In part 1 of this mini-series, we discussed the evidence for Jesus’ cruxifiction. In part 2 let’s shift our focus to the hinge-point of the Christian faith – The Resurrection. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, Christianity falls apart. There would be no reason to believe in it. It would have made Jesus just another man or, as C.S. Lewis puts it in his trilemma statement, “If Jesus isn’t Lord, He would either be a lunatic or liar.” This is why so much energy has been placed on disproving the resurrection over the course of history. Spoiler alert – it has never been disproven (only small jabs and faulty logic on behalf of the “disprovers”). If anything, the case has only been bolstered with evidence for the resurrection coming in with each new discovery.
In part 1 we discussed evidence from sources outside the Bible that pertain to the cruxifiction of Jesus. While discussing the resurrection, we are going to focus on sources from outside the Bible because it is actually better evidence.
- No Body / Grave was Empty – In order to squash this new religion, the Romans merely needed to present the body of Jesus. The Romans couldn’t do this because the body of Jesus was no longer in the tomb. Keep in mind the tomb was guarded by the Romans themselves and the Jewish leadership paid them off so they would make up a story about Jesus’ body being stolen (Matthew 27 and 28). (They also could have paid with their lives for neglecting their duties, according to Roman law.)
- Jesus Appeared Bodily Several Times After The Resurrection – The Bible records several of these events, but let’s focus on just two of them. In John 20, it is recorded that Thomas had to feel Jesus’s hands and side to believe it was really Him. Honestly, I can’t say I wouldn’t have the same reaction as Thomas, but it does show that Jesus was physically present. It wasn’t a “spiritual” resurrection. Secondly, in 1 Corinthians 15, Jesus appeared to “more than 500”. It must have been really difficult for the Jewish leadership to keep the lie going about his body being stolen with Jesus appearing to so many people. Paul even noted that many of the people who saw Jesus’ resurrected body were still alive at the time of his writing about said events. It is almost begging the readers of the letter to go and consult with them personally. Just like today, the information on Jesus was readily available for people who wanted it. They just had to be willing to seek it out.
- Martyrdom of the Early Church – The early church was under tremendous pressure not very long after Jesus’ ascension. Christian persecution started in 64 AD when Nero blamed the Christians for the burning of Rome, and it didn’t fully end until 313 AD with the Edict of Milan. A lot of the prevalent proponents of the Christian faith were martyred, including Paul (67 AD by beheading), Peter (64 AD by cruxifiction), Ignatius (110 AD by wild beasts in the Colosseum), Polycarp (155 AD by fire at the stake), Justin (165 AD by beheading), and Cyprian (258 AD by beheading). A person didn’t have to be prominent to be martyred, though. In the early 2nd century it was almost a sport to stone Christians. Ultimately, this begs the question, “Why would any of these people willingly die if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead?” As stated above, the resurrection is the hinge-point of the Christian faith. If it had been a hoax the new religion called Christianity wouldn’t have lasted very long given the severe persecution of the followers.
In the next article we are going to run through some logic based evidence, but I want to leave you with this thought. The amount of evidence regarding Jesus’s life and resurrection is staggering, which leads to these simple questions: If all the evidence isn’t enough to convince you, what would? If Christianity were true, would you even want to believe it? And if not, why?
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