Page 69 - Apologetics Student Textbook (3 Credits)

Study Section 9: More Questions about Jesus Christ

9.1 Connect

Skeptics for years have come up with all kinds of explanations for the empty tomb of Jesus.
Some have claimed that Jesus really did not die, but passed out, was taken off the cross, and
then by lying in a cool tomb, resuscitated. Others have claimed that the rumor was true; His
disciples came and stole the body. Or the women got mixed up and went to the wrong
tomb.

Today we will look at some of these declarations of skeptics to see if they are valid whatsoever. Can
these arguments against Jesus’s resurrection “hold water?” Let’s find out….

9.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to quickly dismiss many of these arguments of the skeptics
about the resurrection of Christ.

2. The student will be able to show that only the resurrection of Christ can explain the empty
tomb.

3. The student should be able to disarm the skeptic with convincing arguments, countering their
ridiculous claims that supposedly explain how the tomb was empty but Christ did not raise from the
dead.

9.3 But does an empty grave really prove that Jesus rose from the dead?

Skeptics of the resurrection claim it is a myth that people constructed out of the real events.
``People don't come back from the dead'', the say, ``so there must be some other
explanation for the empty grave''. There are a few typical arguments that are proposed:

1. Jesus never died in the first place - it just seemed that he was dead.
2. He died, but somebody removed his body from the grave. This is probably the most
popular idea, which got started by the Jewish authorities right after the resurrection (Matthew
27:62-65, 28:11-15).
3. The women, and subsequently everybody else went to the wrong tomb.
4. He rose from the dead, but not in bodily form - so his body still decayed.
5. The testimony of the witnesses is not valid. All of Christ's post-resurrection appearances were
just hallucinations.

We will discuss each of these arguments more specifically after we have looked at the factual evidence.
To show that Jesus was really resurrected from the dead, we have to find evidence that he was really
dead in the first place, that his body didn't just disappear after he was buried, and that he rose with a
material body - not just a spiritual one. Only then can we be sure that he actually overcame death.
So let’s begin dealing with these claims…

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