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| The Garden Tomb - Israel by Lisa@The Warming House |
Did Jesus really rise
from the dead? Great question. It’s a hotly debated topic. His resurrection is illogical and difficult to comprehend – or is
it?
As you consider the
resurrection of Christ, here are some things to think about:
- The gospel writers in the Bible all record Jesus death by crucifixion.
- The Talmud (a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish Law, ethics, philosophy, customs, and history) records a historical account of the death of Jesus by Roman crucifixion. As you contemplate that, keep in mind that the Jewish religious leaders were enemies of Jesus yet their historical writings confirm his death just as it is told in the Bible.
- Josephus, a famous secular historian who lived Bible times, confirms that Jesus died at the hand of the Romans by means of crucifixion.
- Thallus, as well as a noted Roman historian named Tacitus, both confirm his crucifixion.
- Current day scholars such as John Crossan and Bart Ehrman, confirm his death by crucifixion on orders of the Roman prefect in Judea – Pontius Pilate. They even go so far as to say that this is “a certain fact.”
Three days after his death and burial in a tomb, Jesus’ female followers
went to his tomb and discovered it was empty. They were afraid someone had
taken his body. An angel informed them that he had risen.
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| The Garden Tomb (Burial Chamber) By Lisa@The Warming House |
Here’s what we know
about his resurrection:
1) The location of the tomb site was known and
it was empty.
2) Jesus appeared to hundreds of witnesses
after his resurrection providing proof of his resurrection.
3) There was a radical transformation in his disciples.
To realize the significance of this transformation, you need to understand that the environment in Jerusalem was hostile. The
Jewish leaders hated Jesus and had demanded his crucifixion so who’s to say
they wouldn’t do the same to Jesus’ followers? Only the women and one
disciple (John) stayed near the cross as Jesus suffered and breathed
his last breath. Everyone else had scurried into hiding. When these terrified
disciples learned that Jesus had come back to life, they boldly reentered
public life – and not just in a quiet, submissive way. They publicly proclaimed
Christ’s resurrection, claimed him to be the Messiah, and called people to
acknowledge him as Lord. As they did this, they were well aware that they were
putting their lives at risk.
4) After his
resurrection, many Jews abandoned their deeply
embedded Jewish faith and customs to follow Christ and his teachings.
5) The Christian church was begun in Jerusalem. This was
obviously the worst place to start. Opponents were still in Jerusalem and still
in positions of power.
There are some
interesting theories about his resurrection. Here are a few:
1)
The
disciples stole his body. Really? The Jewish leaders remembered how Jesus said he would arise again in three days. They were totally freaked
out about the possibility that his disciples would steal his body then tell everyone he had risen from the dead. They wanted to prevent some sort of “legendary story” to begin circulating about Jesus so they went to Pilate and urged him to make the tomb secure. Pilate posted a guard and permitted them to seal the stone and make the tomb as secure as they possibly could. The Roman soldiers exercised extra vigilance outside his tomb. They would never
have let anyone get past them to steal the body. It’s also important to remember
that all of the disciples endured severe persecution, and all but one was murdered because of his Christian faith. It is a well-known fact that no one will ever die for something they know is a lie. Would you?
2)
Disciples
hallucinated the resurrection. Again – really?! The Roman soldiers could
have simply gone into the tomb and produced the body.
3)
The
Swoon Theory claims that Christ
didn’t really die on the cross. He just lost consciousness. The cool, moist
air of the tomb revived him. First of
all – no one survives a crucifixion.
The details of a crucifixion are brutal. Second,
after suffering the extreme torture of a flogging and crucifixion, how many of you would be able to walk
around town without medical attention as though you had endured nothing?
Not one of us could do that I’m sure. Yet Jesus did just that. In addition, the Romans went to his cross and pierced him in the side with a spear to make certain he was dead. Blood and water flowed out affirming that he was.
4)
The
women were emotionally distraught, made a mistake, and went to the wrong tomb.
Seriously?! Would you forget where you
buried someone you loved? I don’t think so!
After hearing about his resurrection from the women, the male disciples went to the
tomb. They would have had to go to the wrong tomb too – in their emotional
distress. The fact is, this tomb belonged to a well-known religious leader. When
the news got out, people would have specifically gone to that tomb to check out the validity
of the story.
5)
Jesus
body was thrown into a shallow grave and dogs ate his body. Those who loved
him deeply would not allow him to be thrown into a shallow grave. Again – there
was too much at stake for anyone to just throw his body aside casually. See
answer to #1. The religious leaders wanted his body and burial site guarded
closely. The tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathea – a religious leader on the
Jewish ruling council. Allowing Jesus’
body to be buried in his personal tomb would have invited persecution. If the
stories of his burial there weren’t true, he would certainly have denied the
truth of those claims. But he didn’t.
6)
Substitution
theory offered by Islam. Their claim is that it wasn’t really Jesus who
died on the cross. Someone else’s body was substituted for his. Good grief! His
own Mama and others who knew him well had watched his trial before Pilate and his flogging. They had followed him as he carried his cross to the execution site. They were near the foot of the cross grieving
desperately for him. After his death, they held him, touched him, and dressed his body for
burial. Scripture shows that his
disciples were clearly befuddled by what had happened. Their mourning was
sincere. They certainly did not expect him to rise from the dead. Besides – who
would have raised their hand to volunteer to serve as his substitute? Really?!
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| Exiting the Tomb by Lisa@The WarmingHouse |
Through the resurrection, Jesus
fulfilled his own prophecies about himself and proved he is who he says he is –
the perfect Son of God who came to pay the ransom to free us from the control of sin and its consequences.
His resurrection was God's "yes" approving and accepting Christ's sacrifice for the sins of mankind.
His resurrection marked the
successful completion of his mission on earth and validated all his claims.
Since Jesus is the divine Son of
God, what he taught was true.
Jesus’ resurrection proves the
truth of Christianity!
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| By Lisa@The Warming House |
With complete confidence in the reality of His resurrection,
Lisa~
