The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of Christianity. Did Jesus Christ really resurrect? Is it possible to arrive at a logical conclusion on the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
Here are some logical conclusions:
1. Paul’s transformation:
Paul and Jesus Christ were contemporaries. Jesus could be ten years senior to Paul. As per the dates commonly agreed by historians, Jesus was born around 4-6 BC, and Paul around 4 AD. Paul was approximately in his early twenties by the time Jesus Christ was crucified. Paul strongly believed Jesus was dead and not resurrected. He hated the Christians. He wanted to stop Christianity and hunted for Christians even in a foreign land. He cast his vote against Christians. We know he was there when Steven was murdered.
But on one fateful afternoon on his way towards Damascus, he met Jesus face to face. Paul, who passionately believed that Jesus was not the messiah, was transformed by a supernatural face-to-face encounter with Jesus. He narrates this personal testimony of his life twice in the book of Acts, first in AD 58 (Approx.) in the Jerusalem temple and in AD 60 (Approx.) before Festus and Agrippa II. Both times, Paul recalled how he had persecuted the Christians before having the encounter with Christ. No one in the crowd opposed his statement.
Paul, an intellectually brilliant man trained in rhetoric technique and highly educated in the Institute of Hillel under Gamaliel, would never be transformed into a follower of Jesus Christ in a moment unless he had seen Jesus in a supernatural way. Hence, Paul dealt with Jesus who was not dead but resurrected and alive.
Well, if someone could say all of the above is a story, I would like to point out that Felix and Festus are procurators of Judea. This is documented in history. Felix was banished after being recalled to Rome by Emperor Nero in AD 60, and Festus took over as procurator after Felix. Agrippa II was the great-grandson of Herod the Great. Drusilla Agrippa II’s sister was Felix’s wife. All the names and time periods mentioned above are “History” and not “Story.”
2. Where is the body of Jesus Christ?
After the physical resurrection of Jesus, there was one question the Pharisees could not solve. Where is the physical body of Jesus Christ? High priests predicted Jesus body could be stolen by his own disciples (Mat 27:62-66). It means two things. 1. Jesus was dead. Some group believes Jesus never died. He was unconscious when buried and then walked away while everyone was sleeping. Others believed Jesus was not even crucified. Hence, there was no resurrection since Jesus never died. But the high priests firmly believed Jesus was dead and buried. 2. The high priest knew exactly where Jesus was buried. They made sure soldiers guarded the tom,b and the tomb was sealed. As we know, anyone who breaks the government seal will face severe consequences.
Solving a disappeared dead body is an open and closed case in the 1st century AD when there is no genetic and forensic technique to prove which is the real body. They would have to replace it with another similar body, keep the tomb sealed, and decline any entry into it. On the other hand, Jesus Christ’s disciples, if they had really stolen the body of Christ, would never have shown it, since the motive was to prove Jesus Christ is alive, not dead. If they show it that means they themselves will prove Jesus Christ was dead and not resurrected. This predicted behavior of disciples should work in the high priest’s favor if they keep the stone sealed again as if nothing had happened.
But why did the high priest go to the extent of bribing the soldiers and forcing them to confess they were sleeping, while the disciples of Jesus Christ stole the body? The truth is, there was something supernatural. There was a violent earthquake when Jesus was resurrected. 1. An angel of God rolled the stone and sat on it (Mat 28:2). Now, who has the guts to tell the angel to move away from the stone, so that the large stone (Mark 16:4) can be rolled back, closed, and sealed? 2. Another angel was also sitting inside the tomb (Mark 16:5). Hence, soldiers were scared to enter the tomb. Panicked, half-dead soldiers refused to go back to the tomb again.
Jesus indeed had a physical resurrection so that everyone who believes in him and follows his way will also have physical resurrection one day.
3. The transformation in the life of disciples:
The disciples of Jesus Christ were ordinary men. They were not born bold and did not have sharp speaking skills. Everybody in the region of Judea knows most of them are unschooled. The disciples really cared about their own protection. When Jesus was arrested, every one of them ran away, leaving Jesus alone. It was well documented in the gospel. Even after they witnessed the resurrection, the disciples of Jesus could not believe it. Peter did not hesitate to disown Jesus on the very night Jesus was arrested.
But what transformed the life of the disciples of Jesus Christ? A few days after Jesus’s resurrection, Peter, known as unschooled and ordinary, started giving bold speeches. They healed the sick. If Gamaliel had not interfered and thawed down the situation, Peter and John would have been killed by the Jewish Sanhedrin (Acts 5:33). They were willing to sacrifice their life for the sake of Christ, and finally, most of them died a violent death for the sake of Christ.
What is the reason for the transformation? How come disciples who were scared and ran away, leaving Jesus alone, once in the garden of Gethsemane, became so bold after the death of Jesus Christ? How did they get the boldness when their leader is not with them? This was not possible unless they had a solid belief that Jesus is resurrected and lives.
4. The explanation for Supernatural:
In all the above three pieces of evidence, the word supernatural repeats. Does that mean the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a legendary story? A finite human’s boundary starts at birth and ends at death. If anyone needs to see anything beyond the boundary of human experience, it requires supernatural experience. Above all, we have discussed Jesus’s supernatural resurrection beyond death. The proof is derived based on the visible and tangible impact of the supernatural experience and not directly on the supernatural experience itself. If anyone wants to experience the same impact the above people had experienced, they need to believe in Jesus in order to have personal experience themselves.
