Light Brings Salt

Volume 2, Issue 15 April 11, 2004

Iron Range Bible Church

Dedicated to the Systematic Exposition of the Word of God

What About the Resurrection?

Fact or Fiction?

Something crucial happened 2000 years ago, something that had such an impact it changed the course of history from B.C. (Before Christ) to A.D. (the Latin Anno Domini--the year of our Lord). That "something" was so dramatic it completely changed 11 men's lives, so that all but one died a martyr's death.

That something was an empty tomb? An empty tomb that just a short 15-minute walk from the center of Jerusalem would have confirmed or disproved. But even after 2,000 more years of history, a portion of mankind hasn't forgotten that empty tomb and the historical record of the resurrection appearances of Jesus Christ.

"If you wish to rationalize away the events surrounding Christ and His resurrection, you must deal with certain imponderables." (McDowell, The Resurrection Factor, p. 64)

By imponderables, McDowell is talking about historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The body of evidence is so great it has led millions throughout history to put their trust in Jesus Christ, many of whom were skilled in evaluating historical evidence. We make this emphasis because many theories have been advanced that attempt to show the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a fraud or nothing but a myth concocted many years later.

McDowell writes: "I believe that many of the people who came up with these theories must have had two brains--one lost, and the other one out looking for it. Historians have to become anti-historical to invent some of their ideas." (p. 76)

With this in mind, let's consider the testimony of a few outstanding historians. These are testimonies of men who are some of the greatest minds of history, men who were specialists in gathering and evaluating historical evidence. Note the following six testimonies from The Resurrection Factor, pages 10-12:

1. Roman history scholar: I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God hath given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead.

2. Textual critic Brooke Foss Wescott, an English scholar, said, "Taking all the evidence together, it is not too much to say that there is no historic incident better or more variously supported than the resurrection of Christ. Nothing but the antecedent assumption that it must be false could have suggested the idea of deficiency in the proof of it."

3. Professor of ancient history Dr. Paul L. Maier, professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, concluded that, "If all the evidence is weighed carefully and fairly, it is indeed justifiable, according to the canons of historical research, to conclude that the tomb in which Jesus was buried was actually empty on the morning of the first Easter. And no shred of evidence has yet been discovered in literary sources, epigraphy or archaeology that would disprove this statement."

4. Legal authority: One man who was highly skilled at dealing with evidence was Dr. Simon Greenleaf. He was the famous Royal Professor of Law at Harvard University and succeeded Justice Joseph Story as the Dane Professor of Law in the same university. The rise of Harvard law School to its eminent position among the legal schools of the United States is to be ascribed to the efforts of these two men. Greenleaf produced his famous three-volume work, A Treatise on the Law of Evidence, which still is considered one of the greatest single authorities on this subject in the entire literature of legal procedure.

Greenleaf examined the value of the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ to ascertain the truth. He applied the principles contained in his three-volume treatise on evidence. His findings were recorded in his book, An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice.

Greenleaf came to the conclusion that, according to the laws of legal evidence used in courts of law, there is more evidence for the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than for just about any other event in history.

5. Attorney general: An Englishman, John Singleton Copley, better known as Lord Lyndhurst, is recognized as one of the greatest legal minds in British history.

Upon Copley's death, among his personal papers were found his comments concerning the resurrection in the light of legal evidence and why he became a Christian: "I know pretty well what evidence is; and I tell you, such evidence as that for the resurrection has never broken down yet."

Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Darling, once said that "no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring in a verdict that the resurrection story is true."

6. Rationalistic lawyer: Dr. Frank Morrison, a lawyer who had been brought up in a rationalistic environment, had come to the opinion that the resurrection was nothing but a fairy-tale happy ending which spoiled the matchless story of Jesus. He felt that he owed it to himself and others to write a book that would present the truth about Jesus and dispel the mythical story of the resurrection.

Upon studying the facts, however, he, too, came to a different conclusion. The sheer weight of the evidence compelled him to conclude that Jesus actually did rise from the dead. Morrison wrote his book--but not the one he had planned. It is titled, Who Moved the Stone? The first chapter, very significantly, is, "The Book That Refused to Be Written."

An outstanding book on the evidences for the resurrection is Josh McDowell's book, The Resurrection Factor. He also covers this in his book, Evidence That Demand's A Verdict. There are many others as well.

All this wonderful evidence exists in spite of the security precautions taken by both the Jews and the Romans to make sure Jesus was dead and remained in the tomb. These included things like the Roman seal that was broken, the heavy stone that covered the door but was removed, and the Roman guard of soldiers who were there to guard the tomb. All this makes the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus that much more remarkable.

Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:17 "and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins."

Some Doctrinal Issues

1. Declared that Jesus Christ is God's Son. Rom. 1:4

2. It verifies the truth of Scripture.

Both in the Old Testament and in the teaching of Jesus, His resurrection is clearly taught.

If Jesus had not come out of the tomb, then these Scriptures would not be true.

3. It indicated the completion and acceptance of His provision of justification. Rom. 4:25

4. It is the visible proof to us that His work on the cross satisfied the righteousness of God the Father.

5. It assures our own future resurrection. Because Jesus died and rose again, we shall one day be raised to be like Him (1 Thes. 4:13-18).

6. If we do away with His resurrection, we have no hope.

7. It is related to the power for Christian living. We cannot live for God by our own strength. It is only as His resurrection power works in and through us that we can do His will and glorify His name (Rom. 6:4; Eph. 1:18-20).

8. It is the basis of our confidence in the future. Because we have a living hope in a living Savior we are able to live confidently. 1 Peter 1:3-5

9. Whenever God's people gather on the first day of the week they bear witness to the fact that Jesus is alive and that the church has been blessed with all spiritual blessings in Him.