Denver Seminary

14 FALL 2018 CROSS-EXAMINED WITNESSES Paul was a zealous Jew who at first opposed the Jesus movement. He consented to the death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Yet Jesus appeared to Paul and converted him (Acts 9). Paul's letters to the churches were most probably written earlier than the Gospels. Writing about 20 years after Jesus' crucifixion, Paul affirmed, If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor. 15:17–20). Paul listed many witnesses of the risen Christ, some of whom were still living when he wrote (1 Cor. 15:3–8). He also proclaimed that Jesus "through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4). Since Jesus rose from the dead, He promises that His followers will be raised immortal as well. Those who deny the resurrection of Christ must affirm one of two unlikely stories. Either the early disciples knew Jesus remained dead and un- resurrected, or they were deceived into thinking He rose from the dead. We will consider each. If the followers of Jesus knew He was dead, they had no motive to preach Him as the Lord of life. He was discredited in the eyes of the world, and all but a few followers turned against Him. There is no reason why followers of a man they knew was dead would claim He was alive. They would only be persecuted for what they knew was a lie. But could the early Christians have been deceived about Christ's resurrection? What could have caused a deception of this proportion? Neither the Romans nor the Jews would do it, since they rejected the Jesus movement. The hallucination theory fails also. Jesus appeared to too many people at too many times—and sometimes to whole groups of people—for these to be explained by a hallucination. The Resurrection is at the core of the Christian faith and the Christian life. Without the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no gospel message, no future hope, and no new life in Christ. With the Resurrection, Christianity stands unique in all the world. When Jesus announced, "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 10:25), He meant it. He demonstrated it. Let us, then, leave our dead ways and follow Him today and into eternity. FOR MORE ON THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS, SEE DOUGLAS GROOTHUIS, "THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS," IN CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS: A COMPREHENSIVE CASE FOR BIBLICAL FAITH (INTERVARSITY PRESS, 2011), 527–63. Douglas R. Groothuis, PhD PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY Dr. Douglas Groothuis joined the faculty in 1993 after receiving his PhD and BS from the University of Oregon, and an MA in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin– Madison. He is the author of Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith, Philosophy in Seven Sentences, and most recently, Walking Through Twilight: A Wife's Illness—A Philosopher's Lament. Liliboos/iStock

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