THE RESURRECTION - The resurrection of Jesus is a fact. The New Testament affirms that Jesus' physical body did not decay in the grave. It was made alive again, gloriously transformed so that it was no longer limited by time and space nor subject to change, decay, and death. Such an event can be accepted only on the strongest evidence, and it is doubtful that any other event in the recorded life of Jesus is supported by better proof. A major place was given to it by the New Testament writers. The record of His resurrection is presented in the following Scripture passages: Matthew 28; Mark 16:1-19; Luke 24; John 20-21; Acts 1:3-8; and 1 Corinthians 15:3-7.
These passages indicate beyond question that the early Christians believed that Jesus was raised from the dead and that He appeared to His disciples. How is that belief to be explained? Reverent scholarship accepts the record at face value and holds that Jesus was raised exactly as the New Testament records the event. From the day of His recorded resurrection, however, there have been those who have denied this fact and have tried in many ways to explain the presence of the resurrection accounts in the New Testament. Several well-known theories have been presented in such explanation.
Perhaps the "stolen body" theory, i.e, the idea that the disciples of Jesus stole His body and then reported that He had been raised, is the oldest. This theory was first advanced by the Jewish chief priests and later by Reimarus and others. The "swoon" theory, found in the teaching of Heinrich Paulus and others, held that Jesus did not die on the cross. He swooned and was revived by the cool atmosphere of the tomb, the odor of the spices, etc.
The "wrong tomb" theory was presented by Kirsopp Lake as an explanation of what may have happened. The women who went to the tomb early on Sunday morning to finish anointing the body of Jesus were met by a young man near the place where they thought Jesus had been buried. The young man, attempting to help them, said, "You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth. He is not here. Behold the place where the Lord lay." pointing to the right tomb. The women misunderstood and went away with their report that an "angel" had told them that Jesus had been raised.
Another theory, known as the "vision" theory, has been held from the time of Strauss to the present. The disciples believed so firmly that Jesus would be raised that they had visions or hallucinations that they had seen him. These reported experience grew as they were retold until the fullgrown resurrection belief swept the early Christian group.
Karl Keim has presented what has been called the "telegram" theory, i.e, the spirit of Christ, living on after the death of the body, communicated with with the disciples to let them know that He was still alive. By these "telegrams from heaven" the disciples became certain that Jesus lived even beyond death.
According to the "legendary" theory, represented by Weizsacker, Jesus never rose from the dead nor were there any appearances, objective. The "myth" of the resurrection grew up in the early church as believers sought to explain Jesus' personality and spiritual impact upon men. They believed that so superior a Person must have lived on after death. Such belief led gradually to the idea of the resurrection of Jesus.
Some have held to what is known as the "hyperbolic" theory, i.e., the early disciples used such a strong language in describing the continuing life of the crucified Christ that misunderstanding came into the church at an early date. Finally this misunderstanding was recorded in the form of the resurrection accounts.
Yet another view is that the body of Jesus was not raised from the dead at all. The empty tomb was due to a miracle of disposal by which God annihilated the physical body of Jesus so that whatever survived death was of some spirit nature only. Skrine presents this idea and explains that the so-called "appearances" of Jesus were the result of the impact of the consciousness of Jesus on the consciousness of the disciples. He holds that God disposed of the body of Jesus by withdrawing it into nothingness because the disciples would not have believed that Jesus had in any way survived death if they had been able to see the body still in the grave. For Skrine the appearances are best illustrated by speaking of them as something like unusually vivid cases of thought transference between Jesus and the disciples.
These are representative of the views opposing the idea that Jesus was actually raised from the dead. Other theories have been suggested, but these are the more outstanding ones. Space cannot be given here to refutation. Worthy works previously cited point out the failure of these theories to satisfy the facts involved. One of the most helpful treatments is by McNaugher."
A review of the New Testament records of the resurrection of Jesus affords a most interesting study. The similarities and differences in the separate accounts have been emphasized frequently. On the main points the records agree. They agree that the time of the resurrection was early in the morning of the first day of the week, that women came first to the tomb, that the tomb was open and empty, that the tomb was guarded by angels, that the angels announced the resurrection, that the angels sent a message to the disciples, and that Jesus appeared to His disciples several times.
There are slight differences in the accounts. They differ as to the exact hour of the visit of the women-Mark: very early on the first day of the week; Matthew: after the sabbath as the first day dawned; Luke: on the first day at early dawn; John: on the first day while it was yet dark. They differ as to the names and number of the women-Mark: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, Salome; Matthew: Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, Luke: "they," evidently a reference to the women from Galilee, John: Mary Magdalene. They differ as to the number of angels- Mark and Matthew: one; Luke and John: two. They differ as to the exact time and wording of the message to the disciples.
These points of difference are not contradictory; they are complementary. They also reflect the particular purpose of each writer. Matthew presents those things which arouse wonder and amazement; Luke presents those things which indicate human interest and sympathy; John presents the effect of the resurrection on particular individuals, i.e., Mary Magdalene, Peter, "that disciple whom Jesus loved," Thomas, etc. Thus the "gospel quartet" sings a marvelous story; the four sing in harmony but not in union.
Thank You..
See You, Other Time
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