Significance of Jesus’ Resurrection, Part II
Jesus Changes Everything
Every Christian has the responsibility “to give an answer to every man that asketh [him/her] a reason of the hope that is in [him/her] (1 Peter 3:15). “To give an answer” refers to a formal defense of a matter before the judge and the prosecutor. This means it is not enough for a Christian to believe the Gospel; he must also be ready to defend convincingly. Here are some sets of objections and answers regarding Jesus’ resurrection.
Many have insisted that the Gospel accounts contradict each other. For example, how many women came to the tomb Easter morning? John records that there was Mary Magdalene (20:1); Matthew records Mary Magdalene was with another Mary (28:1); Mark records that Salome was also there with the two Marys; and Luke indicates that there were more than three (24:10). Admittedly, it is difficult (though not impossible) to harmonize all the various resurrection accounts. The reader of the Bible should note that the Gospel accounts are not really contradicting each other (e.g., John did not say “Mary was alone”); each writer is simply reporting only what is necessary for his purpose. The reader should also note that this kind of perspectival differences are in fact expected when multiple independent testimonies are presented. It is when all the testimonies are in perfect harmony (as though the details of the concocted story were carefully controlled and coordinated) that people should be suspicious of a conspiracy perpetrating a known fraud.
Skeptics have also suggested that it was the disciples who stole and hid the body; they made a mythical legend out of Jesus, and they lived and died for the ideology. That was the story that Jesus’ very enemies worked so hard to spread, even though the guards saw what happened and knew the truth (Matthew 28:11-15). It is ironic that the enemies remembered Jesus’ prediction about His death and resurrection while His disciples had forgotten the promise and were utterly dismayed. They were in no condition to conspire to make a grand legend out of a fraud.
Suppose that the Gospel accounts were written to propagate such fraud and that the disciples were just misguided fanatics who lived and died for an ideology. Sure, some people may be willing to die for an ideology that may or may not be true, but would anyone be willing to die for a lie that he himself has concocted? (Not unless he is crazy—and the disciples were NOT crazy.) It is most ridiculous to think that the disciples were willing to die as martyrs for telling the crazy story that someone rose from the dead, which they knew did not happen.
The bodily and historical resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the hinge-pin of Christianity. The ramifications of no resurrection are huge. Without it, Jesus and His disciples and followers were “certifiably deranged, pathetically mistaken, or cunningly deceptive.”[1] Without it, Christianity is a world-class religion built upon a world-class lie. And without it, the Christian faith is an empty delusion. But if Jesus did rise from the dead, then (1) Jesus is the one true God come in the flesh, and all that He did and taught is validated—because His resurrection was the one sign He gave to the Jews to authenticate His claims and identity as well as His ministry and message; (2) Christianity is the one true religion of the one true God; (3) Faith in Christ and in the truths of Christianity is fully validated and rests upon the surest foundation, uniquely validated.
Truly it is Gospel—GOOD NEWS—worth defending with life and death.
[1] Gary R. Habeermas and Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, 27.