The Son Rises
As we closed out our series in the Gospel of Mark we discussed some of the clear proofs of the resurrection. We mentioned two in particular on Sunday (the eyewitness account of women and the shift in the disciples). I wanted to give more attention here to other evidence of the historical event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.1
- The failure of naturalistic or alternative theories to explain the event.
Most of the natural theories about Jesus’ bodily resurrection have not stood the test of time. And thus many have either been retracted or changed significantly.
- The empty tomb and the discarded grave clothes.
The early account is in no way fantastical and reports merely the simple details (i.e. simply that Jesus clothes were discarded).
- The change in the day of worship from the Sabbath to Sunday.
In AD 30 something so extraordinary happened that it caused a large group of Jewish people to shift from the centuries old practice of worshipping on the Sabbath (to now worshiping on Sunday).
- The unlikely nature of mass hallucination.
- Postresurrection appearances.
See Paul’s list in 1 Corinthians 15. The list is lengthy and specific for the purposes of telling others to find out for themselves.
- The 50-day interval between the resurrection and the bold and public proclamation of the gospel at Pentecost in Jerusalem.
The disciples waited until Jesus left earth (his ascension) and until they were given the Holy Spirit.
- The inability of the Jewish leaders and the Romans to disprove the message of the empty tomb.
Danny Akin says, “It is an undeniable fact of history that those who opposed Jesus could not disprove His resurrection. The disciples could not have preached the resurrection in Jerusalem had the tomb not been empty.”
- The unexpected nature of Jesus’ bodily resurrection.
From the Gospel accounts post-Jesus’ crucifixion it was clear that the disciples were not expecting Jesus to come back to life. For example, some of the disciples had already gone back to their previous vocations of fishing (see John 21).
- The conversion of two skeptics: James and Paul.
James (see Mark 3:21) was Jesus’ brother and Paul (see Acts 7:58) was the leader of the group that persecuted Christians the most. Both of their conversions indicate that something radical would have had to have happened for them to be convinced that Jesus was indeed resurrected and the true Messiah.
- Reliable eyewitness documents recording the events.
Again Akin writes, “The New Testament is the most well-authenticated document of antiquity, a fact no textual critic of any theological persuasion would deny. More than 5,600 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament exist. These are of an earlier date and a more reliable nature than those of any other work of antiquity. Eyewitness followers of Christ wrote many of them, and the books themselves have the ring of history.”
Taking all of this into consideration, William Lane Craig writes:
"In considering the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, it is important to avoid giving the impression that the Christian faith is based on the evidence for Jesus' resurrection. The Christian faith is based on the event of the resurrection. It is not based on the evidence for the resurrection. This distinction is crucial. The Christian faith stands or falls on the event of the resurrection. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then Chrisitanity is a myth, and we may as well forget it. But the Christian faith does not stand or fall on the evidence for the resurrection...I think that in fact the historical evidence for Jesus' resurrection is good–remarkably good. But that evidence is not the basis of the Christian faith.” (The Son Rises - preface)
For more reading be sure to check out William Lane Craig’s book The Son Rises. And for a great movie night pick you can watch the story of Lee Strobel in “A Case for Christ”.
Pastor Jeremy
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1 The following evidence for the bodily resurrection of Jesus are summarized from Christ-Centered Exposition by Danny Akin (pp.364-367).
