Holy Week series: Part 3 of 3

Nearly no one questions the fact that Jesus was a Jewish man who walked the earth 2,000 years ago. He was a religious teacher who gained a following, and around roughly 30 A.D., was executed on a cross. This much we know.

But is this all we can know? According to Christian tradition, Jesus went on to do something that no religious leader had ever done before him, nor any after him: he rose from the dead. Jesus defeated sin and death by rising from the grave, met with his disciples, commissioned them into the world to spread the gospel, and then ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God.

Today, on Easter Sunday, I pose this question: Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

In response to the resurrection, the apostle Paul made this strong assertion to the Church at Corinth: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead... And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins... If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:14-15, 17, 19).”

For Christians, it is vital for us to know if Jesus truly rose from the dead. As these verses make clear, our very faith depends on it.

Jesus Died and Was Buried

Before arriving at the resurrection, we must first establish the fact that Jesus truly died. Why? Because one of the most popular counter-arguments to the resurrection among scholars is what is known as the ‘Swoon Theory,’ which states that Jesus never actually died but rather, had fainted on the cross due to the use of a sort of drug. Thus, he never truly rose. However, three convincing arguments show this to be very unlikely.

First, the Roman soldiers were experts at executions. In the practice of crucifixion, the Romans had essentially perfected this method of killing. Indeed, it is where we get the word “excruciating” which literally translates “out of the cross.” Pain felt from crucifixion was so unbearable that a new word had to be invented to describe it.

Second, execution is what these soldiers did for a living. Not only did their income depend on it, but also their lives. If a Roman soldier was responsible for an execution and the criminal escaped or somehow made it out alive, the soldier himself would be executed. This was the greatest incentive for the Romans to make absolutely sure that their executioners were dead.

Third, in the Gospel accounts, it is recorded that Joseph of Arimathea gave Jesus an honorable burial (Mark 15:43-47). This is important because Joseph was a known member of the Jewish Council. Keep in mind that the Gospel of Mark is agreed upon by many scholars to be the earliest Gospel, one written within the lifetime of many of the people who lived to experience the resurrection of Jesus.

So if Jesus never actually died and was buried, then why would Christians give the name of a specific group that people could investigate for themselves? Even more, why would the early Christians write into their story that all of the disciples deserted Jesus at his death yet it was a member of the Jewish council that decided to do the right thing and give Jesus a proper burial? If this was all a made up legend, this is the least likely story to be told by Jesus' disciples. It is much more likely that the Gospel writers were simply recording the actual events that took place.

Jesus Rose from the Grave

There is no doubt that the tomb Jesus was laid in was empty on the morning we now consider Easter Sunday. How do we know this? Because if not, the Jewish leaders, who of all people wanted Jesus to remain in the grave, would have said so.

The Jewish leaders were already nervous that the resurrection would either take place or be faked by the disciples, so they had the tomb secured by setting guards in place (Matt. 27:62-66). After the resurrection occurred, the Jewish leaders’ best excuse was to claim that the disciples had stolen the body away while the guards were sleeping (Matt. 28:13).

Not only is it highly unlikely that all of the guards had fallen asleep on such an important task, but this also shows that the Jewish leaders presupposed that the tomb was empty. If Jesus remained in the grave, they would have simply said, “look, he’s still in there!”, but this was never even an option.  

Secondly, all of the Gospel accounts claim that the first people to verify the resurrection were women. This is important because in first-century Israel (as well as first century Rome) a woman’s testimony was not considered reliable. Women were not even allowed to serve as legal witnesses in Jewish courts.

If this is true, and if the Gospel writers were making up the resurrection story, why would they all claim women to be the first witnesses of the empty tomb? They would have certainly decided to make it men, probably Peter, James or John. Just like the inclusion of Joseph of Arimathea, it is much more likely that the Gospel writers were simply recording the events that took place.

Lastly, there are numerous eyewitness accounts of people who met with the resurrected Jesus. Those recorded in the Gospels to have seen Christ after his death were Mary Magdalene (Jn. 20:10-18) and other women (Matt. 28:8-10), Cleopas and another disciple (Lk. 24:13-32), eleven disciples and others (Lk. 24:33-49), ten apostles and others (Jn. 20:19-23), Thomas and other apostles (Jn. 20:26-30), seven apostles (Jn. 21:1-14), the disciples (Matt. 28:16-20), and lastly, the apostles before his ascension (Lk. 24:50-52 and Acts 1:4-9).

Even more, there is 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 which states, “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. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”

Almost all scholars, even the most liberal, agree that this text is an early Christian creed. Probably one of the first. They believe this because of the unique language and style which would be strange for Paul to have used if it was not. Since Paul said he “received” this creed, he is almost definitely referring to his first meeting with Peter and James (Gal. 1:18-19). Thus, he received this creed directly from two primary eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus. Not to mention, Paul also claims to have met the resurrected Jesus himself on the way to Damascus.

Jesus’ Church was Birthed and Grew

Together, all that has been stated above should certainly be convincing enough. Nonetheless, of the most powerful pieces of evidence that Jesus truly rose from the dead is that a new movement was birthed, and spread like wildfire across the Roman Empire.

Stop for a second and imagine if Jesus had never really died on the cross and the apostles instead had to nurse Jesus’ frail and almost unrecognizable body back to health. Or, imagine that Jesus had died on the cross and the disciples somehow stole and hid his body. In either of these two leading counter-arguments, would the disciples have truly been ignited with a passion to start a world movement? Absolutely not.

Even the most skeptical scholars admit that the disciples must have at least believed Jesus rose. If not, there is no way they would have done what they did in the Book of Acts. In Acts, you find apostles that fiercely believed Jesus to be the resurrected Lord. So much so that they were willing to spend the rest of their lives preaching that message, even though it resulted in them being ridiculed, beaten, stoned, imprisoned, tried before courts, and ultimately executed in torturous ways.

This is a far different picture of the disciples posed in the Gospels, who were so scared that they deserted Jesus when he was being executed (Mk. 14:50; Matt. 26:56). The only explanation for their incredible passion is that they knew for a fact that they met with their Lord after he resurrected.

The Resurrection: Central to the Christian Faith

Before we conclude, let’s stop and think about the importance of the resurrection on this Easter Sunday. Remember Paul’s strong words to the church in Corinth? Paul claimed that faith in Jesus is worthless apart from the resurrection. Why?

Paul was able to confidently say this because you do not just lose a part of Christianity without the resurrection. You lose the entire Christian faith. Theologian Gerald O’Collins said it best: “In a profound sense, Christianity without the resurrection is not simply Christianity without its final chapter. It is not Christianity at all.”   

Not only does the resurrection set Jesus apart from any other religious leader, but in the resurrection, we find so much truth that is central to the Christian faith. In the resurrection, we see that Jesus’ death was accepted by God the Father as a payment for sin (Heb. 9:11-12). Thus, Jesus victoriously triumphed over sin and death. The resurrection also vindicated Jesus’ divine identity and all of his inspired teaching (Rom. 1:4).

Lastly, the resurrection is the foreshadowing of the resurrection of all of God’s people (2 Cor. 4:14). In other words, we know that we too will one day rise with new heavenly, eternal bodies that are no longer influenced by sin and will no longer age and decay.

This is why Easter Sunday is not just another Christian holiday, but an amazing reminder of the basis of our faith. And if you are reading this and you have not believed in Jesus’ death and resurrection, then I encourage you to examine the evidence and make that choice right now. The evidence is clear and the benefits are eternal. As Jesus said in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.”