The Resurrection of Jesus: Part 1

Five Strong Points for Defending Christianity and the Bible

Christianity stand or falls with the Resurrection. As Paul said, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless ...." (1 Cor. 15:17 NET) As it turns out, there is good reason to believe in the Resurrection of Jesus.

In The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus Habermas and Licona give what they call "4 + 1" facts that support the Resurrection. Whenever someone approaches you with "proof" or an argument "refuting" Christianity or the Bible, see if it can answer these five points.

1. Jesus died by crucifixion. (pp. 48-49)
This fact is attested, not only in the New Testament, but also by extra-Biblical writers. Josephus was a Jewish general who took part in the rebellion against Rome. Later, in his book Antiquities he wrote of Jesus and His crucifixion (18.63-64). Tacitus, a Roman, wrote in his Annals that Jesus had suffered the "extreme penalty" referring to crucifixion (15.44). In The Death of Peregrine Lucian of Samosata, a Greek satirist, wrote that Christians worshipped a man who had been crucified. Even the Talmud records that Jesus was "hanged" (Sanhedrin 43a).

2. Jesus' disciples believed that he rose and appeared to them. (pp. 49-62)
Josephus, mentioned above, records that Jesus appeared alive to His disciples after his death (Antiquities 18.64). This was also the testimony of Paul concerning the disciples. It was an early oral tradition of the Church. It is also found in the works of the early Church.

Not only did the disciples claim that Jesus was raised, but they were also changed. Immediately after the crucifixion, we find the disciples dispirited and in hiding. Only a few months later, they were boldly proclaiming the gospel. Even in the face of certain death. They truly believed that Jesus was risen!

3. The church persecutor Paul was suddenly changed. (pp. 64-65)
Something happened that convinced Saul of Tarsus that Jesus was the Christ and that He had risen. Saul was by no means inclined to believe this. In point of fact, he was opposed to this teaching. In Acts, we find the account of how this came to be, an encounter with the risen Christ. Whatever happened, it was dramatic enough to make Saul change his mind about Jesus being the Christ. It was convincing enough to him that he was willing to die for his belief.

4. The skeptic James, brother of Jesus, was suddenly changed. (pp.67-69)
James was by no means inclined to believe that his own brother, Jesus, was the Christ. Yet, soon thereafter James became an important leader in the Church. What could have changed, that James went from rejecting Jesus as the Christ to proclaiming Jesus as the Christ. He was willing to keep on proclaiming this, even to the point of death. Josephus records that James was killed by stoning (Antiquities 20.200).

5. The tomb was empty. (pp. 69-74)
Jesus was publically executed and buried in the tomb of a well-known member of the Sanhedrin. All that would have been necessary, to refute the Resurrection, would be to produce the body of Jesus. Yet, this was never done.

An early accusation used by those opposing the preaching of the Resurrection was that the disciples had stolen Jesus' body from the tomb. This, however, presupposes that it was known where the tomb was and that it was empty.

The account of the empty tomb is also early in the tradition. If it had come late, it would not have been women who were the ones recorded as finding the tomb empty. In that culture, women were not considered to be good witnesses. This would have been an embarrassing situation, and would not have been reported except if it were true.

Most objections to Christianity and the Bible may provide a basis for refuting one or another of these five points. However, they often do not even address these five points. Those objections that do address one or more of these points generally do not do so in a convincing manner. And those arguments that try to address more than one of these points tend to be poorly constructed.

For more in-depth discussion on each of these points and some common objections to them, see The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus.

Habermas, Gary R. and Licona, Michael R. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. Kregel Publications: Grand Rapids, MI, 2004.

The biblical quotation is from the NET bible. It can be found online, free, here: http://bible.org/netbible/

A Lesser Son of the King

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