Basic Apologetics: The Resurrection

Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord, I have been challenged by God to write this note for all my friends, and family, and to share with the world the most fundamental message of all: Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and there is no other way but His way. John 14:6 says, “I [Jesus] am the way, the truth, and the life. None come to the father, but by me.” This verse is essential to the Christian doctrine and because of its importance is constantly under attack.

As an apologetic, my passion that God has blessed me with is to use logic and rationale to defend the validity of the Christian faith. In a sense, it is my own way of evangelism. Some of my friends work well with the hurting, the needy, the sick, but I lack the skills and the abilities to reach many of those people. I am a very politically incorrect person, and my foot is constantly in my mouth. But when it comes to reaching out towards the skeptics, I find myself called by God because I used to be one.

Skeptics are tricky to deal with because they are learned in how to combat evangelistic principles. Many a Christian has gone forth and lost debates with skeptics on evolution, validity of the Bible, Biblical inerrancies, etc. Skeptics know how to play and they play rough. Brothers and sisters, I must stress these next words because often times it becomes lost on fellow believers. It is NOT our place to convert people. The Great Commission we follow is to spread God’s word so that ALL may hear it, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Apologetics, even though it deals with a debate-like style, is simply a means so that God’s wonderful word can be heard in all corners of the map.

Knowing basic apologetics is highly recommended even if you are not suited for the bombardment that skeptics are capable of throwing at us (I know because I used to be one). You do not need to know the intricacies of creation sciences (even though I do enjoy debating that subject), nor do you need to know how to respond to supposed “errors” in the Bible. These topics are helpful and I would suggest to any brothers or sisters to be learned in them just in case you are presented with the situation that demands such knowledge. However, there is one core topic that blows the skeptics out of the water and is very useful to know: the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Why is this topic so important? As quoted earlier, “I [Jesus] am the way, the truth, and the life. None come to the Father but by me” (John 14:6). If the Resurrection was proven false, then Christians would not have a way, a truth, nor a life and no redeemer to connect them with our Eternal Father. Skeptics realize this, and have constantly created theories and means of “disproving” the Resurrection. In this note, I shall assist my brothers and sisters in answering many questions and challenges skeptics throw at us by 1) Explaining that Jesus was real 2) Explaining the validity of the Gospels, 3) Discussing the basic and key fundamentals to why Jesus’ Resurrection is apparent, and 4) Discussing the main principle theories that skeptics have formulated.

Part I

Was Jesus Christ real? This is a question that many Christians (at least I would hope) would automatically say yes to. But skeptics want proof; not a faithful anecdote of how you felt Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit fill you up inside. Because we as Christians are asserting a positive statement the burden of proof is on us. The answer is yes, Jesus Christ was real because of the historical records that state He existed.

1) The Jewish historian, Josephus, who wrote Antiquities, a recorded history of the Jews, wrote, “Now there was about that time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man.” He also recorded a detailed account of Christ’s life and death.
2) Roman historians like Suetonius and Tacitus have written accounts which discuss Jesus Christ.

So was there a man named Jesus Christ? Yes, both Jewish and Roman historians confirm this fact, but did He rise from the dead? I shall answer this in a bit.

Part II

Many skeptics will attack and debunk the Gospels. The burden is on Christians to defend these books. There are many ways to do this, but for sake of length I shall give one key reason:

Because of the use of very specific names, which to the Hebrew people was very important, it would have been easy for any antagonist to stand forth against the Gospels when they were presented to the people. Next, the apostles when preaching would have looked like fools to the Hebrew people because the “facts” that were stated in the Gospels would not have been facts. However, there is no mention in history that the Gospels were attacked or more specifically disproven, even though all it would have taken was one account that disproved their validity, to debunk the Gospels. History again defends Christian Doctrine.

Part III

Now that I have established that Jesus was real and that the Gospels are reliable to use as historic evidence, I can finally discuss the core issue: Did Jesus Christ really rise from the dead?

The most important evidence is the fact that Jesus Christ’s tomb was empty. Jesus was a very important and well-known figure throughout Israel and would not have been easily forgotten. Not to mention Matthew 27: 5 specifically tells us that Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus, wrapped Him in linen and buried Him in his tomb. So Jesus’ burial place was well known. Again this proves that the Gospels can easily be defended, because at that time one person could have refuted the fact of Jesus’ burial with evidence. But history does not have a record of such an occurrence. Both Jewish and Roman accounts agree that the tomb was empty. This again is essential for the survival of the Gospels, because if the tomb was not empty, the preaching of the apostles would never have begun.

Tom Anderson, former president of the California Trial Lawyer Association speaks about the effects of Jesus’ empty tomb and lack of producible body:

“Let's assume that the written accounts of His appearances to hundreds of people are false. I want to pose a question. With an event so well publicized, don't you think that it's reasonable that one historian, one eye witness, one antagonist would record for all time that he had seen Christ's body? . . . The silence of history is deafening when it comes to the testimony against the resurrection.”

The apostles died for Christ. If they knew that Jesus Christ was not God would they really have died for Him though? I know of dying for a lie you believe in, but dying for a lie you know is false? It is preposterous and out of character for the apostles. During trial and after the crucifixion, the apostles fled and went into hiding. They did not even have the gall to die with their mentor, let alone die for Him after he was dead. But the apostles did in fact change. They no longer were afraid of persecution and began to preach the Gospel. Nothing could have caused this change except the fact that they knew their savior lived.

The final piece of evidence is the location of the apostles preaching. They preached in the city of Jerusalem, the most anti-Christian city of the apostles’ time. If any evidence existed against what the apostles were preaching, it would be very easy for the Pharisees and others who persecuted the apostles to produce. The historical evidence however does not show any evidence brought forth.

These are the key, fundamental reasons that defend the fact that Jesus Christ did indeed rise from the grave.

Part IV

The following 5 theories are the most common theories that skeptics throw at Christians. I shall do my best to explain the theory and how the theory does not hold up when thoroughly examined: 1) The “Wrong Tomb” Theory 2) The “Hallucination” Theory 3) The “Swoon” Theory 4) The “Stolen Body” Theory and finally 5) The “Soldiers Fell Asleep” Theory.

1) The “Wrong Tomb” Theory speculates that when both of the Mary’s arrived at the tomb and found it empty, they mistakenly assumed it was Jesus’. This theory does not hold strong for several reasons.

1) I have already explained that Jesus was a prominent figure, having been a Rabbi and a teacher, not to mention a huge public figure and his burial place would not have been easily forgotten.
2) Because of the apostles mannerism they would have attempted to correct the women, which according to the Gospel of John they did. Thus the apostles who knew for sure where the tomb was would have seen whether or not it was empty.
3) Jesus was buried in the Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Pharisees. If, when the apostles began preaching about the resurrection, the tomb was not empty, the authorities would only have to go to the right tomb, produce the body and end Christian doctrine in its infancy.

2) The “Hallucination” Theory attempts to explain 1) the change in the apostles and 2) the reaction of the crowd at Pentecost. The problems with this theory are:

1) According to psychiatric research, in order for hallucinations to occur several conditions must be met. These conditions were not met, however, because the situation was not conducive for hallucinations.
2) Hallucinations occur frequently for the imaginative and nervous people. And are personal and subjective. No two hallucinations are exactly the same for different people. But according to the Gospel and other historic accounts, Jesus was seen resurrected by the many. Group hallucinations are very rare, but when the group is seeing the same thing and the group is as large as 500 people (1 Corinthians 15), the odds have dropped to a near impossibility.
3) Hallucinations only occur for those who would believe it is true; however, James and Thomas, both skeptical and vehement against the news of the resurrection saw Jesus alive from the dead.
4) Even if the apostles were hallucinating, which they were not, all the authorities would have had to do was go to the tomb, produce the body and again end Christian doctrine.


3) The Swoon Theory presupposes that 1) Jesus Christ never died on the Cross 2) He was mistaken for dead and buried and 3) Three days later, he woke up and exited his tomb. The problems with this theory are:

1) There are historical records of Jesus’ death.
2) The Roman executioners were experts at their job and knew how to kill someone and make sure they were dead. In Christ’s case, the fact that they pierced His side with a spear and the water and plasma were separated supports the fact that Jesus was dead.
3) There is no way Jesus would have been able to move the 1 ton boulder sealing the tomb by Himself. Especially when He is bleeding, starving, dehydrated, and extremely weak.
4) Even if he was successful in rolling aside the boulder, he would have had to overcome the two guards posted in front of His tomb. Definitely unlikely in his current state.
5) Even if Jesus managed to do all this and reach His apostles, he 1) most likely would have been beyond Luke’s abilities to revive and 2) would have been shunned for lying to the apostles and Christian Doctrine would never have begun.

4) The Stolen Body Theory argues that the Jewish and Roman authorities moved Christ’s body for safekeeping. This theory does not hold firm because

1) When the apostles stared preaching, the body could have been produced by the authorities and
2) Death was honoured during those times. A person’s grave, even if belonging to an important figure, was sanctified and not allowed to be touched. Thus the authorities would not have touched Jesus’ body nor desecrate His grave.


5) The “Soldiers Fell Asleep” Theory argues that the Roman Soldiers fell asleep at their posts and the apostles went in and stole Christ’s body. This is absurd for the following reasons:

1) If the soldiers were in fact sleeping, how do we know who stole Christ’s body?
2) It seems impossible for the apostles to move the giant boulder, up the sharp hill without waking the guards up.
3) The tomb was secured with a Roman Seal and the punishment for breaking such a seal was death. All records show that the apostles were cowards. Why would they face execution for trying to steal a dead man? If they truly loved Christ and Christ truly was dead, they would have honoured His grave, not desecrate it.
4) Roman guards were professionals and had severe consequences for shirking their duties. If the guards indeed fell asleep, then they would have been executed or severely punished. The guards had enough deterrent to stay awake.
5) Finally, the apostles would have preached the resurrection and Gospel knowing that this was a lie. They were tortured, persecuted, and martyred because of their preaching. From what history tells us about them, it is highly unlikely that they would have died for such a lie.

Of course these are not the only theories that skeptics will use. These are the most common and many others theories are a combination or a spin off one of them.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters in Christ, defending the Resurrection is essential to our Doctrine. We must ever be vigilant in the spiritual warfare that wages around us. Culture may accuse us of being “intolerant,” but remember. Jesus Christ is the ONLY way, the ONLY truth, and the ONLY life. None come to the Father but by Him. The skeptics and members of other faiths will attempt to disprove the validity of Jesus’ Resurrection, but we as Christians must stand firm and rely on faith and the knowledge that God has given us to answer any challenges that stand in the way of spreading the Gospel.

May God bless you all,
Your Servant in Christ,
William Forrest Huddleston