Examining the Keystone of Christianity

The Resurrection: Did it really happen?

Death – Did Jesus Die?1. ALL the Gospels• Beaten (Lk. 22.63) >> Scourged (Mk.

15.15) >> Crucified >> Stabbed (Jn. 19.34)

2. Paul • Romans, Galatians, 1 & 2 Corinthians

3. Non-Christians• No ancient source claims not*• Josephus & Tacitus

Josephus (93 A.D)

Ant. 18.3.3 (revised)-

Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, for he was a doer of wonderful works—a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.

Josephus (93 A.D)

Ant. 18.3.3 (revised)-

Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, for he was a doer of wonderful works—a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.

Tacitus (115 A.D.)“Therefore, to stop the rumor [that the burning of Rome had taken place by order], Nero substituted as culprits, and punished in the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men, loathed for their vices, whom the crowd styled Christians. Christus, the founder of the name, had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilatus, and the pernicious superstition was checked for a moment, only to break out once more, not merely in Judea, the home of the disease, but in the capital itself, where all things horrible or shameful in the world collect and find a vogue.”

The Jesus Legend. Paul Eddy & Gregory Boyd Pg. 179

Tacitus (115 A.D.)“Therefore, to stop the rumor [that the burning of Rome had taken place by order], Nero substituted as culprits, and punished in the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men, loathed for their vices, whom the crowd styled Christians. Christus, the founder of the name, had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilatus, and the pernicious superstition was checked for a moment, only to break out once more, not merely in Judea, the home of the disease, but in the capital itself, where all things horrible or shameful in the world collect and find a vogue.”

The Jesus Legend. Paul Eddy & Gregory Boyd Pg. 179

The Empty Tomb – Was Jesus Buried?

1. Tomb of a well known man• Joseph of Arimethea w/ Nicodemus (Jn.

19.38,39)• No other burial traditions• Wrong tomb?

2. Alternative explanations: Matt 28:11-15 – no need for an explanation if nothing happened

• “Disciples stole the body” – why?1. Wasn’t Debated until 1835!

Witnesses – Was He Seen?

1. Women eyewitnesses

2. Acts – requirement of an apostle

3. Almost nobody questions Paul wrote 1 Corinthians• 1 Cor 15:1-11 – creed goes back to 32-38 AD• List of witnesses• Most of the 500 still alive?• Paul’s eyewitness testimony

•Other explanations• Legendary? • Hallucination?

Circumstantial Evidence

1. Apostles were KILLED

2. Changes to Jewish Social Structure• End of the Sabbath and Sacrifices and Temple

worship• Paul• Worship of Jesus as God

3. Emergence of the Church• Palace of Caesar within 20 years (Phil. 4.22)• Who Spread it? GALILEAN JEWS (rednecks)• What was there message? A beaten, bloody “criminal”

was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead!

Bibliography"Good Friday (8601411092)" by Steve Evans from Citizen of the World - Good FridayUploaded by russavia. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Good_Friday_(8601411092).jpg#/media/File:Good_Friday_(8601411092).jpg

BibliographyEddy, Paul R., and Gregory A. Boyd. The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007. Print.