Ep. 144: Resurrection
The history of the life of Jesus closes with a miracle as great as that at its beginning. The one casts light upon the other. If he was what the Gospels claim him to be. He must have been born of a virgin, without sin and he must have risen from the dead. If the story of his birth is true, we can believe that of his Resurrection; if that of his Resurrection be true, we can believe that of his birth. Although the latter was incapable of strict historical proof, his Resurrection demanded and was capable of the fullest historical evidence.
The Apostles and disciples grieved over the loss of Jesus because it seemed like the enemy had won! Yet his death could not have been totally unexpected if they were to remember the many predictions he had given earlier. Jesus had spoken of this ever since the Transfiguration, despite their resistance and reluctance to believe. He had also referred to his Resurrection, but they had trouble grasping the concept of a literal Resurrection of that crucified Body in a glorified state.
Jesus had clearly taught them all this during his ministry on Earth, but there was nothing more effective than ‘show and tell’. It was the event itself that would soon teach them. It would have been impossible really to teach something as unprecedented as the Resurrection, except by witnessing it!
Here is a question to be faced. Considering their previous state of mind and the absence of any motive, how are we to account for the change of mind on the part of the disciples about the Resurrection? There was no doubt that they came to believe in the Resurrection as a historical fact. It would form the basis of all their preaching of the Kingdom as it would be for Paul, a bitter enemy of Jesus until his dramatic conversion.
Indeed, the world would not have been converted to a dead Jewish Jesus, although his intimate disciples might have continued to love his memory. But they preached everywhere, first and foremost, the resurrection from the dead! In the language of Paul: ‘If Christ has not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God . . . you are yet in your sins.’
Edersheim continues:
‘A dead Christ might have been a teacher and wonder-worker and remembered and loved as such. But only a Risen and Living Christ could be the Saviour, the Life, and the Life-Giver, and as such preached to all men. And of this most blessed truth we have the fullest and most unquestionable evidence. We can, therefore, implicitly yield ourselves to the impression of these narratives, and, still more, to the realisation of that most sacred and blessed fact. This is the foundation of the Church, the inscription on the banner of her armies, the strength and comfort of every Christian heart, and the grand hope of humanity.’
This is an extract from the book, Jesus : Life and Times, available for £12 here (Finalist for Academic Book of the year at 2023 CRT awards)