Foundations of Faith
EVIDENCES FOR THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
We have devoted the last four issues of GROWING to a study of God the Son. None of the things we have learned about the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son, would have any value for us if He had not risen from the dead. For this reason, Satan is very active in finding ways to cast doubts on the truth of the resurrection of Christ. Thus, it is of great importance that we have a clear understanding of the evidences for the resurrection. First we shall consider nine important scriptural facts relating to the resurrection of Christ. Then we shall give scriptural responses to four false theories that try to explain away the resurrection.
1. He was pronounced dead. The soldiers “came to Jesus and saw that He was dead already.” But just in case there had been any mistaking that Jesus was truly dead, “one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side” (John 19:33,34; see also Mark 15:43-45).
2. He was wrapped in cloth with spices. Nicodemus brought a hundred litra (about 70 pounds) mixture of spices, and he and Joseph took “the body of Jesus and wound it in linen clothes with the spices” (John 19:39,40). The spices wrapped up in the layers of cloth helped to cement the layers together.
3. The tomb was sealed. The chief priests, to prevent the body from being stolen, “made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch” (Matt. 27:66). In addition to placing a large rock at the entrance of the tomb, a seal was placed on the rock–perhaps a cord stretched over the rock with a wax seal with the governor’s imprint securing it to the sides of the tomb as described in Dan. 6:17. If anyone tried to move the stone the seal would be broken and Roman law would be violated.
4. The stone was taken away. The stone was not rolled away so that Jesus could come out, but rather to display an empty tomb (Matt. 28:2-4).
5. The tomb was empty. The fact that the tomb was empty was witnessed by at least six persons (Matt. 28:1-13; John 20:3-8).
6. The tomb was not quite empty. While the body was gone, the grave clothes were still in the tomb–all wrapped up the way they had been wound around the head and body (Luke 23:53; John 20:6,7). The way the grave clothes were lying on the floor of the tomb strongly suggested that the body had miraculously passed through the clothes without disturbing them (John 20:8).
7. Jesus appeared to many witnesses following the resurrection (Matt. 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20,21; Acts 1; 1 Cor. 15:1-8). Some 26 years after the resurrection, the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth that of the 500 or more eyewitnesses of the risen Christ, “the greater part remain unto the present” (1 Cor. 15:6), just in case there might be any who doubted the resurrection.
8. The disciples’ lives were transformed. Before they knew of Christ’s resurrection, the disciples showed a great deal of anxiety and fear (Luke 22:54-61; John 20:19). But after Christ appeared to them, they became very bold in their testimony for Christ (Acts 2-5). What but the resurrection of Christ could have transformed the cowardly disciples into fearless, courageous witnesses for Christ?
9. The sabbath was replaced by the first day of the week as the day of worship. The Jewish people were then (and still are) strongly attached to the sabbath, or Saturday, as their holy day, their day of worship (Exod. 20:8). Something very awesome must have happened to have persuaded the early Christians–all brought up in the Jewish religion–to abandon the sabbath and start meeting together on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). That awesome happening was the resurrection of Christ.
Theory 1. Christ never actually died on the cross, but only swooned. This theory suggests that Christ was in a sort of coma and only appeared to have died. Later He was revived by the cool air of the tomb, got up, and walked away. (See Assignment 16)
Theory 2. Christ’s body was stolen away by the disciples (Matt. 28:13). Against this theory is the fact of the grave clothes lying in the tomb, neatly wrapped just as when the body had been laid in the tomb. Also, very shortly after the crucifixion, the disciples started preaching to their fellow Jews the fact of Christ’s death and resurrection. What could possibly have been their motive in stealing the body and preaching a lie, especially since such teaching placed them in danger of imprisonment and death (Acts 12:1-6)?
Theory 3. All of Christ’s supposed post-resurrection appearances were only hallucinations. In other words, the disciples, along with many others, only imagined that Christ appeared to them. Against this theory one can argue that it is most unlikely for two people to have the same hallucination at the same time, and most of the reported appearances of Christ after His crucifixion were to groups of people ranging in number from seven to over 500. Furthermore, those who claimed to see Jesus alive again after the crucifixion also had conversations with Him, touched Him, gave Him food and watched Him eat it, or first mistook Him for someone else (Luke 24; John 20:14-16,27; 21:15-22). These surely are not evidences for a hallucination. Note also that these “hallucinations” suddenly came to an end after eleven people watched Christ ascend bodily into heaven (Acts 1:4-13).
Theory 4. Everyone went to the wrong tomb; the empty tomb was not the one Christ was buried in. This theory can be answered very directly and logically. Since there was so much at stake in this matter, and since the Jewish leaders very much wanted to keep the disciples from spreading word concerning the resurrection of Christ, surely they would have found the right tomb and produced the body–if the body had been there! (See Assignment 17)
What is it that has given courage and boldness, not only to Christ’s disciples, but to countless believers around the world through over 19 centuries of the history of the Church–the courage to be burned at the stake, thrown to the lions, fired from their jobs, or disowned by their families rather than give up their faith in Christ? It is the knowledge–based on many strong evidences–that the Christ who died for us is Risen Again!
Running the Race
Assignment 16: What arguments are suggested in John 19:33,34,39,40, Mark 16:1-3, and Luke 24:13-31 in opposition to Theory 1? (Note that in Luke 24:13, 60 furlongs or stadia are equivalent to about seven miles.)
Assignment 17: What other arguments against Theory 4 can be drawn from Matt. 27:57-61 and Mark 16:2?