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A central doctrine of Christianity that affirms that God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day. Without the resurrection, the apostle Paul declared, Christian preaching and belief are meaningless <1 Cor. 15:14>. The resurrection is the point at which God's intention for Jesus becomes clear <Rom. 1:4> and believers are assured that Jesus is the Christ.
So significant is the resurrection of Jesus that without it there would be no church or Christianity, and we would still be in our sins <1 Cor. 15:17>. In spite of the centrality of the resurrection, however, scholars have frequently debated a number of the elements in the resurrection accounts in the New Testament.
Empty Tomb. Some critics argue that because Paul does not speak of an empty tomb, the idea of the resurrection of Jesus must have developed years after His earthly life and ministry was over. But Paul refers to the burial <1 Cor. 15:4>, which argues both for a proper tomb and against the body being dumped into a pit or a common criminal's grave.
Critics have also pointed to variations in the accounts of Jesus' resurrection in the gospels, such as how many women came to the tomb and who they were. Why did they come: to anoint the body (Mark and Matthew) or to see the tomb (Matthew)? Was there one angel (Mark and Matthew) or were there two (Luke and John) at the tomb? Did the angel say, "He is going before you into Galilee" (Mark and Matthew) or "Remember how He spoke... when He was still in Galilee" (Luke)? Did the women say "nothing to anyone" (Mark) or did they report the message to the disciples (Matthew)? (Note that most ancient manuscripts of Mark do not have <16:9-20>-- a fact noted in many modern English translations.)
It is well to remember that these variations were recognized by early Christians and were not discovered by recent critics. As early as the second century, Tatian wrote his Diatessaron, or harmony of the gospels, expecting that Christians would gladly accept his work as a substitute for the four gospels. But while Christians read Tatian, they refused to substitute his harmony for the witnesses of the four gospel writers. The faithfulness of these writers in transmitting to us the gospel texts is a testimony to Christian integrity. It is also a witness to their early understanding that the gospels were Holy Scripture, inspired by God.
Furthermore, these writers knew the tomb was empty; because if it had not been empty, the body would soon have been supplied. The only other alternative is that the disciples stole the body as the Jews <Matt. 28:13> and some modern critics have suggested. But such a view is self-defeating because the gospel accounts themselves witness to the surprise of both the women and the disciples about the empty tomb.
Moreover, while it may seem incredible to us, the gospel writers generally refrain from using the empty tomb as a basis for faith! Furthermore, the stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out; he did not need open doors to move about <Luke 24:31, 36; John 20:19,26>. The stone was removed to begin communicating the resurrection to the followers of Jesus. But the empty tomb did not convince them that Jesus was alive! It was at first frustrating to the disciples and "seemed to them like idle tales" <Luke 24:11>. Would anyone contructing a story and trying to prove the resurrection use such an approach? These testimonies have an element of authenticity that inventors of stories seldom duplicate.
The Appearances. While the above testimonies about the empty tomb seem to have little to do with the faith of these early Christians, the appearances of Jesus are clearly at the heart of early Christian belief. The consistent witness of the New Testament is that in the appearances of Jesus something incredible happened. The two followers in Emmaus, upon realizing it was the risen Jesus, forgot their concern with the lateness of the hour and rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the others <Luke 24:29-33>. The doubting Thomas uttered Christianity's greatest confession when he realized that the risen Christ was actually addressing him <John 20:27>. Peter left his fishing nets for good when the risen Savior asked him, "Do you love Me?" <John 21:15>. And at a later time <1 Cor. 15:8>, the persecutor Paul was transformed into a zealous missionary as the result of a special appearance by the risen Lord <Acts 9:1-22>.
But what was the nature of these appearances? Some have suggested that the appearance of Jesus to Paul seemed to be of a spiritual nature, similar to the revelation of Jesus to Christians today. Since Paul lumps all of the appearances together in <1 Corinthians 15:5-8>, these critics argue that all the appearances must be spiritual in nature. They reject the idea that the risen Jesus could be touched <Matt. 28:9; Luke 24:39; John 20:27> or that He could eat <Luke 24:41-42>.
Such a line of argument not only judges the witnesses on the basis of rationalistic assumptions, but it flies in the face of Paul's own admission that his experience was somewhat irregular. Another approach is that advocated by the German theologian Rudolph Bultmann, who speaks of an "Easter faith" of the disciples rather than an actual bodily resurrection of Jesus. Accordingly, he splits the Jesus of history from the spiritual experience of the Christ of faith.
But when the New Testament writers speak of the resurrection of Jesus, they are bearing witness not to what God did for them but what God did to Jesus. Certainly, as a result of the resurrection of Jesus human lives were transformed. For Paul this transformation of Christians is not termed resurrection but salvation. "In Christ" is the expression which Paul uses for the spiritual experience of the living Christ.
Finally, the resurrection of Jesus, His exaltation to the right hand of the Father <Acts 2:33>, and the giving of the Spirit <John 20:22> are all to be seen as a single complex of events. Although the elements may be viewed as separate happenings, the New Testament writers see them as closely integrated theologically. Together they represent the firstfruits of the new age.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
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