Author: TimRhodus

The resurrection of Jesus is one of the most provable events of all of history.  The resurrection of Christ is the foundational truth of a biblical belief system. Everything we believe as followers of Christ is based on the truth of that single event.

At the same time, for the atheist, agnostics, skeptics, believers in other religions, or those searching for truth, the resurrection is the event they most deal with if they want to hold their opinion in clear conscious.  To ignore the resurrection of Christ, by not determining whether it is true or myth, would be short-sighted and a version of denial.

Over the next month, I will be writing about the historical evidence of the resurrection of Christ as a supplement to our March series at CrossChurch, “Love Ran Red”. Part 6 is following.

Summation: A Decision Must be Made By Every Person

“ You can shut Him up as a fool…you can spit at, and kill Him as a demon…or you can fall at his feet and worship Him as Lord! But please, none of this nonsense about Jesus only being a great teacher… that is not left open to as an option.” – C.S. Lewis

The resurrection of Jesus is one of the most provable events of all of history.  The resurrection of Christ is the foundational truth of a biblical belief system. Everything we believe as followers of Christ is based on the truth of that single event.

At the same time, for the atheist, agnostics, skeptics, believers in other religions, or those searching for truth, the resurrection is the event they most deal with if they want to hold their opinion in clear conscious.  To ignore the resurrection of Christ, by not determining whether it is true or myth, would be short-sighted and a version of denial.

Over the next month, I will be writing about the historical evidence of the resurrection of Christ as a supplement to our March series at CrossChurch, “Love Ran Red”. Part 5 is following.

E. Circumstantial Evidence

1.  Jesus’ Disciples were Cowards

In Matt. 26:56, they all fled from the garden. In John 18: 15-27, Peter denied knowing Christ. In John 20: 19, the disciples hid and locked the doors in fear of their lives. In Luke 24:12, Peter could not figure out the empty tomb. But something changed them into a bold band of enthusiasts, who faced death without fear or hesitation.

2. A Jewish Fanatic Converted

Saul (who became Paul) was religious persecutor of the Christians, he hated Christians so much that he would hunt them down and kill them. Something must of happened to change Paul’s outlook. Read his conversation story in Acts 9:1-31

3. The Church

The origin and existence of the “church” can be tracked back to Jerusalem. Jesus’ tomb was only 15 minutes away from Jerusalem. If the tomb was still occupied, the people of that area would have known the truth. Christianity could not have survived in Jerusalem if Jesus had not risen from the dead. In Acts 3:31, the first sermon is described. 3,000 people saved. In a later message there was another 5,000 people saved.

4. Changed Lives

There were no earthly benefits, no prestige, no wealth, and no social status to begin a follower of Jesus. His followers were beaten, ran out of town, stoned to death, thrown to the lions, tortured, and crucified. The ultimate proof of their complete confidence in the truth of their message was their willingness to die for that message.

Those hardest to convince were Jesus’ own family. See John 7:1-5, 14:6, 15:5, and 10:11. James was a Pharisee. He was one of those who mocked Jesus. Something changed in his life (Acts 1:13-14). He became a leader of the early church. James ended up dying a martyr’s death (stoning) from the cause of Christ.

Lives continue to be changed. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year lives continue to be transformed by the resurrection power of Christ.

 A believer in Jesus Christ can have complete confidence, as did those first Christians, that our faith is based, not on myth or legend, but on the solid historical fact of the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus. Because of that fact, Jesus can change lives.

Harvard Law professor Simon Greenleaf, a man who lectured for years on how to break down testimony and determine whether or not a witness is lying, concludes: “It was therefore impossible that they could have persisted in affirming the truths they have narrated, had not Jesus actually risen form the dead, and had they not known this fact as certainty as they knew any other fact. The annals of military warfare afford scarcely an example of like heroic constancy, patience, and unflinching courage. They had every possible motive to review carefully the grounds of their faith, and the evidences of the great facts and truths they asserted.”

The resurrection of Jesus is one of the most provable events of all of history.  The resurrection of Christ is the foundational truth of a biblical belief system. Everything we believe as followers of Christ is based on the truth of that single event.

At the same time, for the atheist, agnostics, skeptics, believers in other religions, or those searching for truth, the resurrection is the event they most deal with if they want to hold their opinion in clear conscious.  To ignore the resurrection of Christ, by not determining whether it is true or myth, would be short-sighted and a version of denial.

Over the next month, I will be writing about the historical evidence of the resurrection of Christ as a supplement to our March series at CrossChurch, “Love Ran Red”. Part 4 is following.

1. Theories and Attempted Explanations

Understanding “Theory” – a theory is a speculation or a guess at trying to explain something. Theories are not facts. Many theories are based on the basis of the person theorizing. Theories that can be proven are no longer theories. Theories than can be proven, become established facts. ANYTIME the term “theory” is used, it is an unproven or even unprovable speculation or guess.

Theories stating the tomb is still occupied are:

1. The Unknown Tomb

This theory states that nobody really knew where Jesus’ tomb was located; the women and disciples just went to a tomb they thought was Jesus’. Since it was empty they assumed he was risen… but really he was somewhere else in a different tomb.

 

PROBLEM: Joseph of Arimathea had to know where his tomb was located… the Roman guards had to know where it was sine they had to guard it….to believe this theory one must disregard the entire historical narrative of the events surrounding the death and burial of Jesus.

2. The Wrong Tomb

This theory states that women (being women) got lost and went to the wrong tomb.

PROBLEM: How could they forget so quickly, it had only been 72 hours. Peter, John, Jewish Leaders, Joseph of Arimathea, Roman Guards, and every one else had to forget and go to the wrong tomb.

3. Legend

This theory states that the whole thing was made many years after Jesus had lived and died.

PROBLEM: Paul says in 1 Cor. 15 that there were over 500 witnesses and that most of them were still alive. Eyewitnesses are the very best form of evidence to prove anything.

4. Spiritual Resurrection

Jesus’ body decayed and it was his spirit that resurrected.

PROBLEM: Without a physical body, there is no resurrection. Luke 24:39 has Jesus speaking to this very issue. Read It!

5. Hallucinations

This theory states that the whole thing was a hallucination, that people just thought they saw Jesus.

PROBLEM: Everybody had to hallucinate the exact same things. They all had different perspectives, backgrounds, etc. Most of the time hallucinations are linked to subconscious and are very personal. This “hallucination” ate with them (Like 24:41-42). They touched its wounds (Luke 24:39-40). There are many hundreds of people involved, including Roman and Jewish officials.

Theories stating the tomb is empty are:

1. Body was Stolen by the Disciples

This started by the Jewish leaders themselves (Matt. 28:11).

PROBLEM: They made it up, and bribed the guards to agree. The disciples were probably too afraid to even try to steal the body (Matt 26:56) The guards would have had to be blind and deaf for the disciples to sneak in and take the body. The disciples were too honorable for deception.

2. Body Stolen by Officials

This theory states that officials took the body and hid it from the disciples.

PROBLEM: If this were true, they would have had produced the body to silence the Christian movement. There has never been a body produced.

3. Resuscitation

This theory states that Jesus did not really die. Shock caused him to faint from mere exhaustion, and that the disciples did not think of the idea of resuscitation, so they thought he must have resurrected.

This theory basically concludes that Jesus had six trials, was beaten, was so weak he could not carry his own cross, had spikes driven into his hands and feet, had thorns jammed down on his head, had a spear poked into his side, faked out four doctors who confirmed his death, breathed through 80-120 pounds of spices, resuscitated inside a cold, damp tomb, within three days had enough strength to bust out his wrappings, remove 1 ½ – 2 ton stone, then walk at least 10 Roman guards.

PROBLEM: That would have been more miraculous than the resurrection!

4. Passover Plot

This theory states that Joseph of Arimathea administered Jesus a drug to make people think had died. But really he would just be in a drug-induced coma. Plans were then changed when the soldiers pierced his side with spear. So Jesus really did die; Joseph hired an unknown man to come dispose of Jesus’ body. The women then saw the man and mistook him for Jesus.

PROBLEM: One still must deal with the guards, etc. But an added problem is the change in every disciple—their entire lives were changed forever.

The resurrection of Jesus is one of the most provable events of all of history.  The resurrection of Christ is the foundational truth of a biblical belief system. Everything we believe as followers of Christ is based on the truth of that single event.

At the same time, for the atheist, agnostics, skeptics, believers in other religions, or those searching for truth, the resurrection is the event they most deal with if they want to hold their opinion in clear conscious.  To ignore the resurrection of Christ, by not determining whether it is true or myth, would be short-sighted and a version of denial.

Over the next month, I will be writing about the historical evidence of the resurrection of Christ as a supplement to our March series at CrossChurch, “Love Ran Red”. Part 3 is following.

1. Seven Facts that Must be Reckoned With

Something happened that changed the course of history from B.C. (Before Christ) to A.D. (Latin – “Anno Domini” meaning “the year of our Lord”). That “something” was so dramatic that it transformed many lives and caused many people to die a Martyr’s death.

That “something” was the empty tomb! An empty tomb that was only a 15-min walk from the center of Jerusalem for anyone curious enough to go see from themselves. It would have been easy to confirm or disprove as a rumor.

If anyone wished to rationalize away the resurrection of Christ, they must first deal with a few certain facts. It is almost funny, that the Jewish and Roman leaders, with all their “security precautions” outwitted themselves. Those security precautions make it very difficult for critics of the resurrection to defend their position that Christ did not raise from the dead.

1. The Broken Roman Seal (Luke 24:2)

• The Roman Seal stood for all the power and authority of the Roman Empire.

• There were severe consequences for breaking the seal.

• The “FBI and CIA” of the Roman Empire would have been tasked with finding and punishing those responsible

• Even His closest disciples had displayed signs of cowardice.

2. The Empty Tomb (Luke 24:3)

• The disciples did not go someplace far away to tell their story. They started in Jerusalem, where it could have been easily proven or disproven. Therefore, the tomb had to have been empty.

• The Jewish leaders and Roman government’s official statement was that that the body was stolen. Therefore, the tomb had to have been empty.

• The empty tomb is a silent testimony to the Lordship of Christ.

3. A Very Large Stone Moved

• There was only one way out of the tomb, past a large stone, and the Roman guard.

• Mark 16:4 – uses the greek word “kulio” which means “to roll”, but also adds the preposition, “ana” which means “up or upward”. So “anakulio” means “to roll something up a slope or an incline”

• Luke 24:2 – uses the same root word, but adds the preposition “apo”, which means “a distance from”

• John 20:1 – uses yet another word, “airo”, which means “to pick something up and carry it away”

• The Greek language is the most expressive language in history. These are not disagreements, but people describing the scene as they saw it.

4. The Roman Guard Left the Tomb (Matt 28:4, 11-15)

• Roman discipline was very good. Guards who even just fell asleep, while on duty would have been put to death.

• There was flawless attention given to their duty. They would have never left the tomb. They would have died defending it.

• The reason for the fabricated lie about what occurred at the tomb and offered bribe money (Matt 28:11-15), was that after examination of the scene the Roman and Jewish leaders knew there was no other explanation. It would have been humanly impossible.

5. Jesus’ Grave Clothes Tell a Tale (John 20:5-7)

• The grave clothes were left in the tomb. If the body had been stolen, they would have also taken the grave clothes due to decomposition of the body, etc.

6. His Appearance was Confirmed (Matt 28:5-10, 16-20)

• Jesus appeared to numerous several different times, and eyewitnesses are the best evidence in any situation.

• Paul said “over 500 people saw Jesus after the resurrection”, and then adds “most of them are still alive” (1 Cor 15:3-8), as if to say, “ask them for yourself”

• If all those people could testify, it would be the biggest and most lopsided trail in history.

7. Women saw Him First (Luke 24:11)

• In Jewish custom and culture, women were not seen as equal to men. They were seen more like property.

• They were not accepted as reliable witnesses according to Jewish legal procedures. So if the resurrection had been faked, they would not have made the first appearance to women, because nobody would have believed them.

Conclusion: Critics who would attempt to dismiss or explain away the resurrection of Christ MUST first deal with these seven historical facts.

• The feared power of Rome was ignored in order to break the seal.
• Both Jewish and Roman officials admitted the tomb was empty
• A 3,000-4,000 pound rock was removed while the guards watched
• Highly disciplined guards allowed it to happen, then fled the scene
• The grave clothes without a body
• Jesus’ appearances before over 500 people
• Because of Jewish views, women would have never been selected or accepted as witnesses