He is Risen!
Image from http://stainedglassinc.com/
Happy Easter! Jesus is
risen, Alleluia, Alleluia! As
Christians, we recognize that the Resurrection is the culmination of the Paschal
Mystery, the central event of human history.
It is Jesus’s victory over death, the firstfruits of the resurrection of
ourselves to everlasting life. It is
also the ultimate sign testifying to Jesus Christ. The Resurrection proves undeniably that Jesus
is who He says He is.
One of the disappointing (but not unexpected) things I saw
this Easter was the prominence on Holy Saturday of television programming
themed: “Who Really Was Jesus?” and, “The Lost Gospel of Judas.” These sacred days are never lost opportunities
for our pagan culture to revel in blasphemy.
Of course, one reality that our culture has no real answer for is the
Resurrection. As we witness to our
atheist or pagan family, friends, neighbors and coworkers this Easter season,
the Resurrection is a challenge we can pose to them that demands an answer
because, as I said above, if the Resurrection is true, then Jesus is who He
says He is. In this article, I intend to
show that the Resurrection is more than simply an article of faith; it is a
historically verifiable fact.
To deny the Resurrection, one has to account for four
historical realities: 1) Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and buried; 2) His
tomb was empty within days of His burial; 3) Numerous people testified to
seeing Him alive again; 4) The Church, which was built on the hope of the
Resurrection, became the most powerful and enduring institution on the planet.
How do we know these four things are true? The fourth is rather self-evident, but the
first three are historically verifiable as well. First, one needs not look at the Gospels as
the Word of God to recognize that they are, historically, among the most
reliable documents we have from the ancient world. There have been wonderful books and articles
written about this (Lee Stroebel, among others, has done a great service in this
regard). The Gospels were written essentially
by eye-witnesses of the events they report, for eyewitnesses of the
events. They were written in close
proximity in time and location to the events they report, and they not only
corroborate each other, but are corroborated by other ancient records. If the subject matter was not religious, any
historian would take them as the most trustworthy historical documents we
possess from the ancient world.
Also, the four facts I mentioned above are reported not only
by the Gospels, but by ancient Jewish sources (Josephus probably being the most
famous), as well as Roman records. They
are undeniable, which leaves the skeptic with the daunting task of explaining
them with something other than the Resurrection of Christ.
1) The Death of Jesus:
No serious historian disputes this. We have as much evidence and detail about
this event as basically anything that occurred in the ancient world. There are only two theories I know of that
have ever been advanced to try and question it and both are ridiculous. The “Swoon theory” suggests that Jesus didn’t
really die on the Cross; He only appeared dead, and the foolish Romans took him
down and allowed Him to be buried while He was still alive. Then, after some rest in the tomb, He
revived. The notion that the Romans,
experts on torture and death, wouldn’t know that a crucified man had died is
silly. It also ignores the fact of the lance
to the Heart. Not to mention, a scourged
and crucified man would not have been able to move the stone from the tomb and
in that condition would never have inspired his disciples to become heroes and
martyrs like the Apostles were.
The other suggestion, advanced by Muslims, is that it was
actually Judas who was crucified, and God miraculously prevented people from
recognizing him. This doesn’t answer the
fact that Judas was found dangling from a tree by his neck. It also would not be a claim made by
atheists, and in dialogue with Muslims, we likely wouldn’t begin with the
Resurrection, but rather more fundamental issues – the nature of God, the
persons of Christ and Mohammed, etc.
2) The Empty Tomb: If the Resurrection never occurred, it would
be the easiest thing in the world to disprove – just produce the Body of
Jesus. Case closed. Yet, it has never happened. Why not?
Because the tomb was empty. The
empty tomb was preached almost immediately, in Jerusalem, the location of the
tomb. Again, it would be very simple to
disprove. If the tomb were not empty, no
one could have preached it right down the street from it. Anyone could check. I imagine that couldn’t have slipped the
minds of both the Jewish and Roman leaders.
The other claim is that the Body could have been stolen. No it couldn’t have. There was a guard set at the tomb. How were Peter and the others going to overpower
the armed guards, removed the stone, stolen the Body, and gotten away
unscathed? Impossible. Plus, this theory ignores the witness of the
Apostles. With the exception of John,
the Apostles all died as martyrs. I’m
not sure how many of you played April Fools jokes this week, but I doubt any of
you would die to testify to their veracity.
James was beheaded, Peter and Andrew were crucified, Bartholomew was
skinned alive! All they would have had
to do to save themselves was deny the Resurrection, yet none of them did. They went singing to their deaths, confident
of a reward in Heaven. No possible way each
of them would suffer horrific deaths for the sake of what they knew to be a fraud.
3) Numerous accounts
of witnesses seeing Jesus alive: Not
only do we have the testimony of the Gospels to this, but Josephus, as well as
Roman sources, report that people reported seeing Jesus alive after His
death. These claims were made immediately,
by many people. The notion of a mass
hallucination doesn’t work because of the many different people who
independently reported seeing Christ.
None of these people saw Him in a dream, or while they were in a
trance. Also, none of these people
really expected the Resurrection. And
again, it begs the question of the empty tomb.
St. Peter did exactly what we would expect the disciples to do when
confronted with stories of the Risen Christ – he checked the tomb. Both friends and enemies would have done so
when reports of people seeing Christ arose (remember, these first claims also
started in Jerusalem). And, of course,
the tomb was empty.
4) The Rise of the Church:
The Resurrection was the event that turned a dejected band of seemingly
defeated men into the most powerful group on earth. These blue-collar nobodies – 11 to start –
fulfilled the commission to baptize all nations. They built a Church that outlived the great
Roman Empire, tamed the barbarian Europe that was born of the Empire’s fall, evangelized
the New World, and has survived attacks from without and wickedness from within
for two millennia. Not particularly
likely if the Resurrection was a hoax or a fantasy, and if the Holy Spirit were
not with them.
5) The Shroud of Turin: One last thing worth mentioning is the Shroud
of Turin. We are not bound by faith to
accept the validity of the Shroud. But
just last week, scientific tests confirmed that the Shroud dates to the time of
Christ. There are so many wonderful
books that give scientific and historical details testifying to the
Shroud. The image on the Shroud not only
testifies to the death of Christ, but also to His Resurrection.
As Christians, Easter is a glorious time of hope, joy, and
victory. But the Resurrection is also a
powerful sign to an unbelieving world.
Having even a rudimentary grasp of the basic facts proving the
Resurrection (which is all I can claim for myself) can be a wonderful tool, if
not to convince others to believe, at least to get them to think. Open a door, plant a seed, and God will work
wonders.
*Please note: The term ‘pagan’ is
not meant to be pejorative or an insult to any particular people. It is only meant to express a certain
spiritual reality.
