Why Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?

400 years before the birth of Christ, the renowned Greek philosopher Socrates drank the poison hemlock and laid down to die. His friends asked, "shall we live again?" The dying philosopher could only reply, "I hope so, but no man can know."

In the oldest book of the Bible, Job asks the question, "If a man dies, does he go on living?"

What happens beyond the grave?

This is where the resurrection of Jesus Christ comes in. It gives us the absolute hope that there is life beyond the grave.

Some may say, "You don't have to believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead to be a Christian."
Don't you believe it!

Christ's resurrection from the dead is not a peripheral issue. It is foundational to our faith. In fact, it sets the Christian faith apart from all others. The Apostle Paul strongly emphasizes this point, saying, "If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins" ( 1 Corinthians 15:17).

Countering Common Arguments against the Resurrection

For that reason, it's easy to see why people have attempted to "explain away" the resurrection of Jesus. Let's examine the most common "arguments" people give as to why the Resurrection did not take place:

1. The "Swoon" Theory

Premise: Jesus did not actually die, but He went into a deep coma (or "swoon") from the severe pain and trauma of the Crucifixion. However, in the cool atmosphere of the tomb, He "revived" and was somehow able to get out of the strips of cloth wrapped tightly around His body and appear to His disciples.

Rebuttal: This theory simply "flies in the face" of the facts:

a) Roman Guards

Remember, the Roman guards were actually the first to report Jesus' death (John 19:33-37). They were "experts at execution" and would be put to death themselves if they allowed a condemned man to escape death. They were so certain that Jesus was dead, they did not even bother to break His legs. And when the spear they thrust into Jesus' side brought forth blood and water, they had final proof of His death, for this occurs when the heart stops beating.

b) Jesus' Physical Condition

For the "swoon" theory to be valid, Jesus would have had to survive massive loss of blood through the scourging, the nail wounds and the spear thrust. In addition, in this impossibly weakened condition . . .

• He would have had to endure 40 hours without food or drink, manage to unwrap Himself from His grave clothes, and single-handedly roll away the massive stone closing the tomb—and then convince His followers that He had risen from the dead.
• He would have had to travel countless miles in that condition to make many appearances to His disciples over a period of 40 days.
• He would have had to delude the disciples into thinking that He could simply appear in a room without the use of a door.

This theory is so absurd, it really doesn't deserve to be dignified with a response. Yet, no doubt there are some who would conveniently "hang their doubt" on it.

2. The "No Burial" Theory

Premise: Jesus was never put in the tomb to begin with. Instead, He was thrown into a mass grave for criminals, according to Roman custom.

Rebuttal: If this were true, neither the Jewish leaders or the Roman soldiers would have bothered to "seal" the tomb if they knew His body was not in there (Matthew 27:62-66). Moreover, to disprove Jesus' resurrection, they would only have had to retrieve the body and put it on display.

3. The"Mass Hallucination" Theory

Premise: Everyone who claimed to see the risen Lord was hallucinating out of an earnest desire to see Jesus alive again.

Rebuttal: Jesus' disciples had not expected to see Him alive again (Mark l6:l0-ll). It came as a complete and total shock! Scripture also tells us that 500 people saw Him on one occasion alone.

Ironically, the non-believers initially had more faith in the words of Jesus than His own disciples.

The chief priests and Pharisees came to see Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.' Therefore, command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first" (Matthew 27:63-64). They remembered Jesus' words concerning the Resurrection, while the disciples had apparently forgotten them!

4. The "Stolen Body" Theory

Premise: Jesus' disciples took His body in order to fulfill Jesus' words (see Matthew 27:64). According to Scripture, this story goes back to the day the guards who had stood watch at Jesus' tomb told the chief priests what had transpired. The chief priests bribed the guards, telling them to spread this story instead of what they had witnessed (Matthew 28:11-15).

Rebuttal: Saying that Jesus' body was stolen actually proves the Resurrection.

a) The Disciples' Initial Desertion

Jesus' friends could not have taken His body because they had left the scene, convinced that He was dead. When the women reported Jesus' resurrection to the eleven apostles and other believers in Jerusalem, "Their words seemed like idle tales, and they did not believe them" (Luke 24:11). The apostles had no reason to counterfeit the Resurrection since they did not even believe it themselves. How could it be that the very men who fled for their lives, while Jesus was still alive, could suddenly muster the courage and ingenuity to steal the body, and then boldly start preaching and teaching about a Jesus they knew was dead?

b) The Disciples' Radical Commitment

If the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a lie, how could all of the apostles— with the exception of one man—go to an early grave saying so? According to Church history and tradition, all of them died the death of a martyr.

• Peter: In Rome, Peter was severely scourged and then crucified upside down. The position of his crucifixion was the result of his own request.
• Andrew (Brother of Peter): Andrew was martyred in Patrae, Achaia. It was there that he was bound to an x-shaped cross and crucified. He preached to his persecutors until he died.
• James (Son of Zebedee): The first of the apostles to be martyred, James’ death is the only martyrdom of the apostles mentioned in the New Testament (see Acts 12:2). Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great, was responsible for beheading James.
• John (Brother of James): Tradition tells us John was put in a caldron of boiling oil, but the oil mysteriously did no harm to John. Afterward, he was banished to Patmos. Though John was sentenced to death because of his faith, he was the only apostle who did not die for his belief in the risen Christ.
• Philip: This apostle was martyred in Helipolis. He was scourged and later crucified.
• Bartholomew (Nathanael): According to the “Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew,” he was put in a sack and thrown into the sea. Another tradition states he was crucified upside down after being flayed alive.
• Thomas: This apostle of Christ was run through the body with a lance in India.
• Matthew (the Tax Collector): Matthew was slain in distant Ethiopia.
• James (Son of Alphaeus): The Apostle James was stoned and was then beaten to death with a club.
• Judas, Son of James (Thaddaeus): Church tradition is not clear on the martyrdom of this apostle. One tradition states he was crucified, while another tradition claims he was shot to death with arrows.
• Simon (the Zealot): Tradition states Simon was crucified in Britain after preaching the gospel there.

If their life would have been spared, don't you think at least one of them would have suddenly exposed such a lie? Of course he would have! But they did not expose it because it was not a lie—it was truth.

Jesus' enemies would not have stolen His body because the Resurrection was the very thing they were trying to prevent. It would have defeated their own purposes to do so. If they had taken it, they would have produced it to prove that He was no longer alive.

What Happened after the Cross and before the Resurrection?

1. Did Jesus go to hell? This is an interesting and important question. Those in the so-called "Faith Movement" have a version of this that is highly unscriptural.

A leading teacher in the "Faith Movement," Frederick K.C. Price, has said, "Do you think that the punishment for our sin was to die on the cross? If that were the case, the two thieves could have paid your price. No, the punishment was to go into hell itself and to serve time in hell separated from God...Satan and all his demons thought that they had Him bound, and they threw a net over Jesus and they dragged Him down to the very pit of hell to serve our sentence" (Hanegraaff, Hank. Christianity in Crisis. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 1993. P. 163).

Jesus did have some important work to do after the Cross and before the Resurrection. Scripture tells us, "Therefore He says: 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.' (Now this, 'He ascended'—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things)" (Ephesians 4:8-10).

To understand exactly where Jesus went, I refer you to the story Jesus told of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:1 9-31 ). This was not simply a parable, for Jesus used an actual human name. Thus, we can conclude that Jesus was giving us an actual glimpse of life beyond the grave. The story describes a place called Hades, where there was both a place of comfort and torment. In the Old Covenant, when a person died, he went to Hades. If the person was a believer, he went to the place of comfort in the bosom of Abraham (Hebrews ll:l3). The non-believer, on the other hand, went to the place of torment.

Jesus takes the believers to heaven.

When Jesus died, He "descended" to Hades into Abraham's bosom, the place of comfort, and proclaimed liberty to those who had "died in faith." They then went with Him (along with the thief on the cross) to heaven, where all believers now go immediately upon death.

Jesus leaves the non-believers in torment.

To this day, the non-believer will go to the "torment" compartment of Hades, where the non-believer awaits his or her appearance before the "Great White Throne Judgment":

"The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire" (Revelation 20:13-15).

2. What was Jesus' resurrected body like?

Jesus' resurrected body gives us an idea of what our resurrected bodies will be like.

a) He had a body of "flesh and bones."

"While they were still talking about this, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have" (Luke 24:37-39).

b) His body could be touched and felt.

"Suddenly Jesus met them. 'Greetings,' He said. They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshipped Him" (Matthew 29:9).

"Then He said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it in to My side. Stop doubting and believe" (John 20:27).

c) He ate before their eyes.

"And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, He asked them, 'Do you have anything to eat?" (Luke 24:41).

d) He was recognized by the disciples and His followers.The two disciples on the road to Emmaus did not recognize Jesus at first because "their eyes were restrained," but once their eyes were opened, they did (Luke 24:1335).

Mary Magdalene at the Garden Tomb suddenly recognized Jesus by the tone of His voice (John 20:16).

He appeared in the same body into which the nails had been driven. ". . . Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!' After He said this, He showed them His hands and side" (John 20:19b-20a).

Scripture tells us that when Jesus comes again, He will still bear the marks (see Zechariah 12:10).

What Does Jesus' Resurrection Mean to Us?

1. Jesus' resurrection assures us of our future resurrection. Since Jesus both died and rose again, we shall be raised like Him: "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).

Our new, glorified bodies will be in some degree like Jesus after His resurrection (1 John 3:2-3). To what extent, we cannot be certain. Yet, if they were to be totally like His, it would mean that . . .

• We would be clearly recognizable.
• We would not be limited by the normal constraints of life.
• We would still be "touchable" (not "disembodied spirits").
• We would still eat!

2. Jesus' resurrection is proof of a future judgment: "For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of his to all men by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:31).

We have all seen people commit wrongs against others in this life, but this reminds us that God's justice will ultimately prevail.

3. Jesus' resurrection gives us power to live the Christian life: "And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you" (Romans 8:11, emphasis mine).