Original Post: Tuesday, 3 July 2012

After the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and his execution around 33 A.D., both Jews and Greeks came to worship the crucified Jewish man in droves.

Curious, isn’t it?

The people who professed this Jesus as their saviour and Lord were heavily persecuted in both Jewish and Greek contexts for varying reasons. Social pressures were intense – confess and practice this faith, and your life was on the line. In fact, 11 of the 12 disciples of Jesus died horrible deaths, or so the traditions state; upside-down crucifixion, being boiled and skinned alive, etc.

This raises an important question: why would people be willing to go this far for a man who had simply died? After all, revolutions surrounding messianic figures weren’t uncommon in the Second Temple period.

I think the best explanation for this is simply that they had every reason to believe that he was no longer dead; that indeed, this man had been resurrected. The Bible claims that at least 500 people saw Jesus alive after his crucifixion at some point. This was actually an early claim of an apostle in a letter, written well within a generation after Jesus’ death. This is then a claim that could have been verified by talking to apparent eyewitnesses, as could be the claims about the empty tomb that were circulating at that time.

Being Totally Honest

To be honest, I can’t see thousands of people falling to their knees in worship of a man who had just been brutally murdered unless they truly believed he was who he claimed to be (that is, they believed that he was resurrected and therefore his claims were vindicated). There were many self-proclaimed messiahs and prophets before Jesus of Nazareth who also had radical claims and were eventually put to death for them – but none of those men had thousands of people worshipping them post mortem amidst persecution and even death.

This then is the miracle. Nothing natural can suitably explain the rise of the Christian Church. There is no good reason why Jesus Christ should still be worshipped as God today unless his seemingly preposterous claims were vindicated by his post mortem appearances. Only then would people face death fearlessly knowing with full assurance that their Saviour was alive.

I’m sure there are many questions and potential rebuttals floating around in your head – all are welcome here. I’m open to being wrong, but I still see this as some strong evidence that, at the very least, the earliest Christians were absolutely convinced that Jesus had risen from the dead… and I find it unlikely they would be so convinced – and ready to die – without some concrete evidence.

Have thoughts or challenges? Comment below or hit me up on social media. Happy to discuss!

Corey