Was Jesus Raised from the Dead?
This phrase is a key question in Christianity. According to Christian belief, Jesus Christ rose from the dead after his crucifixion and death. This belief is mentioned in the Gospels (parts of the New Testament that deal with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ).
Although some people have different views on this event, the belief in the resurrection of Jesus is one of the main pillars of the Christian faith. Christians believe that Jesus’ resurrection is proof of his power over death and eternal salvation for those who believe in him.
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Proof of the empty tomb
According to the Gospels, Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Armata, a member of the Sanhedrin Council. The burial was hurried to finish before the Sabbath. The tomb was sealed with a large stone. Then, early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and several other women went to the tomb to put more spices and perfume on the body. They found the tomb empty and met an angel who told them that Jesus Christ had risen. The women told this to Jesus’ male disciples, who also went there to confirm that the tomb was empty (Luke 24:12, 24; John 20:3-8). Later, Jesus physically appeared, talked, and ate with his disciples on several occasions over the course of forty days.
The narrative of the four gospels is like this. The question is whether this is true. Considering several facts at the same time, there is a solid reason for the tomb being empty.
Jesus Christ was buried
It is almost inevitable that Jesus was formally buried. Paul’s statement that Christ was “buried” is part of the confession he received as part of the apostles’ teachings and passed on to the people of Corinth (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). According to Paul’s meetings with Peter and the other apostles, he must have received this statement of confession from them no later than three years after Jesus’ death (Galatians 1:18-21; 2:1; compare Acts 9:30; 2:15). ). Even Gerd Ludemann, a New Testament skeptic scholar who has written extensively against the belief in the resurrection of Jesus, agrees. He dates this pre-Pauline confession to two years after the death of Jesus Christ. Of course, all four gospels agree that Jesus was buried.
The evidence from Paul and the Gospels convinces almost all biblical scholars that Jesus was indeed buried. The few who doubt this do not explain how the belief in the burial of Jesus arose so quickly.
Jesus Christ was buried in a stone tomb
According to all four gospels, Jesus was buried in a stone tomb. They report that Joseph of Armata received permission from Pilate to take Jesus’ body down from the cross. Then he placed the body in the grave, wrapped it in a linen cloth and rolled a stone in front of the entrance to the grave. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all report that women who knew Jesus watched as he was buried.
There are good reasons to see the burial of the body of Jesus Christ in the tomb as a historical fact:
This is confirmed in all four Gospels, and there is no alternative account from the first century.
The wording differences between the four narratives show that we have two or three independent versions of the burial story. The differences between John and the other three gospels are evident and clearly indicate John’s independence from them.
A reasonable assessment of the evidence suggests that the crucifixion account, including the burial account, dates back at most to the early 40s, or about ten years after Jesus’ death (and, of course, it may be even older).
The burial narratives are all brief, simple, and without any theological defenses or miraculous elements that skeptics might object to. The lack of such features puts the burden of proof on those who doubt their authenticity.
In general, Mark’s account, which is considered the oldest, does not seem to have been written to defend the claim of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Of course, the other Gospels contain additional information that can legitimately be considered important in terms of religious defense. But even if we remove all these parts, the basic core of the narrative remains.
Sixth, it seems that Yusuf Armatai’s involvement was not fake. Given that all four Gospels assign some degree of responsibility for the execution of Jesus to the Sanhedrin, it is doubtful that anyone would invent the story of a member of the Sanhedrin being responsible for Jesus’ burial. Religious fiction would have been expected to assign this friendly duty to one of the apostles, another friend of Jesus, or a relative of John the Baptist—anyone but a member of the Sanhedrin! If, as it seems, the story of the torture and burial dates back to the 1940s or earlier, the invention of a Sanhedrin member burying Jesus’ body also seems highly unlikely, as many people could have. Reject such a story.
The most common objection to Jesus being buried in a tomb is that Paul does not mention a tomb anywhere in his epistles. This objection is based on silence, so it is relatively weak. The book of Acts reports that Paul mentioned the tomb in one of his evangelistic speeches (Acts 13:29). Of course, Luke knows that a member of the Sanhedrin, Joseph of Armata, was responsible for the burial of Jesus Christ, and separates him from the rest of the Sanhedrin (Luke 23:50-51). The fact that Luke knows these details but reports that Paul is talking generally about the Sanhedrin condemning Jesus and burying him shows that Luke is accurately reporting what Paul said.
Because of all the above reasons, we can say with confidence that Joseph of Armata buried Jesus Christ in a stone tomb.
Today in the article : Was Jesus Raised from the Dead? We reviewed useful information about the Bible and the way of Jesus. If you wish, you can view other articles of Ali Vahidi about Christianity