PROVING THE RESURRECTION OF

CHRIST
Many claim the Resurrection of Christ to be one of the most skeptical beliefs
of Christianity. Mainly due to the fact that no one witnessed it personally. The facts
are staggering at the truth behind the Resurrection. The first and most prominent
question is that if the Resurrection had not taken place as the Bible says it does,
why would so many have recorded it and then believed it? The most obvious and
easiest answer would be that its what the Bible says and I believe it. The fact is the
answer goes far deeper than that. Let me start by saying yes, the Bible does say it
and I personally do believe every word of The Bible to be true. More importantly, if
Christ had not come back from the grave, then the early days of Christianity would
have faded away slowly into a state of non-existence. So many early Christians
would not have had the fire and drive to continue to spread the story of the Risen
Lord. Especially since the Jewish officials were seeking out anyone who spoke of
Jesus and having them killed. There is no logical explanation as to why so many
would have risked their lives to spread a story as miraculous as this without it being
true and them having proof. What would have led the disciples to proclaim such a
powerful message? If there had been monetary gain or a political ladder to climb by
boasting the claim of the Resurrection, then one might see the cause. They had
nothing monetary or socially to gain. They were often hungry, despised and rejected
as they went forth spreading the Gospel. They showed no fear even as threats to
their lives were made and a price was put on their head. Even in the face of
adversity, they stood and boldly proclaimed the Son of God, Jesus Christ, had came
to earth, lived and then died by crucifixion to bring eternal life to those who
believed.
A look into historical evidence to support the claim brings an astonishing
number of parallels to prove the story. It is recorded that Jesus appeared to at least
500 people at one time. So lets suppose you brought 500 witnesses into a
courtroom. You called each of them to the stand and questioned and cross
examined them for only six minutes each. This would give you 50 hours of eye
witness testimony which would make for the most one sided trial in history. That is
without bringing over 24,000 known early manuscripts of the New Testament
writings into evidence. William Ramsay spent 15 years trying to disprove the
accuracy of the Gospel of Luke. He tried to dispute the account that Luke recorded
concerning the Resurrection of Christ and Lukes authenticity and reliability as a
historian. After his attempt to disprove Luke, this is what he said Luke is a historian
of the first rank . . . This author should be placed along with the very greatest of
historians." E.M. Blaiklock, Professor of Classics at Auckland University said I claim
to be an historian. My approach to Classics is historical. And I tell you that the
evidence for the life, the death, and the resurrection of Christ is better
authenticated than most of the facts of ancient history. Yet many today rely on
their own understanding and beliefs as they try to refute such a miraculous and
marvelous part of human existence and history. The fact of the matter is that

PROVING THE RESURRECTION OF

CHRIST
people can try to dispel the facts surrounding the Resurrection of Christ, but
historically, all the pieces fit together perfectly.
Now I previously mentioned that The Resurrection was miraculous. Yes, we
would consider something such as this to be considered a miracle. The fact is that it
was more than just a miracle, it was part of Gods plan from the beginning of
Creation. The Bible records some three hundred specific prophecies of the birth, life,
death and resurrection of Christ. Isaiah penned the words over 700 years before the
birth of Christ, as we see in Isaiah 53:10 KJV Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him;
he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall
see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in
his hand. This says to me that when Christ was crucified, He went to Heaven to be
with His Father and see his seed. As He looked down on Creation while at the right
side of His Father, He saw the fruits of His labor. No matter how painful the
Crucifixion may have been and the pain from the beating that lead up to it, Christ
saw that His death on the Cross had not been in vain. It in fact was part of His
Fathers plan. Then it shows me that part of the Gods plan was to prolong his
days so for this reason God sent His son back after three days. Psalms 16:10 NASB
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to
undergo decay. Which we all know that when a body dies it begins to decay. Here
again, yet another proof in the prophecy that Christ did not stay in the tomb. Peter
and Paul both used these words written by King David in Psalms when testifying to
the Resurrection of Christ. For this reason, we can now say we have proven the
Resurrection not only logically and historically, but now we see that the Prophetic
writings of the Old Testament were fulfilled.
There are many speculations as to what happened when Jesus was crucified.
Some say that disciples were simply experiencing hallucinations. That they were
just deceived from the truth that Jesus had really died from crucifixion and what
they say they saw was just a dream. I find the odds impossible for this theory. The
sheer number of people who saw Jesus after crucifixion takes this belief and adds a
mathematical probability factor which would make the odds of buying two winning
lottery tickets at the same store on the same day more likely. Then others say
everything the disciples claimed was just a myth. How can over 300 prophecies,
written some centuries and others millineums before they happened and over 500
people who were eye witnesses to the Resurrection all attest to the same outcome
yet all be completely false and nothing more than a myth? Again I personally find
this to be the furthest thing from truth. Or the thought that the disciples devised the
story of the Resurrection as a conspiracy. This reminds me of when I was child in
school and we would whisper a secret and then tell the person beside us and so on
and so on. By the time it made it around the circle and the last person said it out
loud, it was so far from what we started with that we would all just laugh and try to
figure out who went wrong and who tried to add or take away from what we were
trying to pass around the room. Just as the fact that most of the time in churches
today, we cannot get 5 or 6 people to agree on the same thing. So how could have

PROVING THE RESURRECTION OF

CHRIST
over 500 people came up and stuck to the same story? My thoughts exactly, they
couldnt. Yet again proving the fact Jesus did rise from the grave on the third day.
One other popular belief is that Jesus just swooned and didnt really die.
Typically the legs were broken during crucifixion and you would suffocate. Some say
that the mix of vinegar and gall made Jesus fall into a deep sleep. Even if it did, the
spear to His side disproves this theory completely. Let alone the fact that someone
beaten and tortured to the extent that Jesus was, would have needed extensive
medical treatment even by todays standards, to even walk three days later. There
was no food or water in the tomb and someone who had endured such treatment
and brutality would have certainly needed that as well. On a side note, the pain and
anguish that Christ endured on Calvary was more than enough to kill the strongest
man on the face of the earth. It wasnt the pain from the beating suffering or even
the spear that pierced His side that killed Jesus. It was the pain of our sin that killed
Him. The fact that anyone would be willing to die for my sins let alone the sins of
the ones who had just beaten and rejected Him shows that Jesus was truly the Son
of God because no human could ever pay that price. Nor would anyone have that
much forgiveness and kindness in their heart.
Numerous doctors and historians have researched the death of Jesus and all
have found staggering evidence that He was dead before His side was pierced by
the spear. Pilate himself insured that Jesus was dead as well. A good friend of mine
and the Coroner for Spartanburg County, Rusty Clevenger, has done an in depth
study on the death of Christ from a forensic point of view. A few weeks ago I finally
got the privilege of hearing him speak when he came to our church. There is
absolutely no doubt in my mind that Jesus died on the cross. From the pain and
suffering he knew was coming even when He prayed in the garden. So much sorrow
and pressure that He went into a condition called hematidrosis where He began to
cry blood. To the beating which was kept to no more than 40 stripes as customary
as mentioned in Deuteronomy 25:3, 39 stripes as Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians
11:24. To the fact and revelation of prophecy found in Isaiah 50:6 I gave my back
to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face
from shame and spitting. Jesus took this beating and everything else they did to
Him without shame. We see just as these scriptures of prophecy and law were
fulfilled that the staggering number of references and prophecies that were fulfilled
by His life and the events leading up to the Crucifixion. There is no logical way that
only the parts of Jesus suffering, trial and death could be true and not the latter
parts where He rose from the grave.
Another medical standpoint, and back drop for the debunking of the swoon
theory, Jesus was dead before they pierced His side with a spear. We can prove that
historically and prophetically by reading in John 19:31-37 where we see that
because the Jews had appealed to Pilate asking that the bodies not remain on the
cross on the Sabbath that they would break their legs so that they could not push
themselves up to take a breath. The two on either side of Jesus had their legs
broken. When they came to Jesus they saw that He was dead and did not break His

PROVING THE RESURRECTION OF

CHRIST
legs, fulfilling yet another prophecy that not a single bone in His body would be
broken. From a medical viewpoint when His side was pierced it says that blood and
water came out (John 19:34). The spear would have been thrusted upward from just
below the rib cage at an angle which would have passed through His lung and then
the heart. For water and blood to have been expelled from a wound of this kind it
shows a number of medical conditions that would have come into play that even
with the best of modern medical care are an extreme challenge to combat. He
would have had Hypovelemic shock, which is when the body shuts down from lack
of blood. He would have had a hemo-pneumo thorax which is blood in the lung and
a collapsed lung. The extreme beating that had been given before the crucifixion
would have more than likely caused the collapsed lung which would explain the
amount of water that came from it when punctured. The fluid would have came
from the lung itself when it was injured. As He tried to breath and the lung was not
expanding properly the stress and non-movement of the lung because it was
collapsed would induce the secretion of the fluid. The blood would have come from
the tearing loose of lung when it collapsed as well.
Beyond any shadow of doubt, Jesus did die and was then buried by Joseph of
Arimathaea. He was then wrapped tightly in spices and linen bandages which
anyone who had endured the things Jesus had, would not have been able to free
themselves from. Then there is the stone in front of the tomb. A very large stone
that would require several grown men in good physical condition to move. This
stone was also secured and then a Roman seal was placed on it. This would have
shown if it had been tampered with in any way. A man beaten and weak before He
even carried His own Cross to be crucified on would in no way have had the
strength to move such a stone own His on. Many say the disciples had stolen Jesus
body. The highly trained Roman soldiers who were guarding the tomb would have
been put to death if such a breach of security had taken place. The soldiers were
equipped with armor and swords and were trained to fight to the death. They took
their job seriously and a hand full of disciples who were not trained to fight would
have stood no chance against them.
If the amount of evidence that we have covered so far is not enough to
convince a skeptic, then lets give them a huge revelation by discussing the New
Testament. Throughout the gospel the message that repeats itself not only by Jesus
but others as well, was the preaching of the death and resurrection of Christ. We
later see Pauls encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road. He became a believer
and follower of Christ. Paul knew he had been in the presence of the Risen Savior
Jesus Christ, the very one that he had persecuted so many because of their belief of
Him. Did the writers of the New Testament embellish the truth or alter the story in
any way? I find that impossible to believe due to the minute details of the things
that take place with over 140 confirmed details.
The truth of the matter is that we as Christians will continue to face
opposition to our beliefs. We must educate ourselves and be ready always to give a
reason for the hope we have in Christ. There will be new theories and new people

PROVING THE RESURRECTION OF

CHRIST
who oppose us every single day. The fact is that just as the early Christians and the
early church faced persecution especially as many opposed the belief in the
Resurrection of Christ; we today in a world filled with technology have access to
more resources than ever before. I plan on continuing my research on this topic
even after the completion of this class and my studies at Fruitland. The more we
know the better we can defend our faith. Yes, my Savior died on the cross and was
raised from the dead three days later. Would you like to know how?

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, I Dont Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist,
Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois, 2004
Stephen Cutchins, Prove It, Auxano Press, Tigerville, South Carolina, 2015

PROVING THE RESURRECTION OF

CHRIST
Francis Becwith, William Craig, J.P. Moreland, To Everyone an Answer A Case
for the Christian Worldview, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2004
D.M. Baillie, God Was In Christ, Charles Scribners Sons, New York, New York,
1948
C. Milo Connick, Jesus The Man, The Mission and The Message second edition,
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1974
A Handbook of Christian Theology, William Collins Publishers, Cleveland, Ohio,
1958
Emil Brunner, The Christian Doctrine of the Church, Faith and the
Consummation dogmatics vol. III, Westminister Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
English Translation 1962
John Knox, The Humanity and Divinity of Christ, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, New York, 1967
John Piper, The Passion of Jesus Christ, Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois,
2004
Larry Richards, The Smart Guide to the Bible, Thomas Nelson, Nashville,
Tennessee, 2006
The Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible, Abingdon Press, Nashville,
Tennessee, 1962
The Interpreters Bible Vol. VII & VIII, Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee,
1951
Josh McDowell, Evidence for the Resurrection, Internet article,
http://www.bible.ca/d-resurrection-evidence-Josh-McDowell.htm
Thomas Constable, Dr. Constables Expository (Bible Study) Notes, Internet
Article, http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes.htm