Evidence for the Resurrection of Yeshua (Part 2)

{Oops--got busy, and it is not tomorrow.  But it is part deux.}

From where we left off, the empty tomb is, by any scholarly standard, a historical certainty.  The historical Book we call the Bible explains that the Jewish religious leaders tried various ways to avoid, and then account for, the story (Matt. 27:65-66, 28:11-15).  The Jewish leaders of the day had a vested interest in quenching any memory of the One who 1) developed a fan base bigger than theirs, 2) ripped them apart in every argument they ever had, 3) called them out on their hypocrisy (which is BIG--any good Jewish boy would honor and respect the authority figures, no matter what they did.  Moreover, Jesus came off as one with authority Himself).

Intimate Eye-witness Testimony



It seems that immediately after the discovery of the empty tomb, the Risen Christ began appearing.  Luke's account tells of a couple sad followers on the road to Emmaus (24:13ff); Matthew explains that as the women were turning to tell the other disciples, Jesus met them there (28:9-10); Mark reaffirms Matthew's account (within the disputed passage of 16:9-20--that is a topic for another post).

But John the Evangelizer, a Disciple and Apostle himself, describes much greater detail of appearances of the First to have ever been resurrected.  Only two ran to the tomb upon believing the women's story--he and Peter.

Beginning at the empty tomb, the final two chapters of John's Gospel (20, 21) are chock-full of situations where Jesus was seen, touched, and heard by mortal men.  Sometimes in a locked room, another time outside in the sun where He cooked for them.  There are situations that are so intimate that they alone could only be described by an eyewitness (20:19-29).  John was the "disciple whom Jesus loved".  He, along with Peter and James, was one of the inner-core disciples, a leader among the 12.  John's testimony cannot easily be discarded by skeptical hand waving.

Furthermore, this same John wrote four other books in the New Testament.  Next to his gospel account, his most famous is probably the most mysterious: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the final book of the Bible.  John wrote this while on the island of Patmos after being exiled in his old age.  Historians place the authorship date of Revelation at 95 AD.  This is critical to our understanding of the Bible as a whole since, if the Resurrection was a hoax, it is reasonable to assume that there were plenty of people around that would have had to keep it secret.  John himself survived an attempt on his life--tradition holds that he was placed in a vat of boiling oil.  He never cried 'UNCLE'.  He lived all his days emphasizing the truth and reality of a Risen Savior.

[t is critical to understand one thing about the nature of a written 'thing'.  When you and I write something, we do it for a purpose.  Whether we are writing a story or a letter, a history and diary or a thoughtful, explanatory treatise, we have an audience in mind, even if it is just ourselves.  The Gospels (four of them) are no different.  In addition, we can usually determine the context, nature, and purpose of a written document just by examining it.]

John himself explains why he wrote his Gospel in his own words (from the HCSB):

20:30-31

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples that are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.

and in 21:25

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written by one, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.

Thus, in this post I hope to have shed light on the simple fact that a letter claiming actual, historical, intimate situations with a Risen Man is not easily dismissed.  John's Gospel is critical to our understanding of historical actualities.  I submit that without it, though, we would still have enough evidence to credibly believe in the Resurrection.  But I for one am joyful that we do.

Part 3 will be mass sightings--some call it mass hysteria, but was it?