A Rational Defense for Belief in the Resurrection

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(This is rather long so I will break it down into two parts)

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

That's a skeptic mantra I'm sure you have heard many times. For me the extraordinary evidence is the existence of Christianity itself. Without the resurrection it never should have come about. I can find no other logical explanation as to why it did. Let me explain.

It is quite clear from the gospels that Jesus' disciples were following him for one reason and one reason only. They were absolutely convinced he was the MESSIAH. He was the one who would march into Jerusalem, kick Roman butt all the way back where it came from, and sit on the throne of David as King forever. And man, were there ever going to be BENEFITS for being in on the ground floor of the messianic revolution! They even argued amongst themselves who would sit at his right and left in the coming kingdom! These men from poor and humble backgrounds were going to rule and reign right along with him!

So convinced were they that they gave up EVERYTHING to follow him. Their normal lives, their livelihood, their homes, possessions, and families. Struck out on the dusty, dirty tracks of Galilee and Judea with no money, no provisions, not even an extra pair of sandals, and proclaimed his message BOLDY!

So convinced were they that the messianic program they had in mind was about to come to be that they would not hear a thing about any dying and rising again. Nonsense! The Messiah can't die, the Messiah can't be killed! The Messiah WILL CONQUER ALL! And they were ready to give even their own lives to fight with him in the coming battle. Or so they claimed anyway.

And they watched as the Messiah strode into Jerusalem on a donkey and kicked butt in the Temple. They saw how the crowds adored him and proclaimed him King. This must be it! Get ready folks!

Then came that fateful Spring day when all their hopes and dreams were shattered in a single night on the slopes of the Mount of Olives in an obscure garden called Gethsemane. Yet, at first, while Jesus poured out his soul in grief and anguish they slept soundly. What's to worry about? God's in control. We are about to achieve VICTORY!

Then the Romans came and arrested their Master. Peter must have thought this was the time and drew his sword. Only to be rebuked once again. What? What is going on Jesus? Why don't you strike? Why don't you call down the heavenly legions?

In fear and confusion they scattered into the darkness of the night. Every single one of them abandoned him. Peter even denied knowing him.

Then the unthinkable happened. Scourged and mocked Jesus was led to Golgotha to be put to death on the stake. The most ignoble way to die, cursed even by the Bible itself. Only John and a handful of Jesus' female followers even showed up to witness the spectacle.

Put yourself in the shoes of those men who had staked and risked all on what appeared at that point to be a lie. They put all of their eggs into one basket and now it was them with a huge smear of rotten egg all over their faces. One can just hear the mocking voices of their friends and families they had foolishly left behind to ramble after some obviously delusional "savior". "I told you so, I told you it would come to nothing! Don't you feel foolish now!" They must have been thinking to themselves "What am I going to do now? How am I going to put my life back together?"

Worse yet they were in fear for their own lives. They were in hiding lest the authorities come arrest them and they meet a similar fate as that phony pretender. Yes, it seemed Jesus was just another in a long line of would be messiahs. A good man, sure, but obviously not the One.

None of them believed Jesus' claim of coming back from the dead. None of them even bothered to go to the tomb in anticipation of that event. The women only went to anoint his body. When they came back with the news that Jesus had indeed risen the men just laughed and thought them mad.

And then something extraordinary happened and it change everything.

 

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What happened next made no logical sense at all. None whatsoever. Not if we think in naturalistic terms, human nature, and especially the culture and religious beliefs of the people affected.

No, what should have happened is this. The disciples should have slowly slipped away back to Galilee where they would try to resume their former lives and occupations. They should have put all this messianic nonsense they were duped to believe in behind them. Reunite with their friends and families and hope they would forgive them for running off on that quixotic quest.

Time and time again this is what we normally observe happening. Many false messiahs have come and gone in Jewish history. Almost none have any followers left. And none of them ever claimed their guy came back to life.

But the disciples of Jesus did. Almost overnight they were transformed from a frightened, disheartened huddle of weary men into the boldest, fearless force of spiritually charged energy the world had ever witnessed. They went back to risking it all for what everyone else considered the lost cause of a dead man. How could this happen?

Whatever anyone believes about the Resurrection, whether it happened or not, one thing is totally clear. The disciples BELIEVED it occurred. There is simply no other way to explain their actions in rational terms. So what convinced them? Was it that Jesus never really died but somehow recovered from his mortal wounds after being wrapped up in a linen shroud and languishing in a tomb for three days as some suggest? If so, then we would expect the disciples to hail that as proof Jesus really was the Messiah. "The Romans tried to kill Him and see they couldn't!" And if that were the case we also expect Jesus to go on leading his disciples to their final victory. There would certainly be no need to invent a resurrection fantasy when everyone would be able to clearly see Jesus had not died.

Was it that they just convinced themselves he was somehow still alive? A case of wishful thinking perhaps? Again, this makes no sense because the gospels show us they had already abandoned any hope of him coming back from the dead. They never really believed he would. Even if one or some had thought they had maybe seen him, perhaps in a spiritual vision or what not, would that really be enough to change these men so dramatically?

Now skeptics will say that people will believe all kinds of crazy things and even die for those beliefs. I mean look at Jonestown and Heaven's Gate. Look at the 9-11 suicide bombers and countless other fanatics like them. This certainly cannot be denied but this particular case is different for two very important reasons.

One is what I have already mentioned. The disciples had lost their faith. They did not go on being true believers after Jesus' death. They were ready to call it quits.

Secondly, in cases like the ones above certain promises were made to people about things that would happen after they DIED. The Heaven's Gate folks believed that after death they would be resurrected on the Mother Ship hiding behind the comet. The 9-11 terrorists and their like were convinced they would be rewarded with Paradise and 70 lovely virgins after they died. But the disciples were not believing in and looking for some heavenly reward after death. Far from it. What they were looking for was someone to lead them to a very earthly victory over the power of Rome. Someone who would set up a messianic kingdom right here on earth in the here and now. One they would physically participate in as co-rulers with their Messiah. They were not going to risk all for some future pie-in-the-sky. Now, they wanted ALL THAT and they wanted it NOW.

This is made quite clear in the first chapter of the book of Acts:

Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

No phantom appearance or private vision would be enough to lead them to do what they did. They had to know for an indisputable fact that Jesus was really ALIVE and could return to do what they were expecting him to do. That is why Thomas when he heard the other disciples claim to have seen Jesus alive, said:

"Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

He and the others had to be SURE. And SOMETHING convinced them in no uncertain terms that Jesus was really their guy.

And I submit to you that nothing short of physically rising from the dead could do that.

And that is why I believe.