On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” John 20:19
I’ve tried to put myself in the shoes (or sandals) of the disciples.
Saturday must have been a tough day. Nothing, of course, like the arrest and crucifixion, which...
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead...
On Day 8 we looked at the accusation that the resurrection accounts have contradictions regarding when the women came to the tomb—a contradiction of timing. Today we will deal with the contradictions of numbers. Charges have been understandably leveled at the Gospel accounts because of the conflict in how many women and angels were at the tomb.
Concerning the women were there one, two,...
The resurrection has, of course, been the subject of countless attacks seeking to dismiss it as legend or hoax. And rightfully so on the surface, for the gospels do not fit together in several of the details. In the overall account, however, there is no doubt that they each proclaim the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. But the apparent contradictions in the details give rise to the accu...
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead...
If I were to tell my children and grandchildren the resurrection story, harmonizing all of the accounts and adding some intervening puzzle pieces and some color it would go something like this. I would also do it with a [map], pointing out the places and routes as we go along. You may want to see Day 12 to review some of the footnotes and asides I would say along the way. Certainly, there are a...
We have already dealt with several events that have come under the charge of critics: the guards, the women and the angels. There are others that involve a supposed contradiction in where they took place. These are the most difficult, and we will leave those for tomorrow.
Today, we will look at the remaining events that have been called into question. You should notice this gets easier for u...
We don’t spend much time talking about the seal that was placed upon the tomb, but I think it is significant.
Here is the historical record:
The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Th...
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake… Matthew 28:1
The earth clapped its hands in joy when its Maker arose. The guards weren’t thrilled, but the whole of heaven must have erupted in song.
The Bible is full of literary devices as one might expect. ...
When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Matthew 28:17
Over the last several days, we have looked at some of the charges levelled against the resurrection accounts due to supposed conflicts in numbers, timing, events and places. I believe a rational view of these things, however, leads us to see them as harmonious rather than contradictory.
This is especially true when ...
