Having celebrated Good
Friday and Easter only two months ago, it is not only timely
that we study the events of the Holy week (as it is commonly
called in Christian circles), but it is absolutely imperative
that we ensure that our celebrations are founded on solid,
incontestable fact.
After all, the New Testament authors themselves, like the
Apostle Paul, claimed that if Christ did not rise from the
dead, then our entire Christian faith is in vain. (1
Cor. 15:12-19).
Did a man called Jesus the Christ really live in Jerusalem
about 2000 years ago? Did He perform all those miracles as
God Almighty revealed in human flesh? Did He die under the
jurisdiction of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate by crucifixion?
Did He truly come back from the dead as He prophesied He would,
as a demonstration of the greatest miracle and proving that
He is God?
Let us sit in the jury box now and examine the facts.
THE HISTORICAL JESUS
Scholars have long contended that there is more historical
and documentary evidence for the life of Jesus Christ than
there is for any other figure in history.
The overwhelming number of manuscripts, documents and written
materials on the life of Jesus by eyewitnesses, and the sheer
proximity of those documents to the lifetime of Jesus are
unmatched by any other historical personality from that time.
To deny Jesus' existence, and accept the existence of a contemporary
figure like the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar would be insidered
the height of academic folly!
It has long been a Christian creed from the first century
that Jesus suffered and died under the jurisdiction of Pontius
Pilate, the Roman governor of the region at that time. Some
skeptics had previously assailed the Christian faith on this
statement, because until 1961, the only references to Pilate
were literary.
Then in 1961, two Italian archaeologists excavated the Mediterranean
port city of Caesarea that served as the Roman capital of
Palestine. They found as they dug, a two by three foot inscription
in Latin. Antonio Frova was able to reconstruct it, and to
his surprise, it read: "Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea,
has presented the Tiberium to the Caesareans." This was
the first archaeological discovery of a historical reference
to the existence of Pontius Pilate, and a major victory for
those who believed in the historical truths of the Christian
creeds.
Yet, all these great facts, would be meaningless if not for
the glorious truth that Jesus did not remain in the tomb,
but rose triumphantly from the grave. Jesus was seen and touched
by His disciples and numerous other witnesses, who became
unshakably convinced that He did indeed return to life in
His physical body, and subsequently ascended to heaven. Let
us now study these facts in detail.
THE HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF JESUS' RESURRECTION
1) Eyewitness Evidence. The biblical evidence
for the resurrection came from Jesus' disciples who were eyewitnesses.
The entire New Testament resounds with the clear proclamation
that Jesus rose from the dead, from practically every author.
All the four gospels and the letters of the apostles state
this incontrovertible fact. Paul testified in his letter to
the Corinthians, which was written within thirty years of
the resurrection, that more than 500 people saw Jesus alive
again after His crucifixion (1 Corinthians 15:6), and stated
that the majority of those witnesses were still alive at the
time and could be questioned as to whether it was true.
2) Extra-biblical Evidence. Several authors
who were not followers of Jesus also reported the resurrection.
The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus who lived in the 1 st
century A.D. recorded in his "Antiquities":
"Now there was about at 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 many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles.
He was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the
principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross,
those who loved him at the first did not forsake him, for
he appeared to them alive again on the third day, as the divine
prophets had foretold these and 10,000 other wonderful things
concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named after
him, is not extinct at this day."
The historian Agapius, also wrote in his work, "Universal
History":
"At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus.
And his conduct was good and he was known to be virtuous.
And many people from among the Jews and other nations became
his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to
die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon
his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them
three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Accordingly
he was perhaps the Messiah concerning whom the prophets have
recounted wonders."
3) The Empty Tomb. The disciples did not
venture off to Rome or Athens to preach the good news, but
did so in the very city where Jesus was executed. If their
claims were untrue, then it would have been a simple matter
for the authorities to produce the body of Jesus as counter-evidence,
thereby destroying the disciples' claims.
Many Jewish and Roman sources acknowledge the empty tomb,
ranging from the historian Josephus, to a compilation of fifth
century Jewish writings called the "Toledoth Jeshu."
Dr. Paul Maier, in the magazine "Christianity Today,"
regarded this as the strongest kind of historical evidence,
because it was positive evidence from a hostile source. The
Jews who were hostile to Jesus and conspired to have Him put
to death would not readily state that His tomb was empty (thereby
reinforcing the claims of the resurrection), unless it was
undeniably so. The fact that they also provided their official
explanation that the disciples had stolen Jesus' body, only
served to further strengthen the case for the empty tomb.
4) Sunday Worship. The first and earliest
Christians were all devout Jews who were careful in their
obedience to the laws of the Old Testament and fanatical about
the observance of the Sabbath on Saturday. The Bible records
that the Jewish leaders at that time were strict enforcers
of the law of Sabbath observance. Even today, orthodox Jews
are conscientiously following the commandments regarding the
Sabbath, in Israel and throughout the world.
Yet something phenomenal happened to cause Christians to change
their day of worship to Sunday, in direct defiance of their
years of religious tradition and upbringing. It was the event
that changed their lives and the world forever: the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ!
5) Water Baptism. One of the earliest
rituals that the early church instituted was the practice
of water baptism, which is still practiced today. This public
testimony in which the believer identifies with the death
of Christ by going into the water, and with Jesus being raised
from the dead when He comes out, would be meaningless without
the historical fact of the resurrection.
6) Holy Communion. In the very first Holy
Communion ceremony, Jesus explained that the bread symbolized
His body, which would be broken for the world, and the wine
represented His blood, which would be shed for all men. Jesus
also instructed them to repeat this ceremony frequently, for
He would return after His death to partake of it with them
in His kingdom.
If the life of Jesus had ended in the tomb, it would have
been a tragic, sorrowful and tearful occasion in which Christians
would commemorate His death without any hope. Instead, churches
across the earth have performed this ceremony through the
years with much joy, hope and gladness to celebrate the risen
Christ!
7) The dramatically changed lives of the disciples.
History records the incredible fact that the disciples of
Jesus became so fearless and bold in their proclamation of
the good news, that despite unimaginable sufferings, tortures,
persecutions, and executions, they refused to recant their
message and deny that Jesus Christ was indeed God who died
for the world, and rose again from the dead.
It is even more amazing when we read the biblical accounts
and find that they were originally a quarrelsome and cowardly
group who fled and denied Jesus when He was apprehended and
subsequently sentenced!
The Coliseum in Rome , which still stands today, was the site
where countless Christians, and often, entire believing families
were fed to lions and killed for their faith in Jesus. One
must seriously ask what could possibly possess these martyrs
to endure such horrendous suffering, and even permit their
children and loved ones to suffer and die, rather than deny
their faith and love for Jesus.
What could have provoked such a profound determination and
faith in these martyrs?
THE FALSE THEORIES ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED
There are so many alternative theories for the resurrection
of Jesus: |
