The man who delivered the benediction at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961 was Rabbi Dr. Nelson Glueck, but what he is really remembered for was his pioneering work in the field of biblical archaeology, a scientific discipline that began in the last half of the 19th century. Glueck was a theological liberal, which makes the following statement all the more impacting; Glueck said, “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.” It has now been over a century of archaeological discoveries corroborating the Bible’s knack for historical accuracy.
Simultaneous with the development of biblical archaeology is the rise of another discipline—biblical apologetics, which is the defense of the Christian faith. Apologetics uses the fields of archaeology, history, science, logic, and others to build a case for the accuracy of the biblical record. Where the Bible can be tested, it passes the tests. In the Scripture, Dr. Luke, the traveling companion of the Apostle Paul, wrote two treatises to an important official named Theophilus— 1) a gospel account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and 2) an historical account of the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul, the single most important man responsible for the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. Luke wrote, “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Luke stated that Jesus was alive again after His passion, or suffering (crucifixion), and it is substantiated by “many infallible proofs.”
So, I have a question for you, Do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? It is the resurrection from the grave that causes Jesus Christ to stand alone among the greatest individuals who have ever lived. “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). The founders of the world religions have all died and remained in the grave, with one exception—Jesus Christ! It is worth your time to reflect on the resurrection.
The evidence for the resurrection captured the mind of Simon Greenleaf, considered among the greatest of scholars and Royall Professor of Law at Harvard from 1833-1848. He helped bring Harvard Law School to prominence, and he has been called the greatest authority on legal evidence in the history of the world. After shining the spotlight of the laws of legal evidence upon the resurrection, Greenleaf concluded that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was real and a historical fact. He further believed that anyone who honestly examined its evidence would be convinced of the same.
There is a growing list of men and women through the ages who have been motivated by doubt and skepticism as they set out to examine the evidence for the resurrection and to disprove it. For example:
Lee Strobel, alive today, was a newspaper journalist for the Chicago Tribune. When his wife became a believer, he attempted to “rescue” her by disproving the Bible. At the end of his research, Lee became a believer and wrote the book The Case for Christ.
Lew Wallace also set out to disprove the resurrection but ended up writing a famous book defending it. It was made into the major cinematic production, Ben Hur.
Frank Morison, a British lawyer, set out to write a book repudiating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but his research compelled him to write a different book, Who Moved the Stone? His first chapter is titled The Book That Refused to Be Written.
Josh McDowell began as a skeptic but ended up writing Evidence That Demands a Verdict.
C. S. Lewis, famed Oxford Scholar who authored The Chronicles of Narnia, was an atheist as a teenager. As he grew older, he softened his position to agnosticism, and ultimately became a believer. Lewis’ colleague, J. R. R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings, had a profound impact on him. As Lewis studied Christianity, he became convinced that belief in God made more sense than his agnosticism.
J. Warner Wallace, a cold-case detective, applied his investigative techniques to the Gospels, became convinced that they are reliable witnesses of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He wrote Cold-Case Christianity.
These people were not uneducated. They were honest skeptics, investigative journalists, scholars, professors, scientists, and analytical thinkers, but they knew how to research. They were confronted with:
- The empty tomb
- The testimony of Rome regarding the disappearance of Christ
- Post-resurrection appearances of Christ
- Eye-witness testimonies
- The transformation of the disciples
- The message of the early church
- The willingness of witnesses to face death rather than deny what they saw
The facts of the case were best explained by this conclusion: Jesus Christ was raised from the dead! That’s why the tomb was empty. That’s why Rome was so concerned and participated in a cover-up scheme. That’s why so many people saw Jesus after the crucifixion. That’s why people testified to talking, seeing, eating with, and being taught by Jesus after the crucifixion. That’s why the disciples were transformed from a small band of freighted followers to bold evangelists that could only be silenced by death. That’s why the early church had explosive growth, and the followers of Christ turned the world upside down with the good news of resurrection. Death can be conquered. In the Old Testament, Job asked the question, “If a man die, shall he live again” (Job 14:14). And the resurrection of Jesus shouts the answer—YES! Jesus Christ boldly proclaimed, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). And a short time afterward, He proved it by His own resurrection.
Friend, are you a seeker. If so, read the Gospel of John in the New Testament. And read some of the books referenced in this article: The Case for Christ, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Cold-Case Christianity, Who Moved the Stone?
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