Week 9 Review

From Last Week… Liberal theologians and popular fiction like The Da Vinci Code often suggest that Jesus was not deified until Constantine’s Council of Nicaea in AD 325. How would you answer this explanation of the deity of Jesus?

From Last Week… Some critics of the deity of Jesus claim that Jesus did not consider himself God based on passages like Mark 10:18 and Matthew 19:17. How would you respond to this?

From Last Week… The Jehovah’s Witnesses are one religious group that teaches that Jesus is not God, but just a teacher or prophet. One reason given is that the Bible teaches that we should only worship God. What would you say to a Jehovah’s Witness about this?

The Death, Burial, and Resurrection The Crux of our Faith The Death, Burial, and Resurrection

What is so Important about… …The Death of Jesus? It was necessary for us (1 Pet. 2:24, Heb. 10:11-12) …The Burial of Jesus? Serves as evidence, a challenge to nonbelievers …The Resurrection of Jesus? Proved deity (Rom. 1:3-4) Fulfilled prophecy (Acts 2:27)

Challenges to the Biblical Account Death of Jesus Swoon theory and variants—Jesus faked his death Burial of Jesus Body stolen Mistake or myth Resurrection of Jesus Conspiracy of apostles Hallucination, some other unusual circumstance

The Swoon Theory See Mark 15:36, Mark 15:44 The Death of Jesus Resuscitation instead of resurrection Both ancient (Islam) and modern versions Jesus fainted or was given a drug, etc. This gave the appearance of death See Mark 15:36, Mark 15:44

Problems with Swoon Theory Torture before the Cross The Garden—hemotidrosis (skin, blood vessels) Lends itself to easier blood loss The Flogging—hypovolemic shock (blood loss) Many died at this point Weakness (Mark 15:21) Thirst (John 19:28)

Problems with Swoon Theory The Cross itself Crushed, severed nerves Excruciating (out of the cross) pain Possibly dislocated shoulders (Psalm 22?) Exhaustion from lifting to breathe Asphyxiation or heart failure Buildup of fluid (John 19:34)

Historicity of Joseph of Arimathea? Could the body have been stolen? The Burial of Jesus Historicity of Joseph of Arimathea? Could the body have been stolen? How secure was the tomb? If stolen, who? Reliability of witnesses?

Joseph of Arimathea The Tomb Defending the Burial Mentioned by name each time—easy to dispute Unlikely candidate for a story (Sanhedrin) No competing burial stories The Tomb Historical description—stone fit in a groove

If stolen, who? Witnesses Defending the Burial Apostles—martyred for a lie? Romans—regional instability Jews—lending evidence to Jesus Everyone knew where the body was Witnesses Women—unlikely witnesses in 1st century

The Resurrection of Jesus Resurrection appearances Legendary? Hallucinations? Circumstantial evidence Martyrdom Conversions Changes to social structures

Resurrection Appearances Legend? Myth? Remember dating of Biblical accounts Too soon for myths to develop Witnesses available to dispute Hallucinations? Impossible by definition—individual events

The disciples died for their teaching Powerful Evidence The disciples died for their teaching Who would die for a lie? They had nothing to gain Skeptics were converted through appearances Paul, James (brother of Jesus) Major changes for Jews and Gentiles Giving up the Old Law, pagan religions for Jesus

Question 1 As an exercise, assume that Jesus did survive the crucifixion and his resurrection appearances were just the man Jesus meeting his followers. What problems are left unanswered by this theory?

Question 2 If you spoke to someone who believed in a naturalistic explanation for the empty tomb, what strategy would you take to convince them that the disappearance of the body of Jesus could only be explained by the Biblical account?

Question 3 Of the three evidences for the resurrection of Jesus that we mentioned in class, which is the most powerful to you? Can you think of any other evidences to support the resurrection of Jesus?