The Resurrection - Fact or Fiction?

PART ONE:

1) All but four of the major world religions are based on philosophical thoughts. Of those four only Christianity claims an empty tomb for it's Founder. Buddha, Confucius and Mohammed are all dead - but Jesus is alive!

2) The resurrection proves that Jesus is Who He said He was. The Resurrection is the Cornerstone of Christianity because Jesus said that it would prove Him and what He said to be true.

He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:38-40

The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. John 2:18-22

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 1 Cor. 15:1-6

THE PRE-RESURRECTION SCENE

1) Jesus was dead.

He had been scourged, beaten twice, crucified, stabbed and with a spear. By the morning of that first Easter Sunday He had gone without food or water for almost four days.

When He was stabbed both blood and water came out of the wound. Doctors tells us that this proves that His heart and the sack that surrounds it was pierced by the spear.

Furthermore, before the Jews buried anyone they laid a feather against the nose for five minutes. If the feather did not move then they knew that the spirit had left the body, the person was dead and they proceeded with the burial.

Finally the Syrian mercenaries who were serving in the Roman Army were professionals. It is almost beyond belief that they could have been fooled into thinking Jesus was dead if He was in fact alive.

2) The Grave Clothes.

A close study of John's account of the resurrection leads us to believe that the grave clothes were still in the shape of Jesus' body when John and Peter saw them. They hadn't been unwound or cut apart- Apparently Jesus body had passed through them (except for the head piece which was folded neatly and set to one side).

3) The Position of the Stone.

The Greek words used to tell us the position of the stone in relation to the tomb are significant. Matthew says "to roll," Mark "to roll upward," Luke to "roll away from the tomb," and John says "to pick up and carry away." The stone therefore had been rolled a distance away from the tomb - and uphill at that!

4) The Guard.

Other than the Son of God returning to life what could have caused these tough men to faint dead away and "act like dead men?"

THE POST RESURRECTION SCENE

1) The Empty Tomb.

All four Gospels state clearly that Jesus was not in the tomb. No one, not the Romans or even the Jews ever questioned that the tomb was indeed empty.

THE IMPACT ON THE DISCIPLE’S LIVES

1) The Change.

After the Resurrection the Disciples where completely different men. Peter, who had denied Christ three times before the Resurrection gladly faced flogging, imprisonment and scorn afterwards. If Christ hadn't really returned from the dead, then what changed these men?

2) Their Deaths.

All of the Apostles except John died violent deaths. Some where stoned, some flayed (their flesh was pealed off their living bodies until they died), others crucified, etc. If Christ hadn't returned to life, if they were responsible for this fable, then why did all of them suffer such awful deaths for something they knew was a hoax?

2) The Burial.

The dead body of Jesus was first washed and then wrapped in at least 3 or four long strips of linen cloth, with abundant spices between each fold. A napkin was then twirled around His head. The grave clothes and spices weighed over 100 pounds.

3) The Stone.

In Hebrew it was called a Golel. We know from the Gospels that the three women could not move it. Using the size of the entrance to the tomb engineers have calculated that it must have weighed at least two tons.

4) The Seal.

The tomb of Jesus was sealed with the Roman Seal. Therefore Rome was legally obligated to find and punish anyone who broke or disturbed that seal without official permission. No one was ever tried for disturbing Jesus' tomb.

5) The Guard.

There were at least four trained, professional Roman Legionnaires guarding the tomb. (There may have been up to sixteen, and they were probably Syrian mercenaries.) They were well aware that neglect of duty by falling asleep, leaving their post, etc. was punishable by death.

THE THEORIES

Below, with brief comment and explanation, are the four most popular ways unbelievers try to explain away the Resurrection.

1) The Swoon Theory. Jesus didn't die on the cross, he passed out, was revived by the cool of the tomb, and after making resurrection appearances moved to another place.

In light of the evidence above – Riiiight!

2) The Body was Stolen by the Disciples. Those quivering towers of Jell-O did that - and then died for it?

3) The Women went to the Wrong Tomb. The other disciples, the Jews, Romans etc. all did too? The women who followed Jesus weren't that dumb!

4) Jesus wasn't on the cross, it was a Double. One, just one piece of evidence from the primary documents please? This isn't a theory - it's a fantasy!