THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST By David Buck

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is arguably the most known and celebrated miraculous event in all of the worlds history. This single event is also notably the core of the Christian faith as a whole. Dr. Norman Geisler stated in his book “The Battle for the Resurrection”,

If Christ did not rise in the same physical body that was placed in the tomb, then the resurrection loses its value as an evidential proof of His claim to be God (john 8:58, 10:30). The resurrection cannot verify Jesus’ claim to be God unless He was resurrected in the body in which He was crucified. That body was a literal, physical body. Unless Jesus rose in a material body, there is no way to verify His resurrection. It loses its historically persuasive value.1

In 1 Corinthians 15 we are told that if Christ did not bodily rise, victoriously defeating death, then Christianity is nothing but a cruel hoax made up by evil liars to give a false hope to fools. However, Christ did rise in bodily form and Christianity is real. Therefore there is a true hope for all who believe in Christ, just as we are told by God in His word, the Bible. In this research paper I will answer several questions to present a strong case for the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. After reading this paper you should understand the proof that exists supporting His resurrection.

Biblical Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ

In this section of the research paper I will point out some Biblical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Here I will provide you with many scripture references that will prove that the resurrection of Christ was not only factually but premeditated as can be seen in some biblical prophecies. After reading this section of the research paper you should have a strong knowledge of what the Bible teaches about the resurrection.

The resurrection was prophesied in advance. Approximately 700 years prior to the birth of Jesus Christ, the prophet Isaiah prophesied His death in graphic detail. He proclaimed that Jesus would be born into humble circumstances, live a simple life, die horribly brutal death, and then rise from the dead to take away the sins of His people. This can be seen in Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 shown below:

Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Jesus predicted His own resurrection. There are many occasions in which Jesus Himself plainly stated that He would die and later rise from the dead on the third day. This can be seen in such scriptures as Matthew 12:38-40 which says, “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” This is again seen in the gospel of Mark in chapter 10:33-34 where it says “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” In addition to these scriptures there are many others like them in which Christ proclaims His coming resurrection (see Mark 8:31, 9:31, and John 2:18-22).

Jesus’ died a physical death on the cross. The Bible is clear that Jesus Christ died on a cross after being betrayed by Judas Iscariot, which led to Jesus’ arrest, beating, scourging, and crucifixion at the hands of the Romans, and the demand of the Jews. After His crucifixion He was officially declared to be dead by a professional executioner. To ensure His death, He was speared through His side which caused a mixture of blood and water to come out confirming that the spear had burst His heart. Jesus was definitely dead, but for argument sake lets say that Jesus did miraculously survive the beating, scourging, crucifixion, and spearing through the heart; he could not have survived being wrapped in a hundred pounds of linen soaked in spices while being locked in a tomb with no food and water. To be certain He was dead.

The tomb was empty. As prophesied by Isaiah the prophet, Christ was buried in a tomb that belonged to a rich man named Joseph of Arimathea. This is significant because Jesus was a very poor man who could not have afforded an expensive burial place. But because of the place and the guards that were ordered there to guard the tomb, it made it easy to locate. Everyone in that area, at that time knew what tomb His body was laid in. That is why His resurrection was so evident when His body disappeared from the tomb. For everyone knew that it would have been impossible for Him to escape. Even if by some super human strength He could have moved the stone enough to get out, He would have then had to fight off the guards that would most likely have been sentenced to death had they let Him escape. In the condition that Jesus would have been in He would not have been any match for the strong guards. In addition let’s remember that we have already established that Jesus was dead. So even if things would have happened this way (which they definitely did not), He would have still been resurrected, having come back to life in His physical body.

Some presume that Christ’s body was removed by His disciples while the guards slept against the tomb. This would not have happened without a huge struggle. The guards would have definitely awakened once hearing the scrapping sound of a 1 ton stone being moved away from the opening. Then they would have fought the fight of their lives to keep the body in the tomb because their lives depended on it as the penalty for allowing the body to be taken would have been death. Even if Jesus’ followers somehow managed to win the fight with the guards and escape with the body, the guards would have fled immediately instead of catching some more sleep until the morning. Therefore common sense points to the resurrection rather than these far fetched stories. He is risen!

He appeared in His physical body. On the third day after His death on the cross Jesus began physically, in bodily form, appearing to His followers. On every occasion He was in the form of a physical body. We know this because many touched Him, and Thomas even put his hand into the spear wound in Jesus’ side. Jesus was clear that He had physically risen in bodily form and went to great lengths to prove it, even requesting some to touch His body.

The resurrection of Christ convinced His opposition and enemies to worship Him as God. Both James (the half brother of Jesus) and Paul did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah prior to His resurrection. Paul not only opposed Jesus’ ministry but actively persecuted His followers, even participating in the murder of Christians. Both James and Paul believed that they would spend an eternity in Hell for worshiping anyone other than the one true God and they both worshiped Jesus as God after He rose from the dead. It is absurd to assume that Paul (or James) would have ever worshiped Him as God, particularly when Paul rightly believed that worshiping a false God would send one into the eternal flames of hell.2

Extra Biblical Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ

In addition to what the Bible teaches us about the resurrection of Jesus Christ there are many circumstantial changes that occurred as result of His resurrection.

Circumstantial changes to Jesus’ disciples. After the resurrection of Jesus a severe change came over His disciples. They went from timid and scared to bold and brave. They went from running from persecution to a firm willingness to die for their faith in Christ. I believe that it is safe to say that had they not been convinced by the resurrection that they would have continued in their fearful, timid ways. But instead by their new braveness and boldness we can certainly say that they firmly believed in Christ as God by the power of His resurrection.

Circumstantial changes to the day and object of worship. In memory of Jesus’ resurrection day Christians changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. Prior to this change worship had always taken place on Saturdays. This change broke a ritual that had been in effect for thousands of years.

In addition to changing the day of worship, the Christians also changed the object of worship. The multitudes began worshiping Jesus as God. Many Christians were previously devout Jews who held firm to the Ten Commandments. It would be hard to conceive these Christians who knew so well the law of God bowing down and worshipping Christ as God if they were not sure that He was. They believed because of His resurrection.

Circumstantial changes in the Church. As a result of the resurrection of Christ the Church no longer observed the law as binding because they knew that they were no longer under the law because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. This belief could have only been generated by the wonderful reality of the resurrection.

The Church’s growth was rapid and widespread. Why would so many turn from their everyday lives to follow Christ unless He was indeed God as He claimed to be. If He had not risen from the dead as He predicted than it would be safe to say that He was not who he said He was, But He did! That is why so many followed Him and continue to follow Him to this day. They know that He is Lord and that was validated by His resurrection.

Non Christian Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ

Jesus’ death was widely reported amongst many different cultural groups around the time of His death, burial, and resurrection. Thankfully we still have many of these reports to analyze and see just what non Christians thought about the events surrounding the resurrection of Jesus.

Flavius Josephus. Flavius Josephus was a first century historian who was born to an aristocratic Jewish family, served as a priest, and later became the commander of Jewish forces in Galilee following the revolt against Rome that began A.D. 66. Captured by the Romans, Josephus spent his later life in Rome under the patronage of the Roman emperors where he composed his history of the Jewish people and his account of the Jewish war.3 In his composed historical account Josephus wrote this about the resurrection of Jesus:

Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at first did not forsake him: for he appeared to them alive again on the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.

Pliny the Younger. Pliny the Younger was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. In the year 111 A.D. Pliny wrote a letter to the emperor Trajan inquiring how to address the Christians. This is what his letter said:

I have never been present at an examination of Christians. Consequently, I do not know the nature of the extent of the punishments usually meted out to them, nor the grounds for starting an investigation and how far it should be pressed… They also declared that the sum total of their guilt or error amounted to no more than this: they had met regularly before dawn on a fixed day (Sunday in remembrance of Jesus’ resurrection) to chant verses alternately amongst themselves in honor of Christ as if to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so.4

Suetonius. Suetonius was a Roman Historian and annalist who wrote a biography of Nero (ruler of Rome from A.D. 54 – A.D. 68). In this biography Suetonius indirectly mentions the resurrection while describing Nero’s persecution of Christians, see below: “Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition (the resurrection).5

CONCLUSION

Now that I have presented you with sufficient evidence to support the resurrection of Jesus you should be praising God for providing us with so much evidence for this monumental event. Whether you are currently a Christian or not I have presented evidence from both the Bible as well as from other historical non Christian sources to show the evidence for the resurrection. If this evidence is not enough for you to believe that the resurrection of Christ was an actual historical event, than I do not think that any amount of evidence would convince you of such. As for all who believe, how wonderful is it to read of the resurrection of our risen Lord Jesus Christ who validated His deity through His resurrection. I pray that this information blesses you as it has blessed me. Now go out and make disciples by sharing this good news to all!