The Resurrection of Jesus

Come Resurrection Sunday, or Easter as most people call it, Christians around the world celebrate the bodily resurrection of Jesus. They sing those familiar hymns, with lines such as “Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia! Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia! Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!” But really, not everyone believes that Jesus, let alone anyone else, could come back from the dead. Even some pastors don’t take these verses literally. They might teach it because it is a tradition, that it is based on a myth or that it brings some comfort to parishioners. Certainly, skeptics don’t believe it. They might refer to the story of the resurrection of Jesus as a myth, an example of wishful thinking, a product of hallucinations, or a pious fraud on the part of the disciples.

But did the resurrection of Jesus really happen? Does it really matter? 1 Peter 15-16 tells us, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” We should be able to explain, using reason, not feelings, what we believe and why we believe it. So, why should we believe that Jesus rose from the dead?

There are some things, such as one-time historical events, that can’t be proven scientifically. You can repeat the incident. But you can make a reasonable argument for the resurrection of Jesus. And this argument is more reasonable than any alternative explanation.

Some skeptics might suggest that the resurrection was not a historical fact, but a legend, a story that developed over the years. This is a very weak argument. Legends can’t develop overnight. They develop years after the event. And the record of the events (The Gospels) were written within a decade or two of the events, far too early for such legends to develop.

Another argument against the resurrection of Jesus was that the story was fabricated by his disciples. This argument doesn’t make much sense either. People will lie if the lie will benefit them in some way. They lie to get rich or to gain power. But all of the disciples suffered for what they were teaching and all but John died as martyrs. Would you suffer and die for what you knew was a lie? I doubt it.

Then there is the idea that the disciples stole the body of Jesus and claimed that Jesus rose from the dead. This is unlikely considering the disciples were not the heroic types who would steal a body from a grave that was guarded by Roman soldiers. The disciples abandoned Jesus and scattered when Jesus was arrested. They were in hiding, thinking that perhaps they were next to be arrested. Peter was ready to move on with his life saying that he was going back to the fishing business (John 21:3). Imagine what might have been going through the minds of the disciples at that time. “We really thought he was the one, the Messiah. But then John the Baptist was killed, and then Jesus. Now the authorities are probably going to come after us. And that loudmouth Peter who cut off that soldiers’ ear is probably at the top of the authorities list of their most wanted criminals.” I don’t think this was the time for them to plan and execute a commando raid on a heavily guarded tomb to steal a body. They probably were more likely to be planning an escape from Jerusalem altogether. No, the disciples weren’t going to try to steal the body and claim that Jesus rose from the dead and then suffer and die for what they knew was a lie.

What about the enemies of Jesus? Could the Jews have stolen the body of Jesus? No, because when Peter preached his sermon on Pentecost and spoke of the risen Christ, all the Jews would have had to do was to produce the body of Jesus and debunk Peter’s claim of a resurrection. If that happened, we would never have heard of Jesus or any of his disciples. The Christian message would have died before it spread beyond the walls of Jerusalem.

What about the women who were the first to discover the empty tomb? Could the women, on their way to the tomb to prepare Jesus for permanent burial gotten lost in the early morning fog and gone to the wrong tomb, an empty one? Unlikely, since there was an angel at the tomb who announced that Jesus wasn’t in his tomb, that he had risen. You would have to think that the angel got lost in the fog, also. Besides, when the women reported to the disciples what they saw, the disciples ran to investigate their claim. You would have to believe that they too got disorientated and went to the wrong tomb, which just happened to have an empty burial shroud inside.

Then there is the theory that Jesus never died in the first place. Claimants argue that Jesus was only unconscious when he was placed in the tomb, not dead. People have been buried alive. With no stethoscopes, electrocardiograms to measure heart rhythms, no electroencephalograms to measure brain waves, he might have been alive when he was placed in the tomb. And once in the cool, quiet tomb, he was able to rest, and regain consciousness. Then he might have unwrapped himself and moved the stone away and escaped the guard under the cover of darkness. This might be a good story line for an adventure movie but doesn’t make much sense. Before his crucifixion Jesus had to endure a horrible beating, a scourging. This included being whipped with a whip that had metal pieces bone fragments in it so that his flesh would be torn from his body. Some condemned prisoners didn’t survive the scourging. Jesus was in such terrible shape that he couldn’t even carry his cross to his crucifixion. Besides this scourging, he wasn’t executed by amateurs but by professional soldiers. They had seen death many times and knew it when they saw it, and just to be sure he was dead, they thrust a spear into his side. If your military specialty was “executioner”, you wanted to do a thorough job so that your annual performance evaluation looked good, and you get that promotion you want. There was no doubt that he was dead when he was wrapped up and placed in a sealed and guarded tomb.

When skeptics are desperate for arguments to disprove the resurrection of Jesus, they resort to most any idea. The twin theory argues that Jesus may not have been the one who was crucified, but a twin. But Jesus was guarded by Roman soldiers from the time he was taken into custody until his death and afterwards. There was no chance for a twin or anyone else to sneak in and take his place. Nor could a “twin” steal his body and claim to be the risen Lord.

Then there is the question about spices and body wrapping of Jesus after his death. Could a person who had been badly beaten and wrapped in cloth have unwrapped himself? Houdini couldn’t have escaped this tomb. When his disciples entered the empty tomb and found it empty, the spices and wrappings were still there. And the wrappings were in the same shape as if the body had passed through it, as if by a miracle. Would a thief take the time to unwrap the body? Most thieves want to get in and out as quickly as possible. And why would they leave behind the spices that were quite valuable?

If the resurrection story was nothing more than a conspiracy of lies, isn’t it unlikely that not a single conspirator divulged their secret?

Then you have the multiple testimonies of those who saw the risen Christ. How can a skeptic reasonably explain the testimonies of so many people? Jesus was seen by more than 500 people on at least eight occasions over a forty-day period. He appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11), the “other woman” (Matt. 28:9-10), to Peter (Luke 24:34), to two disciples (Luke 24:13-32), to ten apostles (Luke 24:33-49), to doubting Thomas (John 20:26-30), to seven apostles (John 21), to all the apostles (Matt. 28:16-20), to all the apostles again (Acts 1:4-9), to 500 brethren (I Cor 15:6), to James, (I Cor 15:6) and to Paul, (I Cor 15:7). Paul said that there were people still alive in his day who could attest to the fact that Jesus rose from the dead.

But could these eye-witness testimonies have been nothing more than hallucinations? Not many people are subject to hallucinations, and hallucinations are very individualistic. Groups of people don’t have the same hallucinations. Groups of people don’t have the same hallucination in different times and places. Besides, hallucinations oftentimes occur when there is an expected, long desired event. People will sometimes see what they strongly desire to see. But the disciples and others weren’t expecting these appearances. They were ready to move on with their lives.

Then one must ask, if Jesus never rose from the dead, why did the disciples gather for worship on Sunday rather than the Sabbath? The early church members were mostly Jewish who observed the 7th day Sabbath. Something must have led them to change the day of worship to the first day of the week.

If Jesus never rose from the dead, how else can you explain the early growth of the church and even the large number of priests who “became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7)? And these priests were not “friendly” to Jesus or his message when he was alive. Something very dramatic must have happened for them to change their views about Jesus.

If Jesus never rose from the dead, what else can explain how a small group of timid men could dramatically change to the point of turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6)? What changed Peter who denied his Lord before a servant girl’s questionings, into a man who could preach the Gospel before the powerful Sanhedrin (Acts 4:7)?

What changed James, the Lord’s brother into a believer and later the leader of the Jerusalem church? And what changed Paul the persecutor of the church into its apostle to the Gentiles?

Why would apostles pray, Maranatha, “Our Lord, Come,” (I Cor. 16;22) if he was still in the grave?

The only reasonable explanation as to what happened to Jesus is that he was severely beaten and executed by professional executioners, and that he rose again from the dead, just as Scripture says.

But is it so important that he rose from the dead, as Scripture says? Yes. If he hadn’t then we can’t trust the Bible. If we can’t believe what it says about the death and resurrection of Jesus, how can we believe the rest of it?

If Jesus didn’t die and didn’t rise from the dead, then our faith is in vain, and the religion of Christianity is a hoax (I Cor. 15:15). If the resurrection story is myth, then millions of people have been duped over the centuries. We might as well shut down all the churches, Bible colleges, and seminaries. The Vatican would have to have a large yard sale in St. Peters’ Square to sell all of the artwork, sculptures, ancient documents, etc. Todays’ Christians, anticipating the second coming of the Messiah, would probably convert to Judaism and wait for his first coming. Some Jews might mock us, saying, “We told you so.”

If Jesus did not die and rise from the dead, then our view of Jesus must change. Like a scandalized televangelist who is exposed for being a fraud, we must conclude that Jesus himself was a fraud. Jesus told us that he would lay down his life and raise it up again (John 2:19). He gave us the sign of Jonah, saying that he would be in the grave for three days, then rise up again (Matt. 12:40). He said that he must suffer, die and rise again (Mark 8:31). He said that he had the power to lay down his life and to take it up again (John 10:18). If he didn’t do these things, as he said he would, then he was a pathological liar, not God in the flesh. Jesus would be just one of many false Messiahs to have come along.

As C.S. Lewis said, Jesus was either a lunatic, a liar, or the LORD. This Resurrection Sunday, you can sing songs of his resurrection with greater confidence knowing that the only reasonable explanation as to what really happened was exactly what is in the Bible. It is not a belief that has to be accepted with blind faith. If someone expresses doubt in the resurrection of Jesus, ask him if there is a more reasonable explanation as to what happened than what is in the Bible. I don’t think there is one.

He is Risen . . . Maranatha.