Jesus' Resurrection

Jesus' Resurrection. Randall Niles reviews an essential event in the Christian Faith.

Jesus' Resurrection from the dead is as essential to the Christian faith as His death upon the cross. Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Paul emphasizes the importance of the Resurrection with his statement "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not" (I Corinthians 15:14-15).

So, is Jesus' Resurrection from the dead an historical event? It is proclaimed throughout the four Gospels as well as ancient correspondence. If these works are the historical documents they claim to be, then they bare witness to an historical event. According to Aristotle's Dictum, these pieces meet the criteria for legitimate historical documents. However, as they describe miraculous events, they are not recognized by secular society as valid testimony. How then will these accounts be validated? Two questions must be asked. First, do the authors of these literary pieces discredit their work, or do their lives give credit to their testimony? Second, do accepted historical authorities corroborate these accounts?

The men who believed in Jesus' Resurrection from the dead, known today as Christ's Disciples, certainly had their testimony, as well as their convictions, tested by those who disbelieved. With the exception of John, every one of these men were put to death. These deaths were excruciating and merciless. More so were their lives, as these men were persecuted by the secular world and suffered great hardship for the spreading of their beloved Gospel, which they proclaimed. Paul gives account in his second letter to the Corinthians "Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness." (II Corinthians 11:24-27). Paul was later beheaded after suffering in a Roman dungeon for many years. His death was far less brutal then those of his brethren as he was a Roman citizen and often they were not. These men believed the Lord allowed them to suffer greatly, as there is no better evidence of their sincerity and the truth of their message than their endurance and perseverance without any hope of an earthly reward. Every single one of them could have escaped such torture and humiliation by simply denouncing the Resurrection of Christ. This was the goal of their tormentors. However, not one ceded to their persecutors, and this is dramatic evidence in rebuttal of any conspiracy theory.

For more on Jesus' Resurrection, please visit http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/jesus-resurrection.htm

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Jesus
• Resurrection
• Jesus Christ
• Video
• All About God
• Randall Niles

[Hufflewaffle]

For someone who thinks 'naturalistic, materialistic' evidence is not all that important when dealing with questions about the existence of God, you sure seem to think it IS important when claiming of the historicity of Jesus!

[OhioCoinHunter]

Yes, the apostles would have had to have been nuts to preach the message of the risen Jesus in an environment that was so hostile...if it wasn't true. I enjoyed your video very much.

[tomilard]

Jesus was never resurrected because he died at Srinagar aged 81 years.

[marklaisa]

Wouldn't it be Jesus's?

[Ipodlego56]

@CayonLakeTX he must be a false prophet for it say there will be those who claim to be me but are not some will say the end is near but only the father God knows when it will all end

[LetReasonPrevail1]

@MegaFraudbuster You said nothing of substance.

Further, your statement is ridiculous and inane.

If you are accusing me of being a zombie, it is redundant to say that I am brain dead, cause if I'm a zombie I'm "all" dead.

Actually, the concept of a zombie aka "living dead" is incoherent, just like your logic and arguments.

Got anything of substance to add, my dim-witted friend?

Durrrrr? What was that you said?

[timschuit]

You're extremely gullible if you find any of the "evidence" you presented compelling.

Guess what....nobody has produced Santa's body either....guess that means he must still be alive at the North Pole, right?

All you have are a couple of made up stories written by superstitious primitives. There's no reason to believe any of the magical claims in any of them. I can just as well make up a story about a guy rising from the dead...are you then required to produce a body to prove it false?

[Leiflton]

also there is proof on a personal scale, why dont you skeptics pray and seek God SINCERELY, and you will see for yourself. impossible not to.

[Leiflton]

yeah, they said the disciples stole the body, BUT THEY THEMSELVES KNEW IT WAS A LIE. the guards told the priests about the quake etc, and the priests PAID THEM OFF WITH A BRIBE, "Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept."

yeah and it says that bodies of the saints which "slept" (were dead) arose and appeared to many.

also the evidence suggests 9/11 was an inside job among other things.

[CanyonLakeTX]

Jesus did come back, and he works at Taco Bell.