Did the Resurrection Really Happen? (Part 1)
In a 2000 documentary “The Search for Jesus,” Peter Jennings, anchor of ABC World News Tonight, set out to explore the authenticity of Christianity’s claim that Jesus rose from the dead. This two-hour special, shown on ABC’s network during prime time, reportedly attracted 16.6 million viewers.[1]
As Jennings moves between Scripture references, contemporary biblical scholars, actual residents of modern Jerusalem, and his own questions and commentary, he never quite answers the question. Rather, he plants enough doubts to make any inquisitive viewer skeptical of such an outrageous claim as a dead man coming back to life.
Is it possible to prove the resurrection really happened? You bet! Harvard Law professor Dr. Simon Greenleaf once said, “According to the laws of legal evidence used in the 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.”
In this article we are going to examine four reasons to believe that Jesus really did rise from the grave just three days after His crucifixion.
1. Women as witnesses
In Bible times, the testimony of women was considered unreliable by the Jews, unable to be used in a court of law. Therefore, the last thing one would want to do in those days to prove the validity of a claim would be to cite an “untrustworthy” woman.
Yet, the Bible does not shy away from repeated references to women as the first to see Jesus after He rose. Matthew 28:9, “And behold, Jesus met [the women] and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.” Luke 24:10, “Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles.” John 20:16, “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).
Over and again the Gospel writers use women as the first witnesses. Why would women be cited in the gospel accounts if the Jews wouldn’t accept a woman’s testimony? Because their testimony was true!
2. Apostles as witnesses
When we think of the New Testament apostles, our minds are often drawn to their bold preaching, their canonical writings preserved even to this day, and their willingness to risk their very own lives to speak of the resurrection of Jesus. But they weren’t always this way.
In fact, the disciples were some of the ficklest followers of Jesus, especially at the most crucial moments of Jesus’ earthly ministry. In the Garden of Gethsemane, all the disciples fled in abject terror when Jesus was arrested. One was even willing to flee naked just to avoid the possibility of detention by the Roman authorities!
As Jesus was led away to the high priest’s quarters for a kangaroo court hearing in the middle of the night, only John and Peter were willing to follow, but even that was from a distance. And when put to the test, Peter willfully denied knowing Jesus three times!
Yet, as the Book of Acts opens, something has changed! Peter stands in Acts 2:22-24 and boldly declares, “Men of Israel, hear these words…this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” Tradition tells us that Peter went on to be crucified himself, but upside down since he did not consider himself worthy to die the same manner as his Lord. John wrote the Book of Revelation and died an old, old man, exiled on the island of Patmos.
What brought about the change from fainthearted, fair-weather friends to bold heralds of the gospel? They saw the resurrected Jesus!
3. Large crowds as witnesses
According to an article by George Sinclair, “There are (not counting Paul), eleven recorded times that Jesus appeared to people proving that He was resurrected. These appearances were to: men and women, individuals, couples, groups, and at least one crowd. The appearances were inside and outside, in different locations, and at different times of the day. He was physically touched, audibly heard, visually seen, and He ate food in the presence of witnesses. None of these witnesses believed that Jesus would rise from the dead before He rose from the dead. All of them knew him before His death, so they knew He was the same Jesus who died on the cross.”[2]
1 Corinthians 15:5-6 records, “…[Jesus] appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time…” 500 people at one time! Was that mass hysteria and incredulous hallucination? Or could it be that they actually saw Jesus? The latter seems more plausible!
4. Brothers as believers
As Jesus began His earthly ministry, even his own family did not believe He was the Messiah. John 7:5 states plainly, “For not even his brothers believed in him.” How sad, yet understandable, since they shared the same parents (or so it seemed)!
But later in life, two of Jesus’ blood brothers – James and Jude – would become pillars in the early church. James becomes a prominent leader in the church at Jerusalem. Both men write books of the Bible. But instead of naming their familial ties as credentials, they identify themselves as “servants of Jesus.” Why the drastic change? Because they saw the resurrected Jesus! Suddenly all His claims made sense and they knew in fact that their brother was actually the Messiah!
Friends, Peter Jennings may have had doubts in 2000. But the first writers of Scripture certainly did not. And neither should you! Jesus, in fact, rose from the grave on Easter Sunday morning! Hallelujah!
Sources:
[1] https://arcapologetics.org/answering-the-search-for-jesus-an-abc-special-hosted-by-peter-jennings/
[2] https://ca.thegospelcoalition.org/article/10-concise-pieces-of-evidence-for-the-resurrection/
