Did Jesus rise from the dead?
Body Count
Atheist Bertrand Russell, who doubted Jesus' very existence, assumed that the resurrection of the body was impossible. In 1926, Russell wrote, "I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my own ego will survive."1 Well, that's cheerful. Russell clearly bordered on the morose, but we've all wondered, with perhaps more optimism, what will happen to us when we die.What makes Jesus unique among religious leaders and among great leaders in general, is his relationship with death. Leaders have met with all manner of untimely deaths-assassination, self-inflicted death, accidental death before the world was ready for them to go. But death sought and found them nonetheless. What is not unique about Jesus is that his enemies killed him; what is unprecedented, if the Gospels are to be believed, is that he foretold how and when it would happen and resigned himself to it (actually chose it), stating that death had no power over him.
Theologian R. C. Sproul has stated, “The claim of resurrection is vital to Christianity. If Christ has been raised from the dead by God, then He has the credentials and certification that no other religious leader possesses. Buddha is dead. Mohammad is dead. Moses is dead. Confucius is dead. But, according to … Christianity, Christ is alive.”2
So different and so abnormal is all this that a part of us would like to dismiss it as myth. But is the resurrection to be relegated to a Sunday school story—or is there evidence?
Researcher Josh McDowell said, “After more than seven hundred hours of studying this subject and thoroughly investigating its foundation, I have come to the conclusion that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted upon the minds of men, OR it is the most fantastic fact of history.”3 Right. So which is it?
Let's look at the evidence.
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This is an excerpt from Y-Jesus Magazine. Click here to see Y-Jesus Magazine.
