The Resurrection

To all my skeptical (unbelieving) friends and family,

I get it. As we celebrate Easter today, I just wanted to let you know – I stand with you. This whole resurrection thing (Jesus coming back to life) is hard to believe. I like things that I can see and touch and feel, things that fit into what is normal. God, a spiritual world, and especially the resurrection don’t fit into those nice categories. The idea of the resurrection is incredible, even ludicrous. And yet, even though I stand with you in being skeptical and incredulous, at the end of the day, I stand on the side of faith and belief. Here are a few of the reasons why:

• Something happened. I can’t get away from the fact that something happened those many years ago – something so momentous that 11 out of 12 of his disciples were willing to die for it, and it eventually upended the Roman world.

  Some say it was a lie – a fabrication of the disciples. But 12 people willing to die for something they know is a lie is hard to believe. Basing a tremendous moral teaching on a lie makes them deceitful, not great. Casting yourself as the dunce (as the disciples did in the gospels) goes contrary to the normal trend of someone looking for a following, where you try to show off how smart you are and why people should believe you. The usual motives of sex, money and power are all contrary to what they taught (sexual morality and restraint, poverty or at least sacrificing material well-being for others, and serving others/suffering was the teaching and lifestyle of the disciples). And crafting such a wild story in the place where it can best be proven false is also a ridiculous idea. In sum, it’s hard to believe it was a made-up story, or that they disciples were gaining anything by this belief.

  Some say the disciples were just wrong, that they only thought Jesus rose again, or that it was just a spiritual resurrection. But that assumes a level of stupidity on their part that is just insulting. They knew what death looked like – they were likely far more familiar with it than us. They also knew that people didn’t rise from the dead, and were just as skeptical as us. Yet that’s what they proclaimed – a physical resurrection. Thomas didn’t believe at first (John 20:24-29), and even as Jesus was going up to heaven, Matthew tells us some doubted (28:17). The people of Israel were not simpletons or religious, fanatical fools. They were people like you and me, who were just as likely to scoff as believe. And yet, in the heart of Jerusalem, a mere 50 days after the resurrection, the church exploded. Among the people who had seen Jesus, heard his teaching, and had access to all the disciples, to all the people who knew him, to the tomb, and to all of his enemies. It was these people, who were best able to verify (or not) the truthfulness of the story of his resurrection, who first accepted his resurrection as true – even many of the priests. It seems unlikely that a “made up” resurrection would have gone anywhere.

• Science doesn’t explain miracles. The resurrection is a miracle – something out of the ordinary. Science does it’s work in the natural world, observing and explaining normal patterns and events. (See here for a scientists views on the matter.) Yes, science clears up many mysteries that seemed miraculous. But by definition, miracles are one-time, unrepeatable events. Science doesn’t explain them, nor can it prove that they didn’t happen. Science is limited in it’s explanatory power – it doesn’t explain the meaning of life, the mystery of our souls (that most people believe we have) or the existence of anything beyond this observable world (metaphysics, spiritual realities, etc.). Heck, there are still a lot of gaps in what we can study – why would we think that science can “explain away” the resurrection? That’s where we turn to history, as I briefly outlined above.
• I believe in God. When I look at humanity around me, I see something pretty common – people long for justice, beauty, love, and life. Our longing for these things doesn’t prove that God exists, but as many others have said, thirst indicates that water exists. Our longing for all of these things indicates that there is something (someone) who can fulfill that longing. Science can’t disprove God any more than it can prove His existence, and once we open that door to the possibility of God, miracles and even the resurrection are not so implausible. On the other hand, if God is removed from the equation, then our death is the end – we simply cease to exist. And there is no justice for those who experience a life of injustice, no beauty to look forward to, no love that carries on beyond this life. My longings (echoed by what I would say is the vast majority of people) for all of these things causes me to believe that there is fulfillment somewhere. Then you add in a story (incredible, yet credible) that Jesus defeated death and promises eternal life, justice, love and beauty (what we all long for), why are we so hesitant to believe?
• The person of Jesus. It’s hard to look at the life of Jesus and not be impressed by him. His love and compassion were off the charts, his moral teachings are considered among the best ever, and his miracles were incredible. Then he kept claiming that he was God (ability to forgive sins, claims that he would judge the world, saying he and the Father were one, etc.). Finally, you add to that his resurrection, and suddenly him being God is not so far fetched, even if it is hard to believe for us materialistic, “prove it!” types.

Look, I know that Christians and the church have a bad reputation in many circles right now. Sometimes even for good reasons. Certainly the church has not always been right and definitely has not always been a reflection of Jesus. But I also think that much of the bad reputation is undeserved. Think about it – it’s pretty significant that science, hospitals, universities, democracy, and things like free speech/freedom of worship have all developed primarily in the western, “Christian” world. I know that not all – maybe not even most – individuals were christians, but our western society did have as its base Christian concepts such as mercy, freedom, compassion, justice, and a belief that we could learn about our world (since God made it and it would be logical). For all its missteps, I believe the church has been very positive for society as a whole, and I believe that the teachings – and the resurrection! – of Jesus is the basis for that, regardless of how that has been twisted or forgotten at times.

If you’re skeptical and you’re reading this, I don’t expect you to drop everything and suddenly follow Jesus. But I don’t think it would hurt to pick up the Bible and start reading the stories of Jesus and who he was (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament). If you’re really interested, you could search for some Christian sources who explain why the resurrection is actually a realistic idea (Ravi Zacharias and Lee Strobel would be two sources to get you started). You might be surprised to realize that as crazy as it sounds, perhaps it’s not so crazy after all.

So happy Easter. And with many other Christians around the world, I proclaim (as incredulous as it sometimes is to me), “He is risen. He is risen indeed.”