Talking Points: Dad, why do we believe Jesus rose from the dead?

Resurrection

Mar 22

Unlike many of the questions we have to respond to these days (e.g., should I use pronouns?), this is not a new issue.

The truth of the resurrection has been challenged throughout history.
Even in the New Testament, alternative explanations from the opponents of Christianity are recorded (e.g., Matthew 28:11-15).

Across cultures and throughout history, people have questioned or outright rejected the resurrection of Jesus.

What may be unusual about our time is that people are not questioning it—they just don’t care.

The resurrection has been hotly disputed throughout history because it is the foundation on which Christian faith stands or falls.

As Paul writes, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile….we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:17, 19).
The resurrection establishes Jesus’s claim to be the Son of God, the champion over death, and the way to forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
Romans 1:4 says Jesus “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.”

You would think, then, that whatever conclusion they come to, everyone would have a view on this.

However, outside of the church, it is rarely discussed or blithely dismissed.
When was the last time you had a conversation with someone outside of a church context about the resurrection?

In our culture, it has become easier to ignore the resurrection than to reject it.

The New Testament and the early Christians, whose world-changing witness the New Testament describes, would not let people ignore the resurrection.

Each gospel makes the resurrection its climax.
Sermons preached by church leaders, such as Peter (Acts 2:24, 32) and Paul (Acts 17:31), do the same.
The letters they wrote to the growing church also emphasize the resurrection (1 Peter 1:3; 3:21; Romans 6:4; 7:4; 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15).

And their lives transformed the world.
The documents they produced, including the gospel accounts, and the lives they lived provide powerful evidence for the truth of the resurrection.

The biblical and historical evidence for the resurrection is strong (see “What are the most common alternative explanations for the facts of the resurrection, and how should I respond to them?” in Key Questions).
Most scholars (skeptical or not) now agree on the first three of the following facts, and even those who disagree with the fourth acknowledge, at least, that the disciples were convinced that they saw Jesus.

The disciples were transformed from doubters, deniers, and deserters to bold witnesses to the gospel in their words and deeds.
They were willing to die for their faith, and most did, often in tortuous ways.
Though some will die for something they believe to be true, no one would die like that for something they knew to be a lie.
As N.T. Wright says, “As a historian, I am forced to say, when I look at the rise of early Christianity and why it took the shape it did, there are all sorts of things which make me say I cannot actually explain how Christianity got going…unless they really all did believe that Jesus was really bodily raised from the dead.”

Ultimately, more than the biblical or historical evidence, our lives will be the most convincing evidence of the resurrection, both for our kids and for the culture around us.

Dad, is it OK for me to ask questions about my faith?