A STUDY BY
GARY RAY BRANSCOME
Lesson 12
Christ’s resurrection from the dead is one of
the best-attested events in the history of mankind. The Bible not only records
what happened, but also mentions numerous eyewitnesses, all of whom suffered
persecution and even death rather than deny what they knew to be true
(1Corinthians 15:6). In fact, because the evidence that Christ rose from the
dead is there for anyone willing to examine it, the only people who refuse to
believe that Christ rose from the dead are those who close their minds to that
evidence.
The Bible tells us that when Jesus died, Joseph of Arimathea
(who had secretly been a disciple) asked Pilate for His body (John
Early in the morning, on the first day of the week, some of the women who had
followed Jesus then went to the tomb in order to anoint the body of Jesus with
sweet spices. However, when they arrived, an angel of the Lord descended from
heaven, rolled back the stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb, and said,
“Fear not... I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here
for He is risen. Come see the place where the Lord
lay” (Matthew 28:1-6).
After seeing that Christ’s body was not in the tomb, the women then
hurried to tell the disciples what they had seen, and Jesus appeared to them on
the way. Nevertheless, upon hearing what the women said, the disciples were
initially skeptical and did not believe them (Luke 24:11). However, Peter and
John ran to the tomb to see for themselves, and, seeing that it was empty, left
wondering what had happened (John 20:3). Later that day (in the evening) Jesus
then appeared to the disciples, and showed them His hands and His side. After
that, He appeared to more than five hundred witnesses, to James, and finally to
Paul. [John 19:38-42, John 20:1-31, Luke 23:50-56, Luke 24:1-53, Mark 15:42-47,
Mark 16:1-14, Matthew 27:57-66, Matthew 28:1-15, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.]
Upon hearing that Christ had risen from the dead, the Jewish leaders who had
been responsible for having Him crucified, bribed the soldiers who had guarded
the tomb, instructing them to say that the disciples had stolen the body while
they slept. Nevertheless, that claim is ridiculous for several reasons.
First of all, why should the disciples steal the body when Pilate had already
given it to them? [Matthew 28:11-15] In fact, as I have already pointed out, it
was disciples who placed the body in the tomb, disciples who rolled a stone in
front of it, and disciples who spent a good deal of money on spices to embalm
the body. So why would they steal the body when it was exactly where they
wanted it to be?
Second, if the guards had really fallen asleep how would they know who had
taken the body? Is it reasonable to believe that they all slept so soundly that
they had no idea that the body was being taken, yet knew exactly what had
happened and who had taken it?
Third, Roman guards who fell asleep at their post were put to death. Not only
had they never fallen asleep on the job at any other time, but because they
stood watch in shifts, they did not even have to stay up all night. It was
customary for four to stand watch at a time, while the others slept in front of
them. Then, every four hours another group of four was awakened. Is it reasonable
to believe that they all just happened to fall asleep on the same night, and
slept so soundly that the disciples could step right over their sleeping
bodies, roll aside a large stone weighing perhaps several tons, and carry a
body away without waking a single soldier?
Fourth, the Jewish leaders never denied that the tomb was empty or attempted to
find the body, instead they tried to keep people from finding out what had
happened (Acts
Fifth, all of the disciples suffered persecution, and most were put to death,
because of their faith in Christ. Is it reasonable to believe that they endured
persecution, suffering, and death for a lie, when they could escape it simply
by denying that He had risen from the dead? Isn’t it more realistic to
believe that they endured persecution because they couldn’t deny what
they knew to be true?
Finally, why would someone who hated Christians as intensely as Saul (Paul),
suddenly become a defender and promoter of the faith, even though it meant
persecution and eventually death? Before his conversion, he was so hostile to
Christianity that he obtained special permission to travel to other cities in
order to find Christians and jail them (Acts 9:1-2).
He seems to have been in charge when Stephen was put to death (Acts
[Note: The
following books deal with the evidence that Christ rose from the dead.
“An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of
Evidence Administered In The Courts of Justice”
by Dr. Simon Greenleaf. “The Resurrection Factor”
by Josh McDowell. “The Case for the Resurrection
of Jesus” by Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona. “Examine the
Evidence” by Ralph O. Muncaster. “Leading Lawyers Case for the Resurrection” by Ross
Clifford.]
Because Christ rose from the dead, we can be confident that He was without sin,
that He won the victory over death, that He was exactly who He claimed to be,
and that He is indeed “the resurrection and the life” (John 5:23 and
11:25). For that reason, the fact that He rose from the dead is the basis for
our faith (Romans
1. Name some books that
deal with the evidence that Christ rose from the dead.
2. What did Pilate do before he gave the body of Jesus to Joseph of Arimathea?
3. What happened when the women went to the tomb?
4. What were the soldiers who guarded the tomb bribed to say?
5. Who had possession of Christ's body while it was in the tomb?
6. How could the guards know who had taken the body, if they were asleep?
7. Did the Jewish leaders ever deny that Christ's tomb was empty?
8. How many Jews became Christians on the day of Pentecost?
9. Why was Paul willing to die for his faith?
10. What can we be confident of, because Christ rose from the
dead?