“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless
and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:14).
The Resurrection of Christ is the crowning proof of
Christianity. It is the foundation of the Christian faith. If the Resurrection
had not taken place, then Christianity would have been a false religion, and it
would have ended the very day Christ died.
2) Two questions:
G.B. Hardy, a Canadian scientist wrote a book about life, about
philosophy. It asked two very important questions. This scientist said, "I
have only two questions to ask. One, has anyone ever defeated death? Two, did
he make a way for me to do it also?" This scientist found the answer to
his question in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He found the hope for his own
resurrection in it as well. And yes, Christ made a way for you and me to defeat
it as well.
3) The swoon theory:
Time and again opponents of Christianity have attempted to
prove the Resurrection as a myth or a fable. One common theory is the
"swoon theory." This is the theory that Christ never really died. Due
to the loss of blood on the cross and the wounds He became unconscious. Inside
the tomb, the aroma of the spices and the coolness of the tomb revived Him. And
when He came out of the grave, the disciples assumed that he was resurrected.
The women, who carefully wrapped his body in linen and
anointed Him along with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus with 75 pounds of
spices, must have known whether or not He was dead. The Romans were renowned
for their military strategies and discipline. History will stand the test of
scrutiny that the Romans were experts at execution. They came by and did not
break Jesus' legs because they knew He was already dead. They rammed a spear
into His side and out came the blood and the water around the heart, indicating
that He was dead.
If the swoon theory is true, it means that Jesus
successfully survived the severe beating, loss of blood, crucifixion, and the
spear thrust into His side and survived three days with no food or water. Then
He woke up, moved the stone, overpowered the Roman guard,, and then walked
seven miles to Emmaus on bare feet that had been pierced with nails. That is
ridiculous and absurd.
5) The no-burial theory:
There's a second theory known as the "no-burial
theory." The no-burial theory says Christ was never put in the tomb, so
obviously, he wasn't there on Sunday. Since He wasn't there Friday or Saturday,
we don't expect Him on Sunday.
This theory doesn't work either. If the tomb was empty there
was no point in posting a Roman guard there. Instead of denying the
Resurrection, they would have brought the body to the city of Jerusalem for all
to see. They could not produce the body because Christ had indeed risen from
the dead.
6) The hallucination theory:
The third theory is the "hallucination theory,"
which says that everybody who thought they saw Jesus after His death suffered
from hallucinations. It was a pathological problem. They thought they saw Jesus
because they wanted to see Him so badly. This theory doesn't work either. How
could the church be built on hallucination? 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 outlined the
appearances of Jesus after his Resurrection. The passage also mentioned that
500 people saw Him at the same time. At the time of his writing, Paul said
though some of them had died, many of these eyewitnesses were still alive.
How could 500 people have the same hallucination at the same
time? And since they didn't even believe or expect a resurrection, where was
this strong desire that brought them to hallucinate? Furthermore, if this was
all just a hallucination, then where was the body? Instead of stoning Stephen
to death and persecuting the Disciples and the believers, parade the dead body
through the streets of Jerusalem. That would have been the end of the story and
the disciples would have gone back to their boats for fishing.
7) The mistaken identity theory:
There is another theory that's been propounded, the
"mistaken identity theory." This theory says that somebody
impersonated Jesus, that somebody tried to dress and look like Jesus to falsify
the Resurrection by impersonation. This theory is similar to the "twin
brother" theory, which says that Jesus had a twin brother, and when they
saw Him, they thought he had risen from the dead. The disciples who were always
with Jesus would easily identify the twin brother if there indeed was one. The
problem with the Mistaken Identity and Twin Brother theories is that he must
have crucified himself to produce the mark of being pierced by nails in both
hands. He must have stabbed a spear into his side to produce the scar that was.
And how do you explain the post-resurrection miracles if he was just an
impostor? How can you explain walking through walls? How can you explain the
controlling of the fish in the sea, creating a meal, appearing and vanishing at
will, ascending to heaven in full view of the Apostles? No impersonator or twin
brother can do that. Moreover, the disciples knew Jesus too well to be fooled.
8 ) The wrong tomb theory:
This theory says that the women were so distraught with
grief that they went to a tomb that happened to be empty. This theory, too, is
preposterous. The women have followed Jesus to the place where Jesus was
crucified. They knew exactly where He was buried. Most importantly, Jesus was
not buried in a public cemetery but in a private cemetery and in a new tomb
belonging to Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60) and there was no room for
error in finding the right tomb.
9) The Martyrdom of the Apostles:
The timid and frightened disciples who went into hiding
during the crucifixion of Christ suddenly became bold and fearless. It was the
truth of the resurrection that transformed them. Except for the apostle John,
who died of old age, all the apostles were martyred for their faith and for
preaching the Gospel. They died in horrible ways. Nobody will suffer or die for
something that they know is a lie. The apostles knew that the resurrection was
a fact. They have met the risen Lord and there was no turning back for them.
10) The theft theory:
There are many more theories. But if you're going to deny
the resurrection, there's really only one theory that you ought to adopt and
that's the one these Jews adopted in Matthew 28. That theory is the "theft
theory". According to this theory, the disciples came and stole His body.
If you can't find the body, the best explanation is somebody came and took the
body.
In Matthew 28:11-15 it says that the priests and the elders
bribed the soldiers and instructed them to say that the disciples came at night
and stole the body while they were asleep. Would the scared disciples go to the
tomb knowing that Roman soldiers were guarding it? Some said the disciples
bribed the soldiers. Bribe them with what? They have nothing!
This lie is so apparent that Matthew did not even bother to
comment on it. If you are asleep, how can you see what is happening? If the
guards were asleep how can they identify the the disciples coming to the tomb
and leaving with the dead body of Christ? No one sees when he or she is
sleeping. This is the lie that proved the truth of the Resurrection.
Jesus Christ said, “I am the resurrection and the life”
(John 11:25). He is alive today. He will walk with you down every road of life.
He will stand by you in the hour of death and keep you throughout eternity.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gave his life for us because we
were all doomed to sin, death, and condemnation. The supreme sacrifice of
Christ, the unblemished and sinless Lamb of God, and his bodily resurrection
must be our reflection every day.
