If anyone asks you about Easter or how you celebrated it, you should be able to tell them about Jesus and the whole of the gospel, for this is the essence of the gospel, that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Jesus died the substitute for us criminals, rose as the representative of us pardoned sinners. Jesus died that our sins might be dead, and rose again that our souls may rise to be with Him for all of eternity both in the life after and here and now.
You can check out our Easter outreach with CC Red Bluff here. Also this special video is of the Passion Week which will take you on a short tour of the Holy Land sites that are part of the Passion Week recount. (From: BlueLetterBible.org)
"Jesus said..."I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25
Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection, the one who can raise us up to life again? Do you believe that Jesus is the life, and those in Him will never die? I hope you do.
Now, most Christians do too. But some are swayed by proposed theories to explain what happened. Several of these resurrection theories originated in ancient times, but others are modern. Here are brief descriptions of the best-known theories:
Stolen Body Theory
Some claim that the followers of Jesus secretly stole his body from the tomb and made up the whole story of the resurrection.The Gospel of Matthew mentions this accusation in verses 27:64 and 28:13, and refutes it by saying that the tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers. However, it was the death penalty for anyone convicted of unlawfully removing a body from a tomb. A stolen body would involve so many people would be difficult to pull off, and the followers of Jesus were hiding behind closed doors trembling in fear.
Missing Body Theory
Some claim that someone else took the body from the tomb without the disciples knowing about it. In John 20:2-16, this is what Mary Magdalene thought when she first discovered that the tomb was empty. But just because there is a missing body still doesn't convince people that Jesus had returned to life, there must be more. There must be witnessing and that exactly what we find scripture says in 1 Corinthians 15:1-9.Analogy of 500 Witnesses
Wrong Tomb Theory
Some claim that everyone went to the wrong tomb, which happens to be empty. But to think that no one went to check to see if the tomb of Jesus had a dead body there is insane. The guards were sure to have made a thorough search of the tomb before they reported to the Jewish leaders that his body had vanished as it says in Matthew 28:11-15.Swoon Theory
Some claim that Jesus wasn't completely dead when he was removed from the cross. They can give you examples that some people in history were mistakenly pronounced dead by doctors. But Jesus was scourged, beaten, and then crucified. According to John 19:34, a soldier thrust a spear into his side shortly before he was removed from the cross, so there should be no doubt He was definably physically dead. If you haven't watched The Passion of the Christ this should help clear up any misconceptions of Roman punishment.Drugged-Body Theory
Some claim that Jesus was in a sleep like mode due to taking a drug. Now, I had never heard of this theory since this generation, which might say something about it. But they claim that there is a plant-derived drug called Reserpine that can put someone into a temporary death-like state for several days, similar to what happened in the story of Romeo and Juliet. With the followers of Jesus being fishermen and tax collectors I'm sure that this was too complex for the brightest of them and at best a wild idea. This is because Jesus was scourged, beaten, and then crucified. Remember that John 19:34 says a soldier thrust a spear into his side shortly before he was removed from the cross, so there should be no doubt He was definably physically dead. Once again if you haven't watched The Passion of the Christ this should help clear up any misconceptions of Roman punishment.Twin Theory
Some claim that Jesus had a twin brother. They say that either Jesus or His twin died on the cross and the other appeared as an impostor after Jesus died. The idea of a mistaking identity is another far-fetched idea. John 20:25 says that Thomas and the other disciples saw in the hands of Jesus the print of the nails, and the huge wound to the side of Jesus where the spear went through. These men who had spent 3 years of their lives with Him, the Mother of Jesus, and his brother Jude who later writes a book of the Bible all died except John a martyr's death. Who would do that for a lie, and give up their life, and get nothing out of it but death? This is just another silly idea of men.Spiritual Resurrection Theory
Some claim that the human body of Jesus either vanished or was removed by God, and he reappeared in his eternal spiritual form. But as we looked at already in John 20:24-29, Jesus invited the disciple Thomas to touch the wounds made by the nails and the spear thrust. The resurrection accounts are not presented in parabolic or symbolic language, but as hard fact. John 20 is full of what Greek grammarians call vivid historical present tenses to stress the historical reality of the Gospel message. Also the gospels state that He was touched and handled, that He had a body, and that He even ate with the disciples (Luke 24:30-41, and John 21:12).The Resurrection Truth
None of these theories adequately deals with all of the evidence and known facts that surrounded the resurrection of our Lord. And as a student of the Bible you probably know that. If not the following links will provided you with a more in depth Bible study into the last week of Jesus and what Jesus' resurrection means to you.
Jesus' Last Week - Worshiped - Witnessed - Crucified - Resurrected
Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, was buried and rose again the third day?
If you do believe that Jesus is alive are you living your life for Him? I hope so.
Seek and save that which is lost and press on in Love,
Tim Molter
the Easter Story in
full dramatized audio
by Faith Comes By Hearing
Listen to the New Testament account of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection in an audio drama format, Mark chapters 15 and 16.
