Easter in the Protestant Church centers on the resurrection of Jesus. Yet, the resurrection is one of the most contested issues in the Bible. Let’s look at a couple of explanations that the world gives for explaining how this historical event is nothing but a hoax, and how Christians should refute these ideas.
#1- Swoon Theory: Heinrich Paulus argued that Jesus did not die. He was unconscious when buried, and the cool air of the tomb revived Him and He escaped.
RESPONSE: How did Jesus get out? There was a large stone rolled over the entrance of the tomb, and it was closely guarded. It may be feasible for 3-4 men to roll the stone away from the outside, but not one half-dead man to roll it away from the inside.
#2- Wrong Person Theory: Muslims deny the resurrection of Jesus by way of denying his crucifixion. “That they said in boast, ‘We killed Christ Jesus son of Mary, the Apostle of God;’ but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no certain knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.” -The Quran 4:157. They claim that God cast a spell over Jesus’ enemies in order to rescue Him, and that Judas Iscariot was crucified instead.
RESPONSE: Jesus’ death on the cross is not a part of history that is debated. It’s not His death upon a cross that is in question, but his resurrection.
#3- Hallucination Theory: When the two ladies came to see Jesus’ body three days after the crucifixion, they started to see a “vision” that was brought on by the psychological stresses that they were dealing with as a result of this public trial and horrific death. They were in a trance when they thought they saw Jesus, with their minds projecting what they wanted to see as real, not reality itself.
RESPONSE: Psychology tells us that hallucinations presuppose expectations; this simply means that in order for the women to have had a vision of a resurrected Jesus, they would have had to have the belief that he was going to rise from the dead. The women and the disciples did not show outward faith in Jesus coming back to life, so their visions or hallucinations would not have portrayed a risen man. Also, a vision or hallucination is by nature a characteristic of an individual, definitely not a mass phenomenon that could have been experienced by over 500 people.
CONCLUSION: Apart from believing that Scripture is infallible, the best way I can think to describe the authenticity of the resurrection is this: the deaths of the 12 disciples. Once Judas was replaced, all of the disciples (except John) died a gruesome, martyrs’ death. The question I ask is this: do you really think they would die for a cause they knew was a lie? If they fabricated this story of Jesus being raised from the dead, don’t you think that when confronted with the threat of torture and death, the lie would be forsaken? The truth is, its hard to imagine a man willing to give his life even for something worthy and true, much less an intentional falsification. The disciples, and many Christians since AD33, were willing to die to proclaim a powerful message of truth to a world that desperately needs to hear it.
“Ask a Kid”
I’ve heard my Dad give this illustration in church, and couldn’t resist sharing it with you.
A pastor called the children to the front of the church one Easter Sunday, and asked them if they knew the real meaning of Easter. Prepared for fantasies of the Easter Bunny and 2 pound solid blocks of milk chocolate in a basket with fake plastic grass, he called on the kids to raise their hands. The first little girl he called on replied, “Jesus died on the cross and was buried in a tomb for 3 days.” The pastor was shocked at the answer, and urged the little girl to finish the story. She responded, “And when Jesus came out 3 days later, he saw his shadow, which means we have 6 more weeks of winter.”
She got the gist of it, I guess. Hope you have a great Easter with family and friends worshipping a risen Savior!
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