Do You Believe in the Resurrection?

One Easter a man sent me a link to an article which stated that early Christians didn’t all believe in Jesus’ bodily resurrection asking my thoughts about it. The two arguments presented in the article are not new, and they often seem to resurface this time of year.

First, some early Christians struggled with the idea of a bodily resurrection.  If a “Christian” is anyone who claims to follow someone named Jesus, then this statement is true. However, if a “Christian” is what the New Testament calls a disciple of Jesus, then it isn’t. For example, some “Christians,” believed Jesus’ earthly body and his death were illusory, the divine Christ merely appearing to have a body.  But this is precisely what the New Testament claims is not a disciple of Jesus (1 John 4:1-6).  John wrote his letter against this belief, saying it isn’t Christian at all.  The argument assumes that it is.  Paul addressed a similar disbelief in 1 Corinthians 15:12-34.  Many of the NT letters were written to address such misunderstandings of who Jesus really was or what he came to do.

The second argument is that Judaism in Jesus’ day was divided over the idea of resurrection. The Sadducees were famous for their denial of any form of resurrection. However, the inference that this division carried over to the early Christians is mistaken. Instead, the very idea of Jesus’ bodily resurrection defined genuine Christians.  The early disciples often referred to the resurrection in their messages, particularly to Jews.  Every time they addressed Jews they made reference to it – Peter in Acts 2:22-32; 3:15; 4:9-10; 5:29-32; and Paul in Acts 23:1-6; 25:17-21; 26:8.  It’s no wonder the Jewish authorities “were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” (Acts 4:2)

The article referenced began with “Easter Sunday represents the foundational claim of Christian faith.”  True!  In fact, without such a foundation, there is no Christian faith at all.  As Paul said, “If the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile.  . . .  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!”  (1 Corinthians 15:16-20)

Let’s celebrate! Because he is risen indeed!