THE RESURRECTION

RESURRECTION TALES

According to the “apostle” Paul, the faith of a Christian must stand or fall on a single alleged fact: the resurrection of Jesus. In Paul’s own words, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless” (1 Corinthians 15:17). Are the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection in the Christian bible believable―or have you, like Esau, traded your holy birthright for a bowl of worthless soup?

Following is a short Biblical study to help you evaluate this most central of all Christian claims.

BETWEEN CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION, WHERE DID JESUS GO?

Was he in heaven, in accordance with his promise to the crucified thief that “today you shall be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43)? If so, how can does one account for his post-resurrection statement to Mary Magdalene, “touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to the Father” (John 20:17)?

RESURRECTION MORNING: THE WOMEN’S TALE(S)

1. Who first approached the empty tomb: was it Mary Magdalene alone (John 20:1) or Mary M. and “the other Mary” (Matthew 28:1) or the two Mary’s and Salome (Mark 16:1) or the two Mary’s and Joanna (Luke 24:10)?

2. On first reaching the tomb, were they greeted by an angel sitting outside (Matthew 28:2-5), by two men standing inside (Luke 24:4), by one man sitting inside (Mark 16:5), or no one at all (John 20:1-2)?

3. Did Mary Magdalene receive word of the resurrection before her actual encounter with Jesus? Although Matthew (28:5), Mark (16:6), and Luke (24:5) answer in the affirmative, John disagrees, maintaining that it was Jesus himself who first revealed to the grief-stricken Mary that he was alive (John 20:14-17).

4. Did the resurrected Jesus first appear to a joy-filled Mary Magdalene on the road (Matthew 28:8-9) or to a grief-stricken Mary Magdalene in the tomb (John 20:14-17)?

5. When the women were first informed that Jesus had risen, did they fearfully keep the news to themselves (Mark 16:8) or did they rush to inform the disciples (Luke 24:9; Matthew 28:8)?

6. Was Mary Magdalene’s initial report to the disciples a hearsay account of what she had been told by two men (Luke 24:9) or a first-person account of an actual visitation by the risen Jesus (John 20:18)?

THE DISCIPLES’ TALE(S)

Did Jesus first reveal himself in Galilee to the eleven remaining disciples (Matthew 26:16, Mark 16:7,14); in Jerusalem to the eleven (Luke 24:33,36); in Jerusalem to the ten, with Thomas absent (John 20:10,19,24); or to Peter and then to the twelve (1 Corinthians 15:5)―and since Judas was already dead (Matthew 27:5), and his successor had not yet been chosen (Acts 1:26)―who was disciple number twelve??

WOULD YOU, IN THE COURSE OF YOUR DAILY LIFE, BASE EVEN THE SIMPLEST DECISION UPON REPORTS WHICH WERE SO OBVIOUSLY INCONSISTENT AND CONTRADICTORY?

You know the honest answer to that is a resounding NO!

WHY THEN DO CHRISTIANS SWALLOW THESE TALL TALES HOOK, LINE AND SINKER, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEIR ETERNAL LIVES ARE AT STAKE?

Christians are confronted with an eternal choice. Will they be faithful to God, their Creator―or to a religion of myth and men about a dead man-god?

The prophet Elijah, himself a master of resurrection (1 Kings 7:20-23 KJV), addressed the issue succinctly: “How long will you halt between two opinions? If the L-rd be God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). Joshua’s challenge too, rings forth even today: “choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my household, we will serve the L-rd” (Josh. 24:15).

As many former Christian’s are discovering every day, it is far better to be on God’s team, than that of a dead man-god served up as a human sacrifice.

RETURN