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apologetics, christian, christianity, Easter, history, Jesus, N.T. Wright, religion, resurrection, video, world religions
And does it really matter? My answer to both questions is an unequivocal yes.
Maybe you agree, maybe you don’t. Here are a few things I hope will help you wrestle with those questions this Easter.
Last year I attempted to answer the second question I posed above–does it really matter what you believe about the resurrection? I think that discussion turned out to be very profitable. Please read that post as well as the comments, and contribute to the discussion if you’d like:
Is it necessary to believe in the resurrection of Jesus to be saved?
Michael Patton is currently writing a series entitled “Evidence of the Resurrection.” He begins:
Just as we test the historicity of any event, not through emotional conviction, but with historical evidence, I would like to devote some time to laying out a brief historical case for the Resurrection of Christ, the central issue of the Christian faith.
In a similar vein, Michael Horner wrote an article a few years ago carefully examining the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. He notes:
The case for the historicity of the resurrection rests upon the evidence for three independently established facts. If it can be shown that the tomb of Jesus was found empty, that he did physically and bodily appear to many people after his death and that the origin of the Christian faith is inexplicable apart from his resurrection, then, if there is no plausible natural explanation that fits the data, one can rationally conclude that Jesus rose from the dead. (Read the whole thing)
Finally, here’s a short video clip of N.T. Wright asserting, “The only way you can explain the rise of the early Christian belief that Jesus was raised, is that there really was an empty tomb. They really did meet Jesus again, in a transformed body.”
who am i? 
If you’ve not already, you should check out some of Dr. Gary Habermas’ work on this subject (i.e. the historicity of the resurrection). He’s got a sizable amount of free articles, audio, and video over at his site. I had this guy for an apologetics course a few years ago. He’s incredible. And he’s a very gracious man.
I’ve watched a little bit of video by Habermas (and almost included one). I appreciate the links to those resources, Deek. I’ve not been to his site before. Have a blessed Easter. Christ is risen!
Unequivocally, yes, He did rise from the dead. I struggle with the question of whether He raised Himself (since He is God), or if God the Father raised God the Son as an outside force. I understand they are one, but I see this as the only event ever where a dead man was raised by His own power. There’s a paradox there that I can’t unravel, but it’s a pleasant puzzlement.
There does seem to be a clear, consistent emphasis on God the Father as the one who raised Christ from the dead. In fact, I can only think of one passage in the entire NT where Jesus spoke of raising himself—John 2:19. Here’s the ESV Study Bible note on that passage: