Evidence for the Resurrection
If you wanted to disprove Christianity, what would you do? The way to
disprove Christianity is to disprove the resurrection of Christ. Why? Because
Christianity is founded upon the resurrection. If the resurrection goes, so does
Christianity. I know that there are many pastors and scholars today who claim to
be Christians, yet deny the resurrection. But according to the Bible, if you
deny the resurrection you are not a Christian. In fact, if there was no
resurrection, there is no Christianity at all. It would do you as much good as
living your life with an imaginary friend. The apostle Paul said very clearly in
1 Corinthians 15:17 "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you
are still in your sins." He goes on to say "If we have hoped in Christ for this
life only, we are of all men most to be pitied."
So the issue before us tonight is very significant. Did Jesus Christ
rise from the dead? I hope I can show you tonight that He did. Christianity is
a reasonable faith. You do not need to leap into the dark to accept it. There
are solid reasons for it.
Before beginning, I need to make it clear that the resurrection of Christ
is an event of history. It didn't occur in some mystical fantasy land or some
special category of religious history. It happened in real space-time. Its
occurrence was just as real and concrete as my speaking here to you tonight.
Therefore, we should seek to discover whether it is true or false in the same way
we investigate any other historical event, such as the civil war.
The way historians determine the truth of an event is by weighing the
evidence. A method commonly used today is "inference to the best explanation."
William Lane Craig describes this as an approach where we "begin with the
evidence available to us and then infer what would, if true, provide the best
explanation of that evidence." In other words, we ought to accept an event as
historical if it gives the best explanation for the evidence surrounding it.
Since the resurrection is an event of history, we should treat it the
same way. And as we examine the historical events surrounding the claim that
Christ rose from the dead, we will see that the resurrection is by far the best
explanation for the evidence. There is no other theory that even come close to
accounting for the evidence. Therefore, we ought to accept the truth that Jesus
Christ rose from the dead.
The second thing I want to make sure is clear before I being is that in
establishing that the resurrection really happened, I am not going to assume that
the New Testament is inspired by God or even trustworthy. While I do believe
these things, I am going to base my case tonight on three truths that even
critical scholars admit. In other words, these truths are so strong that they
are accepted by Christian and non-Christian scholars alike. Therefore, any
theory must be able to adequately account for these data.
The three truths are:
1. The tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered empty by a group of women
on the Sunday following the crucifixion.
2. Jesus' disciples had real experiences with one whom they believed was the
risen Christ.
3. As a result of the preaching of these disciples, which had the resurrection
at its center, the Christian church was established and grew.
Virtually all scholars who deal with the resurrection, whatever their
school of thought, assent to these four truths. As I demonstrate to you the
evidence for each of this truths, I will also show that the resurrection of
Christ is the best explanation for each of them individually. Then after I have
established the truth of each of these, we will see that when these facts are
taken together we have an even more powerful case for the resurrection--because
the skeptic will not have to explain away just one historical fact, but three.
These three truths create a strongly woven, three chord rope that cannot be
broken.
Empty Tomb
To begin, what is the evidence that the tomb in which Jesus was buried
was discovered empty by a group of women on the Sunday following the
crucifixion?
First, the resurrection was preached in the same city where Jesus had
been buried shortly before. Jesus' disciples did not go to some obscure place
where no one had heard of Jesus to begin preaching about the resurrection, but
instead began preaching in Jerusalem, the very city where Jesus had died and been
buried. They could not have done this if Jesus was still in his tomb--no one
would have believed them. No one would be foolish enough to believe a man had
raised from the dead when his body lay dead in the tomb for all to see. As Paul
Althaus writes, the resurrection proclamation "could not have been maintained in
Jerusalem for a single day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb had
not been established as a fact for all concerned."
Second, the earliest Jewish arguments against Christianity admit the
empty tomb. In Matthew 28:11-15, there is a reference made to the Jew's attempt
to refute Christianity be saying that the disciples stole the body. This is
significant because it shows that the Jews did not deny the empty tomb. Instead,
there "stolen body" theory admitted the significant truth that the tomb was in
fact empty. The Toledoth Jesu, a compilation of early Jewish writings, is
another source acknowledging this. It acknowledges that the tomb was empty, and
attempts to explain it away. Further, we have a record of a second century
debate between a Christian and a Jew, in which a reference is made to the fact
that the Jews claim the body was stolen. So it is pretty well established that
the early Jews admitted the empty tomb.
Why is this important? Remember that the Jews were opposed to
Christianity. They were hostile witnesses. In acknowledging the empty tomb,
they were admitting the reality of a fact that was certainly not in their favor.
So why would they admit that the tomb was empty unless the evidence was too
strong to be denied? Dr. Paul Maier calls this "positive evidence from a hostile
source. In essence, if a source admits a fact that is decidedly not in its favor,
the fact is genuine."
Third, the empty tomb account in the gospel of Mark is based upon a
source that originated within seven years of the event it narrates. This places
the evidence for the empty tomb too early to be legendary, and makes it much more
likely that it is accurate. What is the evidence for this? I will list two
pieces. A German commentator on Mark, Rudolf Pesch, points out that this
pre-Markan source never mentions the high priest by name. "This implies that
Caiaphas, who we know was high priest at that time, was still high priest when
the story began circulating." For "if it had been written after Caiaphas' term of
office, his name would have had to have been used to distinguish him from the
next high priest. But since Caiaphas was high priest from A.D. 18 to 37, this
story began circulating no later than A.D. 37, within the first seven years after
the events," as Michael Horton has summarized it. Furthermore, Pesch argues
"that since Paul's traditions concerning the Last Supper [written in 56] (1 Cor
11) presuppose the Markan account, that implies that the Markan source goes right
back to the early years" of Christianity (Craig). So the early source Mark used
puts the testimony of the empty tomb too early to be legendary.
Fourth, the empty tomb is supported by the historical reliability of the
burial story. NT scholars agree that he burial story is one of the best
established facts about Jesus. One reason for this is because of the inclusion
of Joseph of Arimethea as the one who buried Christ. You see, Joseph was a
member of the Jewish Sanhedrein, a sort of Jewish supreme court. People on this
ruling class were simply too well known for fictitious stories about them to be
pulled off in this way. This would have exposed the Christians as fraud's. So
they couldn't have circulated a story about him burying Jesus unless it was
true. Also, if the burial account was legendary, one would expect to find
conflicting traditions--which we don't have.
But how does the reliability of Jesus' burial argue that the tomb was
empty? Because the burial account and empty tomb account have grammatical and
linguistic ties, indicating that they are one continuous account. Therefore, if
the burial account is accurate the empty tomb is likely to be accurate as well.
Further, if the burial account is accurate then everyone knew where Jesus was
buried. This would have been decisive evidence to refute the early Christians
who were preaching the resurrection--for if the tomb had not been empty, it would
have been evident to all and the disciples would have been exposed as frauds at
worst, or insane at best.
Fifth, Jesus' tomb was never venerated as a shrine. This is striking
because it was the 1st century custom to set up a shrine at the site of a holy
man's bones. There were at least 50 such cites in Jesus' day. Since there was
no such shrine for Jesus, it suggests that his bones weren't there.
Sixth, Mark's account of the empty tomb is simple and shows no signs of
legendary development. This is very apparent when we compare it with the gospel
of Peter, a forgery from about 125. This legend has all of the Jewish leaders,
Roman guards, and many people from the countryside gathered to watch the
resurrection. Then three men come out of the tomb, with their heads reaching up
to the clouds. Then a talking cross comes out of the tomb! This is what legend
looks like, and we see none of that in Mark's account of the empty tomb--or
anywhere else in the gospels for that matter!
Seventh, the tomb was discovered empty by women. Why is this important?
Because the testimony of women in 1st century Jewish culture was considered
worthless. As Craig says, "if the empty tomb story were a legend, then it is
most likely that the male disciples would have been made the first to discover
the empty tomb. The fact that despised women, whose testimony was deemed
worthless, were the chief witnesses to the fact of the empty tomb can only be
plausibly explained if, like it or not, they actually were the discoverers of the
empty tomb."
Because of the strong evidence for the empty tomb, most recent scholars
do not deny it. D.H. Van Daalen has said, "It is extremely difficult to object to
the empty tomb on historical grounds; those who deny it do so on the basis of
theological or philosophical assumptions." Jacob Kremer, who has specialized in
the study of the resurrection and is a NT critic, has said "By far most exegetes
hold firmly to the reliability of the biblical statements about the empty tomb"
and he lists twenty-eight scholars to back up his fantastic claim.
I'm sure you've heard of the various theories used to explain away the
empty tomb, such as that the body was stolen. But those theories are laughed at
today by all serious scholars. In fact, they have been considered dead and
refuted for almost a hundred years. For example, the Jews or Romans had no
motive to steal the body--they wanted to suppress Christianity, not encourage it
by providing it with an empty tomb. The disciples would have had no motive,
either. Because of their preaching on the resurrection, they were beaten,
killed, and persecuted. Why would they go through all of this for a deliberate
lie? No serious scholars hold to any of these theories today. What explanation,
then, do the critics offer, you may ask? Craig tells us that "they are
self-confessedly without any explanation to offer. There is simply no plausible
natural explanation today to account for Jesus' tomb being empty. If we deny the
resurrection of Jesus, we are left with an inexplicable mystery." The
resurrection of Jesus is not just the best explanation for the empty tomb, it is
the only explanation in town!
Resurrection Appearances
Next, there is the evidence that Jesus' disciples had real experiences
with one whom they believed was the risen Christ. This is not commonly disputed
today because we have the testimony of the original disciples themselves that
they saw Jesus alive again. And you don't need to believe in the reliability of
the gospels to believe this. In 1 Cor. 15:3-8, Paul records an ancient creed
concerning Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection appearances that is much
earlier than the letter in which Paul is recording it:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also
received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and
that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He
appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time...
It is generally agreed by critical scholars that Paul receive this creed from
Peter and James between 3-5 years after the crucifixion. Now, Peter and James
are listed in this creed as having seen the risen Christ. Since they are the
ones who gave this creed to Paul, this is therefore a statement of their own
testimony. As the Jewish Scholar Pinchahs Lapide has said, this creed "may be
considered the statement of eyewitnesses."
Now, I recognize that just because the disciples think they saw
Jesus doesn't mean that they really did. There are three possible
alternatives:
1. They were lying
2. They hallucinated
3. They really saw the risen Christ
Which of these is most likely? Were they lying? On this view, the
disciples knew that Jesus had not really risen, but they made up this story about
the resurrection. But then why did 10 of the disciples willingly die as martyrs
for their belief in the resurrection? People will often die for a lie that they
believe is the truth. But on this view, if Jesus did not rise, the disciples
knew it. Thus, they wouldn't have just been dying for a lie that they mistakenly
believed was true. They would have been dying for a lie that they knew was a
lie. Ten people would not all give their lives for something they know to be a
lie. Furthermore, after witnessing events such as Watergate, can we reasonably
believe that the disciples could have covered up such a lie?
Because of the absurdity of the theory that the disciples were lying, we
can see why almost all scholars today admit that, if nothing else, the disciples
at least believed that Jesus appeared to them. But we know that just believing
something to be true doesn't make it true. Perhaps the disciples were wrong and
had been deceived by a hallucination?
The hallucination theory is untenable because it cannot explain the
physical nature of the appearances. The disciples record eating and drinking
with Jesus, as well as touching him. This cannot be done with hallucinations.
Second, it is highly unlikely that they would all have had the same
hallucination. Hallucinations are highly individual, and not group projections.
Imagine if I came in here and said to you, "wasn't that a great dream I had last
night?" Hallucinations, like dreams, generally don't transfer like that!
Further, the hallucination theory cannot explain the conversion of Paul, three
years later. Was Paul, the persecutor of Christians, so hoping to see the
resurrected Jesus that his mind invented an appearance as well? And perhaps most
significantly, the hallucination theory cannot even deal with the evidence for
the empty tomb.
Since the disciples could not have been lying or hallucinating, we have
only one possible explanation left: the disciples believed that they had
seen the risen Jesus because they really had seen the risen Jesus. So,
the resurrection appearances alone demonstrate the resurrection. Thus, if we
reject the resurrection, we are left with a second inexplicable mystery--first
the empty tomb and now the appearances.
Origin of the Christian Faith
Finally, the existence of the Christian church is strong proof for the
resurrection. Why is this? Because even the most skeptical NT scholars admit
that the disciples at least believed that Jesus was raised from the grave. But
how can we explain the origin of that belief? There are three possible causes:
Christian influences, pagan influences, or Jewish influences.
Could it have been Christian influences? Craig writes, "Since the
belief in the resurrection was itself the foundation for Christianity, it cannot
be explained as the later product of Christianity." Further, as we saw, if the
disciples made it up, then they were frauds and liars--alternatives we have shown
to be false. We have also shown the unlikeliness that they hallucinated this
belief.
But what about pagan influences? Isn't it often pointed out that there
were many myths of dying and rising savior gods at the time of Christianity?
Couldn't the disciples have been deluded by those myths and copied them into
their own teaching on the resurrection of Christ? In reality, serious scholars
have almost universally rejected this theory since WWII, for several reasons.
First, it has been shown that these mystery religious had no major influence in
Palestine in the 1st century. Second, most of the sources which contain
parallels originated after Christianity was established. Third, most of the
similarities are often apparent and not real--a result of sloppy terminology on
the part of those who explain them. For example, one critic tried to argue that
a ceremony of killing a bull and letting the blood drip all over the participants
was parallel to holy communion. Fourth, the early disciples were Jews, and it
would have been unthinkable for a Jew to borrow from another religion. For they
were zealous in their belief that the pagan religions were abhorrent to God.
Jewish influences cannot explain the belief in the resurrection, either.
1st century Judaism had no conception of a single individual rising from the dead
in the middle of history. Their concept was always that everybody would be
raised together at the end of time. So the idea of one individual rising in the
middle of history was foreign to them. Thus, Judaism of that day could have
never produced the resurrection hypothesis. This is also another good argument
against the theory that the disciples were hallucinating. Psychologists will
tell you that hallucinations cannot contain anything new--that is, they cannot
contain any idea that isn't already somehow in your mind. Since the early
disciples were Jews, they had no conception of the messiah rising fro the dead in
the middle of history. Thus, they would have never hallucinated about a
resurrection of Christ. At best, they would have hallucinated that he had been
transported directly to heaven, as Elijah had been in the OT, but they would have
never hallucinated a resurrection.
So we see that if the resurrection did not happen, there is no plausible
way to account for the origin of the Christian faith. We would be left with a
third inexplicable mystery.
These are three independently established facts that we have
established. If we deny the resurrection, we are left with at least three
inexplicable mysteries. But there is a much, much better explanation than a
wimpy appeal to mystery or a far-fetched appeal to a stolen body, hallucination,
and mystery religion. The best explanation is that Christ in fact rose from the
dead! Even if we take each fact by itself, we have good enough evidence. But
taken together, we see that the evidence becomes even stronger. For example,
even if two of these facts were to be explained away, there would still be the
third truth to establishes the fact of the resurrection.
These three independently established facts also make alternative
explanations less plausible. It is generally agreed that the explanation with
the best explanatory scope should be accepted. That is, the theory that explains
the most of the evidence is more likely to be true. The resurrection is the only
hypothesis that explains all of the evidence. If we deny the resurrection, we
must come up with three independent natural explanations, not just one. For
example, you would have to propose that the Jews stole the body, then the
disciples hallucinated, and then somehow the pagan mystery religions influenced
their beliefs to make them think of a resurrection. But we have already seen
the implausibility of such theories. And trying to combine them will only make
matters worse. As Gary Habermas has said, "Combining three improbable theories
will not produce a probable explanation. It will actually increase the degree
of improbability. Its like putting leaking buckets inside each other, hoping
each one will help stop up the leaks in the others. All you will get is a watery
mess."
Legend?
Before examining, briefly, the implications of the resurrection, I wish
to take a quick look at perhaps the most popular theory today against the
resurrection--that it was a legend that developed over time. I have had an
extensive debate with an atheist over this issue in a small magazine called
The Skeptical Review, and I'm still waiting for him to give me a good
argument. The facts we have established so far are enough to put to rest any
idea of a legend.
First, we have seen that the testimony of the resurrection goes back to
the original experiences. Remember the eyewitness creed of 1 Cor. 15? That is
the first-hand testimony of Peter and James. So it is not the case that the
resurrection belief evolved over time. Instead, we have testimony from the very
people who claimed to have experienced it. Second, how can the myth theory
explain the evidence for the empty tomb? Third, the myth theory cannot explain
the origin of the Christian faith--for we have already seen that the real
resurrection of Christ is the only adequate cause for the resurrection belief.
Fourth, the myth theory cannot explain the conversion of Paul. Would he be
convinced by a myth? His conversion was in fact too early for any myth to have
developed by then. How then can we explain his conversion? Do we dare accuse
him of lying when he said he saw the risen Christ? Fifth, we have seen the
evidence that the empty tomb story in Mark was very early--within seven years of
the events. That is not long enough for legends. Sixth, we have seen that the
empty tomb narrative lacks the classic traits of legendary development. Seventh,
critical scholars agree that the resurrection message was the foundation of the
preaching of the early church. Thus, it could not have been the product of the
later church. Ninth, there is very good evidence that the gospels and Acts were
written very early. For example, the book of Acts never records the death of
Paul, which occurred in about 64, or the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred
in 70. Since both Jerusalem and Paul are key players in the book of Acts, it
seems strange that their demises would be omitted. The best explanation seems to
be that Paul's death and Jerusalem's destruction are omitted because the book of
Acts had been completed before they happened. This means that Acts was written
before 64, when Paul died. Since Acts is volume 2 of Luke's writings, the book
of Luke being the first, then the Gospel of Luke was even earlier, perhaps 62.
And since most scholars agree that Mark was the first gospel written, that gospel
would have been composed even earlier, perhaps in the late 50s. This brings us
within twenty years of the events, which is not enough time for legends to
develop. So the legend theory is not very plausible.
On the basis of the evidence we have seen, it appears to me that the
resurrection is the best explanation. It explains the empty tomb, the
resurrection appearances, and the existence of the Christian church. No other
competing theory can explain all three of these facts. In fact, none of these
competing theories can even give a satisfying explanation for even one of these
facts. So it seems like the rational person will accept that Jesus Christ rose
from the dead.
Importance of the Resurrection
But, in conclusion, don't we have to ask ourselves what implications this
has? Why does it matter? Or is this some dry, dusty old piece of history that
has no relevance to our lives? I believe that the resurrection is the most
important truth in the world. It has far reaching implications on our lives.
First, the resurrection proves that the claims Jesus made about himself
are true. What did Jesus claim? He claimed to be God. One might say, "I don't
believe that He claimed to be God, because I don't believe the Bible." But the
fact is that even if we take only the passages which skeptical scholars admit as
authentic, it can still be shown that Jesus claimed to be God. I have written a
paper to demonstrate this. So it is impossible to get around the fact that Jesus
claimed to be God. Now, if Jesus had stayed dead in the tomb, it would be
foolish to believe this claim. But since He rose from the dead, it would be
foolish not to believe it. The resurrection proves that what Jesus said about
Himself is true--He is fully God and fully man.
Second, have you ever wondered what reason there is to believe in the
Bible? Is there good reason to believe that it was inspired by God, or is it
simply a bunch of interesting myths and legends? The resurrection of Jesus
answers the question. If Jesus rose from the dead, then we have seen this
validates His claim to be God. If He is God, He speaks with absolute certainty
and final authority. Therefore, what Jesus said about the Bible must be true.
Surely you are going to accept the testimony of one who rose from the dead over
the testimony of a skeptical scholar who will one day die himself--without being
able to raise himself on the third day. What did Jesus say about the Bible? He
said that it was inspired by God and that it cannot error. I will accept the
testimony of Jesus over what I would like to be true and over what any other
merely human scholar has to say. Therefore I believe that the Bible is inspired
by God, without error. Don't get misled by the numerous skeptical and
unbelieving theories about the Bible. Trust Jesus--He rose from the dead.
Therefore remember as you study the NT in this class, that you are studying the
very words of God.
Third, many people are confused by the many different religions in the
world. Are they all from God? But on a closer examination we see that they
cannot all be from God, because they call contradict each other. They cannot all
be true any more than 2+2 can equal both 4 and 5 at the same time. For example,
Christianity is the only religion that believes Jesus Christ is God. All other
religions say that he was a good man, but not God. Clearly, they cannot both be
right! Somebody is wrong. How are we to know which religion is correct? By a
simple test: which religion gives the best evidence for its truth? In light of
Christ's resurrection, I think that Christianity has the best reasons behind it.
Jesus is the only religious leader who has risen from the dead. All
other religious leaders are still in their tombs. Who would you believe? I
think the answer is clear: Jesus' resurrection proves that what He said was
true. Therefore, we must accept his statement to be the only way to God: "I am
the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, except through
me."
Fourth, the resurrection of Christ proves that God will judge the world
one day. The apostle Paul said, "God is now declaring to men that all everywhere
should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in
righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all
men by raising Him from the dead." The resurrection of Christ proves something
very personal and significant to each of us--we will have to give an account of
ourselves to a holy God. And if we are honest with ourselves, we will have to
admit that we do not measure up to his standard. We are sinful, and therefore
deserve to be condemned at His judgement.
Which leads to our fifth point. The resurrection of Christ provides
genuine hope for eternal life. Why? Because Jesus says that by trusting in Him,
we will be forgiven of our sins and thereby escape being condemned at the
judgement. You see, the NT doesn't just tell us that Christ rose from the dead
and leave us wondering why He did this. It answers that He did this because we
are sinners. And because we have sinned, we are deserving of God's judgment.
God is angry with us all because we have attacked His glory. Since God is just,
He cannot simply let our sins go. The penalty for our sins must be paid.
The good news is that God, out of His love, became man in Jesus Christ in
order to pay the penalty for sinners. On the cross, Jesus died in the place of
those who would come to believe in Him. He took upon Himself the very death that
we deserve. The apostle Paul says "He was delivered up because of our sins."
But the apostle Paul goes on to say "He was raised to life because of our
justification." Paul is saying that Christ's resurrection proves that His
mission to conquer sin was successful. His resurrection proves that He is a
Savior who is not only willing, but also able, to deliver us from the wrath of
God that is coming on the day of judgement. The forgiveness that Jesus died and
rose to provide is given to those who trust in Him for salvation and a happy
future.
Let me close with the sixth reason the resurrection is significant. The
Bible says that Christ's resurrection is the pattern that those who believe in
Him will follow. In other words, those who believe in Christ will one day be
resurrected by God just as He was. The resurrection proves that those who trust
in Christ will not be subject in eternity to a half-human existence in just their
souls. It proves that our bodies will be resurrected one day. Because of the
resurrection of Christ, believers will one day experience, forever, the freedom
of having a glorified soul and body.
So, in sum, we have seen that there are many good reasons to believe in
the resurrection--which even critical scholars accept, and many strong reasons
why it is important to believe in the resurrection. I encourage you to keep
thinking about these things, and remember--Christianity is a reasonable faith.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, by the Lockman Foundation.
MP
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