Firm Faith in the Resurrection [Series Summary]
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by Westminster
Welcome.
This podcast and post is called “Firm Faith in the Resurrection.” It is a summary of a two-part Sunday series called “Did the resurrection really happen? Explaining and defending our foundational belief.”
It includes a lot of the content from the two sermons, plus a bit of extra background information.
If you prefer to listen to the podcast version of this blog, click here.
Let’s begin.
Throwing sand back over the bridge
In the Indiana Jones movies, Indiana is played by Harrison Ford. He’s a man of learning in a world of mystery. There’s a scene where he had to get across a huge gorge, but couldn’t jump that far. His map indicated that he could walk across, but he couldn’t see a bridge. He was in a hurry because people were chasing him and he needed to help his friend.
He took a “leap of faith” (his words), and discovered that his weight was in fact supported. There was a bridge after all. It had been an optical illusion. When he got to the other side he took some sand and threw it back over the bridge so that he could see it more clearly when he needed it again.
Here’s how that scene connects to this topic.
We often think we need to take a huge leap of faith for something like believing in the resurrection of Christ. But when we study the Gospel stories, and when we examine the surrounding details, and when we consider the reliability of the sources we have, we discover that the “leap” is often not as big as we think. Further, sharing what we’ve learned is like throwing sand over the bridge. It helps other people trust the path as well.
Without it, futility. With it, everything.
For Christians, belief in the resurrection is vital. It is not a secondary add-on. Taking the resurrection out of Christianity is like taking the heart out of a body. It results in death.
The apostle Paul said that if Jesus is not raised then our faith is “futile” (1 Corinthians 15:17). Earlier in that same chapter he said it is of “first importance” (verse 3). Jesus himself predicted it. And the fact that he is now reigning and ruling over the universe is connected in no small part to his world-changing victory over death.
The resurrection vindicates Jesus’ identity and everything he said and did. It is like a divine stamp of approval. Because of the resurrection we are confident that he is in fact the Messiah and Son of God; we are confident in his teachings; we are confident that he died in our place as our substitute. The resurrection showed his victory over death itself—a victory which he gives to his followers. It is a part of his Lordship over the world. It also foreshadows what will happen to all of us on the last Day when all of his people will experience resurrection as well. It is a paid-in-full guarantee that it will be so.
So if you take away the resurrection, you take away any confidence we had in who he was, in what he taught, and his work (including his death as our substitute on the cross to reconcile us to God); you take away his victory over death, and therefore our victory over death; you take away his Lordship over the world; and you take away any hope for the rest of us forever. So yes, vital indeed.
Our trajectory
Here is our trajectory.
Part 1 is about identifying the seven biggest push-backs or conspiracy theories which are designed to undermine our confidence in the resurrection. Not only will I identify them, but I’ll defend against them.
Part 2 will provide five additional reasons for confidence.
Casual and casualty sound so much the same
Let me provide another introductory comment. It’s no coincidence that the word ‘casual’ and ‘casualty’ sound so much the same.
Casual means being unprepared or laissez-faire. A casualty is someone who didn’t intend to die, but who died anyway in some sort of accident. When it comes to having a firm faith, if you are casual you may end up being a casualty. When questions and criticisms come, it’s important to have thought through what you believe and why you believe it. Otherwise, you might end up lying on the sidewalk with a chalk outline, spiritually speaking.
Doubt your doubts
Matthew 28 famously includes the Great Commission. It’s when the risen Jesus says to go and make disciples of all nations. Picture the scene. Jesus has been walking and talking to his followers for forty days. If I could use a time machine to go back to any period in history, I think this is when I would choose. It would be so awesome to talk with the resurrected Jesus. He showed Thomas the nail marks in his hands. I wonder if his head would still have the marks from the crown of thorns?
Okay, back to the Great Commission. Just before those often-quoted words, we read this in verse 17: “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.” You heard it correctly. There were some disciples who had spent time with the risen Jesus Christ—and still doubted!
That teaches us something. Seeing isn’t always believing. Believing is believing. No matter who you are—even if you’ve walked and talked with Jesus—you need to examine your thoughts, search your soul, and decide what you do or don’t believe.
These days you are going to be repeatedly told to doubt your beliefs. But you should also doubt your doubts. Having some doubts is normal. It’s what you do with them that matters most.
The opposite of casual is deliberate. De-lib-er-ate. So that’s what we’re going to do.
Part 1: Responding to the seven most popular conspiracy theories
Conspiracy Theory #1
Jesus never really died. He just passed out, appeared dead, was buried, and then walked out of the tomb when he regained consciousness.
This is sometimes called the ‘swoon theory.’
To this we say that crucifixion was a form of torture which was too brutal to allow anyone to survive.
Let’s look more closely at the story and also appeal to some historical research while leveraging some help from the medical community.
Sweating blood and psychological distress
Luke 22:44 says Jesus’ sweat “became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”[1] This is a medical condition called hematidrosis. Although rare it can occur with extreme psychological stress. Chemicals break down the capillaries in the sweat glands which then get some blood in them.
Torture experts and the cross
When it comes to what happened leading up to and during the crucifixion itself, Romans were torture experts. The Gospels say Jesus was flogged (ex. John 19:1). Soldiers had whips with bits of glass or bone designed to rip the flesh. Given what we already know about Jesus’ psychological strain, his skin would have been extra tender, making it all the more painful.
These beatings were so horrible that skin would be ripped away, sometimes exposing the bones of the shoulders, backs or legs of the victim. This can send one into hypovolemic shock because of the massive blood loss. This treatment was so harsh that some people died even before they got to the cross.
On the cross itself Jesus would have been nailed with spikes five to seven inches long. Crucifixion was the most brutal form of murder that the Romans used. People were horrified by and scared of it. Roman citizens could not be crucified. It was reserved for the worst of criminals. The abominableness of this torture was realized by Rome’s most famous orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, who said, “Even the mere word, cross, must remain far not only from the lips of the citizens of Rome, but also from their thoughts, their eyes, their ears.” He called it a “cruel and disgusting penalty.”
Not only was the cross physical torture, but it was a drawn-out shaming ritual which took place in public. It served to deter onlookers from messing with the brutal and unrestrained power of the Roman Empire. ‘If you mess with Rome, look what can happen to you!’
Jesus would have been crucified naked (contrary to the serene paintings or pictures you may have seen). His arms would have been stretched wide. They would have dislocated from his shoulders. As he hung on the cross, his lungs would have started to fill with his own blood and internal fluids.
His legs would have been slightly bent at the knees and turned to the side (so that a spike could go through both his ankles). To breathe he would have needed to press down on his ankles (which, you will recall, had spikes through them), so that he could raise himself upward. This would have allowed him to breath, temporarily escaping his own drowning. When the pain became unbearable, he would have lowered back down—a process which would keep repeating itself. Eventually he may have drowned in his own blood or experienced cardiac arrest for a whole host of reasons.
The word ‘excruciating’ comes from ‘out of the cross.’ This tells us something of the horror Jesus experienced.
A spear to the side and “hidden science”
In John 19:34 we learn that Jesus was speared in the side by one of the soldiers. The text says that water and blood came out. J. Warner Wallace is a national crime expert. He says that the pouring out of blood and water from Jesus’ side is “hidden science” that he was in fact dead when it happened. Here’s why.
It was most likely that the spear went between his ribs on the right side, which resulted in a pericardial effusion and a pleural effusion; these have the appearance of blood and water. That this happened is medical confirmation that he was in fact dead. The eyewitness who recorded that detail was the apostle John. He was not a doctor. But he simply wrote down what he witnessed. In doing this, and surely without knowing it, he provided medical confirmation that Jesus was in fact dead.[2]
In the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. William D. Edwards wrote: “interpretations based on the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at odds with modern medical knowledge.”[3]
So, is it possible that Jesus simply passed out and never really died? No, it is not.
Conspiracy Theory #2
Jesus’ body was stolen by someone, perhaps even the disciples.
This idea has been around for a long time.
A heavily guarded tomb
To this we say that anywhere from four to twenty Roman guards would have been guarding the tomb and would have been killed if they abandoned their post. It is unlikely that they would have done so allowing people to steal a dead body (even if they could have somehow moved a stone door that would have been 1.5 to 2 tonnes in weight.
This same logic applies to the theory that someone could have bribed those same guards.
A criminal offense
An edict by Caesar himself called the ‘Nazareth Inscription’ warns that vandalizing or tampering with tombs, including tampering with a body, was a capital punishment. Is it likely that frightened disciples would have risked death to steal Jesus’ body and get past well-armed Roman torture experts just a few days after running away from them? No, it’s not.
Conspiracy Theory #3
People must have been hallucinating when they saw Jesus alive again
Hallucinations are unique, internal experiences
Experts who study hallucinations say that no two people have the exact same hallucination at the same time because it is an internal experience. If multiple people hallucinate at the same time, they don’t see the same thing—they see different things.
Further, if someone hallucinates and sees something, what are they likely to say? They are most likely going to say that they saw ‘a ghost’ or ‘a spirit.’ It’s unlikely they would describe a real flesh-and-blood person who walked, talked and ate with them over a period of forty days with hundreds of their friends. (More on that later.)
Conspiracy Theory #4
The early church made up the resurrection stories to promote their own cause and to make themselves look good
To this we say that the stories include too many details that would have hurt the spread of Christianity instead of help it.
Signs of weakness?
For example, Jesus says things which appear to be signs of weakness. On the night before his crucifixion he prays these words in Luke 22:42: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” He accepts the task before him, but his words also reveal his inner anguish. If you wanted to fabricate a story that just makes your hero look good, why leave that detail in? Because preserving what actually happened was more important than changing the details for your own short-sighted purposes.
Giving up?
On the cross Jesus says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus was surely expressing his deep pain. But we also know that he was quoting Psalm 22 which begins with those exact same words. It starts in desperation but ends in victory for future generations. I think Jesus quoted this psalm to help people within earshot understand the bigger picture of what was happening.
But originally, it made Jesus look like he was giving up. If you wanted to fabricate a story that just made your hero look good, why leave that detail in? Because preserving what actually happened was more important than changing the details for your own short-sighted purposes.
“Hysterical females”
Or consider the fact that women were among the first to see the risen Jesus. At the time, a woman’s testimony was not considered credible enough to be admissible in a court of law. In fact, a second century critic of Christianity named Celsus dismissed their testimony because these witnesses were “hysterical females.”[4] If you wanted to fabricate a story to convince other people it was true, why leave that detail in? Because preserving what actually happened was more important than changing the details for your own short-sighted purposes.
Embarrassing disciples
What about the fact that Joseph of Arimathea helped bury Jesus’ body. This detail would have been embarrassing to the early church. The disciples should have done it, not a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. If you wanted to fabricate a story to make the early church look good, why leave that detail in—or so many of the other details which depict the disciples in a bad light? These same disciples went on to be the authoritative leaders in the early church. Some of their deeds and statements weren’t exactly great resume material. The reason these details are included is because preserving what actually happened was more important than changing the details for your own short-sighted purposes.
What we’ve seen here is that an argument which intends to undermine the credibility of the stories actually provides another reason to believe them.
Conspiracy Theory #5
Early Christians were just using metaphorical language to describe a warm feeling of Jesus ‘living on’ in their hearts
Explosive and immediate
To this we say that the proclamation of the risen Jesus was explosive and immediate, not something that slowly happened over time. More on that in Part Two.
Physical reality, not feelings
Further, the descriptions about the resurrection—i.e. an empty tomb, a flesh-and-blood body, living eyewitnesses, Jesus eating, teaching and walking with people—are meant to communicate physical reality, not feelings.
Jewish views of resurrection in the first century
Plus, there wouldn’t have been anything controversial about someone ‘living on’ in a metaphorical sense. Jews were looking forward to the end of time when there would be a general resurrection of the dead for all of God’s people (see, for example, Daniel 12:2). Christians continue to hold this belief. With this in mind, one of the reasons the resurrection was controversial for Jews was because one man—Jesus—was raised in the middle of human history and not at the end of it. It seemed to be too early in history for this to happen; it didn’t ‘fit’ with their expectations and hopes. The problem wasn’t that Jesus was a warm and cozy feeling in people’s hearts—it was that the long-awaited Messiah and Son of God had been a corpse and had now come back to life!
Conspiracy Theory #6
Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t literal. He was just a Jewish version of an ancient myth or legend
It is sometimes said that Jesus wasn’t a real person, but is based on something like a mythical Egyptian god—like Osiris/Horus—and is therefore not a historical, flesh-and-blood person.
I’ve spent time reading these types of books and have also looked at many ancient “parallels” with the story of Jesus. What I discovered is that the supposed parallels aren’t very convincing; this is an argument which is wildly oversold. If there is a legend about a carpenter in England named Tom who hits a home run in April and is killed in a car accident, and if there is a plumber named Diego in Spain who hits a home run in spring and is killed by a train, that doesn’t mean that Diego isn’t real or that he is simply based on the legend of a man in England named Tom.
Further, mythological literature is different in nature than the Gospel accounts. C.S. Lewis was a world-class literary critic. He wrote: “I have been reading poems, romances, vision literature, legends, and myths all my life. I know what they are like. I know none of them are like this. Of this [gospel] text there are only two possible views. Either this is reportage… or else, some unknown [ancient] writer… without known predecessors or successors, suddenly anticipated the whole technique of modern novelistic, realistic narrative…”[5]
Lewis calls the Gospels “reportage”—meaning that real people recorded real events that they themselves experienced. Not only is there a lack of evidence that Jesus is a Jewish version of an Egyptian myth, but all the evidence we have points us in the opposite direction—that a movement of people were spiritually ignited by the resurrection of a flesh-and-blood Messiah.
Point #7
Miracles like the resurrection aren’t possible because they go against science
This final category isn’t a conspiracy theory. But it is a view that some people have.
One of the things I sometimes hear is this: “I don’t believe in miracles because science doesn’t allow them.” Makes sense, right? Wrong.
According to Michael Ruse, a respected philosopher of science, science “deals only with the natural, the repeatable, that which is governed by law.”[6] In other words, science deals with what you can physically measure in the natural world. Therefore, a true scientist may observe nature and conduct experiments, but isn’t really equipped, by the proper methods of scientific inquiry, to say whether God exists, or whether miracles are possible.
To say that nothing is real unless it can be measured by science is like saying a colour isn’t a colour unless it’s green. Science is a way to observe, measure and understand the physical world. But it doesn’t pretend to be the repository of all possible knowledge. To think that way isn’t scientific thinking—it’s an outlook called “scientism.”
Harvard professor Stephen Jay Gould is a celebrated evolutionary biologist, paleontologist, and historian of science. He says: “To say it for my colleagues and for the umpteenth millionth time, science simply cannot, by its legitimate methods, adjudicate the issue of God’s possible superintendence of nature. We neither affirm nor deny it. We simply cannot comment on it as scientists.”[7]
I say all this because believing God can do miraculous things doesn’t make you anti-science. It makes you open to the fact that God is actually God, and that he can intervene in the course of everyday events in the world that he himself created.
If you are speaking with people who are ideologically opposed to what they can’t explain with their immediate senses, it’s best to humbly share your thoughts and commend the situation to God. You might also want to be able to articulate what science is, and what it isn’t. For those who want to explore modern research and the plausibility of miracles, I recommend a thought-provoking book by Lee Strobel called The Case for Miracles.
For Christians, belief in resurrection should not be a problem from a theoretical standpoint. God created the world out of nothing. Think about how huge that is—he created the stars, ecosystems, and living creatures! In light of all that, resurrection is totally within the scope of the Creator’s power. Theologian and pastor Tim Keller comments: “if [God] created everything out of nothing, it would hardly be a problem for him to rearrange parts of it as and when he wishes.”[8] If a watchmaker can make a watch, he can surely change the time on his own watch. That’s like God looking into his creation and raising Christ back to life.
Part 2: Additional Reasons for Confidence
Having responded to some of the most common conspiracy theories, and having shared a few thoughts about the nature of science and of the miraculous, let’s move on to five additional reasons for confidence.
1. Eyewitness Testimony
The New Testament writings about the resurrection are trustworthy: (a) because they were written or passed down by eyewitnesses (including apostles), and (b) because these eyewitnesses were still living when the stories were being shared and could therefore confirm (or deny) their accuracy.
These facts are important because some people claim that the stories were preserved long after the events took place. They postulate that they are vague recollections at best. They say the stories were only remembered and recorded long after the fact by people who heard them from other people who heard them from other people—kind of like a child’s game of telephone. This is abjectly untrue.
Side note: For those of you who are interested in how and when the Gospel stories were recorded, and whether or not they are trustworthy, here is a link to an article I wrote for The Gospel Coalition Canada called ‘Have the Gospels Been Distorted?’
Early testimony by actual eyewitnesses
The four Gospels came to us from eyewitnesses: Matthew and John were apostles who were personally present with Jesus. Mark’s Gospel recounts the sayings and stories of Jesus through the apostle Peter. Luke consulted eyewitnesses who were personally present (see Luke 1:1-4). The apostle Paul met Jesus after the resurrection on the road to Damascus (Acts 22), but also met the apostle Peter, James (Jesus’ brother), and probably others. This tells us that information about the resurrection came from the earliest eyewitness sources, not later hearsay.
Belief in the resurrection happens early and is foundational to the faith. It is not a later addition or of secondary importance
Both Christian and non-Christian scholars generally agree that belief in the resurrection is an essential part of the earliest creed of the Christian faith, not a later development. This would have been very important in a culture with so much illiteracy. A creed is a short, succinct statement of faith which captures essential teaching.
We find one example in one of the earliest New Testament passages, 1st Corinthians. It was written in the year 53 or 54. To put that in chronological context, this letter was most likely being read before the final versions of the Gospels were circulating. The creedal statement is found in chapter 15, verses 3-6. Paul writes:
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”
Let’s notice a few things. First, what Paul says is of “first importance.” It’s not of secondary importance or of no importance. It is of first importance.
Second, he is sharing what he himself had “received.” This tells us that what he is about to tell them has been around for a while. It predates even this letter. He is passing on critical, earlier information.
Third, it is the Easter story in compact form. It begins with the cross on Good Friday and continues through the empty tomb.
Fourth, Paul states that the risen Jesus appeared to more than five hundred brothers (i.e. believers) at the same time. This would have occurred during his forty days on earth before his ascension.
Fifth, we are told that “most” of those people are still alive, but some have “fallen asleep,” which is a euphemism for death. In other words, he’s saying that if you want confirmation about these things, just go and talk to the eyewitnesses—most of whom are still alive! In case it’s not clear, hundreds of eyewitnesses saying the same thing and confirming your words really helps your case.
Respected Bible Scholar F.F. Bruce wrote: “It can’t have been so easy as some writers seem to think to invent words and deeds of Jesus in those early years, when so many of his disciples were about, who could remember what had and had not happened.”[9]
‘Ancient footnotes’ in the Gospels tell us this same thing
The presence of eyewitnesses in the earliest days to confirm the accuracy of the stories is also confirmed almost by happenstance in the Gospels themselves. We see evidence of this in what we might describe as an ancient version of footnotes.
One example is from Mark 15:21-22: “And they [the guards] compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his [Jesus’] cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull).”
Notice the detail that Simon is “the father of Alexander and Rufus.” Why is it there? It serves no practical purpose to the overarching storyline. The reason it’s there is because it’s a kind of ancient footnote. The Gospel writer, Mark, is telling us that if we want to confirm this detail to go and talk to Alexander and Rufus. The first readers of the Gospel clearly knew who they were and could go corroborate the information for themselves. ‘Oh, they live up on Jerusalem Lane, let’s go talk to them and get the specifics.’
2. The New Testament demonstrates great historically accuracy
The New Testament shows incredible historical accuracy on other non-disputed areas, which lends credibility to the rest of the story, like the resurrection.
If details about the ancient world—like place names, Roman laws and customs, Jewish burial practices, etc—that we find in other historical documents and sources are at odds with what we find in the New Testament, then it can make us doubt its reliability. But if those details are consistent with other historical sources, then it can increase our confidence in what we read.
a. Cultural references
Details about Roman soldiers, titles, and operations are consistent with what we know about them from non-Christian sources. One example is the conversation between Pilate and Jesus at his trial. Craig Blomberg highlights how it “dovetails remarkably with Roman judicial procedure.”[10]
Further, what we learn about Jewish customs and practices—including the celebration of festivals, Jewish burial practices, etc.—are consistent with what we know about them from non-Christian sources.
b. Geography
Locations, city names and references to nature (lakes, mountains, etc) are consistent with information we have about first century Judea that are found outside of the New Testament.
In Mark 15:33 it says that darkness came over the land when Jesus was crucified. Thallus was a non-Christian who wrote at this time about a darkness which came over the land “unreasonably.” It didn’t make sense to him because it was Passover and a full moon. This may be further confirmation of what we find in Mark 15:33 at the time of the crucifixion. There it states that there was “darkness over the whole land.”
c. Archaeology
Archeological discoveries continue to confirm the accuracy of places and objects described in the New Testament. These include the discovery of the pool of Bethesda and colonnades of Solomon in the 1900’s, the location of worship on Mount Gerizim in Samaria, inscriptions bearing the names of Pontius Pilate and King Herod, nails used in crucifixion, and the discovery of a fishing boat on the bottom of the Sea of Galilee in the 1980’s.
Nelson Glueck was a well-known Jewish archaeologist. He says “it may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever contradicted a biblical reference.”[11]
The accuracy of these details gives us increased confidence in the content of the New Testament. There we find that history is being carefully recorded and preserved.
3. The tomb was never used as a pilgrimage site
In the ancient world, the tombs of heroes and martyrs tended to be marked, venerated and used as pilgrimage sites. People would travel a long ways to bring flowers, light candles, and pray, as a way to respect their leader. That never happened with Jesus’ tomb. Why not? Because the focus was on the fact that he was alive, not dead.
In the early fourth century, the emperor Constantine sent a delegation to Jerusalem to try and find the location. His servants only came back with guesses.
Today, three locations are in competition as the real burial location. But the fact that we are so uncertain simply shows that the tomb was never a focus. Why spend time at a tomb when you could spend time with the resurrected Jesus?
4. The disciples were radically transformed by something
a. You don’t die for a lie
The disciples experienced a radical change. They started to think and act in a profoundly new way—and they did so quickly. Consider the backstory. When Jesus was betrayed and crucified, many of them fled. The apostle John was present at the cross, but the others had left. And yet, they went from being near cowards to lions of courage virtually overnight. The best explanation for this is that they saw Jesus alive again.
Compare this to the followers of Bar Kokhba, a supposed-Messiah from the second century. After his death, his followers fizzled out.
Not so with the followers of Jesus. What happened to them isn’t recorded in the Bible, and a few of the details are a bit blurry; but the early church preserved the following details.
Peter was crucified in the persecution of Nero, perhaps upside down.
Andrew was crucified.
James the son of Zebedee was beheaded by King Herod I.
Philip died by hanging in Hierapolis.
Bartholomew was flayed to death in India.
Thomas died by stabbing in India.
James the son of Alphaeus was stoned then clubbed to death.
Thaddeus died by arrows in Persia.
Simon the zealot died from crucifixion, but perhaps by being sawn in half in Persia.
Matthias (who replaced Judas) was probably stoned or beheaded; we’re less sure about this one.
Matthew’s legacy is also a bit less clear; but he may have been speared to death in Africa.
John died of old age in Ephesus.
Wow, that’s a lot of pain and death. But why in the world would they endure all of that? It’s because of the loving power of God displayed in the resurrection. It filled them with courage. Jesus had summoned them to continue his message and mission all around the world. They were to be his ambassadors with the global good news of peace and reconciliation between God and his people through Christ.
In Romans 8:11 Paul writes: “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you…” The apostles knew it. Courage is fighting alongside the King who has already won. That King was Jesus.
What do you give your life for? Would you die for someone you loved and cared about deeply? Probably. Would you die for someone who gave their life for you? Probably. Would you die for a cause that was so great that it could bring the love and peace of God all around the world? Yes, you probably would. You don’t tend to die for a lie. You die for something that is incredibly special.
The apostles who fled from Jesus willingly went into situations where they would be martyred—and horribly and painfully so—because they had seen him alive again and because his cause was so great that it could bring the love and peace of God all around the world.
Charles Colson was a part of the Nixon Administration and got caught up in the Watergate Scandal. It’s a long story, but the short version is that Nixon’s team was doing things they shouldn’t have done to their political opponents.
Colson was a part of Nixon’s team. He went to prison. In prison he became convinced about the resurrection. “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me,” he said. What did he mean?
“Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”
b. People started worshiping Jesus virtually overnight
Jews adhered to a strict monotheism. There was only one God. In the Ten Commandments God says: “You shall have no other gods before me.” In Deuteronomy 17 the punishment for worshiping a false god was death by stoning. This is serious stuff.
With that background in mind, consider how radical it was that Jesus was worshiped as divine. This wasn’t a slow process as some modern skeptics try to make you believe. Instead, this started to happen in the earliest days.
There are a variety of glimpses of this throughout the New Testament. For example, Jesus received worship by the blind man who was healed in John 9:38, and by some of the disciples after his resurrection in Matthew 28:17. In John 5:23, Jesus said that people are to “honour” him just as they honour his heavenly Father. In Acts 7:59 Stephen prays to Jesus, which is an act of worship.
But let’s focus on the hymns and rituals of the early church. They included this same sort of devotion. Philippians was written around the year 60. One of the features which make it unique is that it quotes what many scholars consider to be a hymn or song about Jesus. This is found in Philippians 2:5-11. Since Paul quotes it, we know that it predates his letter and is from an earlier period. It says:
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.“
That’s about worship. And it’s most likely one of the earliest hymns of Christianity.
Of special interest is the word that is used for “Lord” in the second last line. It is the Greek word kyrios. In the Greek version of the Old Testament this is the same word used for the name of God himself, Lord, kyrios.
Why would Jews of a strict monotheism start to worship Jesus virtually overnight? It’s because they had come to realize that (a) God was personally present in Jesus, and (b) that he had been raised from the dead.
Larry Hurtado is a respected scholar and Emeritus Professor of New Testament Language, Literature and Theology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In his book Honoring the Son: Jesus in Earliest Christian Devotional Practice, he observes: “the treatment of Jesus… rightfully entitled to the sort of reverence otherwise confined to God, was amazingly early and explosively rapid, not an incremental process.”[12]
c. The day for worship and rest switched from Saturday to Sunday
This was monumental. Originally, the Sabbath marked the end of God’s creation on day seven, Saturday. Now, the Lord’s Day marked the beginning of God’s new creation on day one, Sunday.
Think of how ingrained the Sabbath was since the very start of creation: one day a week to rest and worship for generations and generations and generations. But in the New Testament, a profound shift started to take place. God’s people started to gather for worship not on the last day of the week, but on the first day of the week. It was because it was the day when Jesus—the agent of God’s renovating work in our lives and in his new creation—rose from the dead.
Only something as powerful and world-altering as the resurrection of God incarnate could have inspired such a drastic change.
5. One last reason for confidence: The Holy Spirit
In a much-neglected verse, John 14:26, Jesus said this to his disciples: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
Think about how significant that is. While speaking to his disciples, Jesus said that God himself in the person of the Holy Spirit “will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Yes, the Holy Spirit taught the disciples “all things.” Not some things, but all things.
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This should give us even more confidence in the resurrection. Not only is the information we have trustworthy because it was carefully preserved and passed down by eyewitnesses who would later be martyred for their faith, but because God himself was active in ensuring their work was completed with accuracy and understanding. Praise be to God!
Summary
Let’s summarize how far we’ve come in both Parts 1 and 2.
We started with an illustration of Indiana Jones. We want to throw some sand over the bridge to help ourselves and others increase their confidence on the path of faith. Perhaps the “leap” isn’t as big as we think.
The word casual and casualty sound so much the same. We certainly don’t want that to be true for our faith. Chalk outlines on the sidewalk are better suited to crime shows on TV, not our souls. Therefore, we need to be deliberate. De-lib-er-ate. Doubts are normal. But it’s what you do with them that matters most.
In Part 1 we identified the seven biggest push-backs or conspiracy theories which are designed to undermine our confidence in the resurrection. We looked at them and defended against them.
Theory 1: Jesus never really died. He just passed out, appeared dead, was buried, and then walked out of the tomb when he regained consciousness.
To this we said that crucifixion was a form of torture which was too brutal to allow anyone to survive. We looked at the excruciation Jesus experienced, and also what we know about Roman torture practices and the “hidden science” of the blood and water that came from Jesus’ side. Yes, he was most certainly dead.
Theory 2: Jesus’ body was stolen by someone, perhaps even the disciples
To this we said that the tomb was heavily guarded and that those same guards would have been killed if they abandoned their post. Further, it was a capital offence to tamper with a tomb or dead body.
Theory 3: People must have been hallucinating when they saw Jesus alive again
To this we said that experts who study hallucinations say that no two people have the exact same hallucination at the same time because it is an internal experience.
Theory 4: The early church made up the resurrection stories to promote their own cause and to make themselves look good.
To this we said that the stories include too many details that would have hurt the spread of Christianity instead of help it. These details include Jesus appearing as if he was showing weakness or giving up, the women as eyewitnesses, and details that would have been embarrassing to the disciples.
Theory 5: Early Christians were just using metaphorical language to describe a warm feeling of Jesus ‘living on’ in their hearts.
To this we said that belief in the risen Jesus was explosive and immediate, not slow; that the stories communicate physical reality, not just feelings; and that there would have been nothing controversial about having warm feelings—in fact, the resurrection was controversial specifically because it was physical.
Theory 6: Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t literal. He was just a Jewish version of an ancient myth or legend.
To this we said that the Gospels communicate “reportage,” not mythology; that supposed “parallels” aren’t convincing; and that mythology as literature functions differently than the New Testament accounts.
Point 7: Miracles like the resurrection aren’t possible because they go against science
To this we discussed what science actually is and how it isn’t a necessary barrier to belief in God or the miraculous. For Christians we highlighted that the God who made the universe out of nothing can certainly bring a man back to life.
In Part 2, we provided some additional reasons for confidence.
We highlighted how the New Testament writings about the resurrection are trustworthy: (a) because they were written or passed down by eyewitnesses (including apostles), and (b) because these eyewitnesses were still living when the stories were being shared and could therefore confirm (or deny) their accuracy.
We discussed how belief in the resurrection happens early and is foundational to the faith. It is not a later addition or of secondary importance.
We discovered the historical accuracy of the New Testament as it relates to cultural references, geography, and archaeology, and how this can give us increased confidence in what it contains.
We discussed how the tomb was never used as a pilgrimage site because the focus was on the fact that Jesus was alive, not dead.
We spent time considering how the disciples were radically transformed by something and were virtually all martyred for their faith; how people started worshiping Jesus virtually overnight (a fact which is especially incredible given the strict monotheism of the Jewish people); how the day for worship and rest switched from Saturday to Sunday because it was the day of the resurrection, signalling a new era in God’s creation.
Lastly, we looked at John 14:26 and the role of the Holy Spirit in the preservation of what we find in the New Testament. God himself was active in ensuring the work of the apostles was completed with accuracy and understanding.
A former Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Darling, said this about the resurrection: “there exists such overwhelming evidence, positive and negative, factual and circumstantial, that no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring in a verdict that the resurrection story is true.”[13]
Personal, but never private
One writer has stated that God is personal, but never private.[14] How true. Yes, God is personal. But our faith is not something that is so internal that it never impacts who we are or how we live. That was certainly true for the first disciples.
If the resurrection is true, it changes things—not just in terms of how many warm-and-cozy-feelings we may have—but practically and powerfully in our daily lives. The message and mission of the risen Jesus is to be shared with each other, our communities, and world. Courage is fighting alongside the King who has already won.
Hopefully this summary has helped you to be more deliberate (de-lib-er-ate) in thinking about your faith. And hopefully it has increased your confidence in our foundational belief, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
One day, tears will end.
Anxiety and worry will become extinct.
Illness and suffering will be tossed into a grave.
Sadness, anger and hurt will ride into the sunset.
Despair will commit suicide.
The lights will be turned out on darkness.
Do not be afraid. Head up. The nails failed. Follow the voice of the One who is laughing loudly in the face of death.
He is risen! He is risen indeed. Amen.
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[1] Some manuscripts of the New Testament don’t include this verse. This is why it is bracketed or footnoted in some English translations.
[2] Wallace discusses this in various online articles, including this one: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/two-hidden-science-facts-in-the-passion-week/ Accessed in April 2024.
[3] William D. Edwards, et al., “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ,” Journal of the American Medical Association (March 21, 1986), 1455-63.
[4] As cited in: Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2006), 105.
[5] C.S. Lewis, Christian Reflections, 155.
[6] Michael Ruse, Darwinism Defended (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1982), 322.
[7] Stephen Jay Gould, Rock of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life (New York: Ballantine, 1999), 195.
[8] Tim Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Riverhead Books, 2008), 89.
[9] F.F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (Leicester, UK: InterVarsity Press, 1981), 43.
[10] Craig L. Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of the Gospels (Downers Grove, InterVarsity, 2007), 227.
[11] As quoted in: Mark Clark, The Problem of God: Answering a Skeptic’s Challenges to Christianity (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 81.
[12] Larry Hurtado, Honoring the Son: Jesus in Earliest Christian Devotional Practice (Bellingham: Lexham Press, 2018), 9-10.
[13] As quoted in: Nicky Gumbel, Why Jesus? (Naperville: Alpha North America, 2008), 10.
[14] This is a quote by Jim Wallis, though I do not have access to the original source.
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