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Did Jesus Really Rise From The Dead?

Easter's Here

With Easter Sunday approaching this weekend thoughts of Easter eggs, pink bunnies and Peeps (whose only competitor for most disgusting holiday candy is Candy Corn) start to creep into the minds of almost everyone. But what about the true reason we celebrate Easter? We often leave what might be the most important question to ever be asked unanswered. The question is: did Jesus really rise from the dead? Most of us either have heard or "believe" that on that first Easter Sunday Jesus was raised from the dead, but is that "belief" any different from some legend about Hercules slaying some mythical beast or Harry Potter riding a broomstick?  When you think about Jesus does he get filed under the section of your brain with Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy? Is it even possible to file him in the category with George Washington and Alexander The Great? What I'm really asking is did Jesus really die on a cross 2,000 years ago and then come back to life three days later? Is there historical evidence for any of this?

What if I told you that the vast majority of New Testament scholars (including atheists and Christians) and historians agree that a man named Jesus actually lived 2,000 years ago? In fact, there are plenty of facts about Jesus' life that are agreed upon by most scholars today. If this question about Jesus actually being raised from the dead could be the most important question you could ever think about the only responsible thing to do would be to look at the evidence and follow where it leads. Let's look at four simple facts that are agreed upon by almost every scholar and historian today and then ask ourselves, "What is the best explanation to all these fats?"

1. Jesus was buried by a man named Joseph of Arimathea.

Jesus' burial is cited in multiple sources including Mark's Gospel, Matthew's Gospel, Luke's Gospel, John's Gospel (which are eye witness testimonies about the life of Jesus), and 1 Corinthians 15 (Paul cites Jesus crucifixion, burial and resurrection). If historians even have two different sources citing an event they feel like they have struck it rich! We have at least five different sources citing Jesus' burial.    What's more is the details given in these sources. Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin (the council of men that devised the plot to have Jesus arrested and killed) yet even though he was originally an enemy of Jesus he gives his tomb for Jesus to be buried in. If you think about it for a second it actually gives a lot of credibility to the claim that Jesus was crucified and buried because why would Christians make up a story in which their biggest enemy does something right by Jesus? Because Joseph of Arimathea was part of the Jewish Sanhedrin every Jew in Jerusalem would've known who Joseph was so if he didn't really do this no one would've believed it.

2. Jesus' tomb was found empty by a group of his women followers.

Follow me here, if Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea the location of the tomb would've been easy to find for anyone who wanted to find it. If the tomb wasn't empty why did the belief in the resurrection take off like a wildfire in first century Palestine? If Jesus' body was still in the tomb Christianity would never have begun.

Another interesting piece of this second fact is who the discoverers of the tomb were. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James were the two women who first discovered the empty tomb on that first Easter Sunday. So the first witnesses of the resurrection were women. In first century Judaism women were not considered equal to men in social status or legal right. In fact, a woman couldn't even testify in court because their testimony was considered worthless. If the disciples were trying to make up some story about Jesus being raised from the dead why wouldn't they have said that men discovered the tomb? Why not just say Peter and John were the first to discover the empty tomb? The fact that women first discovered the tomb would have actually been very embarrassing to the disciples. The only logical reason for including this seemingly minor detail is that they were simply reporting what they saw. They were telling the truth no matter how embarrassing or inconvenient.

All the accounts of Jesus' burial and resurrection are actually quite simple and lack embellishment. Mark's Gospel doesn't even describe Jesus' resurrection at all (Mark 15:42-16:8). Compare Mark's Gospel with the pseudepigraphical (fake writing) Gospel of Peter which was written at least 100 years after Jesus' resurrection.
     "In the so-called Gospel of Peter the tomb is not just surrounded by Roman guards but also by all the Jewish Pharisees and elders as well as a great multitude from all the surrounding countryside who have come to watch the resurrection. Suddenly in the night there rings out a loud voice in heaven, and two men descend from heaven to the tomb. The stone over the door rolls back by itself, and they go into the tomb. The three men come out of the tomb, two of them holding up the third man. The heads of the two men reach up into the clouds, but the head of the third man reaches beyond the clouds. Then a cross comes out of the tomb, and a voice from heaven asks, 'Have you preached to them that sleep?' And the cross answers, 'Yes.'" (William Lane Craig, Apologetics, p. 189)

This is what myth sounds like!

What's more is that the argument between the Christians and the Jews in the first century shows that the tomb was, indeed, empty. The Christians were claiming, "He is risen!" and the Jews would respond "The disciples stole away his body" (Matt. 28:11-15).  This argument proves that the tomb was empty. If the tomb were not empty why would the Jews respond with the idea that the disciples stole the body? Wouldn't they simply show that the tomb was not empty?

3. Witnesses experienced appearances of Jesus after he had been raised from the dead.

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 Paul gives a list of those to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection. "...and that he appeared to Cephas (Peter), 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." (1 Corinthians 15:5-8.)

It is virtually impossible to disprove that these people who were reported to have seen the risen Lord had experiences that made them believe that Jesus was alive.

4. The original disciples came to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead.

The disciples who were first century Jews had no reason to expect that Jesus, their Messiah, would be killed. In fact, they actually expected Jesus to take over power from the Romans and set up his own kingdom where he would reign as king forever, yet Jesus was actually killed by the Romans. The disciples felt defeated and lost until they saw their Lord risen from the dead. They believed that God raised Jesus from the dead so strongly that they were willing to die for that fact. Individually they each suffered horrific deaths (except for John) because of their refusal to deny that Jesus was risen. Not one of them recanted or came clean to some conspiracy that they had stolen the body.

What does it all mean?

So we are back to the question: what is the best explanation for these four facts that are agreed upon by the majority of atheist and Christian scholars?

5 Possible Theories

There has been no shortage of theories people have come up with throughout the last two centuries to explain away these four facts. Let's take a look at 5 possible explanations...

1. Hallucination Theory-The apostles were deceived by a hallucination. The disciples only saw a hallucination of Jesus. But what about all the other witnesses? Hallucinations are private and subjective. The 500 saw Christ all together at the same place and time. This takes mass hallucinations to a whole new level. 500 Elvis sightings isn't all that big of a deal but if 500 people saw, touched and talked with Elvis all at once, that would be a different matter. If the witnesses only experienced a hallucination of Jesus where was the body in the tomb? People would've checked for it. The Jews would have stopped any spread of the news of the resurrection by showing the body was still in the tomb. 

2. Conspiracy Theory- The apostles were liars who conspired to sell the whole world the most famous and most successful lie in history. But not one of the apostles confessed to some conspiracy when threatened with horrific deaths (skinned alive, stoned, crucified upside down). No Christians believed the resurrection was a conspiracy, if they did they wouldn't have become Christians. Moreover, what would be the benefit for this lie? Lies are always told for someone's benefit. What benefit did the disciples receive from their "lie"? They were persecuted, hated, thrown in prison, tortured, crucified, boiled alive and beheaded. None of them got rich off preaching Jesus' resurrection. 

3. Swoon Theory- Jesus only swooned or fainted on the cross and was resuscitated, not resurrected. Under the unbearable pain of crucifixion Jesus fainted and somehow convinced the Roman soldiers he was dead. Then, later in the coolness of the tomb with the aroma of spices filling the space and with the electrical energy from the storms a few days earlier Jesus was resuscitated. Seems... crazy. It would have been impossible for Jesus to survive crucifixion. Roman law required the death of any soldier who allowed a prisoner to escape, including botching a crucifixion. It never happened. Moreover, how could a half-dead man in desperate need of a hospital move the tombstone, find his disciples, and then convince them that he had risen from the dead so that they worshiped him as the divine lord and conqueror of death?

4. Myth Theory- The apostles created a myth. They didn't mean any of it literally. The story of Jesus' resurrection was to be taken in a mythical sense much like stories of Greek mythology. This is far and away the most popular view held today by unbelieving scholars. The problems with this theory are many. The style of the Gospels is radically different from the style of myths. There are no overblown or exaggerated events. There are clear signs in the Gospels of eyewitness description. There was not enough time for a myth to develop. Several generations have to pass before the creation of mythology.  All four of the Gospels were written before the close of the first century. What's more is that the New Testament clearly states that it is not a myth (2 Peter 1:16). Because it clearly states this it is either the truth or a lie. This just takes us back into the conspiracy theory or the hallucination theory. 

5. Christianity- Jesus really did rise.

I would submit to you that the best explanation to these four agreed upon facts has to be the fifth theory, Christianity. The only reason I can see that someone would examine these facts and wind up concluding theories 1, 2, 3, or 4 would be that they deny that God exists. This is a terrible way to approach data. Preconceived notions should be checked at the door when investigating any type of data. 

Maybe this Easter instead of thinking about eggs, bunnies and Peeps we actually consider what Jesus did for us. If it's true it's the most important question you will ever think about. 

"And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain...And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." 1 Corinthians 15:14,17

-Pastor Cameron

4 facts taken from a lecture by Dr. William Lane Craig at Yale, 2014.