Death and Resurrection of Jesus

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The Death of Jesus and the Resurrection of Jesus are two events in the New Testament in which Jesus is crucified on one day (the "Day of Preparation", i.e. the day before the Sabbath, the last day of the week), then resurrected on the third.^[1] These two events form the foundation of all Christian faith^{[citation needed]}, and are remembered by Christians, the one on Good Friday and the other on every Sunday, but especially Easter Sunday.

While during Eastertide the death and resurrection of Jesus are celebrated most solemnly, Christians have from the earliest times celebrated the resurrection every Sunday, as Justin Martyr described in the mid-second century.^[2] Much later, in the fourth century, Roman Emperor Constantine I made Sunday a public holiday.

Women meet an angel at the empty tomb of Jesus, representing the Resurrection in this page from the Bamberg Apocalypse.

The resurrection of Christ was from the start considered the great demonstration of the religious importance of Jesus. In 1Corinthians 15:6 Paul of Tarsus states that there were still at the time of writing (about the year 57) some hundreds to whom Jesus "had appeared", after he had been raised.

However, other groups, particularly Jews, Muslims and Atheists have disputed its factual occurrence, which is why analysis of the death and resurrection claims occurs at many religious debates and interfaith dialogues. For example, Dr Bart D. Ehrman, in debate with Dr William Lane Craig, stated "the reality is that the majority of critical scholars studying the historical Jesus today disagree with his [Dr Craig's] conclusion that a historian can show that the body of Jesus emerged physically from the tomb".^[3]

[edit] Significance

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The death and resurrection of Jesus are the most important events in Christian Theology, as they form the point in scripture where Jesus gives his ultimate demonstration that he has power over life and death, thus he has the ability to give people eternal life.

Most Christians accept the New Testament story as a historical account of some kind of resurrection, which is central to their faith. Some modern scholars use the belief of Jesus' followers in the resurrection as a point of departure for establishing the continuity of the historical Jesus and the proclamation of the early church.^[4] Some liberal Christians do not accept a literal bodily resurrection,^[5] seeing the story as richly symbolic and spiritually nourishing myth. Also, a once large group of Christians known as the Gnostics argued against its singular importance, as they had differing views as to how the passages should be interpreted, many believing Jesus was never a human and so could not have died (see: Docetism).

Almost all non-Christians do not accept the bodily resurrection of Jesus. They therefore deny the resurrection, considering it a form of myth. People can, however, still find a meaning in the text, for instance Carl Jung suggests that the crucifixion-resurrection story was the forceful spiritual symbol of, literally, God-as-Yahweh becoming God-as-Job.^[6]

[edit] Atonement

Main article: Atonement

Jesus' death and resurrection underpin a variety of theological interpretations as to how salvation is granted to humanity. A common feature of all these interpretations is that they place greater emphasis on the death and resurrection than on his words.^[7] (see also Sermon on the Mount)

The Roman Catholic view is that Jesus willingly sacrificed himself as an act of perfect obedience as a Substitutionary atonement, a sacrifice of love which pleased God. This pleased God more than the disobedience of Adam, and thus cleansing Mankind of the stain of original sin.^{[citation needed]}

The Christus Victor view, which is more common among Lutherans and Eastern Orthodox Christians, holds that Jesus was sent by God to defeat death and Satan. Because of his perfection, voluntary death, and Resurrection, Jesus defeated Satan and death, and arose victorious. Therefore humanity was no longer bound in sin, but was free to rejoin God through faith in Jesus.

The perspective held by most Protestants emphasises God as both lawmaker and judge. All humans have broken the rules that God has set (sin), and all deserve to be punished. The only exception to this was Jesus, who received the ultimate punishment despite not having sinned. This is seen as an act of Jesus accepting the punishment that was meant for humans, meaning humans can be restored to a right relationship with God. The difference between the Catholic and Protestant views was a major cause of the Reformation, see also Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.

The First Man view, held by a small minority of Christians, especially Pelagians and Semi-Pelagians, states that Jesus was a person just like the rest of humanity, but due to his remarkable faith, purity, sinlessness, and perfection, he earned eternal life, and was resurrected because Death could not hold him. In the same way, if people can be faithful to the same degree, they can also be free from death.

Some believe that the Shroud of Turin was worn by Jesus when resurrected, his face imprinted into the cloth fibers. The cloth has since been carbon-dated by scientists and proven to come from to a much later date.

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[edit] Records

[edit] Christian

The primary accounts of the resurrection are in the last chapters of the New Testament Gospels: Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20-21.

Some of the earliest records of the resurrection outside the New Testament are found in the writings of Ignatius (50 - 115),^[8] Polycarp (69 - 155), Justin Martyr (100 - 165), and Tertullian (160 - 220). Also, all major creeds mention the resurrection, for example the Nicene Creed (325) states: "On the third day he rose again."

Several works that are now regarded as part of the New Testament apocrypha also make mention of the resurrection; particularly the second-century Gospel of Peter, and the later Acts of Pilate.

[edit] Non-Christian

Surviving manuscripts of Antiquities of the Jews, 93 by Flavius Josephus contain a passage known as the Testimonium Flavianum stating: "[Jesus] appeared to [the disciples] alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold." Virtually all scholars reject this portion of the passage as an interpolation by a later Christian scribe.^{[citation needed]}

Cornelius Tacitus (55-120) was a Roman historian, who has the reputation of being the "greatest historian" of ancient Rome by scholars for his moral "integrity and essential goodness."^[9] In his work titled Annals, Tacitus writes:

Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time, broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also.

The "pernicious superstition" could be any suspicious practice, but some claim it an allusion to Jesus' resurrection, and the following zealotry of the apostles.^[10]

[edit] Critical analysis

Historians use the historical method to study ancient history. In this process, the accounts of the witnesses are analysed for their reliability, plausibility, and motive. Defending the historicity of the Biblical narrative, including that of the resurrection, is within the field of study known as Christian apologetics, and applying the historical method to the Bible (which may or may not conflict with defending historicity) is a field of study known as Biblical criticism.

[edit] Prior events

Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, Jewish prophets promised that a messiah would come. Apologists claim that Jesus fulfilled these prophecies, which they claim are nearly impossible to fulfill by chance.^[11] Judaism claims that Jesus did not fulfill these prophecies (see Jewish Messiah). Other skeptics usually claim that either the prophecies are either vague or unfulfilled.^{[citation needed]} Most Christians anticipate the Second Coming of Jesus, when he will fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy, such as the Last Judgement and the general resurrection. The notable exception is Full Preterism.

[edit] Death of Jesus

The Spear of Destiny is believed to be the weapon wielded by the soldier who pierced Jesus' side.

Some dispute the death of Jesus. There exists a group of theories known as the swoon hypothesis, with common variants including Jesus being drugged, having fainted, or undergoing a near-death experience, according to which Jesus is revived later. The largest obstacle this theory faces is that Roman soldiers could be punished by death if ever they allow a crucified man to live, and were thus likely to ensure that Jesus really was dead.^{[citation needed]}

The Gospel of John says that a soldier pierced Jesus' side, causing the flow of blood and water. Apologists claim that medical knowledge at the time would have only expected blood (Modern medicine explains the 'water' as, pericardial effusion and pleural effusion),^[12] and that this medical anomaly would have been a fact that the author of the Gospel of John would have been tempted to leave out, had he not been interested in accurate reporting. It is noteworthy that such a flow is a simple observation, whether or not witnesses could explain it medically; it may have been reasonably common at crucifixions.

In the biblical narrative, following the death the sky is 'darkened for 3 hours', from the sixth to the ninth hour (noon to mid-afternoon), but if this claim concerns anything more than a local phenomenon, it is backed up by no Roman historian,^[13] though apologists claim that a highly disputed passage claiming to be by Tacitus alludes to this.^{[citation needed]} This could not have been a solar eclipse, as Jesus died during the time of the full moon, Nisan 14 or 15. Many believe that this is merely a phrasing for dramatic effect in apocalyptic style.

Of similar style are the reports by Luke and Mark that the veil of the temple split at this point, and Matthew's that there were earthquakes, splitting rocks, and dead saints were resurrected.

The synoptics report that the centurion in charge, seeing how Jesus had breathed his last (Mark) or seeing the events that followed (Matthew, Luke) said: "Truly this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:39; or "Truly this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54); or "Surely this was a righteous man" (Luke 23:47).

For the words attributed to the dying Jesus, see Sayings of Jesus on the cross

[edit] Entombment

Entombment of Christ by Pieter Lastman

Both the synoptics and John state that Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, approached Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. This is in accordance with Mosaic Law that stated that if someone was hanged on a tree they were not to remain there at night, but should be buried before sundown (Brown 147) (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). Pilate consented, and Joseph wrapped the body in linen and put it in his own sepulchre (rock hewn tomb). The Gospel of John states that Joseph was assisted by the Pharisee Nicodemus to anoint the body with spices; he thereafter sealed the tomb with a stone, and then went away. These details, however, are difficult for historians to reconcile with Mark,^{[original research?]} wherein Joseph of Arimathea is not said to be a disciple of Jesus, but merely a righteous member of council who wishes to see the Jewish law observed, and thus does the bare minimum necessary, wrapping Jesus in a sheet and placing him in a tomb. Had Jesus been anointed and given an honorable burial in the way that the Gospel of John claims, then this would remove the rationale for the narratives about a woman "anointing Jesus beforehand for his burial" and of the women going to the tomb early on Sunday morning to anoint the body.^{[original research?]}

The synoptics state that some of Jesus' female disciples, "who had followed Jesus from Galilee and looked after him" (Matthew 27:55, cf. (Luke 23:49), accompanying Jesus and the Twelve and providing for them out of their own resources (Luke 8:1-3), had watched the crucifixion and took note of the burial place.

Meanwhile, the chief Sadducees and Pharisees are described (in the Gospel of Matthew alone) as remembering Jesus’ remark that "After three days I will rise", and so Pilate sends a Roman detachment of troops to guard the tomb, in case Jesus' disciples try to steal the body.

The First Epistle of Peter mentions that Jesus "preached to the spirits in prison" and that the Gospel was "proclaimed even to the dead".^[14] This is linked with the phrase in the Apostles' Creed that "he descended into hell", i.e. the abode of the dead. For the significance of this phrase and the embellishments in apocryphal literature such as the Acts of Pilate, see Harrowing of Hell.

[edit] Resurrection of Jesus

The act of the resurrection itself is not narrated at all in any story, the first sign of the resurrection of Jesus is simply the tomb being found empty.

Some skeptics claim that the corpse of Jesus was either reburied or stolen.

A number of instances of argument from silence arise here. No ancient sources argue against the tomb being empty. No ancient sources claim that the Jewish and Roman authorities disproved the belief by publicly presenting the corpse of Jesus. There is no record of soldiers being punished for any reason relating to the resurrection.

[edit] Tomb discovery

When compared, the accounts of the discovery of the empty tomb are difficult to reconcile into a single sequence of events, though this article attempts to do so. This does not unnecessarily make these accounts less reliable, as even in modern times, multiple eyewitnesses to any event tend to give differing accounts.

[edit] Women

On Sunday, after the Saturday Jewish day of rest, one or more of Jesus' female followers,^[15] returned to the tomb to complete the burial rites. When they arrived they discovered that the tomb was empty, or at least did not contain Jesus' body. They then conversed with an angel(s)/male youth^[16] who informed them that Jesus was not there,^[17] and so they departed.

This is one of the more notable features, as it relies on the testimony of women; notable because female testimony was not regarded as credible in the patriarchal Judaism of that period. Non-patriarchal Jews, such as those who were Hellenised, are though likely to have regarded women as being as reliable than men, since in Greek myth figures giving prophecy, and wisdom, were very often female.^[18] Paul does not mention the first witnesses, which would be an act of forgery, or an act of identity protection.

Mark's account (which in our earliest manuscripts ends abruptly) claims that they told no-one, but it is self evident that they must have, as the story is narrated. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark do not present any further involvement of the tomb. Luke describes Peter as running to the tomb to check for himself, and John adds that the Beloved Disciple did so too, the beloved disciple outrunning Peter.^[19] There is some scriptural variation in who the women told and it what order.^[20] Curiously, Mary also addresses Jesus as lord.^[21]

[edit] Men

Although the event of the resurrection itself is not described in the Bible, many artists have depicted the scene, as in this example by Matthias Grünewald

William Hole's interpretation of the Beloved Disciple joining Peter in the tomb

Luke merely states that after seeing the vacancy of the tomb, Peter was wondering what had happened, John gives a detailed account.

John describes the beloved disciple only as making a cursory glance at the linen, Peter is described as carefully examining the scene. After making their examination, and the Beloved Disciple apparently drawing a conclusion.

Once Peter has entered, John describes the Beloved Disciple as entering the tomb whereupon he believed as they knew not about the scripture. What exactly the Beloved Disciple believed, and who exactly they are, and what scripture exactly is being referenced, is not explained. The word used to mean scripture is singular and most of the time this form is used to refer to single quotations. Several passages from the Old Testament have been proposed as likely candidates for this source such as Psalm 16, Hosea 6:2, and Jonah 1:17. Since most of the New Testament was written before the Gospel of John, candidates have also been suggested from these texts. John only indicates that Peter and the Beloved Disciple were present, but it is possible that one or both of the people named Mary may also have been there, and thus some scholars, such as Hartmann, believe they refers to Peter and Mary being in ignorance about a resurrection.

Since the only mention in John of the tomb having any content describes it only as having grave clothes, this paucity of evidence for anything more than the body being stolen would make the Beloved Disciple rather gullible if it was a resurrection he suddenly believed in. A question also arises as to why, according to John, the Beloved Disciple doesn't tell Peter and them about this. A long line of major scholars including Augustine of Hippo and John Calvin have thus argued that the Beloved Disciple simply came to believe Mary Magdalene's story that the body was gone. Unlike Hartmann, and those sharing his view, most scholars regard they as referring to Peter and the Beloved Disciple, pointing to them both being ignorant about any resurrection, and pointing to the conclusion that the Beloved Disciple had come to believe some other issue.

Scholars of textual criticism, however, have in modern times argued that the passage does actually refer to belief in a resurrection, but that the reason it seems odd in light of the surrounding narrative, especially that it isn't mentioned again, is because the reference to him believing is a later addition to the text, a view expounded for example by Schnackenberg. The version of John in the ancient Codex Bezae has the passage reading that he saw and did not believe, which seems a more logically in keeping with the rest of the chapter, and may indicate that most modern texts are derived from an ancient scribal error, much like the typographic error in the Wicked Bible. Bultmann has called John 20:9 a gloss of the ecclesiastical redaction, also arguing that the verse is a later addition, particularly since it references scripture as indicating that Jesus must rise from the dead, which is out of character in John, since John almost always prefers instead to use the wording ascend from the dead. A few scholars however believe that the statement is original but misplaced, feeling it should follow John 20:11, though Bruce disagrees, arguing that since it presents itself as an explanation of a prior passage, it makes the link to the currently preceding text clear.

Luke and John both have the disciple(s) return home, which probably refers to Jerusalem, but possibly also Galilee.^[22]

[edit] Resurrection appearances of Jesus

In the Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio depicted the moment the disciples recognise their risen lord

Main article: Resurrection appearances of Jesus

After the discovery of the empty tomb, the Gospels indicate that Jesus made a series of appearances to the disciples, with the most notable being to the disciples in the upper room, where Thomas did not believe until he was invited to put his finger into the holes in Jesus' hands and side (John 20:24-29); along the road to Emmaus, where people talked about their failed hopes that Jesus would be the messiah before recognising Jesus (Luke 24:13-32); and beside the Sea of Galilee to encourage Peter to serve his followers (John 21:1-23). His final appearance is reported as being forty days after the resurrection when he ascended into heaven,^[23] where he remains.

Next, there are a few resurrection appearances of Jesus, one notable appearance is the apostle Thomas, who did not believe until he stuck his fingers in the nail holes in Jesus' hands and spear-hole in his side. Thomas' experience would mutually exclude the vision hypothesis, that Jesus appeared as a vision to various followers as either a divine vision or a hallucination.

Saint James the Just is often considered the eldest half brother of Jesus,^[24] and according to some traditions did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God until the resurrection.^{[citation needed]} He later became the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and is the most likely author a small part of the bible, the Epistle of James.

Six months later, on the road to Damascus, a one time rabbi and persecutor of the early church named Paul of Tarsus converted to Christianity. A few years later, Paul became Christianity's foremost missionary, converting hundreds of people, planting dozens of churches throughout Southeastern Europe, and writing letters that would become part of Christian scripture. On one missionary journey, Paul travels to Athens and speaks at the Areopagus, where he claims that over 500 people were witnesses of the resurrected Jesus, many still alive at the time.

One point on which some consensus is reached by Apologist and Skeptical factions of biblical scholars and historians is that the disciples would have thought they had met the resurrected Jesus.

[edit] Authorship of the story

The poor educational level that would be expected of the early disciples of Jesus, according to their descriptions in the New Testament, and the comparatively early timeframe in which they recorded the events, is argued by apologists to reduce their likelihood of being able to devise an elaborate fiction.^[25]

In Mark's account, the earliest manuscripts of Mark 16 break off abruptly at 16:8, where the men at the empty tomb announce Jesus' resurrection, lacking post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. The modern text of Mark 9-20 does not appear in the earliest manuscripts. Some scholars have even argued that Mark never originally contained a resurrection narrative at all, and that the original ending was one which came to embarrass the Church when the theology of a resurrection began to circulate, hence the text was altered to suit.^{[citation needed]} Those scholars who argue that the resurrection was not mentioned in Mark, also argue that the variation is due to the resurrection accounts in the other Gospels also being later, artificial, additions. Many modern translations of Mark 16 end at Mark 16:8 with for they were afraid, sometimes adding 16:8-20 in italics, or in a foot note; the New Revised Standard Version gives both the "long ending", i.e. 16:8-20, and another variant "short ending" after Mark 16:8.

Those who think Paul was a Gnostic Christian hold the belief that Paul talks of the resurrection as an allegory or that Paul thought that Jesus was never a human.^[26]

[edit] Today

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre now occupies a possible location of where Jesus died and was buried

Today, there are over two billion Christians worldwide, many of whom openly claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus, and more who testify to the coming of the Holy Spirit; by Christian Theology, these are made possible by the Resurrection. Whilst this is impressive, it is by no means a proof.

The Jewish perspective is that the body of the crucified Jesus was removed in the same night, see also Stolen body hypothesis.^[27] Apologists see this an acknowledgment that the tomb was empty, with an attempt to explain it away.^[28] The Toledoth Yeshu, however, dates from mediaeval times, and is not an early source. It was a conflation of the Talmud accounts of multiple people named Yeshu. None of the Talmudic Yeshu accounts are in any way flattering, or refer to any supernatural abilities, and many refer to people named Yeshu who lived in time periods significantly before or after the lifetime of Jesus.

The Islamic perspective that Jesus was not crucified, but someone who looked like Jesus died in his place.^[29] This view is also given in the Gospel of Barnabas which identifies Judas as the one crucified. The Gospel generally conforms to the Islamic interpretation of Christian origins and is considered by the majority of academics to be late, pseudepigraphical and a pious fraud.

Documents found by Russian historian Nicolai Notovitch claim that Jesus was resuscitated and lived the remainder of his life in Kashmir, where there exists a possible tomb for Jesus, under the name Yuz Asaf. This is also the belief of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement.

Some speculate that the New Testament record is incomplete, claiming that Jesus married, had children and later moved with his wife to the south of France or Glastonbury, in England. These theories have given rise to such novels as Holy Blood, Holy Grail, which espouses the idea that the Merovingian kings were descendants of Jesus. However DNA has been taken from at least one Merovingian corpse that showed no traces of Semitic DNA at all, making it doubtful they descended from someone from the Middle East.^[30]

[edit] Footnotes and references

[edit] Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Resurrection of Christ

[edit] Apologist

Articles:

• Bruce, FF, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, 1985, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press
• Catholic Encyclopedia, The resurrection of Jesus Christ
• Craig, William Lane, Contemporary Scholarship and the Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, 1985, Truth 1 89-95
• Yamauchi, Edwin, Easter: Myth, Hallucination, or History?, 1974, Christianity Today

Books:

• Habermas, Gary, The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ (College Press: Joplin, MI 1996).
• Habermas, Gary and Licona, Michael, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Kregel Publications, 2004.
• McDowell, Josh, New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Thomas Nelson, Inc, Publishers, 1999
• Wenham, John. Easter Enigma: Do the Resurrection Stories Contradict One Another? Cambridge University Press, 1993.
• Wright, N.T., The Resurrection of the Son of God. Fortress Press. 2003 Online excerpt

[edit] Sceptic

Articles:

• Carrier, Richard, Why I Don't Buy the Resurrection Story, 2006 (6th ed.)
• Lowder, Jeffery Jay, The Historicity of Jesus' Resurrection, 1995
• Lowder, Jeffery Jay, Historical Evidence and the Empty Tomb Story: A Reply to William Lane Craig, 2001
• Tobin, Paul, The Pagan Origins of the Resurrection Myth, 2000
• Price, Robert M., By This Time He Stinketh: The Attempts of William Lane Craig to Exhume Jesus. 1997.

Books:

• Robert M. Price and Jeffery Jay Lowder, The Empty Tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave (ISBN 1-59102-286-X), 2005
• Paine, Thomas, The Age of Reason, 1795
• Spong, John Shelby, Resurrection : Myth or Reality? , 1995

[edit] Dialogues

• Craig, William Lane, Jesus' Resurrection: Fact or Figment?: A Debate Between William Lane Craig and Gerd Ludemann
• Stewart, Robert B. The Resurrection of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan And N.T. Wright in Dialogue, 2006