No Resurrection... No Justice

"It’s not fair!"
We've all said these words at some point. Whenever we feel that a situation or outcome is unjust, we naturally express our frustration. In those moments, we long for restitution. And, if we are honest, we also long for retribution; we want the person or people responsible for the injustice to be punished. But often, there is neither restitution nor retribution. Instead, it seems as though the oppressors face no consequences, free to do as they please.

But is this the true nature of reality? Will tyrants and bullies never face judgment for their actions?

Answers Outside Christianity

For atheists and non-Christians, the absence of true justice is consistent with their worldview. In atheism, the natural world is all there is and consequently, survival of the fittest reigns. Acts of oppression are just part of the natural order. On the other hand, non-Christian theistic worldviews are inconsistent and the concept of true justice is very arbitrary (see teaching on worldviews here).

True justice – a concept deeply embedded in every human heart—requires a judgment beyond this world, accompanied by a fail-safe system of justice. This is exactly what we find in the death and resurrection of Jesus – that not only is true justice possible, but it is also the truth of reality.

Justice in the Death of Jesus

The death of Jesus is not just the greatest spectacle of love for humanity; it is also the highest display of true justice. Jesus did not die for His own sins – He had none (Heb. 4:15). Instead, He bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24). The just and righteous One died for the unrighteous (1 Pet. 3:18), taking upon Himself the penalty for our wrongdoing. God condemned sin in the flesh of Jesus so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled (Rom 8:3-4).

The Law is God’s perfect standard revealed to us. The Law is holy, righteous, and good (Rom 7:12). It is spiritual in nature (Rom. 7:14), rooted in God’s very being, reflecting His character. Every act of sin, every act of injustice, is a violation of this law—sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). Just as we feel violated by injustice, so too God is violated in ways more than we can imagine. And because of His perfect justice, God cannot simply overlook sin (Hab. 1:13).

At the right time, God demonstrated His justice to the world through the blood of Jesus (Rom. 3:25-26). Jesus’ death fulfills the penalty of the Law and secures full retribution. It removes God’s wrath and there is no more guilt with respect to God’s Law. We know this because Jesus did not stay dead but rose again on the third day and is now seated at the right hand of the Father, thus confirming that the penalty of sin has been fully paid (Heb 10:12-14).

This freedom, however, is only for those who come to Jesus in faith (Rom. 3:22). For those in Christ, there is no condemnation (Rom. 8:1), because Jesus took on the punishment we deserved.

Justice Apart from Jesus

But what about those who haven’t put their faith in Christ? What happens to their lawlessness?

The answer lies in the resurrection of Jesus. The bodily resurrection of Jesus is a historical reality (see here) and no alternate theories can account for the facts surrounding the events that occurred following the death of Jesus (see here). Jesus’ resurrection proves that there is more to reality than the natural realm – there is a supernatural, eternal realm that holds ultimate significance.

Because Jesus rose, all the dead will one day rise as well, and they will be judged for their deeds (Acts 17:31). Many of them will awake to everlasting life but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt (Dan. 12:2). Every person not united to Christ will be judged by God for their actions. This judgment will be carried out perfectly by God through Jesus (John 5:22). Every tyrant and oppressor will face accountability. No sin will go unpunished. This is why the resurrection of Jesus is crucial for justice.

If Jesus had not risen from the dead, the dead would also not rise (1 Cor. 15:13), and there would be no true justice. As Paul says, if the dead are not raised, "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die" (1 Cor. 15:32) – in other words, we can be free to satisfy our desires and live without fear of consequence, since nothing beyond this life matters.

But because Jesus rose from the dead, true justice will prevail, and every deed will be judged. For those united to Christ, their sins were judged at the cross, and they are forgiven. But for those who are not in Christ, they will face God’s judgment (Rev. 20:15).

What Now?

So, the pressing question is: What about your sins?

Are you united to Christ through faith and repentance, so that there is no condemnation for you? If yes, this is a reason to rejoice not just on Easter Sunday but every day of our lives. 

Or are you relying on your own merit to fulfill God's law? James reminds us, if we stumble in one part of the law, we are guilty of breaking it all (James 2:10). Have you kept God’s Law perfectly? If you haven’t (hint: no one other than Jesus has), then turn to Jesus for forgiveness and trust in His finished work. Do not find yourself along with the dictators and oppressors when Jesus will return to judge the world.

Happy Resurrection Day!!

Alternate Theories of the Resurrection

When conducting any experiment, researchers work with different hypotheses. They may have an idea or two, based on theoretical knowledge, about how a particular phenomenon will behave even before conducting the experiment. However, after conducting the experiment, if they find a different behavior, then they change their default hypothesis to adopt the new observed behavior. 

When it comes to the events following the death of Jesus, the commonly accepted understanding is that He rose again from the dead. This understanding is supported by many facts (see here) and the best explanation of these facts is the bodily resurrection of Jesus. However, can there be other explanations for these facts that could be equally viable or supersede the resurrection hypothesis? If yes, should we still believe in the resurrection? 

So, let’s look at some of these alternate theories and their explanatory power. 

Jesus did not really die

There would be no resurrection if there was no death. Two theories are proposed that align with this argument.

  1. It was not Jesus but someone else that was crucified. This is a common argument from followers of Islam. However, this is a very minority position among those who have studied the life of Jesus. Even critics (atheists & agnostics) have concluded that if there is anything that we can know of Jesus, it is that He lived and that He was crucified on the cross. 
  2. Jesus was still alive when He was taken down from the cross. This is commonly known as the Swoon Theory. Firstly, the Roman crucifixion was so brutal that there is no evidence of anyone surviving it. This was the conclusion reached by Martin Hengle after he studied the Roman crucifixions. Secondly, even if Jesus survived it, it is not plausible that He moved the heavy tombstone with His wounded hands and walked to meet His disciples with His pierced feet. Moreover, His disciples upon seeing a wounded Jesus would not have concluded that He rose from the dead. And, what about the appearance to Paul, who was a persecutor of the church. There was no reason for him to testify that He saw the “glorious” Jesus. 

The theory that Jesus did not die on the cross is a non-starter and cannot be considered to explain away the resurrection. 

The accounts cannot be trusted

Many arguments are put forward in this category.

  1. The events took place too long ago and we cannot be certain of them. It is very dubious to take this position since the logical conclusion of this approach will question every event that took place in antiquity. Can we know if Alexander, the Great, conquered the world? Can we trust that Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon? What about the details of various Pharaohs in Egyptian history? Anyone holding to this objection would have to be honest and reject all events and details relating to antiquity, not just the resurrection. It would be a position denying well attested historical events and could even be compared to a modern-day flat-earther. 
  2. The records were falsified by later Christians.Various manuscripts have been uncovered that date as far back as the 2nd Century AD. There are over 5,800 Greek manuscripts and when manuscripts from other languages (Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, etc.) are counted, they number in the tens of thousands. There is no other ancient text that comes even close to having these many copies. With these many copies, it is easy to know when changes were made and revert back to the original. It is unlike the Quran whose various manuscripts were burned by Uthman to maintain one version. 
  3. The accounts were embellished with nonfactual information. The accounts associated with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus were written as early as 52-55AD. This period is within the lifetime of those who were eyewitnesses to everything Jesus said and did. The creed in 1 Cor 15:3-8 predates the Apostle Paul and is dated within a handful of years after Jesus’ death. If there were any embellishments, these would have been easily pointed out by skeptics. However, skeptics such as James and persecutors such as Paul, in fact, agreed with these accounts and were also converted. 

Moreover, there is no evidence that the testimonies of Jesus’ disciples changed over time. From beginning till the end of their lives, they proclaimed that Jesus had risen from the dead. 

None of the objections raised in this category seem valid to negate the resurrection of Jesus as the most plausible explanation of the facts. 

Jesus’ Body was Stolen

It could be that the disciples stole the body and propagated the story that Jesus rose from the dead. Another version of this theory is to propose that someone other than the disciples stole the body. Both versions claim that the resurrection did not occur; rather His body was stolen and made to appear that the tomb was empty to support the resurrection.

Both these versions are problematic. First, most of the disciples were persecuted and even put to death because of their testimony of Jesus as the only true God. They concluded this because they claimed and truly believed that they saw the risen Jesus. People do not die for something they know is a lie. This does not prove the resurrection is true but only that they were not intentionally lying. Deceived? Maybe (see below). Liars? No!

Second, a mere propaganda does not explain the conversion of James, a skeptic, and Paul, a persecutor of Christians. The natural reaction from these skeptics would have been to suspect fraud. But the fact that they claimed to have seen the risen Jesus does not support the stolen-body theory. 

Moreover, the tomb was not abandoned after Jesus’ burial but an official guard was placed to ensure that Jesus’ body could not be stolen. It is not plausible that this guard, consisting of a troop of soldiers, was overthrown and the body stolen. 

The stolen body theory, if true, can only explain the empty tomb. However, it cannot explain the appearances (1 Cor 15:3-8) and the testimony of the skeptics. 

They looked in the wrong place

The women who followed Jesus closely during His ministry were the ones who went to His tomb first to finish the burial preparations. However, they found that the heavy tombstone was rolled away and there was no body of Jesus; the tomb was empty. The empty tomb is a key fact to support Jesus’ resurrection. But, what if the women went to the wrong tomb while Jesus’ body was in His original tomb? This could mean that Jesus was still dead and there was no resurrection. 

There are many problems with this argument. The disciples were preaching the resurrection in Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified and buried. If Jesus’ body was still in the tomb, then the simplest thing to do would have been to produce Jesus’ body from the right tomb. However, this did not happen since Jesus’ body was not found. Moreover, the appearances do not make sense if Jesus’ body was still buried in a tomb.

Therefore, this theory is not valid either. 

The Disciples were honestly mistaken

In this theory, the main explanation for the appearances is attributed to hallucinations, delusions, and visions. Could it be that the disciples were so distressed that they started hallucinating and saw visions of Jesus?  This is not an uncommon phenomenon. People who have lost their loved ones sometimes claim that they had visions of the deceased. However, is this what happened to the disciples? 

It is important to understand that a hallucination is a false perception of something that is not there while a delusion is a false belief in spite of evidence to the contrary. 

We have already seen that the disciples truly believed that Jesus rose from the dead. This was not in spite of evidence to the contrary rather because of evidence in favor of it. The empty tomb was sufficient evidence for them to believe this. Therefore, it is safe to say that the disciples were not deluded and also, they did not die for something they knew was a lie. 

When it comes to hallucinations, they are not something that are shared between 2 or more people. Just as a dream is very individualistic, hallucinations are also individualistic. In the many accounts of hallucinations, there is no instance where one person has participated in another person’s hallucination. The account in 1 Cor 15:5-6 describes that multiple people saw Jesus at the same time – first all the Apostles and then 500 people at the same time. Clearly, not everyone was having the same hallucination at the same time. 

Moreover, why would Paul, the persecutor of the Christians, hallucinate about the Jesus he was trying to destroy as risen from the dead? And why would James, Jesus’ brother who thought He had lost His senses (Mark 3:21) hallucinate that Jesus rose from the dead? Also, hallucinations do not explain the empty tomb. 

Conclusion

We have explored many alternate theories and found that none of them have the same explanatory power as the resurrection hypothesis. In light of this, there is no reason to abandon the resurrection. In fact, there is a greater reason to believe in the resurrection; something greater than logic – God’s Word. 

Paul says in 1 Cor 15:3-4 that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again from the dead “in accordance to the Scriptures.” This was predicted and prophesied ever since Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (see here & Is 53:1-12). God fulfilled His word, and likewise, Jesus rose from the dead as He prophesied He would (Mark 8:31). This was God’s plan all along and there was no Plan B for the salvation of humans. 

Paul, the one who was persecuting those who believed in Jesus, said that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom 10:9). 

The resurrection is a historical fact and Jesus truly rose from the dead. In light of all this evidence, where do you stand? 

Further Reading

  1. Gary Habermas & Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus
  2. Martin Henge, Crucifixion: In the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross

Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus

There are many who still question if humans really landed on the moon. It is argued that the whole incident was staged and everyone was deceived into thinking that Neil Armstrong really walked on the lunar surface. However, this conspiracy theory has been debunked numerous times. The evidence includes the actual people who walked on the moon, the almost 400,000 people at NASA who supported these missions, material from the lunar surface, audio and video evidence, and many more. 

These are historical facts, and they cannot be proven by a science experiment. Each landing is proven to be true by eyewitness accounts, and other historical-contextual evidence. Historians rely on tools different from scientists to conclude if an event occurred or not. 

And when it comes to the resurrection of Jesus, we can use the same tools to show that He really did rise from the dead. Obviously, we do not have audio or video evidence; however, there were eyewitnesses, whose testimonies we have, and numerous other historical-contextual evidence that show beyond a shadow of doubt that Jesus did not remain dead, but has risen. 

Death 

Jesus was put to death on a Roman cross after He was scourged and beaten. There were multiple eyewitnesses who saw His execution. Both Christian and non-Christian sources recount that Jesus was crucified. All four Gospels in the New Testament include various details of Jesus’ crucifixion. Various non-biblical writers including Josephus, Tacitus, and Lucian document that Jesus was executed. The Talmud also includes that Jesus was hanged on the eve of the Passover (hang on a tree per Deut. 21:22-23) . 

Bart Ehrman, the agnostic-atheist professor, in his book, “Did Jesus Exist?,” notes that it was known by everyone everywhere that Jesus had been crucified. There is no question that Jesus died on the cross.

Eyewitness Testimonies

The disciples of Jesus testified that they saw Jesus alive in His body after His death. Jesus died and was buried in a tomb; but He appeared again to His disciples and to multiple others. A record of these appearances have been written down by Paul, a persecutor of the Christians (more on that below), in his letter to the Corinthians in 1 Cor 15:3-8. 

Paul writes that he is passing on what he received and he qualifies it as a matter of first importance. This matter is the appearances of Jesus to Peter, and to James, and to all the Apostles. Jesus also appeared to more than 500 people at the same time. Finally, He also appeared to Paul. These verses are identified as a creed that the early church used to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus. The creed was developed very early within a span of 1 year after Jesus’ resurrection and it predated Paul. This is a very early eyewitness account that Paul received from other Christians, and wrote in his letter. 

Paul was not the only one who documented the eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ appearances. Matthew and John were among the Apostles to whom Jesus appeared. According to tradition, Mark documented the words of Peter in his Gospel. And Luke investigated the life of Jesus thoroughly in his Gospel. All four Gospel writers document Jesus’ appearance after His death. 

The fact that the disciples of Jesus claimed to have seen Him is undisputed among all scholars. The disciples not only claimed to have seen Jesus but they were emboldened in such a way as to be transformed from fearful, cowardly individuals into those who were willing to lay down their lives for this claim. 

It sure forces one to question why people would die for something they did not believe to be true. The only explanation is that they truly saw Jesus resurrected from the dead, proclaimed this fact, and even died brutally for this truth.

James and Paul

It is one thing for loved ones to claim to have seen Jesus after His death; but it is a different matter when skeptics and persecutors also claim to have seen Him. 

James was the brother of Jesus but he did not believe in Jesus’ words (John 7:5); he thought Jesus had lost his senses (Mark 3:21). However, James became one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13, 21:18). In his letter to the dispersed Jews, he addresses himself as a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ (James 1:1). How did this change take place? What happened that he went from being a skeptic to the leader of the church? 

We learn about it in 1 Cor 15:7 – Jesus appeared to James after His death. And James knew that the Jesus he grew up with was alive again. James had seen for himself that Jesus rose from the dead and this changed his life completely. So radical was this change that James died a martyr (documented by Eusebius). 

But the most radical change, and one that has most scholars and historians scratching their heads, is the conversion of Paul. We know that Paul (or Saul before his conversion) was a devout Jew. He was so zealous for the Jewish faith that he saw Christianity as a serious threat and was on a mission to destroy it. In Acts 7, when Stephen was martyred, Saul was an accomplice (Acts 7:58). And in Acts 8:1-3, Saul was ravaging the church, and persecuting the Christians. However, Paul wrote about half the books of the New Testament; he suffered great persecution himself and was finally martyred for his Christian faith. What caused him to change and why did he forsake his Jewish faith that he was so passionate for? 

Paul tells this in his own words in Acts 22:6-11 and in 26:9-18. And Luke documents this event in Acts 9:1-19. Paul, while he was on his way to persecute the Christians in Damascus, saw the risen Jesus. It was not merely a vision but a real encounter with the physical Jesus, who Paul knew had been put to death. Paul attests to the bodily resurrection of Jesus in 1 Cor 15, and in verse 14 and 17, he pins the foundation of the Christian faith on the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

It was the bodily appearance of Jesus after His death that caused the skeptic James and the persecutor Paul to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. They did not need any other proof because they had seen with their own eyes that Jesus was not dead anymore; He was risen! 

Empty tomb

A final piece of evidence, and one that has never been refuted, though poor attempts have been made, is the fact that the tomb was empty on Sunday morning. The tomb was protected by Roman guards (Matt 27:66), who were skilled warriors. However, the women who went to complete the burial rites early that morning, found the stone at the entrance of the tomb was rolled away and the tomb was empty. 

Jesus’ resurrection was proclaimed in Jerusalem, the very same city in which He was put to death. All that had to be done to prove the resurrection false was to produce the dead body of Jesus. However, no one was able to do so. Instead, the authorities claimed that the disciples had stolen the body (Matt 28:13). It is unfathomable that unskilled ordinary men could overthrow the Roman guard. 

Furthermore, to this day, the remains of Jesus’ body have not been found. 

The only plausible explanation in light of all this evidence is that Jesus rose bodily from the dead! 

What does it mean?

We can know the facts about the resurrection through historical analysis; however, the meaning of the resurrection can only be discerned through the words of Jesus and His disciples. 

While on earth, Jesus predicted multiple times that He would be put to death and that on the third day, He would rise again (Mark 8:31; Matt 16:21, 17:9, 12, 22; Luke 9:22). Jesus knew this was God’s plan (John 12:27). And Jesus knew that this was the only way humans can be reconciled to the Father (John 3:14-15). It was through the death of Jesus that sin was judged and paid for (Rom 8:3-4). It is in the resurrection of Jesus that death was defeated (Acts 2:24), and because He lives, we will also live with Him forever (John 14:19). 

Conclusion

As Christians, the resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. Without this historical fact, our faith is in vain (1 Cor 15:17). But this event is not an isolated event. It was predicted by the prophets; and in all of God’s dealings with humans, He pointed to this event (Luke 24:26-27). As Paul writes in 1 Cor 15:3-4, all of this took place “according to the Scriptures.” This was God’s plan even before the foundation of the world. 

We should be assured that our faith is not in vain! We should be zealous in our love for Jesus. He who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21).

If you have not turned to Jesus for your salvation, then the resurrection is the ultimate proof that Jesus is Lord, and there is no life apart from Him. Be reconciled to God through Christ! (2 Cor 5:20) because God “has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).  

Further Reading

  1. Gary Habermas & Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus
  2. Frank Morison, Who Moved the Stone?