ResurrectionAnswers

Many people think of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and Resurrection of Christ
as merely a story that people tell around Easter. However, this event, the most
important event in all human history, really happened just as it says in the
Bible. If this Jesus Christ really came back to life, then Christianity is true and
Jesus is the only way to heaven. If it is not true, then Christianity falls apart (I
Corinthians 15). Here are some answers to questions about this subject.

1. How do we know that it was really Jesus that was killed and not someone
else? Did they get the right man?

When we read the stories of the arrest of Jesus (John 18:1-11, Luke
22:47-53, Mark 14:43-52, and Matthew 26:47-56) we see that Judas Iscariot,
one of Jesus' disciples for three years identified Jesus for the soldiers so that
they could be sure that they had the right man. From that time until he was
sealed in the tomb, the living and dead Jesus was in constant view of soldiers.
He was bound and there was no way that any mistakes were made about who
he was. The right man was crucified.

2. How do we know that Jesus really died? Maybe he just pretended to be
dead and then "came back to life" three days later.

Let's look at what happened to Jesus. He was beaten with a whip by Roman
soldiers. The whips that were used had lead balls or bone at the tips of the 9
thongs. These whips made deep cuts into his body. Many people died just
from these beatings. Jesus would have lost a lot of blood. If each thong made
a cut and Jesus received 39 blows (he may have received more), Jesus' body
would have had 351 cuts on it. Then they placed a crown of thorns on his
head. Later, spikes were driven into his hands and feet and he was hung on a
cross which killed people by slowly suffocating them. After Jesus died, the
soldiers drove a spear into his chest which went through a lung and into his
heart. There is no way that Jesus could have survived this. In addition, Jesus
was in a tomb which was closed by a big stone. There is no way that a man in
Jesus' condition or even a healthy man could have stayed in the grave for
three days then suddenly moved the stone and escaped the guards. Jesus
really died.

3. How do we know that Jesus' was really placed in a solid rock tomb and not
buried in a shallow grave under a pile of rocks?

The Bible teaches that Jesus was placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea,
a rich man. Rich people were buried in rocks which were carved into solid
rock. The opening was covered by a another large rock which was rolled into
place, just as the Bible teaches. We should trust what the Bible teaches on
this point because it describes perfectly Jewish tombs of the day. Beyond
that, we see that soldiers were placed in front of the tomb. In addition a seal
was placed on the stone. Both the disciples, the priests, and the Romans all
agreed that Jesus dead body was placed in a tomb. The idea that Jesus
body was buried in a shallow grave was never considered factual at the time
of the disciples.

4. Is it possible that the disciples stole the body of Jesus?

The disciples were very frightened and ran away when Jesus was arrested so
it seems unlikely that they would be brave enough to face fully armed Roman
soldiers just a few hours later. Remember, the disciples were fishermen and
tax collectors etc. They would not be a match for Roman soldiers. If there
were an attack, many of the disciples would have been killed in the fight.
There is also no report of harm being done to the guards.

The guards may have said that they fell asleep but there were anywhere from
10-16 guards guarding the tomb. If they were caught sleeping while on guard
duty, they were to be beaten and burned alive.

5. How do we know that Jesus rose from the dead?

We know that the tomb was empty, both Jesus' friends and enemies agreed
to that. We know that whatever happened was so amazing that it frightened
Roman soldiers. Beyond that Christ's grave clothes were empty but still
wrapped in the form of his body. Jesus appeared to many people, including
women and 500 people at one time (1 Cor. 15). He even appeared to people
who were skeptical such as Thomas. Even James, his brother, who had
earlier been one of Jesus' critics later became a leader of the Church and was
stoned to death for this belief.

For more information read:

Wilson, Bill The Best of Josh McDowell A Ready Defense Nashville, Thomas
Nelson, 1993