Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead? (Part 3)
This is Part 3 of a 4 part series – Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?
Anti-gnostic argument?
Every appearance of Jesus in the gospels is physical. Since the gospel appearance stories are widely accepted as independent, this multiple attestation provides strong support for the historical credibility of a physical, bodily resurrection. This could not have happened if all the appearances were really only visions. And since for a Jew the term “resurrection” meant the physical resurrection of a dead man from a tomb, the early believers must have understood the resurrection of Jesus as physical. This means that the physicalism of the gospel appearances was not likely a response to the anti-physicalism of the Gnostics. It is more likely that the Gnostics de-materialized the gospels’ material appearances, than the gospels materialized non-physical Gnostic accounts.
The fact is both Paul and the gospels view the resurrection body as both physical and transformed. The resurrected Jesus ate, cooked, and invited touch, but also displayed super human capabilities in his ability to appear and disappear at will without regard to spatial distances. It was not a body made out of spirit, but a body that had been transformed from mortal to immortal. Moreover, the recognition of the risen Jesus prompted worship. Both the women and disciples knew that this was no mere resuscitation of a corpse. After all, Lazarus’ resuscitation had not evoked worship! 14
Hallucinations?
Could the appearances have been hallucinations? Very unlikely!
- Hallucinations usually happen to one person at a time. But gatherings of two, seven, 11+, 12+, and more than 500 witnessed appearances of the resurrected Jesus!
- Hallucinations usually take place under very specific and favourable circumstances. The appearances of Jesus were in a variety of locations and circumstances.
- Hallucinations involve and expectancy on the part of the person hallucinating. The women went to the tomb to complete the anointing of a dead body with spices.
- Hallucinations can’t exceed the content of the mind. But the disciples were devastated, defeated and discouraged after the crucifixion. Even though Jesus had predicted both his death and resurrection, they had never caught on. It was too radically different from what they had been taught by the rabbis from their youth. They had absolutely no concept of a dying, much less rising Messiah.
- Hallucinations don’t eat fish or invite touch. Jesus did both!
- Furthermore, hallucinations never would have led to the belief in a Jesus who rose physically and bodily and besides, hallucinations cannot account for the empty tomb.
Only apparent death?
Is it possible that Jesus never really died? New Testament scholars have universally rejected this theory for over 100 years because it is physically impossible and religiously inadequate.
This apparent death theory is asking us to believe that after Jesus’ torturous beating with fists, sticks and a Roman flagrum (a whip with pieces of sharp rock and metal embedded in the leather) that would have opened up his back so badly as to have exposed his inner organs, after carrying a wooden beam up a mountain on that back, after being attached to a wooden cross with spikes through the wrists and ankles, after hanging on that cross for six hours, breathing only by pulling himself up and down to relieve the asphyxiating pressure on his diaphragm, after having professional Roman executioners pronounce him dead and thrusting a spear in his side to make absolutely sure, and after being wrapped up in nearly 100 lbs. of linen and spices and laid in a cold dark tomb, Jesus never really died, woke up on Sunday morning feeling great, nudged a 2-ton stone uphill, quietly slipped past the guards, found where the disciples were hiding and appeared to them as Lord of life and conqueror of death.
Not only is this clearly physically impossible but it is religiously inadequate. Even if he had somehow survived, he would have appeared to them not as Lord of life and conqueror of death, but as someone in desperate need of medical attention! This would never have evoked the worship of Jesus as one who had risen triumphantly from the grave.
Theories like the apparent death and hallucination theories do not provide a complete explanation for the facts; they only attempt to explain one small portion and require other speculations to account for the rest. This is in contrast to the resurrection hypothesis that explains all the facts without distorting them, and therefore remains the best explanation.
Thus, the evidence is that Jesus made multiple appearances after his death.
Notes:
14. Murray J. Harris, Raised Immortal: Resurrection and Immortality in the New Testament, Eerdman’s, 1985, p. 20
