The foundation stone on which the Christian faith rests is the resurrection of Christ. No other aspect of Christianity is more relevant to us now and in our lives to come. For a Christian, there should be no debate on this.
Sadly, in our current generation of subjective truth and political correctness, it has become unpopular to accept such a miraculous occurrence as historical fact. Much like people attempt to explain away God's miracles of the Old Testament, so now people at large search for alternate theories to explain Christ's resurrection.
For the world its more comfortable to have 'Christ the good moral teacher,' or 'Christ the spiritual guru.' As Christians we need to recognize immediately the falsity of such theories, claims and falsified Christs
As I was listening to a great message on this topic by Mike Fabarez, I jotted down some notes. It was so relevant, that I wanted to remember my thoughts as I was listening, and capture some of his thoughts. Christians and non-Christians need to think through the implications of Christ's resurrection. It is not blind faith, but historically verifiable fact, and to believe otherwise is to deceive oneself in favor of not having to deal with our sin issue. Let's hope we can swallow our pride long enough to admit that the evidence presented makes it pretty unlikely that Christ's supposed resurrection was anything but a significant, historical and miraculous occurrence.
Old Testament Setup
Many people don't see the Old Testament as a relevant part of their Christian walk. It is actually a vitally important part of that walk, and is in the Bible because it predicts and looks toward the coming of the messiah to eliminate our sin. It looks to Jesus. While many books of the Old Testament contain prophesies applying to Christ, the book of the prophet Isaiah seems most relevant to this discussion.
Beginning with Isaiah 52 verses 13-14, "Behold, my servant (Christ) shall deal wisely, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Like as many were astonished at thee (his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind)."
Chapter 53 picks it up using references with which people of that day would have been familiar. The Israelites were used to the slaughter of lambs as sacrifices for guilt and sin offerings. The verse uses this image in predicting Christ's death.
Isaiah 53:7," He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter...so he opened not his mouth,"
Christ, though persecuted did not speak out against his persecutors, but went silently to his death, knowing full well his purpose.
Verse 8 ends speaking of Christ being stricken for the transgressions of the people. Christ became our ultimate sacrificial lamb, and the language used here in Isaiah makes it clear about whom it is speaking.
Isaiah 53:9- "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."
Christ was hung to die between two thieves, wicked by definition of law in that day. Yet, a rich man purchased his tomb (Joseph of Aramathea). It also demonstrates his total lack of sin in accordance with the law of God.
Verse 10 would be something worth examining for those who simply blame certain persons or the Jews for his death completely. "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 his hand."
God's plan from the beginning was living among us as Christ to show the law could be fully upheld, and then dying a sacrificial death on behalf of the sin of mankind, to fully wipe away our sins past, present and future. It was the will of God that Christ die so that mankind could be redeemed to him, if they trusted in this sacrifice to cover them. The Israelites trusted in the blood of sacrificial lambs to cover their sin, and constantly were making sacrifice to attempt to be in accordance with God's law. Similarly, Christ requires trust that his sacrifice is sufficient for the covering, and in this sense the elimination completely of our sin. We must believe in this.
New Testament Setup
Besides the fact that Jesus' cousin, John the Baptist, was proclaiming him to be the "lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," Christ also was prone to predicting his coming death and resurrection.
For example, in John chapter 2, we see him overturning the tables in the temple. When the Jews present question him about this, he replies, "destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
At this point they must have thought he was crazy as they only understood what he said on a surface level, and couldn't imagine re-building a 46 year project in only 3 days (literally the temple). Even the disciples were unsure of this cryptic prediction. After His resurrection, the disciples (according to John chapter 2) remembered what it was he had said and believed the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.
So now what?
Ok so it is clear scripturally that Christ's death and eventual resurrection was predicted centuries before it occurred, and that Christ himself spoke about it as well. To speak about His own death and resurrection he would be considered either brashly arrogant or luny bin insane.
No other world religion has ever had a leader who claimed resurrection, except Christianity. It's radically unique nature actually lends to its credibility. Someone doesn't just claim that..and to do so was radically different than anything else that ever was, or will be from a religion-based standpoint. Christianity stands alone.
Bring on the skeptics....
So, obviously Christians should still be on board with me here, but what about the other possible theories. Aren't miracles against nature? Isn't it just "magic?" There must be a logical explanation for Christ's supposed resurrection. Let's explore that.
In Theory....
A popular theory that has arisen in recent years (the Swoon Theory) is the idea that everyone just "thought" Christ was dead on the cross, but that in the cool atmosphere of the tomb, he was suddenly revived from his sleep, coma, or "almost death." Before accepting this theory, there are some things to consider:
1) Romans were VERY good at killing
-Christ's execution was not a once every few years type of thing. The secular scholar Josephus indicates that Roman crucifixions were a weekly commonplace, and there were hundreds performed before and after Christ's execution. These guys knew what they were doing.
2)The Dead man Stone Roller:
-How can a mostly dead (see just woke up from comatose state) person remove an enormous stone blocking the entrance to the sepulture (tomb)?
-Does the cool, damp atmosphere of the cave grant super strength to a man believed dead?
3)Sleeping Guards?
Can an almost dead man that just rolled away a stone on human strength alone, expect to get past a Roman guard whose very life depends on the successful guarding of this important tomb?
-Keep in mind Christ was hated by Everyone but his followers, and there was no reason for a guard to fall asleep on a job this important long enough for Christ to casually pass by.
4 Kill him twice
Do we think the Romans were so incompetent that after the nearly dead Christ got up, rolled the stone and snuck past the guards that the Romans wouldn't just catch him and kill him again to crush any rumor of resurrection?
-They didn't want it to happen anymore than those who had wanted him crucified in the first place
-Kill him again and problem solved
When the facts are assessed, it seems acceptable to conclude that Christ was in fact FULLY dead. The Swoon Theory of "near death" just won't hold up to scrutiny.
The Witness List
Another popular theory these days (even in Christian sects sadly) is that the witnesses that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 15 wanted Christ to rise so badly, that they just "thought" that they saw him risen.
1.Not just one nut
Paul makes it abundantly clear in the letter to the Corinthians that it wasn't just one lone nut job who claimed to see Jesus.
-There are accounts, he says, of numerous people seeing Christ risen in different locations and at different times.
-In addition the sightings involve full conversation and were not just passing glances
2.Skeptical Disciples
Thomas, a disciple who was there for Christ's ministry, refused to believe that Christ was risen without seeing proof (sounds like people today).
-When the Risen Christ showed Thomas his wounds, he believed and cried out, "My Lord and my God."
-James was another who absolutely doubted Christ's claims until visually seeing him Risen
3) Group Hallucination
Paul says that over 500 people in one location saw Jesus and heard him speak in addition to his other appearances.
-The idea that 500 people could simultaneously hallucinate the exact same thing is a bit of a stretch even for our worldly minds
-Synchronized hallucination doesn't fit the bill because others saw him beyond the 500 mentioned
4) Enemy encounters
Paul's greatest testimony should be the fact that after he appeared to all others, he appeared to him. Paul was the chief persecutor of those who believed in Christ's resurrection, and up until seeing the risen Christ himself was in the business of killing and imprisoning those who had claimed to see and believed in Christ.
-Why does the arch-enemy of this group suddenly do a 180 degree switch? It would be like Hitler suddenly becoming a God-fearing Jew, and going around practicing Jewish customs after the Holocaust. It just doesn't happen that way without a miraculous intervention.
5) Romans again
If the Romans wanted to crush this new sect of belief, couldn't they have just produced Christ's body, hung it up on a pole and marched it around town for everyone to see he was not actually risen?
-They likely wanted to do so, but could not because of the empty tomb.
So, we can surmise that a partially dead Jesus doesn't make sense given the context of his burial. We can also see that there is no reason hundreds of witnesses could fabricate such an elaborate myth, so close to the time of its occurrence (with a couple decades). Think of how hard it would be to fabricate a myth that Nixon was resurrected, knowing that most people living now were aware of him 20-30 years ago. A myth that large would just not be possible--it had to be truth for that many people to believe it.
The Empty Tomb
The empty tomb ties into what the witnesses were seeing, and Paul says that there are many still alive who were among those witnesses, even though some have passed away since then (1 Corinthians 15:6).
If we have accepted that the witnesses were not all crazy or hallucinating in synchronization then we are left with few other options to explain the tomb.
1) Stolen Body
This has become a popular explanation in recent times as well. If we really look at who would have a motive to steal the body though, the suspect list is surprisingly small.
Jesus disciples were the only ones who would have WANTED His predictions to be true. They were the only ones who could be suspected of having any desire to steal his body to try to prove their beliefs.
But wait....weren't the disciples hiding like scared children in the upper room, confused as to what would come next? Would they really be cowering one moment, and plotting a grave robbery the next, if they didn't even dare to venture outside?
In addition, there is still the issue of the guards, the giant stone, and the fact that normally a grave robber doesn't steal a body and take the time to undress it and fold the clothes. If they were to steal it, they would have grabbed and run. A thief doesn't break into the house, steal items and then clean up the place before leaving...the grave remained closed and a disciple stealing the body wouldn't take time to re-close the grave even if they managed to get it open.
*Blogger's Aside* Some of this is just common sense, and unfortunately our world is corrupted with a lack of common sense when it comes to Biblical maters. People struggle all day long to avoid the most reasonable answers to the tough questions, and perhaps that's why I'm attempting to break this down a bit. Not only for non-believers who are searching, but also for Christians who have lost their way.
2) Martyrdom
-Not one disciple/apostle/witness that was threatened with death ever recanted on their belief that Christ was ACTUALLY risen.
-A liar or deceiver would likely save their own skin and confess to the deception when threatened with death. We know from historical sources, both Biblical and secular, that Jesus' disciples and the early church were not afraid to die in defense of the truth of Christ's resurrection.
3. The Records
Within the first generation of Christ's death, the records of it were beginning to circulate
Also, the records had no signs of conspiracy. The world likes to call the varying accounts of the gospels contradictory, but in reality, God chose to use each writer's individual understanding of the circumstance of Christ's death to paint a picture as a whole. It's like hearing about a car accident from 4 people at 4 different viewing angles. The fact that the accident happened doesn't change, but the unique views of those describing it, will have varying details.
-It also serves to prove that no collusion to propagate a myth was going on because the 4 accounts would likely match exactly if they were all conspiring to write lies about Christ's resurrection for deceptive purpose.
In Summary:
Was the grave empty because Christ was mostly dead? Was it because the disciples stole his body? Why was it empty, and where did the body go?
If Christ did not rise and ascend then Christians and people in general have a lot to be concerned about.
If, however the tomb was empty and the body not there BECAUSE he ascended, then we have much to hope and live for. If the resurrection is the explanation then I'll gladly put my trust in that because someday I will die and I need someone to get me through it.
It's a lot to take in, and for those still unsure, do some homework. Scriptures predicted it, and history verifies it. The resurrection of Christ is a foundational fact of our Christian faith, and has important implications for everyone, Christian and non-Christian alike.
For those of us who are sure, we must stand firm on that truth. We cannot continue to waver in favor of relativism, pluralism and political correctness. We cannot seek to find a way to deny the resurrection, and must work towards demonstrating that the Christian faith is not a blind faith. It is a historically verifiable faith, grounded in common sense thought and logical explanations. When the hullaballoo that the world throws at us is taken apart, we are left with the truth of Christ, and no solid explanations/theories to deny it. Only our own stubbornness and pride can derail us from acceptance of Christ.
For Christians out there who think that pluralism and validation of non-Biblical principles is just the flavor of the day, please, please come back to the foundational aspects of what it truly means to call oneself a Christian. It is a radical life, different from the other samplings of spirituality and religion out there. It stands alone because it stands on truth.
We can still love and be tolerant without validating lifestyles and practices that are against the Bible's teachings. You don't have to approve of what someone is doing to love them, but you are called to rebuke them in love, if they are claiming to be Christian, but not living Biblically.
Just as I have recently been rebuked and rebuked my brothers and sisters, so the whole of our Christian family must maintain accountability to the infallible word of God, and the truth found in the resurrection of Christ Jesus.
Be blessed my friends.
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