“Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here...‘He has risen from the dead...”
―Matthew 28:5-7
“The resurrection of Jesus Christ and Christianity stand or fall together”
― Professor Josh McDowell
As a child my family attended church at sunrise nearly every Easter Sunday. Although I didn't like getting up early when it was still dark, over the years the significance of the Easter message began to 'dawn' on me. Namely, that this God-man named Jesus conquered death, returned to life from the grave, and promised us that we too could have this hope. (1) (see 1.3 min youtube scene of the resurrection from "The Passion of the Christ" at left, or click here). But can this really be true? If it is, it changes everything.
Literal Resurrection?
Many modern people have trouble believing in this aspect of Christian teaching. One objection is that the early Christians were a primitive, pre-scientific people who were ignorant of the laws of nature and therefore, more prone to believe in miracles. However, a physician named Luke wrote two books of the Bible that included an account of the resurrection. Luke was trained in the medical science of his day, and wrote that the first objections to the resurrection came not from atheists, but from Sadducee high priests in Judaism. These were highly religious men who believed in God, but they had embraced a worldview that did not allow for the resurrection of the dead. Indeed, theirs was a widespread conviction. Historian Tom Wright explained: "Ancient paganism contains all kinds of theories, but whenever resurrection is mentioned, the answer is a firm negative: we know that it doesn't happen." Therefore, the ancient world knew as well as we do that dead bodies do not get up out of graves. Christianity won its way because of the sheer weight of evidence that one man had actually risen from the dead. (2,3)
Many modern people have trouble believing in this aspect of Christian teaching. One objection is that the early Christians were a primitive, pre-scientific people who were ignorant of the laws of nature and therefore, more prone to believe in miracles. However, a physician named Luke wrote two books of the Bible that included an account of the resurrection. Luke was trained in the medical science of his day, and wrote that the first objections to the resurrection came not from atheists, but from Sadducee high priests in Judaism. These were highly religious men who believed in God, but they had embraced a worldview that did not allow for the resurrection of the dead. Indeed, theirs was a widespread conviction. Historian Tom Wright explained: "Ancient paganism contains all kinds of theories, but whenever resurrection is mentioned, the answer is a firm negative: we know that it doesn't happen." Therefore, the ancient world knew as well as we do that dead bodies do not get up out of graves. Christianity won its way because of the sheer weight of evidence that one man had actually risen from the dead. (2,3)
A second objection is that today we know the laws of nature and therefore, we also know that miracles are impossible. However, as Oxford mathematician John Lennox explained: "It is important to grasp that Christians do not deny the laws of nature...The scientific use of the word 'law' is not the same as the legal use, where we often think of a law as constraining someone's actions...Newton's Law of Gravitation tells me that if I drop an apple it will fall towards the centre of the earth. But that law does not prevent someone intervening, and catching the apple as it descends. In other words, the law predicts what will happen, provided there is no change in the conditions under which the experiment is conducted. Thus, from the theistic perspective, the laws of nature predict what is bound to happen if God does not intervene. To argue that the laws of nature make it impossible for us to believe in the existence of God, and in the possibility of his intervention in the universe, is plainly fallacious. It would be like claiming that understanding of the laws governing the behaviour of internal combustion engines makes it impossible to believe that the designer of a motor car, or one of his mechanics, could or would intervene to remove the cylinder head. Of course they could intervene. Moreover, this intervention would not destroy those laws. The very same laws that explained why the engine worked with the cylinder head on would now explain why it did not work with the head removed...When a miracle takes place, it is our knowledge of the laws of nature that alerts us to the fact that it is a miracle." (2)
The Explosion of the Early Church
Clearly the resurrection or any event in history cannot be proven in a scientific laboratory. However, the resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact much more fully attested to than most other events of ancient history that we take for granted. The explosive growth of the early church was centered around the resurrection, and was striking evidence that it (the resurrection) happened. (2,3,4) (listen to NT Wright on youtube at right, or click here).
From the beginning the early church had a resurrection-centered view of reality. For example, one of the first accounts of the empty tomb and eyewitnesses was recorded by Paul only 15 to 20 years (possibly as little as 5 years) after the death of Jesus:
Clearly the resurrection or any event in history cannot be proven in a scientific laboratory. However, the resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact much more fully attested to than most other events of ancient history that we take for granted. The explosive growth of the early church was centered around the resurrection, and was striking evidence that it (the resurrection) happened. (2,3,4) (listen to NT Wright on youtube at right, or click here).
From the beginning the early church had a resurrection-centered view of reality. For example, one of the first accounts of the empty tomb and eyewitnesses was recorded by Paul only 15 to 20 years (possibly as little as 5 years) after the death of Jesus:
"I
passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed
on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died."
1 Corinthians 15:3-6.
1 Corinthians 15:3-6.
It is also noteworthy that nearly all of the apostles and early Christian leaders died for their faith. It is hard to believe that this kind of powerful self-sacrifice would be done to support a hoax. As Pascal put it "I [believe] those witnesses who get their throats cut." Consequently, as stated by Tim Keller: "Most people think that, when it comes to Jesus' resurrection,
the burden of proof is on believers to give evidence that it happened. That is not completely the case. It is not enough to simply
believe Jesus did not rise from the dead. You must then come up with a
historically feasible alternate explanation for the birth of the
church." (4)
 |
| Mary at the Empty Tomb, a stained glass reproduction of a painting by German artist Bernhard Plockhorst (1825-1907). |
At the age of 50, Leo Tolstoy faced an inward crisis and asked the question lying in the soul of every person, a question that brought him to the verge of suicide. "Is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy?" The resurrection of Jesus Christ answers that question with a resounding yes.
Consequently, I believe the significance of the resurrection warrants your serious consideration. Namely because if it really happened, Christianity teaches that our resurrection can be guaranteed as well. As NT Wright said (in the youtube video in this post), if your worldview doesn't allow the possibility of miracles and you simply won't believe it, then this is as far as I can take you. However, if you are open to changing your worldview to believing that maybe there is a God who is involved in sorting out this sad world, then you will find the evidence overwhelming for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Personally I find enormous comfort in this belief and desire the same for everyone-including you!
Footnotes:
(1) After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:1-10.
(2) John Lennox, God's Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?, in the chapter entitled "Violating nature? The legacy of David Hume.The discussion in the section "Literal Resurrection?" was based on this chapter/book.
(3) Other excellent references on this topic include Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ; and Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict.
(4) Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, in the chapter entitled The Reality of the Resurrection. The discussion in the section "Explosion of the Early Church" was based on this chapter/book.
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