The Bible indicates clearly that The Lord Jesus Christ died literally. The Centurion and others, who were there (by the cross) when the death occurred (Luke 23:43-49) attested to the fact of His death. His death was also confirmed by the soldiers who killed Him (John 19:30-37). The flow of blood and water from the side of The Lord Jesus when the Roman soldier pierced Him with a sword was a further confirmation that He had died. Medical Science also confirms that this is indicative of death.
His burial is another confirmation that He died. It is uncommon to bury a living being. Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus sought permission from Pontius Pilate to bury The Lord Jesus Christ after He was confirmed dead (John 19:38-42; See also Matthew 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-47 and Luke 23:50-56). All accounts agree that in fact The Lord Jesus Christ was buried in a tomb. The men who took the body for burial were His followers.
It is reasonable to believe that His own followers would not have buried His body if they did not believe beyond any shadow of doubt that He was in fact dead. The desire of some of the female followers to go and anoint His body with spices (perhaps a sort of embalmment) suggests that He was already dead. The Jewish leaders/rulers of the Synagogue at that time sought permission from Pilate to seal the tomb and station guards made up of Roman soldiers at the burial site. It is thus quite clear that The Lord Jesus Christ died physically and was buried physically.
The Lord Jesus Christ certainly died. His death was confirmed by the testimonies of both His followers and His enemies among the Jews and the Romans. Roman soldiers were trained killers. If they fail in their duty to execute someone, they will be held responsible; likely at the cost of their lives. This gave them the impetus to complete every execution with precision.
Non-Biblical records also indicate that The Lord Jesus Christ died. These non-Biblical records include Jewish, Roman and Greek sources. Tacitus, a Roman historian wrote about Jesus’ execution by Pontius Pilate during the reign of Emperor Tiberius in his works “Annals” (around 116 AD). Tacitus mentioned that Jesus was crucified and that His followers called Christians were persecuted for their faith.
A Greek historian, Thallus (around 52 AD) wrote about the crucifixion of Jesus and the subsequent darkness that occurred. Another Greek historian, Phlegon (around 140 AD) also wrote about the darkness during Jesus’ crucifixion.
The Jewish sources include the writings of Josephus, a Jewish historian who mentioned Jesus’ death in his work “Antiquities of the Jews” (around 93 AD). The Jewish Talmud also mentioned Jesus’ death. These non-Biblical sources provide independent confirmation of The Lord Jesus death and contribute to the historical record of his life and legacy.
Did The Lord Jesus Christ rise from the dead after His death and burial? Are there testimonies/documented evidences of His Resurrection? The Resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is a very unique and spectacular event that is well documented in the Scriptures (Matthew 28:1-7; Mark 16:1-7; Luke24:1-9; John 20:1-10 and 1 Corinthians 15:3-9). Apart from Biblical records, there are also non-Biblical records which attest to the resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ.
Although the Jewish leaders (chief priests/rulers of the synagogue) at that time attempted to dispute the truth of the Resurrection by spreading a false story among the people; however, for obvious reasons, their story remains absurd from that time and even till now. The fact of the Resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ is buttressed by the actions of the Jewish leaders themselves, the Roman authority and also the disciples of the Lord Jesus.
The request of the Jewish leaders to Pilate (Matthew 27:62-66) and his approval confirm the fact that the chief priests and rulers of the synagogue made sure that the grave (sepulchre) where The LORD was buried was heavily secured. The “watch” referred to in the above Scripture was a guard of four (4) soldiers who were changed every three (3) hours (Acts 12:4). Also, “…sealing the stone…” implied that a cord was stretched across the stone and an official seal with clay was fastened at each end and so, it could be detected if the grave was opened.
Thus, this arrangement by the chief priests and rulers of the synagogue to ensure that the grave was well secured (guarded) makes nonsense of the story they cooked up to discredit the resurrection after bribing the soldiers (Matthew 28:11-15).
The disciples were too devastated and very scared to contemplate going to the grave where The Lord was buried. They were also not in possession of any weapons that could help them dislodge the soldiers stationed at the burial/grave site. There is no way they would have been able to overpower the heavily armed soldiers with bare hands.
The Roman authority’s belief of the lie put together by the chief priests and rulers of the synagogue is also a pointer to the fact that The Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It was a known fact in biblical times that the Romans had strict laws regulating the behaviour of their soldiers. Disobedience met with ruthlessness from the authority.
That the Roman authority believed the lies and did not discipline the soldiers, neither did they go in search of the disciples and the “Stolen Body” make them accomplices in the deceptive “fraud” arranged and put together by the Jewish leaders at that time. It is very expedient to believe that their actions constitute further confirmation that The Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
The following points enumerated in “Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible” certainly make the story of the chief priests and rulers of the Synagogue absurd:
That so many guards under a death penalty will all fall asleep at the same time.
That they could remain asleep during the movement of a big stone and body.
That several disciples needed to move such a stone and body could be quiet enough not to raise a single guard.
That the disciples could accomplish this in secret, working among soldiers stationed at the very door of the tomb.
That if the guards were all asleep, they could know who took the body.
That their word was contradicted by hundreds of godly men who were eye witnesses and would not lie or be bribed like pagan soldiers.
That the miraculous events from the day of Pentecost onwards confirmed the truth of Christ’s resurrection.
(Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, P. 33 New Testament, Column 4)
It must be stated too, that the Ascension of The Lord Jesus Christ to Heaven (Acts 1:9-11” and the coming of The Holy Spirit upon His disciples on the day of Pentecost represent additional evidence of His resurrection.
There are also non-Biblical and historical records that also give credence to the Resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Such records include the writings of Jewish, Roman and Greek historians (some of which have been mentioned above) as well as recently discovered archaeological artefacts.
In his book, “Who Moved the Stone”, Frank Morrison provides credible evidence from Biblical and historical sources in support of the Resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ. As a sceptic, he initially set out to prove that the story of Christ’s Resurrection was only a fabricated myth. However, as he gathered materials for his book, he found out a seamless validity in the Biblical and extra-Biblical records that he had put together.
He found no answer to the question, “Who Moved the Stone”? The stone couldn’t have been moved by the soldiers who were stationed as guards at the tomb site. It couldn’t have been moved by the women who came early to the tomb.
Neither could it have been moved by the disciples who, for fear of the Jewish and Roman authorities, were in hiding. It is believed that the inability to find an answer to the question, led him to write a beautiful book on The Resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ titled “Who Moved the Stone”.
A Commentator while applauding Morrison’s book wrote, “For me, one of the greatest testimonies to the Fact of the resurrection has always been that the authorities at the time did not dispel what they considered to be a “myth” put together by the disciples of The Lord Jesus Christ.
All they needed to do was to simply display the crucified body. In the early stages of the apostles’ preaching, when the church was gaining converts, all the authorities would have done was to produce the body of The Lord Jesus Christ. Why didn’t they do it? The reason is obvious: they did not because they could not.”
Therefore, it is very safe to conclude, from all the evidences available, that Christ’s Resurrection was not a fable, neither was it a fiction or a myth. It was also not a figment of the imagination of the disciples. The Resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ was a fact and reality. HE is alive and HE lives forever. The Bible declares, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)
Happy Easter celebration to everyone.
Credit:The Guardian