He Is Risen!
The
majority of Christian religions elevate the Sunday immediately following the
first full moon after the spring equinox to the highest day of the year. In
other words, they celebrate today as Easter Sunday—the yearly anniversary of
our Lord’s resurrection. In comparison, the church of Christ celebrates
Jesus’ triumph over death on the first day of every week.
This
difference is often the cause of controversy between denominational churches
and churches of Christ around this time of the year. Rather than focus on
the debate over whether today is more special than every other Lord’s Day
let us take advantage of the fact that today more people are pondering the
events surrounding the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ than
on any other day.
Skeptics
and unbelievers are quick to assert that there is no hard evidence to
support Christianity’s claim that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead three
days after dying on the cross. But is this really the case? Let us
consider the facts:
1. JESUS CHRIST LIVED.
Few make any real attempt to deny the fact that Jesus of Nazareth lived in
Palestine in the first half of the first century AD. Even those who reject
the Biblical record cannot hide from countless historical documents, both
Roman and Jewish, which testify to the fact that He walked on this earth.
For all practical purposes, this is undisputed.
2. JESUS CHRIST DIED.
Once the truth of Jesus’ life is accepted it is a natural conclusion that,
at some point, His life came to an end. But challengers declare that He did
not die at the hand of Pontus Pilate on a cross. Of course, those who
accept the Bible as divinely inspired have no problem with this. But even
if the New Testament had never been penned, sufficient testimony exist to
validate the claim. Here are two examples courtesy of Apologetics Press:
Tacitus, the ancient Roman historian writing in approximately A.D. 115,
documented Christ’s physical demise when he wrote concerning the Christians
that “their originator, Christ, had been executed in Tiberius’ reign by the
governor of Judea, Pontius Pilatus” (1952, 15.44)
Likewise, Jewish historian Josephus wrote: [T]here arose about this time
Jesus, a wise man.... And when Pilate had condemned him to the cross on his
impeachment by the chief men among us, those who had loved him at first did
not cease (Antiquities of the Jews, 18.3.3)
3. THE TOMB OF CHRIST WAS EMPTY. Again we
have a fact that is generally undisputed. The Bible tells us that when the
stone was rolled away Jesus’ body was not inside the tomb. While there are
several theories advanced by critics and unbelievers as to what actually
happened to the body there are few, if any, who deny the fact of the empty
tomb. But, even if all agree that the tomb was empty, this does make the
bodily resurrection of Jesus an undeniable historic event. We must here
rely upon the testimony of eyewitness.
4. THE APOSTLES SUFFERED
AND DIED BECAUSE OF THEIR TEACHINGS ABOUT THE RESURRECTION. In any court
preceding where physical evidence is lacking (as it is in the case of Jesus’
resurrection) the testimony of multiple eyewitness is considered the gold
standard. And, in the case of the risen Lord, we have twelve such
witnesses. Credible historic documents agree that all of the apostles,
except John, were put to death because they refused to stop proclaiming the
truth of the resurrection. As for John, while he was not martyred, he
suffered greatly for the cause of Christ.
It is conceivable, as some
detractors claim, that all of the apostles were liars. But, even critics
agree that it would be highly unlikely that twelve men would suffer
persecution to the extent that the apostles did if they were promoting a
lie. As Wayne Jackson explains, “while men may die out of religious
deception, they do not willingly go to their deaths knowing they are
perpetrating a hoax.” Therefore, we must accept the testimony of the
witnesses and declare with them, “He is risen!”
In God’s love,
Thomas Sneed
Pond Church of Christ
