For the Christian, there is nothing more important than the Resurrection of Jesus. The Apostle Paul put it simply and powerfully, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Paul was, note carefully, one of many who had dedicated his life to preaching the Gospel of Jesus. And he was also one of many who died defending the claim that Jesus had in fact risen.
For those who do not believe, the claim that Jesus rose from the dead is simply foolish. But, to be fair, it is no more foolish than the claim that any other person would simply rise from the dead. It is, after all, a scientific fact that once a person has passed from life to death, one cannot spontaneously regain their vain spark of being. That’s all she wrote, as they say.
To my own knowledge, I do not know anyone, christian or atheist, who would argue against this. The difference, however, comes when you understand that, while there are reliable laws functioning in our universe, there is a law giver whose will is not bound by those laws. So, if God exists, and he created the laws that govern our universe, it would not be foolish to think that, if He so desires, he can suspend or manipulate the laws that He himself created. (The distinction here between suspend and manipulate is rather arbitrary; the point is that God can bring about things that wouldn’t occur apart from His intervention; bringing the dead back to life is just one example). To put it simply, He is not bound by His own creation. If God created life, He would be sovereign of it as well.
If we look at the history surrounding the events that take place in the Gospels, we are faced with some compelling facts that we must find a rational explanation for. That Jesus was executed is a fact. The ancient, secular historian Cornelius Tacitus is one source that verifies this, in which Pontius Pilot himself is named as His prosecutor (cf. Annals XV, 44). To put it lightly, we know that the Romans were very good at making people dead. But what is most compelling of all is the fact that many of the people who knew Jesus, and saw Him crucified and buried, died defending the claim that He had risen. What, then, are we to make of this?
That Jesus’ followers had experienced some sort of hallucination doesn’t explain it. People can’t share hallucinations. That they were misinformed is flawed; they were there, they knew what actually happened. And that Jesus’ followers were lying doesn’t explain it either. Why would they knowingly die for what they knew wasn’t true? They had absolutely nothing to gain from such a lie. They would gain no money, no power, no respect. They were prosecuted, tortured, martyred. Consider Paul’s own words once more: “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” Ask yourself this: why would they preach a worthless Gospel?
Further Reading:
The Case For Christ written by Lee Strobel. The entire third part of this book is dedicated to research surrounding Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is a fantastic primer for understanding the resurrection better. Start here if you are just getting aquatinted with this topic.
The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. McDowell offers a compendium of research concerning many biblical topics, specifically a chapter of research concerning the historicity of Jesus’ existence and death.
God is Great, God is Good edited by William Lane Craig and Chad Meister. This is a collection of essays apologetic in nature spanning many of the topics addressed in this blog series. The essay written by Gary Habermas is particularly helpful, which concerns the proximity of biblical witnesses to Jesus’ crucifixion.
The Case For The Real Jesus by Lee Strobel. This book is primarily concerned with the reliability of the Gnostic Gospels, which have recently gained a great amount of attention for the alternative views of Jesus they ostensibly legitimate.
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