DID JESUS RISE FROM THE DEAD (7)

  sorry this post is late but I was offline yesterday
                                      DID JESUS RISE             FROM THE DEAD 
           (7)

     {copied from
      Y-Jesus.com}



As Morison continued his investigations, he began to examine the motives of Jesus' followers. Maybe the supposed resurrection was a stolen body. But, if so, how does one account for all the reported appearances of  a resurrected Jesus?

 Historian Paul Johnson, in a History of the Jews wrote,  "What mattered was not the circumstances of His death but the fact that He was widely and obstinately believed by an expanding circle of people, to have risen again.

The tomb was indeed empty. But it wasn't the mere absence of a body that could have galvanized Jesus' followers  (especially if they had been the ones who had stolen it) . 

 Something extraordinary must have happened for the followers of Jesus ceased mourning, ceased hiding,  and began fearlessly proclaiming they had seen Jesus alive.

Each eyewitness account reports that Jesus suddenly appeared bodily to his followers, the women first. 

 Morison wondered why conspirators would make women central to its plot.  In the first century, women had virtually no rights, personhood or status. If the plot were to succeed, Morison reasoned, the conspirators would have portrayed men , not women, as the first to see Jesus alive. And yet we hear that women touched Him,  spoke to Him, and were the first to find the empty tomb.

Later, according to the eyewitness accounts, all the disciples saw Jesus on more than ten separate occasions. They wrote that He showed them His hands and His feet and told them to touch Him. And He reportedly ate with them and later appeared alive to more than 500 followers on one occasion.

Legal scholar, John Warwick Montgomery stated,

"In 56 AD (The Apostle Paul wrote that over 500 people had seen the risen Jesus and most of them were still alive " - 1st Corinthians 15:6)

It passes the bounds of credibility that the early Christians could have manufactured such a tale and then preached it among those who might easily have refuted it simply by producing the body of Jesus.

Bible scholars Geisler and Turek agree  "If the Resurrection had not occurred why would the Apostle Paul give such a list of supposed eyewitnesses? He would immediately lose credibility with his Corinthian readers by lying so blatantly.

Peter told a crowd in Caesarea why he and the other disciples were so convinced Jesus was alive.

 "We apostles are witnesses  of all He did in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by crucifying Him, but God rose Him to life three days later ... we were those who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. "  Acts 10:39-41

British Bible scholar Michael Green remarked, 

"The appearances of Jesus are as well authenticated  as anything in antiquity - There can be no rational doubt that they occurred."


next post  18th January