have proven to be absurd and/or unreasonable.
Discussion:
1. What
is the primary source of information about the resurrection? The NT.
2. What
makes the resurrection such an important event? Because Christianity is based on it. ItÕs the central
doctrine of the faith.
3. What
do you think are the strongest lines of evidence that Jesus rose from the
dead? The empty tomb,
eyewitness testimony, accurate reporting of events.
4. What
must skeptics assume in order to discount the resurrection? They have to assume that the NT
records are wrong.
5. How
can you convince someone that the resurrection is true if he or she does not
believe the NT records? You
canÕt. One must trust that the Bible is true because itÕs the only source of
information on the topic. But thereÕs good reason to believe that the NT
records are true.