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 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 Death of Jesus
 The Swoon Theory
 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)
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?
Defending the Burial
 Joseph of Arimathea
 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
Defending the Burial
 If stolen, who?
 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
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?