Easter is upon us again! part 5

By Stephen Mitchell

Drs Gary Habermas and Mike Licona have written a book titled The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. In that book they have listed for us four facts accepted by all reputable scholars, Christian and non-Christian. They added one more fact which almost all reputable scholars accept. These are:

1. Jesus died by crucifixion.

2. Jesus’ disciples believed that he rose and appeared to them.

3. The church persecutor Paul was suddenly changed.

4. The skeptic James, the brother of Jesus, was suddenly changed.

and the fifth:

5. The tomb was empty.

With these five facts one can reasonably defend the historicity of the Resurrection in encountering opposing theories. I will summarize some of their examples listed.

A legend theory: The story just grew and was embellished over time before they were put into writing.

How does one answer this? First, it was the Disciples themselves who told the story of the Resurrection. They showed their total belief in this by suffering and dieing for its truthfulness. Second, the persecutor Paul changed from a persecutor to one who taught, suffered and eventually died for its truthfulness by what, he wrote, was an encounter with the risen Jesus. Third, this can be applied to the skeptic James as well. Fourth, simply asserting that the story changed over time does not make it so. There must be evidence that this happened and there is none.

How about the claim that the Gospel stories of the Resurrection are just moral tales, not meant to be taken as history?

First, this claim cannot account for the empty tomb. Second, a fable or moral story would not have convinced the church persecutor Paul. Third, neither would they have convinced the skeptic James. Fourth, the way opponents responded shows that the early church understood the Resurrection to be an historical event. Fifth, the accounts themselves present the event as historical.

What about the claim of fraud: the Disciples stole the body or the witnesses went to the wrong tomb or maybe someone else stole the body?

First, the Disciples claimed to have seen and interacted with the risen Jesus. For this claim they willingly suffered and died. Second, a  story about the Resurrection did not convince the persecutor Paul. He himself wrote that it took an encounter with the risen Lord to change him. Third, simply an empty tomb was not convincing by itself. Only the Disciple John was convinced by the empty tomb. The rest, according to the early records, were not convinced until they had seen and interacted with the risen Jesus. Fourth, the early records show that the location of the tomb was known and even the enemies of Jesus accepted that it was empty.

Habermas and Licona discuss many more objections, showing how the evidence supports the historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has questions about its truthfulness or who struggles to defend it against the critics and unbelievers. Just remember that, for anyone to take the final step of belief in Jesus, the witness of the Scriptures themselves need to be implemented by the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts.

We need, as the apostle Peter wrote, to “sanctify Christ as Lord in [our] hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks [us] to give an account for the hope that is in [us], yet with gentleness and reverence;  and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which [we] are slandered, those who revile [our] good behavior in Christ will be put to shame” (1Peter 3:15-16).

Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2004)