Historical Evidences for the Resurrection of Christ

By Mark E. Larson

Introduction:  The Distinctive Nature of Christianity.

·        Contrary to popular belief, Christianity is not merely a system of philosophy or values.

            A.  Christianity is dependent upon the identity of its founder (Mat. 16:13-17).

1. Contrast this with the religions of Buddha and Mohammed: If these men never existed, the religions (Buddhism and Islam) would still continue.                           

                        2.  Unlike mythology, Jesus actually lived in a time-space dimension on earth.

                        - He was a part of history; Therefore Christianity itself is dependent upon history.

B.  There are great consequences to Christianity if Jesus never actually was born, died and then raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:12-19).

                        1.  The apostles are liars (v. 15).

                        2.  There is no forgiveness of sins (v. 17).

                        3.  Those who died as Christians are gone forever (v. 18).

                                4.  Those who make sacrifices to be Christians are "the most pitiable" (v. 19).

                        5.  The Jesus of the Bible is an impostor!

                        6.  Could Jesus have been only a good, moral man and nothing more?

                                    a. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God! (John 10:36).

•  Jesus also referred to Himself as “the Son of Man” (Mat 9:6) which is a  Divine title of authority and exaltation in the book of Daniel (Dan 7:13-14).

•  Jesus claimed to be the “I AM” or God (Jn 8:24, 56-59; Mat 14:27; Mark 6:50).

                        7. If people believed Jesus, they would radically change their lives for Him.

                        8. His words were so important that people would be judged by them (John 12:48).

In light of His claims, Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, a legend or the Lord!

• He was liar if He claimed to be the Son of God and knew He was not. -- If this is true He should be exposed, for He would not have been raised.

• He was a lunatic if He claimed to be God’s Son but was just a man. -- Sane or mentally sound people do not make this claim!

•  He was a legend if gospel accounts were written too far after the events.  - Each account was written within the lifetime of eyewitnesses of Jesus.

• He is the Lord God if His claim is true.

Which do you choose?  -- There is no middle ground!

I.  The Nature of the Evidence: Historical, Eyewitness Testimony.

            A.  Faith is based upon evidence.

                        1.  Many speak of faith in terms of feelings, traditions, or preferences.

                        2.  This is not the Biblical concept of faith (Heb. 11:1; 1 Pet. 3:15).

•  Faith is not a “blind leap in the dark and we do not park our brains at the door.” 

                        3.  The Lord gave us evidence to stand on in our belief of the Savior.

B.  At the heart of every sermon of the apostles is their eyewitness testimony of the raised Christ (Acts 2:32; 3:14-15; 5:30-32; 10:39-43; 13:27-31).

                    1. Witnesses are what we rely on to confirm whether something is true or not.

2. Witnesses were crucial to verifying Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and  ascension and vital to the preaching of the gospel (Acts 1:21-22).

II. We Often Accept Things as True Based Upon Testimony.

            A.  All personal knowledge reduced to two categories:  Testimony & Memory

1.  Testimony deals with things that others have told us (word of mouth, books).

2.  Memory relates to those things we have personally seen (observed the event).

            B.  Every day we accept things as true based upon testimony.

                        1.  In a court of law 3 types of evidences are used (i.e., oral, written, physical testimony -                                e.g., notebook, fingerprints).

                        2.  The Christian faith has oral and written testimony of the apostles: 

                                    a. Physical testimony or scientific method is not represented.

                        3.  Consider some people of history we accept from written or oral testimony:

                        (a) Napoleon    (b) Caesar (c) George Washington (d) Abraham Lincoln

                        4.  History is knowledge of the past based upon testimony.

  "Have you seen them?" – “No.” - "How do you know then that they existed?" - We rely on testimony!

            C.  Of course not all testimony is valid (many will lie or are simply mistaken).

                    1.  On what basis do we reject some testimony and accept other testimony?

2.  Consider the method used by lawyers in screening for creditable witnesses.

III. Tests for Accepting or Rejecting Testimony.

A.  Is the person giving testimony in a position to know the facts? Was he at the event?

            B.  Does he have an ulterior motive in telling his account?

            C.  Is this person of good character?  Is he reliable?

            D.  Are there other witnesses and do they agree?

IV. The New Testament Passes the Test.

            A.  Were the apostles in a position to know the facts?

                        1. They spent over three years with Jesus! (1 John 1:1-3)

            B.  Did the apostles have any advantages in lying? (1 Corinthians 15:30-32).

1. They loved Him and were followers of Him (an apparent bias), yet they had nothing to gain personally except criticism, ostracism, and martyrdom.

a. They had plenty of reasons to motivate them to keep quiet, not preach!

2. All the apostles, except for John died martyrs deaths according to reliable, ancient tradition:  They were not in it for fortune and fame!

·         Simon Peter, Simon the zealot, Andrew, James, son of Alphaeus, Philip, & Bartholomew crucified.  Matthew and James, son of Zebedee killed by the sword.  Thaddaeus killed by arrows.  James, brother of Jesus stoned to death.  Thomas killed by a spear thrust.  -- Paul was beheaded. 

            C.  Are the writings of the apostles historically accurate?

1. The intention of the apostles was to write accurately about the things investigated and found to be well-supported by witnesses (Luke 1:1-4).

2.  The New Testament is infinitely stronger than for any other record of antiquity (Luke 3:1-2).

Sir William Ramsey, regarded as one of the greatest archaeologists who ever lived said this:  "Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy... this author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.  Luke's history is unsurpassed in respect of its trustworthiness."

·        Repeatedly, archaeological discoveries have confirmed specific references in the gospels, especially in the gospel of John.

Dr. Nelson Glueck, former president of the Hebrew university, a renowned archaeologist at Temple Emanuel said this:  "It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever contradicted a biblical reference."

                        3. If a person is going to be convinced enough to believe (John 20:31), such belief must flow from accurate history.

4. Instead of covering it up, they included the hard sayings of Jesus that may have been offensive to people and included the embarrassing moments of the apostles.

Examples: Peter’s denial; James & John desiring positions of power in Heaven, doubting Thomas, etc.

5. Apparent “contradictions” between gospel accounts (e.g., Mat. 8:28 / Lk 8:27 and Mat. 8:5 / Lk 7:3) are not contradictions at all.

a. If the gospel accounts were too consistent, it would appear as if there was corroboration and they merely copied one another which would invalidate them as independent witnesses.

b. Differences between Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John only demonstrate that each were independent witnesses.

            D.  Was there agreement between numerous witnesses? (1 Cor. 15:1-8).

1. In addition, many non-bible sources of testimony from ancient historians (e.g., Cornelius Tacitus, Suetonius, Plinius Secundus, Flavius Josephus).

Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian, a Pharisee, and commander of the Jewish forces in Galilee wrote at the end of the first century:  "He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved Him at the first did not forsake Him, for He appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold."

V.  The Historical Evidence

            A.  Jesus Lived            

1. No reputable, scholarly critic of the resurrection has ever doubted that Jesus actually lived. 

2.  Jesus is referenced historically in the New Testament documents written by His apostles, the witnesses of His life and work. 

3.  Jesus is also spoken of by ancient historians such as Josephus, Tacitus and Suetonius. 

4.  More detail is known about Jesus, His life and His teachings, than most any other ancient historical figure.

            B.  Jesus died by crucifixion:

The idea that Jesus never really died on the cross can be found in the Koran (which was written in the 7th century).  -- Some Muslims contend that Jesus actually fled to India!

There is a shrine that supposedly marks his real burial place in Srinagar in the vale of Kashmir.

                                1. Historical & Medical Accounts of Crucifixion:

                                    a. Crucifixion was used by many nations throughout ancient history:

·         In 1968 archaeologists in Jerusalem found the remains of about three dozen Jews who had died during the uprising against Rome around A.D. 70. One victim had obviously been crucified.  - Bone remains included the two heel bones still fastened together by a single iron nail of seven inches long still attached to small pieces of olive wood from the cross.

Note:  Jesus anticipated the horrible suffering of the cross He would have to endure the next day. His mental anguish was so great that he experienced Hematidrosis or sweat like drops of blood (Luke 22:44).

                                    b. Before the crucifixion, punishment by flogging usually took place:

·         The victim is severely whipped across the person's shoulders, back and legs with braided leather thongs with metal balls woven into them. When the whip would strike the flesh, these balls would cause deep bruises or contusions, which would break open with further blows. The whip often had pieces of sharp bone which would cut the flesh severely. The back would be so shredded that part of the spine was sometimes exposed by the deep cuts.

·         As the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh.  The veins were laid bare, and the very muscles, sinews, and bowels of the victim were open to exposure.

·         When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is finally stopped and led to his crucifixion (Roman floggings consisted of 39 lashes or more).

·         Many people would die from this kind of beating even before they could be crucified.  At the least, the victim would experience tremendous pain and go into hypovolemic shock (suffering caused by losing large amounts of blood; blood pressure drops causing fainting or collapse).

·         Jesus was scourged (whipped or flogged) before His crucifixion as well as abused by the people  (Matthew 27:20-31). 

                                    c. Included in pre-crucifixion punishment was the crossbar burden:

·         A man condemned to be crucified had to carry his own crossbar from prison to the place of his execution. 

·         Jesus must have been severely beaten for He was unable to carry his own crossbar. Simon of Cyrene carried it for Him (Mat. 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26). 

·         Scholars say they used a long piece of wood (which was used for barring doors), a crossbeam that weighed approximately 110 pounds. This was strapped to the victim's shoulders.

                                    d. Crucifixion was a horrible way to die:

• Jesus was crucified in the usual Roman manner:  Spikes 5 to 7 inches long tapered to a sharp point were driven through the wrists on to the horizontal beam (crossbar) in the outstretched position (each spike would go through median nerve to the hand causing excruciating pain