Recently I finished the book The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. I highly recommend this book for those who would like to hear an argument that defends the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection and gives counter arguments to the popular theories trying to disprove it.
For those interested in the arguments, I will try and summarize them the best I can over the next few days. I pray you find this interesting and helpful. More importantly, I pray this strengthens your faith. For those who have questions or want to challenge or push back, please fill free to post a response or send me an email at robertfonseca@renaissance-church.com
Below is a brief summary of the 5 facts from the book. The strength of the argument rest on the fact that virtually all scholars in this field of study, even those who are skeptical, meaning they do not hold to the historic Christian faith or believe the bible to be the infallible word of God, agree to the truthfulness of the following facts.
There are 5 facts to the argument
1. Jesus was crucified-
a. In order for a resurrection to take place; there must first be a dead body. Therefore, demonstrating the fact the Jesus died is an important part of the argument. Opponents of the resurrection have developed theories that try to disprove that Jesus died while being crucified. There are those who claim that Jesus did not die on the cross, but instead passed out and was revived later while in the tomb.
2. The disciples believed Jesus rose from the dead
a. At first reading this may seem like a weak argument, but in a few days I will elaborate to show the power of this fact. Suffice it for now to leave you with this thought. Many people will die for what they believe to be true, but how many will die for what they know to be false? The disciples were not people who only heard the stories of the resurrected Jesus, they were eye witnesses and most of them died a martyr’s death. If there was any doubt in their minds, would they have willing accepted death?
3. The church persecutor Paul was suddenly changed
a. This is significant because Paul made a drastic change in his life based on the belief that he encountered the resurrected Jesus. Prior to meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus Paul was actively hostile towards the Christian church, so much so that he was determined to put an end to it. Yet when he encountered the risen Lord, he renounced everything he held dear. If Jesus did not really rise then why would a man who achieved the success Paul did so easily give it all up? Would he actually give up his success for a legend? A story? A myth? For something he knew was not true?
4. The skeptic James, brother of Jesus, was suddenly changed.
a. The argument from James conversion is similar to Paul’s. So I will elaborate when I get to him in a later blog.
5. The empty tomb
a. For me this argument is the strongest and I can’t wait to blog about it. For now let me say that if someone could have produced Jesus corpse, the message of Christianity would have died immediately. Now there are many theories that have developed since the death of Jesus, but as we will see in light of the evidence, one can conclude a resurrection must have taken place.
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