Death and resurrection of Jesus

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Within the body of Christian beliefs, the death and resurrection of Jesus are two core events on which much of Christian doctrine and theology depend. According to The New Testament, Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, was crucified, died, buried within a tomb, and resurrected three days later (John 19:30–31, Mark 16:1, Mark 16:6). The New Testament also mentions several resurrection appearances of Jesus on different occasions to his twelve apostles and disciples, including "more than five hundred brethren at once" (1 Cor. 15:6), before Jesus' Ascension. These two events are essential doctrines of the Christian faith, and are commemorated by Christians during Good Friday and Easter, particularly during the liturgical time of Holy Week.

Other groups, such as Jews, Muslims, Bahá'ís and other non-Christians, as well as some liberal Christians, dispute whether Jesus actually rose from the dead. Arguments over death and resurrection claims occur at many religious debates and interfaith dialogues.

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As Paul the Apostle, an early front runner of Christianity, contended, "If Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless" (1 Cor. 15:14)[2] The death and resurrection of Jesus are the most important events in Christian Theology, as they form the point in scripture where Jesus gives his ultimate demonstration that he has power over life and death, thus he has the ability to give people eternal life.[3] According to the Bible, "God raised him from the dead,"[4] he ascended to heaven, to the "right hand of God,"[5] and will return again[6] to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy such as the Resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment and establishment of the Kingdom of God, see also Messianism and Messianic Age.[7]

The following passage is Paul the Apostle's apologetic (defense) of the resurrection of Christ:

If it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep

– 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 (NRSV)

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Most Christians accept the New Testament story as a historical account of some kind of resurrection, which is central to their faith. Some modern scholars use the belief of Jesus' followers in the resurrection as a point of departure for establishing the continuity of the historical Jesus and the proclamation of the early church.[8] Some liberal Christians do not accept a literal bodily resurrection,[9] seeing the story as richly symbolic and spiritually nourishing myth. Also, a group known as the Gnostics argued against its singular importance, as they had differing views as to how the passages should be interpreted, many believing Jesus was never a human and so could not have died (see: Docetism).

Most non-Christians do not accept the bodily resurrection of Jesus, considering it a myth without historical precedent. Carl Jung suggests that the crucifixion-resurrection story was the forceful spiritual symbol of, literally, God-as-Yahweh becoming God-as-Job.

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El Greco's Jesus Carrying the Cross, 1580.

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Jesus' death and resurrection underpin a variety of theological interpretations as to how salvation is granted to humanity. A common feature of all these interpretations is that they place greater emphasis on the death and resurrection than on his words.[11]

One Roman Catholic view is that Jesus willingly sacrificed himself as an act of perfect obedience as a Substitutionary atonement, a sacrifice of love which pleased God.[12]

In the Roman Catholic tradition this view of atonement is balanced by the duty of Catholics to perform Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ[13] which in the encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor of Pope Pius XI were defined as "some sort of compensation to be rendered for the injury" with respect to the sufferings of Jesus.[14] Pope John Paul II referred to these Acts of Reparation as the "unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified."[15]

The Christus Victor view, which is more common among Lutherans and Eastern Orthodox Christians, holds that Jesus was sent by God to defeat death and Satan. Because of his perfection, voluntary death, and Resurrection, Jesus defeated Satan and death, and arose victorious. Therefore, humanity was no longer bound in sin, but was free to rejoin God through faith in Jesus.[16]

The Catholic view off-shoot titled the judicial view was held by Martin Luther, and a major cause of the Reformation. It is the perspective held by most Protestants. It emphasizes God as both lawmaker and judge. All humans have broken the rules that God has set (sin), and all deserve to be punished. The only exception to this was Jesus, who received the ultimate punishment despite not having sinned. This is seen as an act of Jesus accepting the punishment that was meant for humans, meaning humans can be restored to a right relationship with God. The difference between the Catholic and Protestant views was a major cause of the Reformation.[17]

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Early Creeds

The earliest written records of the death and resurrection of Jesus are the letters of Paul, which were written at least two decades after the death of Jesus. [18][19][20] Some scholars suppose that these contain early Christian creeds and creedal hymns, which were included in several of the New Testament texts and that some of these creeds date to within a few years of Jesus' death and were developed within the Christian community in Jerusalem.[21] Though embedded within the texts of the New Testament, these creeds are a distinct source for early Christianity.

1 Cor. 15:3-4 reads: "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." This contains a Christian creed of pre-Pauline origin.[22] The antiquity of the creed has been located by many biblical scholars to less than a decade after Jesus' death, originating from the Jerusalem apostolic community.[23] Concerning this creed, Campenhausen wrote, "This account meets all the demands of historical reliability that could possibly be made of such a text,"[24] whilst A. M. Hunter said, "The passage therefore preserves uniquely early and verifiable testimony. It meets every reasonable demand of historical reliability."[25]
Romans 1:3–4: "...concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord;"[26]
2 Tim. 2:8: "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, this is my Gospel."[27]

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Gospel narratives

The earliest detailed historical narrative accounts of the death and resurrection of Jesus are contained in the four canonical Gospels: Matthew 28, Mark 15, Luke 24, John 20–21. There are other, more laconic references in the New Testament epistles.

According to all four Gospels, Jesus died before late afternoon at Calvary, which was also called Golgotha, after being sentenced to be crucified by Pontius Pilate for claiming to be King of the Jews. The wealthy Judean Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin according to Mark and Luke, received Pilate's permission to take possession of Jesus' body, placing it in a tomb.[28] According to John, Joseph was aided by Nicodemus, who joined him to help bury Jesus, and who appears in other parts of John's gospel (John 19:38-42). The three Synoptic Gospels tell of the darkening of the sky from twelve until three that afternoon; Matthew also mentions an earthquake (Matthew 27:51), see also Crucifixion eclipse.

According to the Gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion.[29] The Gospel of Matthew states that an angel appeared near the tomb of Jesus and announced his resurrection to Mary Magdelene and "another Mary" who had arrived to anoint the body (Matthew 28:1-10). According to Luke there were two angels (Luke 24:4), and according to Mark there was a youth dressed in white (Mark 16:5). In the last section of Mark(Mark 16:9-20), which is considered a later addition by most biblical scholars(see Mark 16), it states that on the morning of his resurrection, Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9). John states that when Mary looked into the tomb, two angels asked her why she was crying; and as she turned round she initially failed to recognize Jesus until he spoke her name (John 20:11-18).

The Acts of the Apostles state that Jesus appeared to various people in various places over the next forty days. Hours after his resurrection, he appeared to two travelers on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). To his assembled disciples he showed himself on the evening after his resurrection (John 20:19). Although his own ministry had been specifically to Jews, Jesus is said to have sent his apostles to the Gentiles with the Great Commission and ascended to heaven while a cloud concealed him from their sight. According to Acts, Paul of Tarsus also saw Jesus during his Road to Damascus experience. Jesus promised to come again to fulfill the remainder of Messianic prophecy.[30]

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Apostolic fathers

The Apostolic Fathers, likewise, discussed the death and resurrection of Jesus, including Ignatius (50−115),[31] Polycarp (69−155), and Justin Martyr (100−165).


Non-Christian

Flavius Josephus (c. 37–c. 100), a Jew and Roman citizen who worked under the patronage of the Flavians, wrote the Antiquities of the Jews c. 93, which contains a passage known as the Testimonium Flavianum that mentions the death and resurrection of Jesus: "When Pilate, upon the accusation of the first men amongst us, condemned [Jesus] to be crucified, those who had formerly loved him did not cease [to follow him], for he appeared to them on the third day, living again, as the divine prophets foretold, along with a myriad of other marvelous things concerning him."[32] It is widely held by scholars that at least part of the Testimonium Flavianum is an interpolation, since Josephus was not a Christian and characterized his patron Emperor Vespasian as the foretold Messiah. However, a few scholars have argued for the authenticity of the entire passage.[33] (See also Josephus on Jesus.)

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Critical analysis

Historians use the historical method to study ancient history. In this process, the accounts of the witnesses are analyzed for their reliability, plausibility, and motive. Defending the historicity of the Biblical narrative, including that of the resurrection, is within the field of study known as Christian apologetics, and applying the historical method to the Bible (which may or may not conflict with defending historicity) is a field of study known as Biblical criticism.[34]


Prior events

Hundreds of years before the time of Jesus, Jewish prophets promised that a messiah would come. Apologists claim that Jesus fulfilled these prophecies, which they claim are nearly impossible to fulfill by chance.[35] Judaism claims that Jesus did not fulfill these prophecies (see Jewish Messiah). Other skeptics usually claim that the prophecies are either vague or unfulfilled.[36] Most Christians anticipate the Second Coming of Jesus, when he will fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy, such as the Last Judgement, the general resurrection, establishment of the Kingdom of God, and the Messianic Age. See the article on Preterism for contrasting views.

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Death of Jesus

The Gospel of John says that a soldier pierced Jesus' side, causing the flow of blood and water. Apologists claim that medical knowledge at the time would have only expected blood.[37] Some scholars have hypothesized the 'water' as pericardial effusion and pleural effusion, and maintain that this medical anomaly would have been a fact that the author of the Gospel of John would have been tempted to leave out, had he not been interested in accurate reporting. This flow of water suggests fatal heart trauma required to release pericardial fluid. Without pericardial fluid, the heart may become bruised over time (due to friction between the heart and the pericardium). (The pericardial fluid is not required for the heart to function; it merely acts as a lubricant.) Roman soldiers were trained with such diligence that it is not logical to assume that someone could have survived a piercing in this region of the body.[38]

In the biblical narrative, while Jesus is hanging on the cross, the sky is "darkened for 3 hours," from the sixth to the ninth hour (noon to mid-afternoon), but if this claim concerns anything more than a local phenomenon, it is backed up by no Roman historian. This could not have been a solar eclipse, as Jesus died during the time of the full moon, Nisan 14 or 15.[39]

The synoptic gospels state that the veil of the temple split at this point, and Matthew says that there were earthquakes, splitting rocks, and dead saints were resurrected. The fate of these resurrected saints is never elaborated upon.[40]

The synoptics report that the centurion in charge, seeing how Jesus had breathed his last (Mark) or seeing the events that followed (Matthew, Luke) said: "Truly this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:39; or "Truly this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54); or "Surely this was a righteous man" (Luke 23:47).

For the sayings, traditionally called "The Seven Last Words," the Gospels say were given by the dying Jesus, see Sayings of Jesus on the cross.

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Crucifixion, Diego Velázquez, 17th c.