Is the Historical Evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus Reliable?

Is the HistoricalChapter Five Evidence SCIENTIFIC AND HISTORIC EVIDENCof the ResurrectionE FOR JESUs’ of RESURRECTION Jesus reliable? “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” I Corinthians 15:3-7 1. Evidences for the Resurrection… Fifteen distinct appearances of Christ were recorded: 1) To Mary Magdalene: Mark 16:9, John 20:14 2) To women returning from the tomb: Matthew 28:9, 10 3) To Peter later in the day: Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5 4) To the Emmaus disciples: Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-24 5) To the apostles without Thomas present: Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-24 6) To the apostles with Thomas present: John 20:26-29 7) To the seven by the Lake of Tiberias: John 21:1-23 8) To a multitude of 500-plus believers: 1 Corinthians 15:6 9) To James: 1 Corinthians 15:7 10) To the eleven: Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:33-52; Acts 1:3-12 11) At the ascension: Acts 1:3-12 12) To Paul: Acts 9:3-6; 1 Corinthians 15:8 13) To Stephen: Acts 7:55 14) To Paul in the temple: Acts 22:17-21; 23:11 15) To John on Patmos: Revelation 1:10-19 He was touched by a doubting disciple named Thomas. He ate meals with His followers. One appearance was to 500 people. Many of these people were still alive when Paul’s letters were circulated. Many of these people were persuaded against their will that Jesus was resurrected. The night of the crucifixion, Peter was a coward and denied three times that he even knew Christ. Peter’s first electrifying sermon about Christ’s authenticity was in the same city (Jerusalem) not long after the resurrection. Later, He was crucified upside down in Rome for his unrelenting faith. 24 A. The Stone… “Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.” Mark 16:4 An in-depth study of the rock of the area outside Jerusalem and the customary size of the Jewish tomb reveals that the stone weighed 1½ to 2 tons.i It was rolled into a crevice and dropped into a notch for permanent sealing for protection from outside invaders. Historian T.J. Thorburn after carefully examining a fourth century manuscript at the Cambridge library wrote, “and when he was laid there, he (Joseph) put against the tomb a stone which twenty men could not roll away.”ii B. The Roman Seal… “Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ “Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.” Matthew 27:62-66 Roman historians report that after death on a Roman cross, the ruthless government of Rome stood behind the death and burial of the victim. Over the tomb of a crucified man, Roman Soldiers placed the Roman seal, which was two crossing strips of leather and a clay pack in the middle with the official seal of the government of Rome stamped on it. The penalty for any human breaking the seal was the wrath of Rome. “A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel.” Daniel 6:17 C. The Roman Guard… “Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, ‘You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.’” Matthew 28:11-14 25 Scholars believe the context of Matthew 28:14 referring to “The Governor” (Pilate) can only refer to a Roman guard. These weren’t the bunch of sleepy-eyed soldiers you see in many Jesus movies of modern day. The Roman “guard” (literally “Koustodia”) was a group of 12 to 16 men highly trained to stand their guard against an entire invading army. If one soldier in the “guard” went to sleep, the entire guard was put to death according to Roman Military Law. “The most famous discourse on the strictness of camp discipline is that of Polybius VI. 37, 38, which indicates that the fear of punishments produced faultless attention to duty, especially in the night watches.” (McDowell 237) If, as some critics attest, the guard unit was a Jewish temple guard again it would have been a highly disciplined and unified group of men. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia (81) the punishment for sleeping on watch could be as severe as being burned alive by a fire started with the guard’s own clothes. D. Eyewitnesses died for what they saw… Before the resurrection, the disciples fled in fear. Mark 15:50 says, “And they all left Him and fled.” Something drastic happened that unified them in incredible bravery and dedication to their cause. The disciples and thousands of early Christian martyrs gave their lives because they either witnessed the resurrection or believed this one fact to be true and worthy of their torturous deaths.iii 1) James – beheaded 36 A.D. 2) Thomas – poison dart in India. 3) Simon the Zealot – crucified. 4) Bartholomew – beaten with stakes, crucified and beheaded. 5) Andrew – crucified. Just prior to his crucifixion, he said, “O cross, most welcome and long looked for! With a willing mind, joyfully and desirously, I come to thee, being the scholar of Him which did hang on thee: because I have always been thy lover, and have coveted to embrace thee.” 6) Matthew – run through with a spear. 7) Philip – stoned and crucified. 8) James (Jesus’ brother) – stoned. 9) Peter – crucified upside down. 10) On some days, as many as five thousand Christians were killed under Nero, Domitian and Marcus Aurelius by beasts, beatings, burnings, stonings, in dungeons, etc., their faith and courage bringing testimony to the resurrection of Jesus. 11) Polycarp, the 86 year old bishop of Smyrna, was an excellent example of great faith. When apprehended by Marcus Aurelius and brought to the Roman Coliseum for execution before the people of Rome, the proconsul asked Polycarp to swear by Caesar, reproach Christ, and go free. Polycarp replied, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never once wronged 26 me; how then shall I blaspheme my King Who hath saved me?” Whereupon the proconsul said, “I have wild beasts and I will expose you to them, unless you repent.” “Call for them,” replied Polycarp, “for repentance with us is a wicked thing, if it is to be a change from the better to the worse, but a good thing if it is to be a change from evil to good.” “I will tame thee with fire,” said the proconsul, “since you despise the wild beasts, unless you repent.” Then said Polycarp, “You threaten me with fire, which burns for an hour, and is soon extinguished but the fire of the future judgment, and of eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly, you are ignorant of. But why do you delay? Do whatever you please.” E. The tomb of Joseph of Arimathea… “And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.” Luke 23:50-53 The collation of Jesus’ burial was a specific, private, marked, noteworthy tomb. A hand hewn rock tomb owned by a wealthy man was, to that man, a one-of-a-kind location into which that man or an immediate family member would someday be put to rest. F. The Jewish Burial… “Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.” John 19:39-40 The burial custom of the Jews of that day was to wrap the dead body in “mummy form” with a very lengthy wide strip of cloth which was wound around and around the body.

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