III.

The resurrection of Jesus the Messiah from the dead

The point of all the biblical accounts of Jesus' crucifixion is to show that He truly died to then set the stage for His resurrection from the dead. All four Gospels state that Jesus died on the cross:

• Matthew 27:50 states, "And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit."
   
• Mark 15:37 states, "And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last."
   
• Luke 23:46 states, "And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, 'Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit.' And having said this, He breathed His last."
   
• John 19:30 states, "And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit."

Some have recognized that Jesus was put on the cross, but then have denied he died there. These theories, though, do not have any basis in documentary evidence. There is not any written evidence that states that Jesus swooned, or left the cross unconscious and alive. Such theories are speculations by people who do not want to believe that Jesus died on the cross. They are the inventions of people who for other reasons do not want to accept that Jesus died on the cross.

There is no historical evidence that Jesus left the cross alive. The Romans and the Jews made sure he was dead. The disciples who handled Jesus' body knew He was dead.

As with Jesus' death, so all the gospels are unanimous that Jesus rose from the dead in the same body in which He was crucified:

• Matthew 28:5,6 states, "And the angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.'"
   
• Mark 16:6 states, "And he (the angel) said to them, 'Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.'"
   
• Luke 24:5-7 states, "...the men (angels) said to them, 'Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"
   
• John 20:9 states after Peter and John saw Jesus' empty tomb: "For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead."

Also note that just as Jesus predicted His own death by crucifixion, so He predicted His resurrection. Of the 21 recorded occasions where Jesus predicted His death, on 8 of those occasions He also predicted His resurrection from the dead:

1. Matthew 16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22
    
2. Matthew 17:9
    
3. Matthew 17:23
    
4. Matthew 20:19
    
5. Matthew 26:32
    
6. Mark 9:9
    
7. Mark 9:31
    
8. John 2:18-22

The Old Testament predicted the resurrection of Jesus in David's God-inspired statement:

"For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol; neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay." (Psalm 16:10 NASB)

Also, the unreserved, unwavering testimony of the rest of the New Testament is that Jesus rose from the dead. All of the disciples saw Jesus after He had risen from the dead. The Apostle Paul writing in about AD 55-57 records this concerning Jesus' resurrection:

"For I delivered to you as of first of importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also." (1 Corinthians 15:3-8 NASB)

The unwavering testimony of Jesus, the earliest disciples, and the Church since the Apostles, indeed of all who take the Bible seriously, is that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. In fact, in the Bible, and in Christian usage through the ages, the phrase "the gospel" refers to the message of Jesus' death and resurrection to save us from sin. The word "gospel" means "good news" and the Gospel message of the New Testament is the good news that Jesus has conquered sin and death by His death and resurrection.

Also, Jesus' resurrection from the dead is the only credible explanation for the following facts: The empty tomb of Jesus, the dramatic change in Jesus' disciples from fear and despair to fearlessness and great feats of faith, and the dramatic start and continuation of the Christian Church. The evidence that these three facts provide is too lengthy for this paper but may be pursued easily through many books published on the subjects.