The Bottom Line.

Where does this lead us?

We have seen that the New Testament documents are historically reliable. The personal sincerity and integrity of the witnesses can be clearly seen. Secular sources confirm how Christianity began. They also confirm that Christians have always said that Jesus was resurrected.

But should we believe the claims about Jesus’ death and resurrection?

From the very beginning these were core teachings. There is no good reason to say that is not true. Jesus died on the cross. Once again, there is no good reason to deny this.

If the story ended there, most people would say, “This is a historical fact.”

But the story does not end there. It says that He rose from the dead. These are the same reliable witnesses who told us everything else about Jesus. Is it possible to find alternative explanations? Yes – if you ignore major parts of the witnesses’ evidence. But this evidence changed the lives of these witnesses. Before, they were sceptical and frightened. Afterwards, they bravely faced death. But they refused to deny their testimony. Every alternative explanation has major deficiencies. It fails to consider all of the facts. Let’s briefly summarize:

Thieves wanted to steal the body of Jesus. So the thieves drugged the soldiers. They remove the graveclothes from the body. They pretend that they are helping a sick friend.

Highly improbable. Lacks a sufficiently convincing reason. Fails to explain the positioning of the graveclothes. Completely ignores the resurrection accounts.

Officials moved the body, or it was the wrong tomb.

Obviously defective. Why not show the body?

Disciples stole the body.

Inconsistent with their character. Would they die to defend a lie?

Jesus’ death was a hoax.

All the evidence says he was dead. This would be incompatible with the character and teaching of Jesus. Why suffer on the cross? There were much easier ways to be successful.

He almost died, but recovered.

Not feasible. They were very careful to be sure that Jesus was dead. How would a half-dead man escape from a sealed tomb? What would he look like? Does he look immortal? How is it that he can appear and disappear suddenly? How did he go up into the sky?

Jesus died. The disciples couldn’t accept this. They began to suffer hallucinations.

The problem for the disciples was that they could not accept the resurrection. When the disciples saw Jesus, it was not a hallucination. A hallucination occurs within one person’s mind. But several people often saw Jesus at the same time. They want to be sure this is really Jesus. Hallucinations usually become progressively stronger and more frequent. But, after 40 days, Jesus is rarely seen.

His resurrection was ‘spiritual’ rather than physical. Other people have seen things like this as well.

The reports are very clear that this was physical as well as spiritual. The body disappeared. When Jesus reappeared they could physically touch him. He even ate and drank with them!

He rose from the dead.

This explanation is the only one that fits all of the evidence.

And when it comes down to it, this really is the bottom line. There is nothing wrong with the evidence. It all points in the same direction. But what if it is true? Then you need to change how you view the world.

Several years later, Paul preached to a crowd of sceptics in Athens. He said, “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” If there is no God, then maybe it is impossible. However if there is a God, surely He can do this!

The choice is yours. You can refuse to think about the possibility that there is such a God. If so, you must look for some alternative explanation. Even if it seems implausible. Or, you can start asking yourself this question. Did God intervene in human history through this person, Հիսուս Քրիստոս?

The evidence exists. It is consistent with the stated facts. And this is not all of the available evidence. There is much more.If God intervened like this, it must have been for a very important reason. We should expect it to have dramatic and far-reaching effects. There should be a dramatic impact upon the lives of Jesus’ disciples. This should include followers of Jesus today.

These are some of the issues we hope to discuss in future. Meanwhile, if you have questions about these things, we welcome your feedback.