Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Seidel Abel Boanerges I. The Significance of the Resurrection 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 - Paul gives six disastrous consequences if Jesus did not rise from the dead: 1) Preaching Christ would be senseless (v. 14) 2) Faith in Christ would be useless (v. 14) 3) All the witnesses and preachers of the resurrection would be liars (v. 15) 4) No one would be redeemed from sin (v. 17) 5) All former believers would have perished (v.18) 6) Christians would be the most pitiable people on the earth (v. 19). The Resurrection of Jesus Christ ü Ensures Our Regeneration 1 Peter 1:3 ü Ensures Our Justification Romans 4:25 ü Ensures Our Bodily Resurrection 1 Corinthians 15:12-58 II. History 101 When it comes to history, we can only speak of probability, not absolute certainty. I may believe that Moorlands College was founded in 1948, but I could be wrong. My belief about a historical event solely rests on eyewitness accounts, which may be right or might contain inaccuracies, misunderstandings, or deliberate fabrications. I was not personally present at these events. Absolute certainty cannot be possible with historical events. In historical inquiry, professional historians talk in terms of the strength of probability that an event occurred. Graham Twelftree sets a standard for belief that something was really said or truly happened at the point when the reasons for accepting it significantly outweigh the reasons for rejecting it. Five historical principles speak to Resurrection 1. Multiple, independent sources support historical claims 2. Attestation by an enemy supports historical claims 3. Embarrassing admissions support historical claims 4. Eyewitness testimony supports historical claims 5. Early testimony supports historical claims 1
III. Prophecies of his Resurrection There are close to 15 references in the whole of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) where Jesus predicted his own resurrection. The point to be noted here is that Jesus never predicted his death without adding that He would come back to life again. To quote some of them: Matthew 12:38-40; 16:21; 17:9; 17:22, 23; 20:18, 19; 26:32; 27:63. Mark 8:31-9:1; 9:10; 9:31; 10:32-34; 14:28, 58. Luke 9:22-27. John 2:18-22, 12:34; Chapters 14-16. IV. Evidences for his Death and Burial 1. Christian Sources: All four gospels, Acts, some of Paul s letters, etc. 2. Non-Biblical Sources a) Flavius Josephus, Jewish Historian (A.D. 90-95) - Antiquities, 18:3:3 b) Tacitus, Roman Historian (A.D. 115) - Annals, 15:44) c) Lucian, Greek Writer (2nd Century A.D) The Death of Peregrine, 11-13 d) The Talmud, Central Text of Rabbinic Judaism Sanhedrin 43a e) Mara Bar Serapion, Stoic Philosopher (c.100-300 A.D) Letter to his Son Josephus: Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day. Tacitus: Nero fastened the guilt [of the burning of Rome] and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus. 2
Lucian: The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property. Talmud: "On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, "He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy. 3. Medical Evidence a) The Flogging: The usual instrument was a short whip with several single or braided leather thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones were tied at intervals the man was stripped of his clothing, and his hands were tied to an upright post The back, buttocks, and legs were flogged. The scourging was intended to weaken the victim to a state just short of collapse or death. As the Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim s back with full force, the iron balls would cause deep contusions, and the leather thongs and sheep bones would cut into the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles ( On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ, Journal of the American Medical Association b) When the wrists were nailed to the cross, the driven nail would crush or sever the rather large sensorimotor median nerve. V. Evidences for his Resurrection 1. The Empty Tomb Jerusalem Factor: Impossible for Christianity to survive and expand in Jerusalem if the body was still in the tomb. Enemy Attestation: Early polemics presuppose the empty tomb (Matt 28:12-13). Testimony of Women 2. The Grave Clothes If they had stolen the body why would they leave the grave clothes behind? 3
3. The Roman Seal was broken The consequences of breaking the seal were extremely severe. If the Roman Empire were called into action to find the man or men who were responsible, it meant automatic execution by crucifixion upside down. People feared the breaking of the seal. Jesus' disciples displayed signs of cowardice when they hid themselves. Then this act should be of the one who is not afraid of the Roman Government. 4. Resurrection appearances: Jesus made fifteen appearances after his resurrection: a) His first appearance was to Mary Magdalene, on that early Sunday morning. (Mark 16:9; John 20:10-18). b) Jesus appeared to the women returning from the tomb. (Matthew 28:9-10). c) Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. (Luke 24:13-32; Mark 16:12-13). d) He appeared to Peter in Jerusalem. (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5). e) He appeared to his disciples and other followers, and also a second time to the two men from Emmaus, in a locked room in Jerusalem. The apostle Thomas wasn't there at that time. (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-23). f) A week later, Jesus again appeared to his disciples behind locked doors, and this time Thomas was present. (John 20:24-29). g) Jesus appeared to seven of his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. (John 21:1-24). h) Jesus was seen by 500 believers at one time. (1 Corinthians 15:6). i) He appeared to James. (1 Corinthians 15:7). j) He appeared to eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee. (Matthew. 28:17). k) He walked with his disciples along the road to Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, and then ascended into Heaven. (Luke 24:50-53). l) He was seen by Paul on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9:3-6; 1 Corinthians 15:8). m) To Stephen. (Acts 7:55). n) To Paul in the Temple. (Acts 22:17-21, 23:11). o) To John at Patmos. (Revelation 1:10-19). 5. Transformed lives of the disciples Despairing Doubters to Persevering Proclaimers: Radical transformation in their views of the Messiah. 4
VI. Inadequate Theories Wrong Tomb? This theory assumes that the women who reported that the body was missing had mistakenly gone to the wrong tomb. If so, then the disciples who went to check up on the women's statement must have also gone to the wrong tomb. We may be certain, however, that Jewish authorities, who asked for a Roman guard to be stationed at the tomb to prevent Jesus' body from being stolen, would not have been mistaken about the location. Nor would the Roman guards, for they were there! If the resurrection-claim was merely because of a geographical mistake, the Jewish authorities would have lost no time in producing the body from the proper tomb, thus effectively quenching for all time any rumour of resurrection. Did Jesus Swoon? Another theory often quoted today is the swoon theory, which says that Jesus didn't die; he merely fainted from exhaustion and loss of blood. Everyone thought Him dead, but later He resuscitated and the disciples thought it to be a resurrection. How could a swooning halfdead man have moved the great stone at the door of the tomb? Jesus could not have survived crucifixion. Roman procedures were very careful to eliminate that possibility. Roman law even laid the death penalty on any soldier who let a capital prisoner escape in any way, including bungling a crucifixion. The body was totally encased in winding sheets and entombed (John 19:38-42). Was the Body Stolen? There is another theory that the body of Jesus was stolen by the disciples while the guards slept. The depression and cowardice of the disciples provide a hard-hitting argument against their suddenly becoming so brave and daring as to face a detachment of soldiers at the tomb and steal the body. They were in no mood to attempt anything like that. If the authorities had the stolen body in their possession or knew where it was, when the disciples were preaching the resurrection in Jerusalem, they could have just presented the body. Hallucination Theory? Another attempted explanation claims that the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection were either illusions or hallucinations. Hallucinations are private, individual and subjective. The five hundred saw Christ together, at the same time and place. Does that mean five hundred private "hallucinations"? Hallucinations usually last a few seconds or minutes; rarely hours. This one hung around for forty days (Acts 1:3). The disciples touched him (Matthew 28:9; Luke 24:39; John 20:27). They also spoke with him, and he spoke back. 5
Jesus Resurrection copied from pagan myths? The idea that the resurrection story of Jesus is based on pagan mythology is unconvincing for a number of reasons. The alleged pagan parallels to Jesus resurrection are 1) not similar at all; 2) most of them postdate Christianity; 3) may not be referring to an actual physical resurrection; 4) lack historical evidence. The resurrection of Jesus is a unique account. With a research into the other resurrection accounts, we can safely conclude that there is no evidence that the death and resurrection of Jesus is a mythological construct. Bibliography Craig, William Lane, The Son Rises: Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus, Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2000 Habermas, Gary and Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2004 Licona, Michael R., The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010 Strobel, Lee, The Case for the Resurrection, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010 Wright, N.T., The Resurrection of the Son of God, London: SPCK Publishing, 2003 Resurrection Song Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son; Endless is the victory, thou o'er death hast won; Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away, Kept the folded grave clothes where thy body lay. Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son, Endless is the victory, thou o'er death hast won Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb Lovingly He greets us, scatters fear and gloom Let the church with gladness hymns of triumph sing For her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting. No more we doubt Thee, glorious Prince of life Life is nought without Thee: aid us in our strife Make us more than conquerors, through Thy deathless love Bring us safe through Jordan to Thy home above. 6