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The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important part of the faith of the
Christian. "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins"
(1 Cor. 15:17). For almost 2,000 years men have debated whether or not Jesus arose from
the dead. "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others
said, We will hear thee again of this matter" (Acts 17:32).
Many today try to explain away the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some claim it wasn't Jesus who died on the cross but a double. Others claim His body was stolen from the tomb by His disciples. Many Moslems teach that Jesus merely passed out or swooned on the cross and revived in the tomb. Still others claim Jesus' body was not resurrected but only His spirit. All this doubt takes the power away from New Testament Christianity. Without the resurrection we have no hope of salvation from our sins (Col. 2:12). And we certainly have no hope of a future resurrection of ourselves from the dead. "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (1 Cor. 15:19). New Testament Christianity is not based on blind faith and emotional testimony but on evidence (Acts 26:22-23). Let us examine the evidence provided for us by the Holy Spirit in the pages of the New Testament. In this article we will be concerned with the resurrection of Jesus in light of his burial:
Before Jesus was even crucified He underwent a great ordeal. He had not slept for over thirty hours. He was exhausted and dehydrated. In addition, He was beaten and scourged by the Romans. It was obvious to all the bystanders at Golgotha that Jesus died on that cross. "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost" (John 19:30). "And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:39). The moment of His death was terrifying. Three of the Gospel writers record that before His death the sky darkened for three hours. The veil in the temple in Jerusalem was torn in two. Matthew records that there was an earthquake and many of the righteous dead were resurrected (Matt. 27:51-53). His enemies knew that He was dead. The Jews requested of the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate that his soldiers break Jesus' legs to make sure He was dead. They did not have to do this because He was already dead (John 19:33). A soldier with a spear pierced His side causing blood and water to come out (John 19:34), which may have been an indication that the blood clot had already separated from the serum. The Roman centurion reported to an amazed Pilate that Jesus was dead (Mark 15:44). The implications of these eyewitness accounts are obvious. There was no double on the cross who died in Jesus' place. The dead man was Jesus of Nazareth. And he did not just pass out. He died on the cross (cf. John 19:34-35). In every way Jesus' death fulfilled Old Testament prophecy:
Even in death Jesus fulfilled prophecy concerning Him, some of which went back almost 1,000 years. "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me" (Luke 24:44). Please recall that all the parties involved were sure that Jesus was dead — the Jewish officials, Pilate, the soldiers, the disciples, Joseph, and Nicodemus. We must also remember that a large stone was rolled in front of the sepulchre and sealed on orders of the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate (Matt. 27:62-66). Therefore, could Jesus have swooned or fainted on the cross and then revived later in the tomb? Some scholars — professional doubters — think so. But they neglect the record of Jesus' burial in the New Testament that informs us that a one hundred-pound mixture of aloes (a fragrant wood) and myrrh (a waxy aromatic spice) was applied to the body. The New Testament also records that the body was wrapped in an almost mummy-like fashion — contrary to the example of the so-called "Shroud of Turin" — in linen, with His face covered by a separate linen cloth. We know this because of the description of the burial clothes of Lazarus (John 11:44). The apostle John records that the spice mixture was applied to the body in the folds of the linen (John 19:40) and perhaps even on top of the body as it lay in the sepulchre. Common sense tells us that no one could have survived all this. In His dehydrated, bleeding condition Jesus would never have revived. The aromatic spices alone would have asphyxiated him. And even if He had revived, He could not have rolled away the massive stone (Mark 16:3-4) in His weakened condition. Some have wistfully concluded that Jesus' disciples took His body. But they were distraught, disorganized and in shock. Roman soldiers under orders of Pilate guarded the sepulchre, and at least some of the guards were to be awake at all times, under penalty of death. Could the Roman soldiers have stolen His body? This is highly unlikely. The tomb had the seal of Tiberius Caesar placed upon it by Pilate's order (Matt. 27:62-66). Later, after the resurrection of Jesus, the Jewish officials bribed the guards to spread the rumor that Jesus' disciples stole the body, even promising them immunity from Pilate's wrath (Matt. 28:11-15). Could the Jews have stolen His body? A better question might be, "What would be their motive?" They had already arranged with Pilate to have the sepulchre guarded. They probably wanted to bring the corpse out on the third day and expose Jesus as a fraud. But no one denounced the apostles as liars seven weeks later when they proclaimed Jesus' resurrection in the temple in Jerusalem (Acts 2:24, 32). On that Sunday morning Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome found an empty tomb. An angel had moved the stone covering the sepulchre and the women talked with two angels who assured them that Jesus was not there (Luke 24:5). The guards had run away out of fear (Matt. 28:4). When Mary Magdalene told the apostles in Jerusalem of her discovery they were at first skeptical. Peter, John and Mary Magdalene ran to the sepulcher. John arrived first, looked in and saw "the linen clothes lying" (John 20:5). Peter went in and witnessed that the tomb was empty. But he noted that the napkin used to cover the face was neatly folded, lying separately from the linen clothes (John 20:6 7). These eye witness accounts prove that Jesus' body was not taken. If it had been taken the body would either have been removed with the clothes intact or the clothes hastily unwound and cast aside. Finally, was Jesus' spirit resurrected but not His body? This theory was first promulgated in ancient times by the heresy of Gnosticism. But the Bible disproves this theory. When Jesus first appeared to His apostles in Jerusalem after His resurrection they thought His appearance was that of a spirit or ghost. But Jesus quickly snuffed out this view by proving that He had a body. "Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke 24:38-39). He then ate a meal of broiled fish and honeycomb before them (Luke 24:41-43). This proof caused them to know that Jesus had physically arisen from the dead (1 John 1:1-3). Do you serve the risen Lord? The evidence is overwhelming. Jesus was who He said He was and we need to obey Him. "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance to all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:30-31). |