The first attempt to deny christ’s resurrection was made by the Jewish priests themselves; precisely those who must repent of their mistakes seek, in the light of the evidence of the facts, to conceal the truth through corruption (cf. Mt 28:11-15). However, they could do nothing effective against the reality of the risen Lord Jesus.
Here we will not be interested in the attempts of the disbelievers to deny the fact of the resurrection; for us, exactly what the Bible tells us; However, we will present some biblical elements that clearly manifest the reality of Christ’s Resurrection.
- Matthew recounts that an angel of the Lord removed the stone (about two tons) [4] that had closed the tomb of Jesus (Mt 28:2-4); this was certainly not done so that Jesus could leave.
- Because matter was no obstacle to the glorified body of the risen Lord (cf.
- Jn 20.
- 19.
- 26); However.
- It seems to me that this was done so that first Mary Magdalene and Mary.
- Mother of James and Joseph (Mt 27:56.
- 61; 28:1).
- Could see with their own eyes the empty tomb (Lk 24:1-3) and then John and Peter did the same (John 20:1-10).
- The tomb was left empty as concrete proof of the absence of Jesus’ body; However.
- The empty tomb can be explained in three ways: 1) Jesus’ disciples took the body; 2) Jesus’ enemies took the body; or 3) has really been resurrected.
Let us briefly discuss the possibilities: As for the first, we can see that it did not happen, because they were discouraged and desperate for the death of Jesus, without expecting resurrection (cf. Lk 24:17-21; 36,37); and even if they tried to hijack Jesus’ body, this would be impossible because there was a guard escort guarding the tomb (cf. Mt 27. 62-66). The same is true of the possibility that Jesus’ enemies will attempt to steal his body; and also why would they do that?Give the crediter the wrong clue? Now, if it were, and the abduction had occurred, when the disciples began to proclaim the Resurrection of Christ, they would go out in public presenting the corpse of Christ or irrefutable proof, permanently silencing apostolic preaching and ending with the Church. Of Christ. ; however, they remained silent; they tried by force to lock them up, for they had no way to defy the evidence of the empty grave. Jesus is really risen!
The Risen Lord appeared for forty days (Acts 1. 3) to several people on approximately 13 different occasions, giving clear evidence of his resurrection. Paul summarizes the apparitions of the Risen Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).
Despite their naive self-confidence, the disciples, in front of Jesus’ prison, flee leaving it to their executioners (Mt 26:33-35; 56). After their crucifixion, they are frightened, with the doors closed (Jn. 20, 19, 26); Now, after confirming the resurrection of Christ, Peter – who previously denied Christ three times – with John, bears courageous witness to the Jewish authorities (Acts 4: 13:18-20; 5:29). This transformation can only be explained by the certainty of Christ’s comforting presence living among them (Mt 28:20). The apostles would never draw this value from a lie they invented; this audacity was the fruit of the Spirit of Christ who lived in them (2 Timothy 1. 7).
The certainty and meaning of Christ’s Resurrection were so clear in the minds and hearts of the disciples that all their sermons had the historical culmination of the resurrection. The apostolic message indicated God’s victory over sin and death through Christ’s Resurrection. Apostolic preaching was based on God’s saving words and facts in history; and the resurrection was a historical fact (see: Acts 1. 22; 2. 24; 3. 15; 4. 10,33. 5. 30; 10. 39-41; 17. 2,3,17,18; 26. 23; 1Co 15. 12).
As noted, Paul in Athens “preached (???????????????) Jesus and the Resurrection?(AT 17. 18). The resurrection was the keynote of every apostolic message; without christ’s resurrection, there would be no preaching, no faith, no hope. In the book of Acts, we find no sermon in which the resurrection was not part of the proclamation (Acts 8. 5; Rom 10. 8-10; 1C 15. 1,3, 4. 12; 2Tm 2. 8) . Although many skeptical scholars do not believe in Christ’s Resurrection, they must admit it: the disciples created and proclaimed it.
Humanly speaking, Jewish priests, in order to accept the preaching of Jesus as Christ, had to be sure of the reality of his resurrection, because everything seemed to be the opposite (for example: the predominant belief of a military Messiah, the rumor forged by the chief priests that Jesus’ disciples stole his body, etc. ) However, the God who acts for the truth has acted in their minds and hearts through the reality of Christ’s historical resurrection (cf. Acts 6. 7).
Saul’s life was transformed when he confronted the risen Christ (Acts 9: 1-6). Is Saul the persecutor, now Paul the persecuted, ready to lay down his life? How did he do this out of love for the living Christ (see: Acts 20: 22-24; 21:13; 2 Tim 4: 4-8) Paul became the effective preacher of the risen Christ, who had appeared to him in the road to Damascus and was a living reality in his existence (Acts 22. 6-10; 26. 8-18). Twenty years after his encounter with the living Lord, Paul included himself among those who saw the risen Lord, saying, “And after all, after all, he too was seen by me, as by a born out of time? (1Co 15. 8).
It is a fact that in the New Testament we find no order or teaching for the Church to gather on Sundays; If so, why did the Church then replace Saturday Sunday?The answer to this question can be found in the pages of the New Testament and also in the history of the Church in the following centuries. The New Testament shows us that Christ’s Resurrection took place on the first day of the week?(Sunday) and that some of his appearances also took place on Sunday (see Mk 16. 2. 9; Jo 20. 1,19. 26).
Saturday is linked to the historical event of the liberation of the Egyptian people (Dt 5:15). Moreover, of course, to remember this historical fact, the Sabbath acquires a character of gratitude to God for his deliverance and preservation; it is an unrestricted invitation to meditate on God’s goodness and mercy to his people. Saving the Sabbath means preserving the alliance (Ex 31:16).
In the New Testament, the Association of the Sabbath with the Resurrection of Christ was more than natural, for it is in Christ that we find true and total freedom (Jn 8:32,36) and the model that marks the perfection of life. recreational work in advance ?. [6] “During the Resurrection, God brought His creator/redeemer program to its final fulfillment. The original creation produced the world. But did creation-resurrection lead the world to perfection?[7]
Was the New Testament Church made up primarily of Jews, who would never change the observance of the Sabbath? What was a sign of the covenant made between God and the people (Ex 31. 13; Eze 20. 12. 20)?, On Sunday, if there was not a very coherent reason and, more importantly, if they were not convinced of the approval divine. It is worth mentioning that although the Churches are still with a large number of Jews, in Acts and in the Epistles we find no discussion or even mention of the problems associated with the gradual replacement of Saturday by Sunday.
The only reason we find plausible for this change is the certainty that Christ was resurrected on the first day of the week, gradually beginning to gather Christians in the houses on the first day of the week, because there was still no Christian temple (in 20. 7; 1Co 16. 2). Later, at the end of the first century, John recounting his vision of the Lord, said that he received it?Lord’s Day? (Apoc. 1. 10), probably referring to the day the Church had reserved for Christian worship.
Another document attesting to the antiquity of Sunday observation by the Christian Church is the Didache (around 120 AD), an anonymous text, which uses the same language as John referring to Sunday as the “day of the Lord”. In the church meeting, he said, “Gather in the day of the Lord, break bread, and give thanks. “
Similarly, in another document written by Justino (100-167 A. D. ), around 150?In which we have the most complete description of worship in the early Church ?, we have the same reference.
The day called the sun [Sunday], [9] takes place a meeting of all who live in the cities or in the countryside, and there, while time allows, the Memoirs of the Apostles [four Gospels] [10] Or the writings of the prophets are read?. ?. [11]
Justin, explaining why the Church came together to worship God on Sunday, said, “We celebrate this general assembly on the day of the sun, for it was the first day that God, transforming darkness and matter, made the world, and also the day when Jesus Christ, our Savior, rose from the dead?[12]
Therefore, my brethren, observing the first day of the week is an obvious sign that the Church has always believed in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Christian Church can only be explained and understood in the light of Christ’s Resurrection, because if Christ does not rise, our faith is in vain (1C 15:14, 17). Ladd (1911-1984) insists: “It was not the hope of the continuation of life beyond the grave, confidence in God’s supremacy over death, or the conviction of the immortality of the human spirit that gave birth to the Church and the message to proclaim. It was faith in an event that took place in time and space: Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead. Faith in jesus’ resurrection is an inevitable historical fact. Without this evidence, wouldn’t there be a church? [13]
One of the elements that attest to Christ’s divinity is the fulfillment of his promises, if Christ had not risen, the disciples would never have accepted his divinity, for thus Christ would have been the reason for his disappointments (see: Lk 24:13-21).
If Christ had not risen, there would be no story to tell since the New Testament is the account of fulfilling God’s promises in Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 15:1-5).
These are just some of the Bible’s trials of Christ’s Resurrection. The resurrection for us is a fact that finds its support in the infallible account of God’s Word, and that is enough for us; therefore, our confession is like Paul’s: “But did Christ really rise from the dead?”(1C 15. 20).
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