Day 47: THE RESURRECTION (X) EVIDENCES FOR THE RESURRECTION, cont. Today we will begin looking at the testimony of the gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, regarding the risen Jesus appearing to people after His resurrection. I didnt post yesterday because I was going back through this information to make sure I had the chronology down. I will do my best to present the 10 (some argue 11) post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to various people in chronological order, although New Testament scholars do have a few questions about some of them. It is important to note that the questions I mentioned are not whether or not the appearance took place, but where it fits in the chronological period of the 40 days Jesus was allegedly alive and on the earth before He ascended into the heavens (Acts 1:3). I have elected NOT to include some of the longer and more detailed notes regarding some of these questions for the sake of time and space. However, if you are interested to see where New Testament scholars sometimes differ on where they place these appearances within the larger context, I would be more than happy to share them with you. Again, it is important to remember that I am harmonizing the gospel accounts, as some gospels dont mention appearances of Jesus that a different account does. This does not mean that the appearance in questions didnt happen; it means one author wrote about it and another didnt. You would need to provide sufficient proof to discount the testimony of the writers of our documents here. One more note before we begin to look at the witnesses of the allegedly resurrected Jesus; there are some places that believers and unbelievers alike have questioned, challenged, and considered discrepancies or contradictions. As has been my custom, I want to present all of these so that you know I am not trying to hide anything or only present the good evidence. After I finish going over the 10 appearances of Jesus recorded in the gospels post-resurrection on the third day (Sunday), I will talk about traditional arguments made against the witnesses testimony and will also go over all of the major alleged discrepancies in the gospel accounts surrounding the resurrection, similar to how I dealt with the most common objections to the empty tomb several days ago. If you feel I am not being fair with the historical evidence, please let me know and I will elaborate! II. THE EYEWITNESSES A. First - Mary Magdalene - in Jerusalem, on Sunday morning, the day of resurrection, the third day from Jesus death [Mark 16:9-11 NASB] 9 [Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. [J0hn 20:11-18 NASB] 11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 And they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him. 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away. 16 Jesus said to her, Mary! She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, Rabboni! (which means, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God. 18 Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that He had said these things to her. It is clear that Mary Magdalene was alone when Jesus appeared to her, as she was first (Mark 16:9). The text almost certainly would not read this way if she were not alone when she saw Jesus. A problem people have had with this account in John 20 regarding its accuracy is as follows: Why did she not recognize Jesus, vv. 14,15? Could it be due to tears of grief, vv. 11,13,15? Or, were her eyes “prevented from recognizing him,” like is recorded with the two men on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:16? Or, in her unbelief and grief, did she simply assume it was the gardener and not look up, vv. 2,13-16? Note: Had she fabricated this story to deceive others into believing, would not she have more likely said, ‘I recognized him as soon as I saw him!” The fact is, we do not know for certain why she didnt recognize Jesus immediately, but if we accept the historical evidence, she did recognize him shortly thereafter. This confirms she was an un-expecting witness, which grants her more credibility. There is no evidence that she was credulous, or quick to believe anything. Lets continue to examine that idea... Careful observer: “Stooped and looked into the tomb; and she beheld two angels sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying,” Jn 20:12. While this is John’s statement, there is no indication the male disciples followed the burial procession, nor observed how the body was laid in the tomb. There is, however, three accounts (Matt, Mark, Luke) stating that the women did follow the burial procession, among whom was Mary Magdalene. (Matt. 27:61; Mark. 15:47; Luke 23:55, “how the body was laid.”). So, where did John get this information, if not from Mary? Note that her observation and memory were precise. Three senses: She not only heard him and saw him, but “was clinging to” him. (20:17) Testimony involving more than one sense is obviously more reliable. Women as witnesses: The culture of first century Judaism “restricted women from acting as legal witnesses (Edwards, 1988, 4:1093; Osborne, 1984, p. 219).” Garry K. Brantley, Reason and Revelation, 5/93, p. 36. IF this is correct, the fact that they are mentioned among the first witnesses to the resurrection in all four accounts is most likely because that’s exactly what happened. If you were manufacturing an account, and women were not considered credible witnesses, would they have been used? The people at the time would have been much more likely to accept your testimony if you told them it came from men. So, if these four guys conspired together to impose a false belief on the people then and the whole world in posterity, and their culture rejected women as witnesses, why would they base a huge crux of their story on the testimony of women? B. Second - the other women who went to the tomb (both following the burial procession and early on the morning of the resurrection day when they planned to bring the spices and perfumes -- Mary, mother of James, Salome, Joanna, Mary Magdalene and others) - in Jerusalem, Sunday morning [Matthew 28:9-10 NASB] 9 And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me. *partial list of women, although Salomes name is included in Mark 16:1 [Luke 24:9-11 NASB] 9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. 11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. Unexpecting witnesses: These women certainly did not EXPECT to find what they did, i.e., an empty tomb. Competent witnesses: Moreover they “entered” the tomb (Mark 16:5, Luke 24:3), and were invited to “Come, see the place where he was lying.” (Matt. 28:6, Mark 16:6). Some of these were among those who followed the body to the grave and “saw the tomb and how his body was laid.” (Luke 23:55) Thus, they were certainly competent to testify about the empty tomb. More than one witness saw the same thing: Observe that there was more than one woman, and they all saw the same thing. This does not fit the nature of hallucinations, which are extremely personal and unique from person to person. Three senses: They heard, saw, and touched Jesus. They did not simply hear a voice, or see a form, but also “took hold of his feet.” C. Third - Peter - Sunday, possibly early afternoon [Luke 24:33-34 NASB] 33 And they [the two men who had walked to Emmaus on the day of Jesus resurrection] got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, 34 saying, The Lord has really risen and has appeared to *Simon. [1 Corinthians 15:4-5 NASB] 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to *Cephas, then to the twelve. *the apostle and disciple of Jesus named Peter was called Simon Peter (Matthew 4:18), Peter (Luke 24:12), and Cephas (John 1:42). Jesus had appeared to Peter before His interaction with the two men on the road to Emmaus, as they state this in an aoristic fashion (something that has already happened). Chronologically, this means Jesus must have appeared to Peter after He had appeared to Mary Magdalene, and then the group of women, but before the two men walking the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. This would have been Jesus first appearance to a male disciple. Unexpecting witness: Note that (in John 20, Luke 24:12) Peter and John went into the tomb, and Peter “beheld” the linen wrappings. Note that they not only saw the empty tomb firsthand, but looked thoroughly (remember the Greek word theōreō). They now knew the body was gone (John 20:10), but they still “did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.” So, according to the historical documents, Peter would not have been in a disposition to manufacture “evidence” favorable to a resurrection. This is important in deciding whether or not it seems that all of these men and women made up this story through a conspiracy to impose a false belief on the world. PREVIEW: Tomorrow, we will most likely look at witnesses 4-6, and then two days from now will finish up the list of 10.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 03:13:26 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015