So, Were the Apostles Crazy, Lying, or Telling the Truth?
In our last post, we discussed whether it was possible that the Gospels are actual eyewitness accounts by real people, instead of made up fairy tales passed down by unknown sources. We established that extra-biblical writings like those from Josephus, for example, corroborate that a man named Jesus of Nazareth did exist, and that He was brought before Pilate and crucified. They also corroborate that these events happened around the time of Caesar Augustus and Herod II. There is also historical evidence of John the Baptist.
So far, so good. But what about the claim that Jesus rose from the dead after He was crucified? It's important to understand that the Resurrection is of VITAL importance. I'll go into this in a future post, but for today, let's realize that no one had ever come back from the dead, ever, especially after 3 days of being buried. The only person to ever bring anyone back from the dead was Jesus, and later, His Apostles under His authority. Resurrection is a key part of the Final Judgment as predicted by the Jewish prophets in the Old Testament. In a nutshell, we are all guilty of sin, which causes our death, both physical and spiritual. Our bodies die and at the final day of judgment, God will raise us, physically, from the dead, and judge us. The Old Testament prophets, based on this, also predicted a Savior that would come and save the Jewish people so that they could be cleared of sin and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The Jewish leaders were well aware of these prophecies. Because they did not believe that Jesus was the promised savior (MUCH more on why later), they appealed to Pilate, who commanded that Roman soldiers guard his tomb and put a huge, heavy rock over the mouth of the cave. This was to PREVENT the apostles from stealing the body and claiming that Jesus had risen from the dead. Keep this in mind as you read this and future posts.
Now to the claim. Again, in 1 Corinthians 15:6, we see that Jesus appeared to hundreds of people after His resurrection. According to Matthew, the first people to see the empty tomb were the two Marys. Think about this. The only people there early that morning were the two soldiers, who fell asleep, and some girls. Who moved the giant rock? Later, He appeared to His disciples on several occasions. Before ascending into Heaven, He commanded them to make disciples of all nations, which they started to do after the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost (a couple of weeks later.) This was a brand new development that included everyone (not just Jews) in the salvation promised by the prophets.
The apostles knew they HAD to go out and spread the Word. I mean, they had just witnessed Jesus conquer death, which was exactly what the prophets had predicted for a thousand years. In fact, check out this website for the odds of that. In response, the Jewish leaders, (yes the JEWS, not the Gentiles or atheists, or Roman rulers) who were threatened by all this, started persecuting them. This, because they knew the significance of it. And they didn't want to believe that the guy they killed...was THE GUY.
In light of all this, the apostles insisted and continued spreading the word. WHY? Because they knew that it was the truth, and they were more afraid of offending God than they were of offending men. Think about it. Would you continue to spread lies if you knew you were going to be killed because of it? But if you knew something was true and there were severe consequences if you didn't speak up, what would it take to stop you?
And if they were crazy...well Jesus appeared to hundreds, and the apostles performed miracle after miracle, healing the sick, raising the dead, just like Jesus did. Can THAT MANY PEOPLE really have been having a mass hallucination? No one disputed the miracles, only their source.
Remember, the apostles and early Christians weren't being persecuted and killed for what they believed, as Christians are today. They were being persecuted and killed for what they SAW.
In my next blog I'm going to talk about a specific apostle, the apostle Paul. I love his logic, and I love the way he defended his case and the case for Christ against the accusations of the Jewish leaders.
Feel free to contact us if you want to know more!
So far, so good. But what about the claim that Jesus rose from the dead after He was crucified? It's important to understand that the Resurrection is of VITAL importance. I'll go into this in a future post, but for today, let's realize that no one had ever come back from the dead, ever, especially after 3 days of being buried. The only person to ever bring anyone back from the dead was Jesus, and later, His Apostles under His authority. Resurrection is a key part of the Final Judgment as predicted by the Jewish prophets in the Old Testament. In a nutshell, we are all guilty of sin, which causes our death, both physical and spiritual. Our bodies die and at the final day of judgment, God will raise us, physically, from the dead, and judge us. The Old Testament prophets, based on this, also predicted a Savior that would come and save the Jewish people so that they could be cleared of sin and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The Jewish leaders were well aware of these prophecies. Because they did not believe that Jesus was the promised savior (MUCH more on why later), they appealed to Pilate, who commanded that Roman soldiers guard his tomb and put a huge, heavy rock over the mouth of the cave. This was to PREVENT the apostles from stealing the body and claiming that Jesus had risen from the dead. Keep this in mind as you read this and future posts.
Now to the claim. Again, in 1 Corinthians 15:6, we see that Jesus appeared to hundreds of people after His resurrection. According to Matthew, the first people to see the empty tomb were the two Marys. Think about this. The only people there early that morning were the two soldiers, who fell asleep, and some girls. Who moved the giant rock? Later, He appeared to His disciples on several occasions. Before ascending into Heaven, He commanded them to make disciples of all nations, which they started to do after the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost (a couple of weeks later.) This was a brand new development that included everyone (not just Jews) in the salvation promised by the prophets.
The apostles knew they HAD to go out and spread the Word. I mean, they had just witnessed Jesus conquer death, which was exactly what the prophets had predicted for a thousand years. In fact, check out this website for the odds of that. In response, the Jewish leaders, (yes the JEWS, not the Gentiles or atheists, or Roman rulers) who were threatened by all this, started persecuting them. This, because they knew the significance of it. And they didn't want to believe that the guy they killed...was THE GUY.
In light of all this, the apostles insisted and continued spreading the word. WHY? Because they knew that it was the truth, and they were more afraid of offending God than they were of offending men. Think about it. Would you continue to spread lies if you knew you were going to be killed because of it? But if you knew something was true and there were severe consequences if you didn't speak up, what would it take to stop you?
And if they were crazy...well Jesus appeared to hundreds, and the apostles performed miracle after miracle, healing the sick, raising the dead, just like Jesus did. Can THAT MANY PEOPLE really have been having a mass hallucination? No one disputed the miracles, only their source.
Remember, the apostles and early Christians weren't being persecuted and killed for what they believed, as Christians are today. They were being persecuted and killed for what they SAW.
In my next blog I'm going to talk about a specific apostle, the apostle Paul. I love his logic, and I love the way he defended his case and the case for Christ against the accusations of the Jewish leaders.
Feel free to contact us if you want to know more!
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