The Resurrection of Jesus: Did It Really Happen?

Written by Ed Allen
Saturday, 07 April 2007 18:00

The Jesus Thing: Through the Moses Lens

The Resurrection of Jesus: Did It Really Happen?

Who would you guess is the most successful trial attorney in the world? According to the Guiness Book of World Records, ?Most successful attorney: Sir Lionel Luckhoo, who succeeded in getting his 245th consecutive murder acquittal by January 1, 1985.”

Two hundred and forty-five consecutive murder trials either won before the jury or won on appeal. One would think Mr. Luckhoo is a very bright person and that he has tremendous analytical skills. He certainly must be a world-wide expert on what constitutes reliable, admissible, and persuasive evidence.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to get an opinion on the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus from a monumental legal expert like Sir Lionel Luckhoo? As it turns out, during his own spiritual journey Luckhoo did take his expertise in law and went through the question of whether the resurrection of Jesus Christ stands up to the test of legal evidence. This is his ultimate conclusion: ?I say unequivocally that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt.?

Our everyday experience tells us that dead people do not come back to life. Yet here we have the most successful attorney on the planet applying the legal tests of evidence to the historical accounts of Jesus Christ?s resurrection and concluding with absolute confidence that his resurrection is a reality. Having looked at the evidence, he then did the most logical thing in the world: he answered our question ?will you follow Jesus? in the affirmative and he gave his life to that cause.

Like Sir Lionel Luckhoo, we should examine the evidence for ourselves. In 1 Corinthians 15:17 the apostle Paul wrote, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins.” The resurrection of Jesus is the linchpin of Christianity. It is the ultimate authentication of Jesus Christ’s claim that he is the unique Son of God. So can we believe it?

The Certainty of Christ’s Death

I want to begin by summarizing how Jesus Christ died. Some believe Jesus Christ never really died on the cross. An explanation of the resurrection myth has developed around this idea – it is called the swoon theory. The swoon theory suggests that Jesus either fainted on the cross or he took a drug to make himself appear as if he had died. Then when he was taken to the tomb, the cool air revived him, and he emerged alive. People who subscribe to this theory contend that there was no real resurrection because Jesus didn?t actually die in the first place.

But the historical evidence about the death of Jesus shows the complete fallacy of this position.

After Jesus? trial, John 19:1 says, ?Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.? A medical expert named C. Truman Davis studied what was involved with this flogging, and concluded this was a brutal beating that left Jesus on the edge of death.

History has given us enough information on Roman beatings and crucifixions to know what happened. Jesus was tied to a post and beaten at least 39 times, probably much more than that, with a whip that had jagged bones and balls of lead woven into it. Repeatedly, the whip was brought down on his bare shoulders, back and legs. The heavy thongs cut through his skin, and as the blows continued, they cut deeper into the underlying tissues, initially producing an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins and finally the spurting of arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying tissues and muscles as the cuts got deeper.

The balls of lead first produced large, deep bruises that were then broken open by subsequent blows. By the end, the skin of his back was left hanging in long ribbons, and the entire area was an unrecognizable mass of torn and bleeding tissue.

One witness to a Roman flogging wrote, ?The sufferers veins were laid bare. The very muscles and tendons and bowels of the victim were laid open to exposure.?

Many people sentenced to be crucified never made it alive to the cross; they died at the flogging.

Undoubtedly, Jesus was in serious to critical condition even before the crucifixion began. It?s no wonder that the historical accounts tell us that Jesus was unable to carry his own cross.

He was laid on top of the cross on the ground and five to seven inch spikes were driven through his writs, crushing the median nerve, which is the largest nerve that runs to the hand. After his wrists and feet were nailed securely to the cross, the cross was hoisted into the air; and Jesus hung there.

Crucifixion was a well conceived crime deterrent. It was designed to inflict maximum agony. Death from crucifixion was a slow death by suffocation. It happened like this: because of the way Jesus? body hung, the stress on Jesus? windpipe and chest muscles was so great that he could inhale but he could not exhale unless he pushed up with his feet to relieve some of the pressure on his chest. Again and again Jesus had to push up against incredible pain, while the tissue in his feet ripped. Eventually exhaustion set in.

If the Romans wanted to hasten death, they would come by with a mallet and shatter the shin bones of the person on the cross, so he could no longer push up. The person would slowly asphyxiate. That?s what the executioners did to the criminals who were crucified on Jesus? side; but they didn?t do that to Jesus because it was clear Jesus was already dead. These Roman torturers were quite expert in the art of killing. It was their job to insure that no one came down from a Roman cross alive. Still, in Jesus case, as in others according to historical accounts, the soldiers confirmed his death by plunging a spear between his ribs. Modern medical experts who have studied the accounts of the witnesses have surmised that the spear punctured the sack around his heart as well as the heart itself. This would explain the issue of a clear fluid and streams of blood. Jesus Christ was dead.

An article in the Journal of the American Medical Society (3/21/86) agreed saying:

?Clearly, the weight of the historical and medical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead before the wound to his side was inflicted and supports the traditional view that the spear probably perforated not only the right lung but also the paracardium and heart, and thereby, insured his death. Accordingly, interpretations based on the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at odds with modern medical knowledge.?

What if Jesus somehow did survive the cross? What if he decided to deceive the crowd ? perhaps even his followers ? and claim he had risen from the dead? Even though this would be completely inconsistent with everything we know about Jesus, let?s just suppose it happened. That would mean that he somehow escaped the linen cocoon in which his body was wrapped which contained 75 to 100 pounds of spices. This would also mean that he was able to push away the boulder from the mouth of his tomb, a boulder so large one ancient account said 20 men couldn?t budge it. And then he was able to sneak past the Roman guards surrounding his tomb?

Suppose all of this happened ? think of the condition he would have been in when he appeared to his disciples. His would certainly not have been the kind of image that would have inspired a revolution. ?Hey guys, I am risen from the dead. Let?s go take the world.? I suspect they would have been more inclined to call a doctor.

Without doubt, Jesus Christ died on the cross. That part is easy enough, but why should we believe that he rose again from the dead. What kind of evidence would have prompted a man like Sir Lionel Luckhoo to conclude it is true.

Early Accounts of Christ's Resurrection

The accounts of Jesus Christ began very early, before mythology could contaminate them. It is clear from the language of some of Paul?s and John?s letters that they are actually quoting from well-known hymns or creeds. Examples can be found in 1 John 4:2; Philippians 2:6f; 2 Timothy 2:8; and 1 Corinthians 15:3f. For instance, the passage that we read at the beginning includes an obvious reference to some creed. It was probably recited by the church as early as 24 to 36 months after the death of Jesus. It says, ?Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried. And he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.? The creed goes on to specifically mention eye witnesses to whom Jesus appeared. The fact that these accounts of Jesus? resurrection emerge so early completely contradicts the assertion that the resurrection was a product of mythology that developed during the decades following Jesus? life. In other words, there simply was not enough time for the myth of resurrection to have developed and spread to account for these creeds.

Studies into the rate at which legend accrued in the ancient world conclude that it took a minimum of two generations for legend to corrupt a solid core of historical fact. There was nowhere near that amount of time in the case of Jesus Christ. In fact, when the apostle Paul mentions that Jesus appeared to 500 people at one time, he says many of the 500 were still alive. In effect, Paul was saying, ?If you don?t believe me, go ask the witnesses. They?re still around.? The proclamation that Jesus Christ is the resurrected Son of God began virtually immediately after his death. It was not a product of mythology.

Jesus' Empty Tomb

Last month, Discovery Channel aired a documentary that claimed that a Jerusalem tomb ? first discovered in 1980 ? was actually the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. The claim that this was the tomb of Jesus is based on inscriptions that were found on the 10 ossuaries or small, ancient coffins within the tomb. One of the inscriptions read ?Jesus, son of Joseph.? There were 2 Marys and one read ?Jude, son of Jesus.? The Documentary, however, suffered from a lack of support in the scholarly archeological community. The directors hint that this perhaps reflects a larger conspiracy. But it?s hard to imagine that any archeologist, especially ones who aren?t practicing Christians, would want to suppress the single-greatest find in human history.

Amos Kloner, a professor at Bar Ilan University, was one of the two men who made the discovery of the tomb and first catalogued its contents. Kloner called the documentary ?nonsense.? He said, ?There is no likelihood that Jesus and his relatives had a family tomb ? They were a Galilean family with no ties in Jerusalem. The reputed tomb belonged to a middle-class 1st Century Jerusalem family.?

Biblical Archeological Review, the preeminent resource for scholarly work on archeology related to the Ancient Near East, did a statistical analysis of the male population of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus based on the findings of other tomb sites contemporary to Jesus and concluded that there were at least 20 people at the time of Jesus who were named Jesus, had a father named Joseph and a brother named James. In fact, 2 other ossuaries have been found with the inscription ?Jesus, son of Joseph.? If you?d like to read more, I have a copy of a scholarly, but readable 20 page article that covers the basic problems with the Documentary?s claims.

Well, if this isn?t the tomb of Jesus? family, then are we likely to ever find such a tomb? The biographies tell us that Jesus? body was laid to rest in a tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea, and the tomb was sealed. An extremely heavy boulder was rolled in front of it, and it was guarded by elite Roman guards. Yet, it was discovered empty on Easter morning, quite significantly, by some of the women who followed Jesus.

The fact that the Bible says women discovered the tomb lends even more credibility to these accounts. In all matters, women had low status in Jewish society at that time. Their testimony was often not admissible in court. If the disciples were fabricating this story, surely they would have put the claim of an empty tomb on the tongues of a group of men. Not just because the testimony of men would have been more credible in that culture, but these men simply would have never thought to insert women into the heart of this story. This is one more indication that the writers were committed to recording actual events as they actually happened, even though it did not at first glance help their case.

More importantly, however, even Jesus? opponents admitted the tomb was empty. The accounts tell us they bribed the guards of the tomb to say it was the disciples who stole the body while they were asleep. This, of course, is ridiculous since the disciples wouldn?t have had the opportunity. Besides, if the guards were sleeping, how did they know it was the disciples who stole the body?

Still, the complete absence of dissenting voices confirms beyond doubt that the tomb was empty. The point of the whole affair had been to rid the Jewish community of the threat to stability and to the blasphemy, which Jesus represented to the authorities. Don?t you know that if they had his body or knew where it was they would have produced it? Instead they admitted the tomb was empty on Easter. This does not mean that they all came to believe in him. They may have truly believed the disciples stole the body. In any case, their testimony confirms that the tomb was empty.

How did it happen? Certainly the Romans and Jewish authorities wouldn?t have taken the body. They wanted Jesus dead and gone.

What about the disciples? Let?s remember they had nothing to gain and everything to lose by stealing the body? They surely would not have chosen deprivation, ostracism, torture and death for a charade. If this had been a conspiracy, certainly one of the disciples would have broken ranks under the pain of torture and told the truth. But it never happened.

Perhaps the women on Easter morning went to the wrong tomb. When they found it empty, they wrongly assumed Jesus had returned. But this argument doesn?t withstand scrutiny either. Not only did Mary Magdalene and the other women find the tomb empty, but Peter and John came out and checked it out for themselves. Don?t you think they would have made absolutely sure this was the right tomb before they risked their lives proclaiming that Jesus? body was gone? Besides, Joseph of Arimathea knew where his own tomb was located, and he certainly would have told them. If all of them came down with collective amnesia, surely the Jewish and Roman authorities would have pointed out, ?No, here?s the real tomb,? so they could show that Jesus was still inside.

There is no account from any source within the Bible or outside of it, from any authority, Roman or Jewish, declaring that the claim of an empty tomb was incorrect. History?s unanimous testimony is that on Easter morning the tomb was empty. There was no motive for the Jewish authorities, the Romans, or the disciples to have stolen the body. So what happened? One explanation is that Jesus really did return from the dead.

Eyewitnesses to Jesus

The first generation accounts tell us that over the 40 days after the resurrection Jesus appeared a dozen times to more than 515 different individuals. He talked with people. He ate with people. He even invited one skeptic to put his fingers in his hands where the nail holes were and to put his hand in his side where the spear had been thrust into him.

Five hundred fifteen eye witnesses. That is a lot of people. If we had a trial on the question of whether Jesus returned from the dead, and if we were to call each one of the 515 witnesses to give a first-hand account of their encounter with Jesus for just 15 minutes, and if we did it around the clock, we?d be sitting here for FIVE DAYS AND NINE HOURS. (Sunday noon through Friday 9pm) I wonder, after sitting through 128 hours of eye witness testimony, how many people would leave here unconvinced of Jesus? resurrection? This number and the quality of the eyewitnesses is unprecedented.

Well, what if they were all hallucinating. One psychologist commenting on the hallucinating theory reminded his readers that hallucinations are like dreams. They?re individual events that cannot be shared. He said, ?If you had 515 people all having the same hallucination at the same time, that would be a bigger miracle than the resurrection itself.?

Maybe it was group-think. This occurs when people in a group subtly encourage one another through the power of suggestion to see an image that isn?t really there. Dr. Gary Collins, the president of a national association of psychologists, was asked if this was possible.

?The circumstances would have been all wrong for this sort of thing to have occurred,? he said. ?The disciples were not anticipating a resurrection. The idea of Jesus coming back from the dead would run totally contrary to all of their Jewish, cultural, and religious beliefs ? as well as their experience. So they weren?t primed for that sort of thing to have happened. Besides, Jesus ate with them. He talked back to them. He appeared at numerous times before all kinds of people with all kinds of different emotional make-ups and in various settings ? all of which runs contrary to this group-think theory.?

The appearances of Jesus were not hallucinations, not wish fulfillments, and not mythology. So how do we explain them? Well, one explanation is that they were real historical events that revolutionized people?s lives. Think about what happened to the disciples. History tells us that before Easter they defected because they thought their leader was gone forever. The disciples after the crucifixion were hiding behind closed doors, afraid they might be put to death. Yet, after Easter these same men and women were out boldly proclaiming that Jesus Christ was alive. Suddenly these once cowardly individuals were transformed. It is difficult to imagine an event cataclysmic enough to have produced this kind of change. However, the bodily resurrection of a dead man is such an event.

History suggests that all but one of those disciples suffered violent deaths. Yet none of them ever disavowed their testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who literally and bodily appeared to them.

The lives of disciples actually provided the strongest and loudest testimony to my own heart when I had drifted into serious skepticism as a young man. I remember the blinding realization when I caught the significance of this. Looking at the lives and ultimately the deaths of these disciples I used to think, ?Hey, but there are all kinds of crackpots who will die for their religious beliefs.? Almost every month, some incredibly devout and sincere person will strap explosives to themselves somewhere in the world and drive or walk or fly willingly to their death.

And then it hit me. All of these people die for what they really believe. None of them would die for something they know to be a myth. And in the case of the disciples, their lives are radically altered beyond recognition and ultimately they are killed ? would they do this for a known lie? Absolutely not! They had seen the resurrected Son of God. They had heard him speak, touched his scarred hands and side, broken bread with him.

The Verdict

Sir Lionel Luckhoo was right. The evidence is compelling: early accounts plus empty tomb plus eyewitness testimony equals the certainty that Jesus Christ was indeed resurrected from the dead as the ultimate authentication of his claim to being the unique Son of God.

Look at every religious leader of history ? Confucious, Buddha, Mohammed ? they are all in the grave. But Jesus Christ isn?t. His tomb is empty. Jesus Christ alone possessed the power to overcome the grave.

Erick Weihenmayer, the blind mountaineer who recently successfully scaled Mount Everest, writes in Outside magazine:

A few days after I arrived in Khumbu Valley for the Everest climb, a rumor began circulating. Because I wasn?t flopping on my face every few minutes, the Sherpas thought I was lying about my blindness. Women approached me in the alleys of Namche Bazaar and waved their hands in front of my face. I?d feel the wind and flinch, which only confirmed their suspicions.

Finally, I resorted to drastic measures. I asked Kami Tenzing, our climbing sirdar, into the kitchen tent. ?Kami,? I said, ?I want to give you a message to take back to the Sherpas.? I pulled down my left lower eyelid, leaned my head forward, and my prosthetic eye plopped into my palms. ?I can take the other out if you want,? I said. ?No!? he said firmly. ?Not necessary.?

The resurrection is God popping one eye out for us.

So what will you do with the evidence? Will you recommit your life to the only cause that ultimately matters? Or will you commit yourself fully for the first time? Will you dedicate yourself to being a student of Jesus? If Jesus Christ is really raised from the dead, then that one fact changes everything! And the evidence points convincingly to Jesus Christ having told the truth when he said in John 11:25, ?I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.?