Risen Indeed!
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the heartbeat of the Christian faith. “Alleluia! Christ is Risen,” has been the message from the beginning upon which the Christian way grew. It is the Gospel, the Good News. Christians shout this out every Easter with great joy! Do we live as though it is true? Do we live as though it actually happened? Do we understand the profound spiritual gifts Christ’s resurrection offers each of us and the whole world now?
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. (1 Corinthians 15: 14-15, NIV)
People often argue about Jesus. Was he God in the flesh or just a great teacher? Perhaps he was a liar or even a looney? Throughout the centuries folks have wondered if he faked his death, or that somehow he was revived before he died. However, all of these theories fall short of being able to explain how Jesus could have convinced a good number of pious God-fearing Jews that he was in fact the glorious risen Lord. It is not Jesus that we need to examine to determine the historical truth of his resurrection. There are no direct writings by Jesus of Nazareth. All that we know about what he taught and did were written down by others. It is the veracity of their witness that needs to be examined.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also. (1 Corinthians 15: 3-8, NIV)
The earliest surviving written account of the resurrection was penned by Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus. It is widely agreed by scholars that Paul’s letters were written before the four canonical gospels. At least seven of Paul’s letters to various communities and individuals are considered definitely and authentically written by him. This includes the first letter to the Corinthians, which gives a list of resurrection appearances. Paul’s letters are generally agreed to have first been written in the early 50’s AD. Thus, he started writing his letters approximately 15 to 20 years after the events of the crucifixion and resurrection.
Paul’s letters are rightly reflected upon because of their great theological lessons. However, it is also important to examine them in their historical context. These were real letters written to real communities and individuals addressing real issues with which they were struggling. These were not perfectly happy communities that had it all figured out. Further, one can take note of how Paul himself spiritually grew. This is true of all who compassionately lead while prayerfully being shaped by the Holy Spirit. Most importantly, all of the issues addressed and teachings given are clearly grounded in one truth, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
A few other interesting notes about Paul’s letters. First, he mentioned numerous individuals that were either his protégés, mentors, or companions in the faith. There are people referenced that were actual disciples of Jesus. Many of the earliest apostles were still alive when Paul was traveling around and writing. Thus, the resurrection was not something that Paul could have made-up in a vacuum and convinced multiple communities. People in those communities would have easily been able to ask others about the resurrection. Second, all of Paul’s new understanding of God was clearly and entirely based in the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. All that he taught was grounded in the love of the resurrection. Thus, the resurrection was not something that was added to his thinking as time moved along. It clearly transformed him and his understanding of Judaism and God. Finally, Paul consistently answered community struggles in light of living resurrection faith. The early Christian communities (comprising Jews and gentiles) struggled with issues like: How to get along as people from various backgrounds? Did one need to be circumcised and basically become Jewish first? How should Jewish law be understood moving forward? What is to be done with certain pagan practices? What happens to those who die before Jesus’ return? Paul’s letters addressed genuine concerns by real historical people. They were all striving to understand and redefine everything because one central event happened, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Historically, the forming of these Christian communities pre-dated the letters, and the giving of the resurrection message pre-dated the development of those communities. Thus, these communities were formed a short time after the resurrection event. So, the idea of the resurrection being a legend that was developed by later Christians is not an option. That leaves four other options:
A group of people made-up the story and basically told a lie that Jesus rose from the dead. Perhaps, one may argue, this group wanted to redefine Judaism around a great teacher and simply added in his resurrection, even though they all knew this central part of the story was not true. This seems very unlikely for several reasons. One is that there would have been too many people that needed to be in on the lie (or added myth) to have been able to survive. Also, most groups of deceivers do not completely alter their lives for a new truth that they know to be false. It is highly unlikely that many in this inner core of people would have been beaten, tortured, and killed for something they knew to be false. Further, most groups of deceivers do not pass down stories that make them look bad. Jesus’ disciples turned apostles are often portrayed in the gospels as clueless and faithless. Finally, groups of deceivers are not usually exceptionally profound individuals. They usually do not pass along amazing insight and profound teachings like those found in the New Testament.
The original disciples all misunderstood what they were experiencing. This is also highly unlikely because in this case any one of them could easily have visited Jesus’ tomb. The Jewish authorities or Roman soldiers most assuredly did not steal the body away, trying to dupe or set-up Jesus’ disciples, counting on them also having mass hallucinations about Jesus.
The resurrection was simply a detail that was added into the story as time went on. Kind of like how details are lost and/ or added when playing the phone game (sitting in a circle whispering a message in each other's ear one after another). It is definitely true that many details differ in the four canonical gospels. What Jesus said on the cross, and even details of the various resurrection appearance stories do differ. However, the bedrock facts of crucifixion and resurrection are always there. People may add details or highlight different aspects of something to bring out different theological perspectives, but they do not add in the foundational truth upon which everything is based. Once again, the timeline established by Paul’s letters takes away the possibility of a legend being developed over a long period of time.
The fourth and final option to explain the resurrection is to admit that Jesus’ disciples and Paul did, in fact, have profound and real encounters with the risen Christ! In real time, they most assuredly would have rejoiced and been scared. They would also have honestly labored to understand all the implications of what resurrection means. They would have prayerfully reflected, over and over again, the events of Jesus’ life. They would have wondered and debated how Christ’s Resurrection redefined their understanding of Jewish law and their faith. They would have reexamined their understanding of the scriptures. They would have debated with other Jews about what they experienced. They would have struggled to understand how they should compassionately incorporate gentiles (non- Jews). All this is exactly what you read about in the pages of the New Testament.
The result is… we can trust the witness of the earliest apostles to the truth and historicity of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection!
“Alleluia, Christ is risen. The Lord is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!” This is the gospel message that was proclaimed from the beginning. Many will say, “I still struggle intellectually with the idea of someone rising from the dead.” Join the crowd. Everyone struggles with it. It does not fit our understanding of life and death. However, think about this, where were each of us in the year 1800? Well, of course, none of us was here. Somehow God created and brought together all that makes up each of us. We were all gifted an intelligent conscious life. So who is to say God cannot give resurrected life again in a new way?
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15: 42-44, NIV)
One aspect of the resurrection stories that is consistent is that Jesus had a body, and yet came and went spiritually. They touched and ate with him, yet he vanished from their sight. Even the great Saint Paul struggled writing about spiritual bodies that he could not fully understand. The gift of the resurrection is not that we now know everything and all is solved. The gift of the resurrection is that we are all loved by God who constantly gives life.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:20, NIV)
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead gives us hope that there is something greater ahead eternally for all of us. It is the promise of a new heaven and a new earth. However, it does not mean that everything is about us earning our salvation. It does not mean that this is some kind of weigh station for the righteous, and that this life means little once you have been saved. On the contrary and quite the opposite. Beginning to live the gospel life grounded in Christ’s Resurrection means that our eternal relationship with God begins now. That everyone here and everything now truly matters. We actually find our true selves when we lose ourselves in the love of God. Jesus Christ sacrificing everything is the avenue by which God reclaimed everything. Jesus is awake in our lives. Christ is alive in our hearts. The Holy Spirit is active in our prayer life. God is always moving in new ways. The ultimate spiritual present of Christ’s Resurrection is realizing that it has been God’s play all along. God wants each of us to jump up on stage and shout, Alleluia! Christ is Risen Indeed!!
Today is God’s Present!
