David Flatt and his family have labored with the Thayer Street congregation in Akron, Ohio since 2008. He can be reached at dflatt85@yahoo.com.
EVIDENCE FOR OUR FAITH
The gospel message of salvation centers upon the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The resurrection of Jesus is the most consequential event in human history, as transformative an event as God declaring, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3). The world would never be the same. The resurrection of Jesus fulfilled God’s redemptive purposes. The resurrection is amazing, compelling, and curious. Yet, some reject the resurrection of Jesus. Consider a 2015 study conducted by the Barna Group. Of those surveyed, ninety-two percent of Americans believed Jesus was a real person, but forty-four percent of all adults rejected Jesus as God, or were unsure. The percentages of those who reject Jesus as God become higher by age demographic. For example, among Millennials, fifty-two percent do not believe Jesus is God, or were unsure. Over half of Millennials, adults age eighteen to thirty, are unconvinced that Jesus is God; rather, He is viewed as lacking deity. These and other statistics relating to belief in America are concerning for the future of faith in America.
His miraculous conception, baptism, transfiguration, and the miracles Jesus performed affirm His deity, divinity, or Godhood (1 Tim. 3:16). Ultimately, His resurrection from the dead is what solidified His deity (John 20:26-28; Rom. 1:1-4; Eph. 1:18-23). Without the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, He was just another man, no different from anyone before or since.
How can we know Jesus was raised from the dead? This event occurred nearly 2,000 years ago, long before modern technology. What evidence proves this event occurred? Are the Biblical accounts of the resurrection reliable and trustworthy? Or, were they embellishments written by zealous, grief-stricken followers of Jesus in the wake of His death?
First, consider the reliability and trustworthiness of the Bible. When documenting any historical event, we need to have as much early eyewitness evidence as possible. Eyewitness evidence is the best for historians to use in piecing together the past. Does the Bible contain such evidence? Yes.
Paul’s letters were the first recorded writings of the New Testament. Some of his writings are accepted as authentic, accurate, and reliable even among skeptics, atheists and agnostics alike. Consider Bart Ehrman—a former believer turned agnostic who now leans towards atheism. Ehrman has devoted his life to textual criticism of the Bible. He is a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Yet, even among skeptics like Ehrman, there is agreement that Paul wrote several New Testament letters and that they are trustworthy. The typical list of letters includes Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, 1 Thessalonians, Philippians, and Philemon.
If we use only letters that skeptics accept as having been written by Paul, can we prove with evidence that the resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred? Well, we do not need all six letters accepted by skeptics. As a matter of fact, we can use two letters, and only a few sentences contained therein: 1 Corinthians and Galatians.
Consider 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, which says, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”
Paul preached in Corinth from AD 51-52. We know this for certain, because Gallio, the deputy of Achaia is referenced in the Bible (Achaia is the ancient region in which Corinth was located; Acts 18:12).
In 1880, four fragments with inscriptions were discovered in the city of Delphi, located about forty-five miles northwest of Corinth. In 1905, Emile Bourget wrote a thesis at the University of Paris in which he published these fragments that identify Gallio as the proconsul of Achaia (AD 51-52).
Gallio Inscription Translation
Tiber[ius Claudius C]aes[ar August]us G[ermanicus, great high priest (Pontifex maximus), in the 12th (year) of his tribunican pow]er, (acclaimed) [absolute ruler for the] 26th time, fa[ther of the cou]ntr[y counsel for the 5th time, Censor, to the city of Delphi, greetings.
For a long [time] have I been devoted to the city of Delphi and well-disposed from the beg-]inning, [and] I have always observ[ed th]e worsh[ip of the Pythian] Apo[llo. But now as for what is said about tho[se qu]arrels among the [cit]izens, of wh[ich Lucius Ju]nius Gallio, my f[riend] and [proco]nsul [of Achaia], ... still to maintain the previous decree.
Paul wrote the letter of 1 Corinthians in AD 55. If we accept that Jesus died in AD 30, Paul’s proclaimation of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 occurred only twenty-one or twenty-two years afterwards. The Corinthians believed Paul’s message and became Christians. How, though, could the Corinthians trust an account of an event which had occurred twenty years or so earlier?
An accurate accounting of an event can be given and accepted twenty or so years after the event occurred. Consider a Vietnam War veteran publishing a memoir today. No one would doubt the reliability of the book on the grounds the veteran could not be trusted to accurately describe events of the war due to the elapsed time. Twenty-one or twenty-two years is a short timespan, especially when attempting to reconstruct ancient history. Well, when and from whom did Paul receive information of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus?
The second letter we note which is accepted by skeptics is the letter to churches in Galatia. In this letter, Paul explained the events following his conversion (Gal. 1:13-2:9). His encounter with the risen Lord occurred three to five years after Jesus had been crucified (ca AD 35). After Paul witnessed the resurrected Lord, he went into Arabia for three years. Now, we are five to six years removed from the events of the cross. Then, Paul went to Jerusalem, and met with Peter and James, the brother of Jesus. They spent fifteen days together. Imagine what the conversations must have sounded like between these men, eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus.
Fourteen years later, Paul returned to Jerusalem, seeking to clarify if he and the other apostles were preaching the same gospel (Gal. 2:2). Of his investigation, Paul said, “…they added nothing to me” (Gal. 2:6). As a result, they extended the right hand of fellowship to Paul (Gal. 2:11). Early eyewitnesses of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus were preaching the same message fourteen years later. By this point, there was no reason to alter anything that was being taught by the apostles. Shortly after this meeting, Paul wrote his first letter to the church at Corinth (AD 55).
In conclusion, consider the eyewitness evidence of the resurrection offered by Paul. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus occurred around AD 30. This was witnessed by Peter and the other apostles. The resurrected Christ appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus three years later. Three years after this, Paul visited Peter and James in Jerusalem for fifteen days to confirm and investigate what they had seen and had been teaching. Fourteen years later, Paul returned to Jerusalem to reconfirm and investigate the message being taught by him and the other apostles. They were all preaching the same message. Twenty-one to twenty-two years after the cross, Paul went and preached in Corinth the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus to people who did not witness those events. Yet, they believed the evidence that was presented. They had reason to believe. By this point in time, this message had been codified and validated.
The evidence Paul offered the Corinthians of the resurrection of Christ was documented by the apostle in his letter: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom thegreater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles” (1 Cor. 15:3-7).
Many Bible scholars consider this passage a creedal statement, i.e., a statement of belief or fact. Other such statements are found in the Bible (cf. Deut. 6:4-5; 1 Tim. 3:16). Such statements can be identified partly due to the wording being different from an author’s writing style. This text is considered “pre-Pauline.” This means the statement would have originated earlier than Paul’s use of the phrase in his letter. Such statements give important information in concise form which could be easily memorized. Also, the wording of the text has almost a certain rhythmic quality. Being able to memorize important facts in a systematic fashion was an essential means of educating illiterate people in the ancient world. Information could be learned quickly and passed on to others.
This statement offered early eyewitness evidence of the resurrection of Jesus and helped contribute to the spread of Christianity. This statement gives Christianity a doctrine: death, deity, and belief. Regarding the origin of this statement, some scholars believe the phrasing of 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 was developed one month to one year after the events of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Had this essential doctrine not been settled immediately, Christianity as a religion would have never extended beyond Jerusalem. How much earlier eyewitness evidence could any critical thinking person demand to validate that Jesus was raised from the dead?
The events Paul describes in the epistles of 1 Corinthians and Galatians put us within three years of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. For scholars and historians, evidence which is as close to an event in question as Paul’s writings is gold. By comparison, the most reliable historical sources regarding the life and times of Alexander the Great were written by the historians Arrian and Plutarch, 425-450 years afterwards. Yet, no one argues about the factual history surrounding Alexander.
These two letters of Paul were written roughly twenty-five years after Jesus and referenced events which occurred three years after Jesus. The creedal statement used by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 is thought to have been originally composed shortly after Jesus’ resurrection. We cannot get much earlier eyewitness accounts than this. What will you do with this evidence? Reject that Jesus was risen from the dead? Or, like the Corinthians, will you believe?
