Let's Argue: The Resurrection
We’ve been looking at several philosophical arguments for
God’s existence. These arguments show
through the laws of logic that God is the best explanation for things like the
cause of the universe and the existence of objective moral values and duties.
This time we’re examining this claim:
God is the best explanation for the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
DEFINE “JESUS”
The historical figure known as Jesus of Nazareth had an
unprecedented sense of divine authority.
He claimed to have lived a sinless life (John 8:46-47), that he was the
only way to God (John 14:6), shared glory with God Himself (John 17:5), that He
could forgive sins (Luke 5:20-21), and claimed to be able to give everlasting
life (John 11:25) among many others.
These claims were not simply statements he made, but were backed up with
miracles and exorcisms. The chief of
these divine acts was his resurrection of the dead.
If Jesus truly rose from the dead, this is a divine miracle
that serves as very strong evidence for God’s existence. Although many Christians might think they are
supposed to just accept this on blind faith, there are actually three main
facts that help prove Jesus’ resurrection.
1. The Empty Tomb
2. The Appearances of Jesus after
His Death
3. The Drastic Change in the
Disciples’ Belief
1. THE EMPTY TOMB
On the Sunday after Jesus’ death, His tomb was found empty
by a group of His women followers. The
stone guarding the entrance was rolled away and all that was left was the linen
cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.
Notice that the empty tomb was first found by
women (Luke 24:10-12). This is significant because women
of Ancient Near Eastern culture were quite low on the social ladder, and their
word counted as nothing. If the
Disciples were lying about how Jesus had raised from the dead, they wouldn’t
have credited women with finding the empty tomb; that would have made their
story less believable.
2. THE APPEARANCES OF
JESUS AFTER HIS DEATH
Over 500 witnesses saw the resurrected Jesus. The Disciples experiences with Jesus after
His death are recorded in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Other witnesses of the resurrected Jesus
included believers, unbelievers, skeptics, and even enemies of Jesus. These were all on separate occasions and in
different groups, so theories that the Disciples hallucinated and others like
this are simply untrue.
3. THE DRASTIC CHANGE
IN THE DISCIPLES’ BELIEF
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| Peter Preaching at Pentecost |
The Jews didn’t believe that the Messiah would die, much
less rise from the dead. Jews at this
time did believe that people would be
resurrected from the dead at the End of Time (example in John 11:24), but no
resurrection would take place before this event. Not only this, but the Disciples, Jesus’
closest friends, were so scared to be associated with Jesus when He was
arrested that they ran away (Mark 14:50).
Peter denied Jesus three times out of fear he could be judged by others,
arrested or killed (John 18:15-27).
Regardless of these facts, the Disciples came to strongly
believe that Jesus rose from the dead, so much so that they eventually died for
this belief. Peter himself spoke to the
very leaders who arrested and crucified
Jesus, making it clear that he was a disciple of Jesus Christ of Nazareth
(Acts 4:1-22). He cowardly denied Jesus to
a servant girl just several weeks
earlier.
“That is why, as a historian, I cannot explain the rise of early
Christianity unless Jesus rose again leaving an empty tomb behind him.”
–N.T. Wright, leading New Testament Scholar
ARE YOU SURE ABOUT
THAT?
Theories and other attempts to explain away these events
such as The Swoon Theory (Jesus wasn’t actually dead on the cross), the
Hallucination Theory (the disciples were so saddened by Jesus’ death they
hallucinated and believed they saw Him), or that the disciples stole the body
have been universally rejected by contemporary scholarship (an explanation for these theories can be found here: http://www.existence-of-god.com/resurrection-evidence.html).
“Therefore, it seems to me, the Christian is amply justified in
believing that Jesus rose from the dead, and was who he claimed to be. But that entails that God exists.”
–Dr. William Lane Craig
CONCLUSION
Thus, in light of these three facts:
God is the best explanation for
the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
We’ve looked at numerous philosophical arguments concerning
the existence of God. A single one by
itself does not prove God’s existence, but taking all of them into account can
help us make an informed decision about the God we choose to follow. From looking at The Cosmological Argument,
The Moral Argument, examining The Problem of Evil, and considering The
Resurrection of Jesus, we have very strong evidence for believing in God’s
existence, and also believing that Jesus’ claims to be God can be taken
seriously.
“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian
hope, always be ready to explain it,” (1 Peter 3:15)
*Much of the above was taken from William Lane Craig and
Reasonable Faith. For a more detailed
dialogue of these facts, watch this debate:
Resurrection of Jesus 27:36 – 30:48
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