The resurrection of Jesus is something the world finds difficult if not impossible to believe. Nonetheless, the historical reality of Christ’s bodily resurrection is central to Christianity. As Paul says, if Christ did not rise our faith is vain and we remain in our sins (1 Cor 15:17). The resurrection is just as essential to our salvation as the cross. All genuine Christians have been granted the gift of faith by which we believe in the resurrection. Even though we must be gifted with faith, belief in the resurrection is not objectively irrational.
From a historical perspective, Christ’s resurrection is just as certain (if not more certain) as any event from ancient history. People often refer to belief in the resurrection as a blind leap of faith. However, it isn’t the historical record that makes people skeptical – it’s naturalism, the “philosophical belief that everything arises from natural properties and causes, and supernatural or spiritual explanations are excluded or discounted.” It is blind commitment to naturalism that’s often behind the world’s rejection of Christ’s resurrection. Their premise is simple: dead people don’t rise from the grave. As a general rule, that’s true. But Jesus isn’t just anyone. If He is God incarnate as He claimed, it’s a small matter for Him to emerge from the tomb victorious over death.
As for the historical record, there is no explanation that makes sense except that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead. If you deny His resurrection, you’re saying that the disciples were either deceived or they were dishonest conspirators. Neither view makes any sense. If they were deceived, where was Christ’s corpse? Jesus was buried in a known tomb, sealed by Pilate, and guarded by Roman soldiers. Claiming that the Jews or the Romans stole the body makes no sense. What possible motive could they have? And if they had stolen the body, they could have produced the corpse and exposed the resurrection as a hoax.
As for the historical record, there is no explanation that makes sense except that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead.
If the resurrection was a conspiracy – if the disciples stole the body and made the whole thing up – how do you account for the fact that all the disciples except John died a martyrs death, each one holding fast to his testimony that Jesus did in fact, rise again? Why would the disciples make up a story that promised them suffering in this life with the only glory reserved for the life to come? What’s more, conspiracies are notoriously difficult to maintain. It only takes one weak link to expose a conspiracy while over 500 eyewitnesses held fast to their claim to have seen the risen Christ. Clearly the disciples believed Jesus had risen from the dead. Those who proclaimed the resurrection were hated, scorned, excommunicated, imprisoned, tortured, and brutally executed. It’s irrational to believe that the disciples stole the body, make up some wild tale about a resurrection, and then give their lives to propagate that lie. That’s why even “die- hard skeptics” insist that the disciples believed their story.
…not a single eyewitness ever confessed that the resurrection story was a fabrication. Nothing testifies to sincerity like martyrdom!
As it turns out, there was a conspiracy. But it wasn’t the disciples. The Jewish leaders conspired to accuse the disciples of stealing the body. The story might have seemed plausible at first. But eventually, the followers of Christ began enduring torture and martyrdom for the faith. If it was a conspiracy, surely one of them would have broken under pressure and told the truth to save his own skin. Who would subject themselves to such a horrendous death for a known lie? Nonetheless, not a single eyewitness ever confessed that the resurrection story was a fabrication. Nothing testifies to sincerity like martyrdom!
It’s also been suggested that Christ didn’t really die on the cross. He simply slipped into a coma. This is referred to as the “swoon theory.” It’s claimed that, on Sunday morning He regained consciousness, fooling the disciples into thinking He had risen. Given the trauma of crucifixion and the extent of His injuries, this theory is so ridiculous even hardened atheists have rejected it.
Finally, it’s been suggested that the followers of Christ were victims of mass hallucination. The disciples really did believe Jesus had risen, but what they saw wasn’t real. They were deluded by wishful thinking – fooled by a figment of their imagination. This also makes no sense. There were far too many eyewitnesses. What’s more, over 500 people saw Jesus at the same time and in the same place. Unless you’re mentally imbalanced, hallucinations last for seconds or minutes. Jesus kept appearing to His followers for 40 days. Also, those eyewitnesses ate with Jesus. They touched Him and had long, theological conversations with Him. Hallucinations don’t eat and they can’t be touched. There are many other reasons why this theory makes no sense. But the final nail in the coffin is that, once again, there was no corpse. If their story was based on some sort of delusion, why didn’t the Jews or Romans simply say, “These fellows are insane, and we’ll prove it. We’ll show you the lifeless body!”
They touched Him and had long, theological conversations with Him. Hallucinations don’t eat and they can’t be touched.
The only reasonable explanation that aligns with the historical record is that Jesus truly did rise from the dead and ascend into heaven. While many ardent atheists admit there is no satisfactory explanation for the resurrection, they nonetheless insist that there must be one. And so, they put their faith in their own rational presuppositions rather than honestly following the evidence.
In our next post, we will consider how the centuries of Christians history support the literal, bodily resurrection of Christ.
