Today (this weekend), people worldwide are remembering and celebrating the greatest event in human history- the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! All human discovery and achievement, all scientific breakthrough and advancement, pales in comparison to this most glorious event- which was essentially the abolition of death and meaninglessness and the ushering in of genuine hope for the world.

On Easter Sunday, I could tell you that:

Jesus didn’t swoon on the cross but genuinely, truly, died. And it was seen-to by professional executioners.

They buried him in a well-known location, and yet three days later, the tomb was empty.

Women were the first to see him risen from the dead (which brought no credit to the claim in those days because of women’s low role in society). Why mention the women at all? Because it’s actually how it went down.

Five hundred people saw the risen Jesus at one time.

Jesus ate, drank, talked & walked with his closest friends and followers for forty days after his resurrection. His appearance was not just a one-time hallucinated experience.

After witnessing his resurrection, Jesus’ own family members, who were skeptical of him, accepted him as Messiah and God.

Each of the Apostles (excluding John) died gruesome deaths for their claim that Jesus was Messiah and Lord.

I could tell you that people back then were not more gullible about these things than we are. No one in the 1st century (besides the Jews) believed in “resurrection,” or wanted it for that matter – The Greeks had a very low view of the body and afterlife.. and yet the claim that Jesus rose from the dead and was Lord over all changed the world.

These facts concerning Jesus’ resurrection are of enormous importance, but they aren’t delivered to us via scripture as cold facts from a textbook waiting to be dusted off once a year around this time. No, the Christian life is to be one continual celebration and observance of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!

N.T. Wright, in his book Surprised By Hope, says, “The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you’re now invited to belong to it.”

The Apostle Peter also develops this idea of living out or practicing resurrection in his 1st epistle. He speaks of God’s people as having a living hope, an inheritance, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Peter wants us to think about the real-life implications of the resurrection of Jesus and bring that to bear upon our everyday rhythms.

To Peter, the resurrection of Jesus is a life-altering, earth-shattering, historical event. So significant is the resurrection that it changed the course of history and the possibilities for every human that has ever lived. Peter says that Jesus’ resurrection means that we can now set our hope entirely on the coming Kingdom of God – with 100 % certainty. His call to all Christians is this: set your hope wholly on the grace brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. The phrase “the revelation of Jesus Christ” refers to the Day that God will seal up and finish everything that he did at the Resurrection of Jesus. The day that he will destroy death and bring new life to this world, the day when he will make all things new. This hope is everlasting, totally secure because Jesus alone has risen from the dead, never to die again. He has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, and He alone has the keys of hell and death. Now he sits at the right hand of God the Father with all authority and power guiding all things to this end; until the time when he will bring his kingdom to reign on earth, in righteousness and peace, world without end.

I love the way that Tim Keller uses this Tolkienism to refer to the new creation when he says, “The resurrection of Christ means everything sad is going to come untrue and it will somehow be greater for having once been broken and lost.” -Tim Keller, The Reason for God.

That is the Kingdom of God – Peace, Shalom – complete healing and wholeness to all relationships in all of creation. In the Kingdom of God, we will be fully reconciled to God, to nature, to one another, and to ourselves.

Since all of this is guaranteed to us through Jesus’ resurrection, I want to follow suit with the Apostle Peter and the famous American poet Wendall Berry and say to you, ‘Live out that Hope, Practice Resurrection!’

But what does it look like to practice resurrection?

To the extent that that future is real to you, it will change how you live in the present. We call this “Eschatological Ethics.” Living out the kingdom of God in the here and now.

This idea breaks down into two categories: the calculated and the care-free.

The Calculated

If Jesus Christ is risen from the dead – that means we should calculate all things in light of the final resurrection and the coming kingdom. It means that everything we do in this life has eternal weight and merit to it. Directly following Pauls’ teaching on the truth and effects of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, he concludes –

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15).

N.T. Wright says, “The point of the resurrection…is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die…What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it…What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether (as the hymn so mistakenly puts it). They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom.” – N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope

Part of the church’s task consists of implementing that achievement of Jesus and anticipating the future kingdom by doing righteousness, justice and bringing peace to the places and people of our city where it is absent.

I see here a correlation to Jesus’ parables of the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price. The exhortation of these stories is to give everything you have for the working and building of the kingdom of God. To live our lives as though the kingdom were here now. To begin to practice now the language and characteristics of faith, hope, and love in our everyday lives. For this is the language they speak in the courts of the kingdom of heaven.

Again, N.T. Wright, “Every act of love, every deed done in Christ and by the Spirit, every work of true creativity – doing justice, making peace, healing families, resisting temptation, seeking and winning true freedom – is an earthly event in a long history of things that implement Jesus’ own Resurrection and anticipate the final new creation and act as signposts of hope, pointing back to the first and on to the second…” – N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope

The Care-free

Tim Keller, in his book, Jesus the King, asks a series of questions that help us to realize the everyday implication of the power and freedom that the resurrection of Jesus offers to our lives. He asks,

“Why is it so hard to face suffering? Why is it so hard to face disability and disease? Why is it so hard to do the right thing if you know it’s going to cost you money, reputation, maybe even your life? Why is it so hard to face your death of death of loved ones? It’s so hard because we think (and act) as though this broken world is the only world we’re ever going to have. It’s easy to feel as if this money is the only wealth we’ll ever have. If I only have one life to live, I better live it to the fullest by bringing ultimate satisfaction to myself. “But if the resurrection is true, then this is not my only life, nor is it my best life, but the best is yet to come.” – Tim Keller, Jesus the King.

Not only is the best to come, but it is “imperishable, undefiled, unfading and reserved in heaven for us, protected by God!

Because of this, we are free. Free to love all people liberally. Free to show kindness to all. Free to forgive. Free to think the best of people. Free to loosen our control and worry. Free to give more away. Free to take ourselves less seriously. We’re free to spend more time being with people, invest in their lives, and less time securing our own little kingdoms. We are free to bless the people who hate and curse us. Might I even suggest free to read another story to our kids or spend more time playing with them? We are free to throw a great party or plant a garden.

People who have no belief in God or the Resurrection – who have no hope in a restored heaven and earth, say stuff like this all the time. How much more can Christians live care-free? Indeed, if Jesus rose from the dead, your life should be care-free, but not because of flippancy. Your life should be care-free because of such great certainty and underlying hope about the future and the kingdom of God.

If you’re lonely in this life, in the resurrection, you will have perfect love. If you’re empty in this life, in the resurrection, you will be fully satisfied.

If you and I know that this is not the only world, the only body, the only life we are ever going to have – that we will one day have a perfect life, a definite, concrete life – then who ultimately cares what people do to you, and what happens in this life?

Because of the resurrection, we can be free from ultimate anxieties in this life; we can be brave and take risks. We can sacrifice greatly. We can face even the worst things with joy and with hope because it doesn’t end there. Death, chaos, and destruction do not have the final word over our lives – Jesus the resurrected Lord does.

It’s because of this hope we can freely give our bodies in obedience to God, to his use, and for his glory. We can have the mind of Christ, who did not hold onto his glory and comforts but laid them aside for others. We can be humble, like Jesus. We can make ourselves the servant of all, like Jesus. We can die to ourselves, our will, our self-preservation for the sake of others and receive a great reward in the Kingdom of God.” Only in the gospel of Jesus Christ can we find such enormous hope to live in. Only the resurrection promises us not just new minds and hearts but also new bodies. Only the resurrection promises that the best is yet to come!

Listen to the voices of the prophets, and just let this vision sink into your bones.

“On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isaiah 25:6-9)

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:1-5)

Last thing

“If you believe the resurrection is true. If you believe that Jesus has died to save you – to redirect your eternal trajectory irrevocably toward God. If you believe that God has accepted you, for Jesus’ sake, through an act of supreme grace. You are a part of the Kingdom of God which means – a guaranteed new heavens and new earth, a healed material creation, absolute wholeness and well being- physically, spiritually, socially, and economically.” – Tim Keller, Jesus the King.

If you believe this, then Practice Resurrection.

_{This article originally appeared on calvarychapel.flywheelsites.com on April 20, 2019.}

“I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25)

Jesus’ claim to be the resurrection and the life is so radical that it does not allow the hearer to hold a neutral position concerning Him. As C.S. Lewis said, “There are only three possibilities with Jesus: He is a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord.” Any serious consideration of His words will almost certainly force one to admit, like it or not, that He is Lord.

Jesus made this statement in response to the death of His friend, Lazarus. Death is that dreaded reality that every human being hopes to avoid, but can never escape. Death is man’s perennial enemy and man’s greatest fear. In fact, the Bible says that men live all their lives in bondage to the fear of death (Hebrews 2:15).

Actually, death was never a part of God’s original plan for man.

It is something that came in because of sin. God had said to Adam, in the day that you eat of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden you shall surely die (Genesis 2:17). Our ongoing inability to accept death as just another part of the human experience is, to me, a strong indicator that the biblical explanation of it is the right one-death is abnormal.

Think about it: no matter how young or old the person, no matter how sick or disabled, no matter how far removed from a person we might have been, there is a pang in our hearts when we hear of their passing. Millions were stricken with grief over the untimely death of pop star and cultural icon, Michael Jackson. Yet how many actually knew him personally? Why do people react so passionately to death? Because death is not right. It never was right. It never will be right. Nevertheless, it is.

“The current death-rate is awesome. Three people die every second, 180 every minute, nearly 11,000 every hour, about 260,000 every day, 95,000,000 every year. Death comes to young and old, rich and poor, good and bad, educated and ignorant, king and commoner. … The dynamic young businessman, the glamorous actress, the great athlete, the brilliant scientist, the television personality, the powerful politician-none can resist the moment when death will lay its hand upon them and bring all their fame and achievements to nothing. … Death is no respecter of time or place; it has neither season nor parish. It can strike at any moment of the day or night, on land, on the sea or in the air. It comes to the hospital bed, the busy road, the comfortable armchair, the sports field and the office; there is not a single spot on the face of the planet where it is not able to strike.”

The philosopher Epicurus said, “It is possible to provide security against other ills, but as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls.”

Are there any solutions? Is man destined to go on endlessly being defeated by death? Jesus answered those questions when He stood face to face with death and said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

Just a few days later, Jesus would meet death head-on Himself in fulfillment of the prophecy:

“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction!” (Hosea 13:14).

His destruction of death would come through His resurrection.

Paul the apostle would later write of Christ as the one who “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10).

The word “abolish” means to put an end to. Some synonyms for “abolish” are: eradicate, rescind, repeal, obliterate, annihilate. Jesus Christ obliterated death! You might say, “Wait a minute, as you just stated, three people die every second. What do you mean Jesus Christ obliterated death?” There are two definitions of death: man’s and God’s. Man’s definition of death is essentially the separation of the soul and spirit from the body. God’s definition of death is the separation of the soul and spirit from God.

The Bible teaches that physical death is the result of spiritual death. Jesus obliterated spiritual death by bringing man’s soul and spirit back into conscious fellowship with God. But He also obliterated physical death by rising from the dead and becoming the first of a great multitude who will rise also. In the original order of things, spiritual death (which came through the sin of Adam) led ultimately to physical death. In the new order of things, spiritual life (which comes through faith in Jesus Christ) will lead ultimately to physical life without the possibility of death.

Again the apostle Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 15, that great chapter on the resurrection:

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:

‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’

“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:51-55).

Many times during the years of His earthly ministry, Jesus promised that He would rise from the dead (John 2:18-22; Matthew 12:39-40; 16:21). His enemies remembered those predictions (Matthew 27:62-64) and were worried that what Jesus said might actually happen.

So, those enemies came to Pilate, asking for a guard to be set at the tomb (Matthew 27:65-66). The Roman ruler granted their request, saying, “You have a guard,” giving them Roman soldiers to watch the tomb. Before the enemies of Jesus left, Pilate added one more thought, telling them, “Make it as secure as you know how” (Matthew 27:65).

Pilate probably wondered why these religious leaders were afraid of a dead man. He didn’t think of setting a guard himself because he didn’t care. Why would anyone care about the tomb of a convicted criminal? But the religious leaders were more interested in making the tomb secure than the Romans were. They took Pilate’s permission and made the tomb as secure as they could, because it was in their interest to do so.

We know how the story ended. They did their best to make the tomb secure, but it didn’t stop the resurrected Jesus.

They tried to make the tomb secure with a stone, which is a material obstacle. These stones were big and set in a slanted channel. It could not be rolled away from the inside. If enough of the disciples had the courage to come to the guarded tomb, maybe they could roll away the stone. But to do that, they would have to work together, and that didn’t seem likely knowing their history of bickering and competition.

The tomb was also secured by a seal, which was an obstacle of human authority. According to custom, the seal was a rope, overlapping the width of the stone covering the entrance to the tomb. On either side of the doorway, there was a glob of wax securing the rope over the stone. You could not move the rock without breaking the seal. The Roman seal carried legal authority. It was more than yellow tape barricading a crime scene; to break a Roman seal was to defy Roman authority. That stone was secured by the authority of the Roman Empire.

Finally, the tomb was secured by a guard, which was an obstacle of human strength. A typical Roman guard had four soldiers. Two watched while the others rested. The soldiers would be equipped with sword, shield, spear, dagger and full armor. Remember that these were Roman soldiers. They didn’t care about Jesus or Jewish laws or rituals. They were called to secure the tomb of a criminal. To them, the only sacred thing at this tomb was the Roman seal, because if that were broken, their careers were ruined; and they might be executed themselves.

None of these obstacles mattered. They made the tomb “as secure as they knew how,” but it wasn’t secure enough to stand against the glory of the resurrected Jesus:

. Material obstacles can’t stand against the resurrected Jesus.
. Human authority can’t stand against the resurrected Jesus.
. Human strength can’t stand against the resurrected Jesus.

All opposition falls away before our resurrected Lord.

In this final part of this series, we will discuss the nature and significance of Christ’s resurrected body. Specifically, answering the crucial questions that mark the dividing line between heresy and orthodoxy (cf. I John 4:2; 2 John 7), as well as highlighting the great benefits of Christ’s resurrection.

Was Christ’s resurrected body a spiritual (invisible) body or physical (material) body?

Some have suggested that Christ’s glorified body was spiritual (non-material) since Jesus “appeared” and “disappeared” in some post-resurrection sightings. For example, the Jehovah’s Witnesses hold to a spiritual resurrection but deny a physical-material resurrection.To explain the missing body, they assert the body simply dissolved into gases. However, orthodox Christianity had a radically different understanding of Christ’s resurrection.

First, from the beginning Christians held that Jesus rose in the same physical body in which he died. In fact, Jesus offered his body to be observed with the naked eye and invited others to touch Him, even eating a piece of broiled fish in the disciples’ presence (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:24-29).

Second, victory over death is only realized when the same physical body that died is the one that rose from the grave (see 1 Corinthians 15:54-55). Simply receiving another body that is totally different (spiritual) from the one that died is certainly possible, for God can do anything, but it does not solve the problem of death nor does it offer victory, since the body that died is still dead. For Christ to have victory over death, the body must be the same physical body that died.

Third, the physical resurrection is the pattern for the believer’s resurrected body (Philippians 3:21). Paul makes clear that when believers are resurrected, Christ will transform our “lowly body” (GK: soma = body) to be conformed to His glorious “body” (GK; soma = body). In addition, when writing 1 Corinthians (15:35-55) he describes the glorified “body” (GK: soma = body) throughout the chapter as a “physical” body. Robert Gundry’s excellent book, Soma in Biblical Theology (2005), argues that every time the Greek word soma is used of a person it always refers to a physical body.

Fourth, if one believes that Christ was truly “resurrected” then he must also believe that Christ rose from the dead in a physical body. This is made clear by the fact that a resurrection only speaks to the resurrection of the body, since only the body can die. That is to say, without physical death there can be no resurrection (see 1 Corinthians 15:36). It makes no sense to refer to the resurrection of the spirit since the spirit never dies, it lives on after the death of the body (whether one is saved or unsaved). Thus, the spirit cannot experience a true resurrection, as does the body.

Fifth, Paul’s reference to the resurrected body as a “spiritual” body (1 Corinthians 15:44) has been understood by some as referring to the resurrection of the spirit and not to the physical body. By reminder, soma is again the word used here for “body,” so Paul is referring here to a spiritual physical body. No, this is not a contradiction in terms. For example, would we call the apostle Paul a “spiritual” man? Would we say the Bible is a “spiritual” book? Yes, they are spiritual on both accounts, despite the fact that the Bible and Paul are physical. When Paul describes the body as “spiritual,” he is not referring to the substance of the resurrection body (since it is undoubtedly physical as noted by the word soma). Rather, he is referring to the spiritual source of the physical resurrected body. In other words, our glorified body will be a spirit dominated body, driven by the Holy Spirit and not our flesh or fallen human desires.

Finally, the gospel passages that refer to Jesus appearing and disappearing are not referring to his body dematerializing and vanishing into thin air only to appear materialized again somewhere else. The Greek word used to describe these events can be better translated as moving to a place where He could be seen (or not seen), much the same way an actor can make himself visible by coming out from behind the stage curtain. Therefore, the words do not mandate a true disappearance.

Was it the same body that was in the tomb?

Some have suggested that Christ received another body that was not the same as the body that died. This problem is largely due to the passages that imply people did not recognize him after He rose from the dead. To some he appeared as a gardener (John 20:15), to others a stranger (Luke 24:18).

The short answer to the question above is “yes,” it was the same body. This is supported by the fact that Jesus possessed His crucifixion wounds (stigmata) that He put forward as evidence of his resurrection. He even invited witnesses to touch them. Yes, Christ will have his scars in heaven, but we will not. This is due to the fact that Christ’s scars are a trophy to Him and a reminder to us of His love for humanity and that these wounds made salvation possible for all of us. The stigmata is a memorial of His great love and sacrifice for us. On the contrary, we will not have our scars in the afterlife since they are due to a fallen world and sin. We will be restored to perfection.

In addition, as mentioned above, if Christ’s body is not the same that died on the cross then there is no victory over death (see 1 Corinthians 15:54-55), since the body that died is still in the grave. Further, if the body is not the same body that died, where is the deceased body of Jesus? The tomb was empty. The empty tomb is consistent with the glorified body of Jesus as being the same body that died.
What is more, the initial lack of recognition of Jesus what only temporary, which can be explained by either darkness (at the time Mary thought He was the Gardener), fear (disciples were hiding for fear of the Jewish religious leaders), Psychological trauma (disciples didn’t expect to see Jesus after he was killed, they were distraught), and false assumptions (they assumed Jesus was dead).

Finally, John 5:25-30 declares that “all who are in the graves”, which could only be referring to the bodies of deceased, since each spirit continues to live in either torment or bliss (and not in the grave). Each will hear the voice of the Son of God and come forth. This implies that the body that is in the grave will be the same body that is raised. We ought not think that Christ’s resurrection was any different. The body in the tomb was the same body that rose again.

What kinds of change occurred to the glorified body?

Paul’s description of the glorified body in 1 Corinthians 15:35-55 definitely has changes from the earthly body. What is the nature of the change?

First, the glorified body has secondary changes, not primary changes. That is to say, there is no change in who and what we are – namely, a specific person who is human. Secondary changes describe what you have, not who or what you are. For example, the body dies weak, but is raised strong; dies corruptible, but raised incorruptible; dies a natural body, but raised a spiritually dominated body; dies perishable, but raised imperishable; and dies mortal but raised immortal. If we adopt the view that primary changes (i.e., changes in who and what we are) characterize the glorified body, we are then closer to eastern reincarnation than Christian resurrection. For example, depending on what form of reincarnation one holds, an individual can return in another body that could be an animal, insect, or some other kind of being. However, Christian resurrection retains our individual identity and human nature.

Paul uses the seed analogy when he describes the glory of the resurrected body (1 Corinthians 15:36-49). In very descriptive language, Paul informs his readers that what comes from the seed (wheat or some other grain) is much more glorious than the seed itself (earthly body that dies). The glorious wheat or grain also retains the same genetic identity as the seed. Thus the resurrected body is more glorious than the earthly body as a flower or grain is more glorious than the seed from which it came. Though more glorious than the body that died, the resurrected body has same genetic identity as the seed (earthly body) sown into the ground. Thus the glorious resurrected body is the same genetic individual that died.

Does Christ still have his resurrected physical body today?

Some have suggested Christ does not have his physical body in heaven, but this view is outside the biblical descriptions that affirm His continued state in the physical body.

First, 1 John 4:2-3 offers a test for sound doctrine and how to identify false “believers.” John gives his readers a test by which to discover false prophets when he says, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of anti-Christ.” Though not evident in the English, the Greek word for “has come” (in the flesh) is in the perfect tense, which refers to past completed action with abiding results in the present. Therefore, the test for orthodoxy is whether an individual believes that Christ came in the flesh (GK: sarx = flesh, rudimentary word referring to the material body) in the past and continues in the flesh (body) in the present. Since I John was written after the Christ’s resurrection and ascension into heaven, it must be referring to His first coming and his present continuation in the body in heaven.

Second, 2 John 7 reaffirms Christ’s present continuation in His body while in heaven. John identifies “deceivers” as those who “do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.” Here John uses the present participle for the word “coming,” meaning the verse can be translated as those who “do not confess Jesus Christ as presently continuing in the flesh.”

Finally, the fact that Jesus will return to earth at His second coming in his physical body to the Mount of Olives is consistent with Jesus retaining his body in heaven today. The angels spoke at His ascension and said Jesus would return in like manner he ascended to heaven – namely, visibly and bodily! There is no logical reason to reject Christ’s bodily continuation today if he rose from the grave in the body, ascended to heaven in His body, conforms us to the likeness of His body, and returns to the earth in His body. To deny the continued physicality of Christ is a form of post-resurrectional Docetism (ancient heresy that denies the material humanity of Christ).

Conclusion

The resurrection has always been the capstone in the arch of Christianity. It’s a stone that is well-placed and firmly rooted in its fixed foundational position. It is because Jesus rose from the grave we can rest assured we will rise in due time and have all the physical and spiritual benefits our Lord possesses. We have a bright future, for He too was a man – who loved all mankind and desires all to be saved (1 Peter 3:9).

Also, enjoy the first two parts of this three-part series:

“Evidence for the Resurrection: Is Easter Just More of the Same?”

“Evidence for the Resurrection: Was It Real?”

In an earlier post, we discussed Christ’s resurrection as an unique event that differs in kind from all other ancient near eastern myths of dying and rising fertility gods. In this section, we address two crucial questions: 1) What about the skeptics? 2) Was Christ’s resurrection a historical event? Our answers to these questions have a direct impact upon the believability of Christianity as a whole, since it is the heart of the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-3). It is a condition of salvation (Romans 10:9-10), and there is no hope without it (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).

What About the Skeptics?

Over the centuries, there have been several influential attempts to discredit the resurrection without success. Some believed (H.E.G. Paulus, Life of Jesus) Jesus never died on the cross but fainted and later revived in the cool tomb to live another day (i.e., known as the Swoon Theory). For Christians, the death of Christ is a prerequisite for a resurrection. However, this theory should be rejected, since it fails to recognize the physical condition of Christ and ignores the eyewitness accounts that confirm Christ’s death on the cross. First, Jesus was beaten and whipped, crowned with thorns, beard plucked from His face, did not have the strength to carry the cross to Golgotha.

His hands and feet were nailed to the cross, as crucifixion caused lungs to collapse; His side was pierced by a roman spear. Blood and water flowed from His side, which is evidence of death. Witnesses confirmed Christ’s death; His corpse was wrapped in 75 pounds of material, and the Romans pronounced Him dead and set an official seal on a guarded tomb.

What is more, medical experts confirmed Jesus’ death in the Journal of American Medical Association. They analyzed the data surrounding Christ’s crucifixion and concluded that “the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at odds with modern medical knowledge” (3/21/86, p. 1463). Second, the Swoon Theory does not account for the radical conversion of the disciples. Moreover, even the ancient Roman historian, Tacitus, wrote of Christ being put to death in Judea during the reign of Tiberius Caesar by the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate. Further, the Jewish Talmud declares that Christ was put to death by being hung on a tree on the “eve of Passover.”

Others explain the resurrection by positing that the disciples stole the body of Jesus. This view is known as the “Conspiracy Theory” and is perhaps the most ancient of all, being devised by the chief priests and the elders to explain away the resurrection (Matthew 28:12-13). There are several reasons why it should be rejected. First, stealing the body and deceiving to cover the crime runs contrary to the character and teaching of Christ and the apostles. Second, it is contrary to the apostles’ willingness to die for their belief in the resurrection. People do not give their lives for what they know to be a lie. Third, even after persecution, there is no record of anyone recanting their message. Fourth, it doesn’t seem rational to believe such critics of the resurrection such as Saul, James (the Lord’s brother), and doubting Thomas could be fooled without strong evidence to overcome their ardent skepticism. Fifth, the body of Christ could have easily been produced to refute the resurrection claims, but apparently, it was not displayed. Sixth, there is no evidence to support the disciples stole the body. Seventh, the Romans had no motive to steal the body, since this would surely disrupt the peace they sought to maintain among the tense and volatile population. Eighth, the Jews had no motive to steal the body, since this would run contrary to there desire to keep Jesus in the tomb to avoid resurrection claims. Finally, this theory does not explain the physical appearances of Christ or the eyewitness claims of the resurrection.

Any theory of the resurrection must account for these 12 commonly accepted facts (among all scholars) surrounding the event:

1) Jesus died by crucifixion.
2) Jesus was buried.
3) Disciples doubted and despaired.
4) The tomb, in which Jesus was buried, was discovered empty a few days later.
5) Disciples had experiences that they believed to be actual appearances of the risen Christ. 6) Disciples were transformed and willing to die for the truth.
7) The gospel message was the center of preaching in the early church.
8) The gospel was proclaimed in Jerusalem where Jesus died.
9) The church was established by these disciples.
10) The day of worship was Sunday, the same day Jesus was reported risen.
11) Skeptical James (Jesus’ brother) was converted when he believed he saw the risen Christ.
12) Paul, a persecutor of the church, was converted when he believed he saw the risen Christ.

For too long, many have attempted to work outside of these known facts, like the swoon and conspiracy theories, to their own peril.

Was the Resurrection a Real Historical Event?

Contrary to these skeptical claims, there are several reasons to believe the resurrection of Christ is a historical event.
First, the New Testament stands the most reliable source of information on the resurrection from any book in the ancient world. Though the originals have been lost to time, the NT contains the most manuscript attestation to the history it records (28,000+ copies in various languages, over 5,800 of these are in the Greek language), the earliest records of the resurrection (25-150 year gap from the time they were written), and the most accurately copied manuscripts of any book from the ancient world (99.9% copy accuracy). The early dates and sheer manuscript quantity prohibits myth, distortion and embellishment to filter into the history recorded in the NT text.

The basic books of the NT were written by AD 65 (with exception of the Gospel of John and Revelation), meaning there was simply no time for myth to replace the basic facts of the resurrection.

Even the Greek historian, Herodotus, said that it takes at least 80 years for a myth to develop! Near eastern scholar, P.J. Wiseman, claims that one generation is not enough time for a myth to develop. The vast majority of the NT was written within 25-30 years from the death and resurrection of Christ! The witnesses would still be alive to correct any misconceptions to the basic facts surrounding the resurrection.

Second, Jesus appeared to eyewitnesses on at least 12 different occasions, with Paul declaring some 500 witnesses saw the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). These appearances resulted in witnesses seeing, hearing and/or touching his physical body. The commonly understood and well-practiced legal approach to establishing fact draws upon the testimony of numerous witnesses of any given event. Even the Scripture says, “On the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed” (Deuteronomy 19:15). The NT has nine different authors (if someone other than Paul wrote Hebrews), who wrote 27 books that either explicitly or implicitly affirm the resurrection.

Third, the best explanation for the empty tomb that was guarded and sealed is that Christ rose! Fourth, the apostles died for what they believed to be the resurrected Christ. Fifth, the widespread, sudden and dramatic change in the lives and religious practice of devoted Jews who kept the Mosaic Law for centuries. In other words, how do fervent religious Jews suddenly shift from Saturday to Sunday worship and from abstaining from unclean foods to eating pork with gentiles? What possibly could transform a group of disappointed and afraid disciples who were devastated at the crucifixion, in hiding for fear of death, contemplating a rapid escape and/or abandonment of their calling and return to their former activities, into the most prolific missionary movement of all time? The resurrection would have the power to do just that and provide the crowning proof that Jesus was indeed the Son of God (Romans 1:4).

Sixth, well-known skeptics and attorneys have found the eyewitness testimonies of Christ convincing and reliable. These include the late Harvard University law professor and author of A Treatise on the Law of Evidences (1853), Simon Greenleaf, who penned The Testimony of the Evangelists, Thomas Sherlock (The Trial of the Witnesses of the Resurrection), Frank Morrison (Who Moved the Stone?), John W. Montgomery (Christianity and History), Irwin Linton (A Lawyer Examines the Bible), investigative journalist and skeptic, Lee Strobel (The Case For Christ) and David Limbaugh (Jesus on Trial: A Lawyer Affirms the Truth of the Gospel). In addition, reputable modern historians of ancient history such as A.N. Sherwin-White (Roman Society and Roman Law in the NT) and Colin J. Hemer (The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History) have affirmed the historical reliability of the NT.

Finally, the presence of counter-productive features, within the gospel accounts of the death and resurrection of Christ, further demonstrates its reliable history. That is to say, the mere presence of statements that do not cast Christ or His followers in a positive light suggests truthfulness. For example, the gospels reveals Christ’s humiliating trial, shameful death at the hands of His persecutors. Christ appeared powerless to effect change, while the disciples hid in fear and appeared cowardice, with lack of strength to carry His own cross. Those closest to Jesus betrayed and denied Him; the disciples were slow in understanding, and they did not believe. After rising from the dead, Jesus appeared first to women who had little legal standing and credibility in the eyes of their culture and law. According to historians, these crucial features reveal that the writers of the NT were more interested in reporting accurate history than deceiving their readers by painting a flawless portrait Christ and His followers.

We have seen that we have good reason to believe the resurrection of Christ is a historical event.

Attempts to explain the resurrection away fails to account for all the data and leaves irreconcilable flaws in their argument. We will discuss further of the nature and significance of Christ’s resurrected body. Was it a spiritual or physical body? Was it the same body that was in the tomb? What kinds of changes occurred to His resurrected body? Does Christ still have His physical body today?

The Bible tells us that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead on the Sunday after Passover. The risen Jesus met with and spoke with people for 40 days following that, including up to 500 people at a time (1 Corinthians 15:6). At the 40 day mark, He ascended to heaven, as His disciples watched. Ten days after that, on the day of the Jewish festival of Pentecost, one of His disciples preached about the risen Jesus to thousands of people. In that sermon, Peter spoke of Jesus as the one, “…Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it” (Acts 2:24). Many years ago, that phrase caught my attention, and I am still amazed by it: It was not possible for Jesus to remain dead in the tomb. He had to rise. In the season of Easter and Resurrection, it’s good for us to think deeply about how Jesus had to live, had to die, and had to rise again.

Here are a few thoughts on why Jesus had to rise from the dead. It’s a short and incomplete list – feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments.

Jesus had to rise from the dead to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament.

The resurrection of the Messiah was described in the Hebrew Scriptures in Psalm 16:10 and spoken of in a prophetic sense in passages such as Hosea 6:2 and Jonah 1:17. Another example is the scenario in Genesis 22 where Isaac, as a picture of Jesus, is “raised” on the third day of their journey, at the beginning of which Abraham had reckoned his son dead.

Jesus had to rise from the dead to fulfill His own promises.

The promises Jesus made that He would raise from the dead are recorded in Matthew 16:21, 17:23 and 20:19 and in many other passages. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then He and His promises were lies. It was impossible for the One who is the way, the truth, and the life to remain dead.

Jesus had to rise from the dead to prove that the price was paid at the cross.

The price was paid at the cross, just as He said with His last word before giving up His spirit: It is finished, which could also be understood as paid in full. Yet, every payment needs a receipt. The empty tomb was the evidence that Jesus remained God’s Holy One (Acts 2:27), through the whole ordeal of the cross. God had to raise His Holy One from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus proved that He bore our sin without becoming a sinner.

Jesus had to rise from the dead to make certain of our resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:20 says that Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection that is promised to all His people. He was the beginning, and if it was real for Him, it will be real for all who have put their trust in Him. Romans 8:11 says it beautifully: “He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Jesus had to rise from the dead to show that death was defeated.

If death could not hold Jesus in the tomb, it proved that death had no power over Him. If death was defeated for Jesus, then it is defeated for all those who put their faith in Him who are identified with His death and resurrection. No wonder Paul could almost taunt death by saying, “O Death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55)

Jesus had to rise from the dead to bring hope and security to His followers.

Because of the victory Jesus won through the empty tomb, His people don’t have to live in fear of death or anything in our future. Hebrews 2:15 says that one aspect of the work of Jesus at the cross and resurrection was to release those who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For Jesus’ people, the fear and torment of uncertainty is gone.

Jesus had to rise from the dead to demonstrate the greatness of God’s power.

In Ephesians 1:19-20, the Apostle Paul prayed that believers would know the greatness of God’s power, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:20). This is ultimate power, the power to give life to that which is dead. This is the power that God gives to us in Jesus Christ, and power for us to know and live in.

During this season of Easter and resurrection, think deeply on why Jesus had to rise, and especially all that His resurrection brings to those who repent and put their faith in Jesus. It’s something to not only know, but to live.

Strange and important events fill the pages of history and our individual life. Sometimes, we think about great events and wonder, “Did that have to happen?” Could the crime have been stopped? Could the accident been prevented? Could the good thing that came to us worked out a different way?

The Christian has peaceful confidence in God’s hand on history. When we think about the events in God’s plan, we know they had to happen. It is especially true when we think about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

In the season of Easter and Resurrection, it’s good for us to think deeply about how Jesus had to live, had to die, and had to rise again.

Here are a few thoughts on why Jesus had to live, and live among us. It’s a short and incomplete list – feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments section below.

• Jesus Had to Live Among Us Because God Promised to Send the Messiah.

Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, we read God’s promise to send a deliverer, a conqueror, and a savior. Starting in the Garden of Eden and going all through the Old Testament, this promise remained. At some point in time, it had to be fulfilled, and it was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Can you describe some of the highlights of God’s great plan?

• Jesus Had to Live Among Us So Man Could Meet God.

Jesus perfectly revealed to us the nature of God. Through history, there have been thousands – probably millions – ideas of what God is like. Jesus settled every question about the nature of God. We don’t have to wonder what God is like; we see Him perfectly displayed in Jesus of Nazareth. Have you met God in the Person of Jesus Christ?

• Jesus Had to Live Among Us to Fulfill God’s Law

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 that He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. One of the ways Jesus fulfilled God’s Law was in His perfect obedience. Every man and woman before Jesus and every one after Him has disobeyed God in some way or another. Yet Jesus was and is the One who did what Adam and the whole human race was not able to do: perfectly obey God. Do you look to Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law?

• Jesus Had to Live Among Us to Bear Witness to the Truth

Jesus told Pontius Pilate that this was why He came (John 18:37). Jesus came to both tell us the truth and to be the living Truth among us – the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). This truth was so important that God brought it in Person. He used messengers before and after Jesus, but Jesus was more than a messenger – He was and is truth itself. Do you believe and receive the truth of Jesus?

• Jesus Had to Live Among Us to Seek and Save the Lost

Jesus said that He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). In our separation from God, Jesus did not just wait for us to seek Him. He came to earth and lived among us as living proof of God’s heart to seek after the lost and troubled. Have you let Jesus find you and rescue you?

• Jesus Had to Live Among Us So the Price Could be Paid

Regarding the cross, Jesus said for this purpose I came to this hour (John 12:27). In Going to the cross and paying the price for guilty humanity, Jesus fulfilled His purpose. Do you look to Jesus as the payment of the price you owe?

• Jesus Had to Live Among Us to Divide Humanity

Jesus said that He came to divide humanity (Matthew 10:34-35), between those who accept Him and those who reject Him. Are you on the right side of that divide – on the side of those who accept and trust in Jesus? The life of Jesus is God’s great gift to the human race and all creation. Yet the value and goodness of that gift depends on our receiving it. Let the life of Jesus – the life He had to live – have full effect in your life.

It has been said that “the resurrection of Christ is the capstone in the arch of Christianity, if it is removed Christianity crumbles.” Indeed, Paul warned of the negative implications if Christ did not rise from the dead, namely, we are still in our sins, our faith is empty, those who have died have perished forever, and we are men most miserable (1 Cor. 15:16-19). That the resurrection is the core of the Christian faith cannot be denied and that of nearly twenty sermons in the book of Acts feature the resurrection of Christ as the central message. Despite the importance of the resurrection as the heart of the gospel message (Rom. 10:9-10), some have mistakenly understood this crucial event as an hallucination or more of the same kind of dying and rising gods present in cultures throughout the ancient Near East.

The Resurrection as Hallucination?

Hallucinations describe the psychological state of seeing things that appear real but do not actually exist. Some have argued that the disciples’ intense grief and wishful thinking for their crucified Savior triggered these hallucinatory episodes known as “appearances.” Instances of hallucinations among some of the world’s religions certainly do occur, but usually they are either initiated by drugs or other techniques designed to induce an altered state of consciousness. However, there are several reasons to reject the hallucination theory. First, there is no evidence of drug use or technique-induced altered states of consciousness among Christ’s disciples, which is totally foreign to Judaism and to Christianity. Second, hallucinations are generally experienced by individuals and not mass groups. Paul said at least 500 witness had seen the risen Christ (1 Cor.15:6). Third, hallucinations last only short periods of time (seconds or minutes), not for forty days of physical appearances (Acts 1:3). If it was a hallucination, it was the largest in recorded history and lasted longer than any other hallucination! Fourth, the disciples did not expect Jesus to rise from the dead and, therefore, could not be projecting wishful thinking which could lead to hallucinations of His resurrection appearances. In fact, in several of Christ’s post-resurrectional appearances He was not immediately recognized which eliminates any “thought/psychic projection” of His appearance. Finally, the disciples who were depressed after Christ’s death were initially skeptical to believe the women’s report of the resurrection, suggesting that wishful thinking was not present.

The Resurrection as Legendary?

Some have attempted to identify the resurrection as legend or mythical storytelling not uncommon to the cultures of the ancient Near East. According to some, Christ’s resurrection story is similar to the Egyptian Osiris myth or the Mesopotamian stories of dying and rising fertility gods (e.g., Tammuz). However, these arguments have been met with strong criticism. First, the parallel stories only have superficial similarities. For example, none of these rising gods actually come back to life and walk the surface of the earth in the body that died and was buried, nor are witnesses involved that confirm a Christ-like physical resurrection. Second, the textual support for such legendary “resurrections” is scant or altogether absent and must be stretched to resemble anything like the Bible’s account of the resurrection and afterlife. In the case of Tammuz-Adonis, early texts do not have any trace of a resurrection account, they only appear some 150-300 years after Christ. This has led some to believe that the Tammuz story was actually influenced by the resurrection of Christ, and was reinterpreted in light of the success early Christianity was having by preaching the resurrection! Third, some (Roland de Vaux and Edwin Yamauchi) have pointed out that the apparent “resurrection” of the Egyptian Osiris was not really a Judeo-Christian resurrection at all. Rather, Osiris simply was enabled to live an afterlife among the dead as close to an earthly existence as possible. In other words, Osiris never came back to life in his physical body to live on earth again, but was only allowed to reign over the dead in an earth-like afterlife. Fourth, those who see parallels between many of the early mystery religions such as the Persian Mithra, which was popular among Roman soldiers, and Taurobolium ignore the late dates for sources or turn a blind eye to their textual provenience. The notions of “rebirth,” blood sacrifice, and eternal life emerged in the second to fourth-century AD and were most likely influenced by Christianity (see Ronald Nash, The Gospel and the Greeks). Finally, these myths and mysteries are not rooted in any time-space historical person or foundational historical event. By contrast, Christianity rests upon the historical Christ and His physical resurrection from the dead.

Resurrection of the Body Foreign to Ancient Cultures?

While surveying the climate of how ancient cultures viewed the afterlife, one is immediately struck by the uniqueness of the Judeo-Christian concept of the hereafter. The Egyptians seemed to be semi-optimistic regarding the afterlife, but never offered bodily resurrection as an option; largely, Egyptian notions of afterlife centered in the realm of the dead and was somewhat shadowy. For the ancient Egyptian, the end and hope for afterlife resides in the necessity of a mummified body. For the Mesopotamians, according to Yamauchi, pessimism and gloom dominated their view of the afterlife. Any thought of raising the dead was a threat or curse to be avoided. For the Greeks, despite Plato’s belief in the immortality of the soul (his student Aristotle rejected immortality), most were skeptical of an afterlife even though scant ideas circulated among the poets and later philosophers. The prevailing view among the Greeks regarding the body was negative. The Greek attitude toward a resurrection can be seen in Acts 17:18, 32, while Paul was in Athens. The apostle Paul spoke of the resurrection, something novel to the Greeks. He eventually was met with skepticism and mockery. For the Greeks, the body was a hindrance to progress and the life of the mind, so any notion of being physically resurrected was summarily ridiculed.

Unique Judeo-Christian Belief in the Resurrection of the Body

When set in contrast against the dark and pessimistic backdrop of the ancient Near East and Greek notions of the afterlife, the Judeo-Christian concept of a physical resurrection of the body was a unique contribution (Dan. 12:2) to ancient Near Eastern views. Early Israelites most likely understood the concept of resurrection slowly over time, and certainly were slow to realize that the Messiah would be resurrected. But the New Testament changed all this by the end of the first-century AD by clearly articulating the nature of Christ’s resurrection in light of Old Testament passages and His teachings recorded in the Gospels. Christ’s resurrection would forever change the religious landscape and frame the discussion of the afterlife in terms that now include the physical body. It only remains now in Part II to discuss whether the resurrection of Christ actually occurred as well as the nature of Christ’s glorified body.