Confessions x: Resurrection isn't going to heaven when you die.

Just for Easter, number x in my series, Confessions of a Bible Know-It-All: 25 Ways I Changed My Mind.

1. I am not the "you" of the Bible. 
2. Try reading the verse before your favorite verse.
3. Then I read the verses before the prophecies
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Confession #n: Resurrection isn't going to heaven when you die.
1. I grew up with two beliefs that I never really tried to fit together. The first was that, when you die, you go to heaven or hell. The second was that the dead would rise from their graves when Jesus came back to earth.

Later on, I tried to make them fit. When you die, you are in some sort of intermediate state. Perhaps your soul is in "Abraham's Bosom" (Luke 16) or Paradise (Luke 23:43). On the other hand, you may find yourself in torment (Luke 16 again).

Then when Christ returns, your soul is reunited with your body, like Iron Man calling his suit from afar. The soul of the Christian is reunited with an upgraded body. And, on the Day of Judgment, the damned are also reunited with their bodies before going to eternal torment.

2. There are many Christians who, perhaps without even realizing it, simply do away with the resurrection part. A few years ago, when an ossuary with the name James on it was discovered, there was speculation about what would happen if the bones of Jesus were found. A colleague of mine -- teaching at a Christian college, no less -- didn't think it would make any difference if they found the bones of Jesus. Apparently, he thought the afterlife was purely spiritual. Our physical bodies didn't matter, as far as he was concerned.

Some of us were stunned. Admittedly, the person didn't teach in the religion department. They taught in a completely different field and really didn't know any better. They didn't realize that resurrection in the Bible is an embodied resurrection. Jesus' tomb is empty -- and that matters.

When I was growing up, I didn't realize how important our bodies are in the Bible for eternity. But 1 Corinthians 15 makes it very clear. When Paul talks about resurrection, he isn’t imagining a disembodied existence. He can’t even conceive of an afterlife without a body (cf. 1 Cor. 15:35). For Paul, salvation isn’t escape from the body. It’s the transformation of it. 

For Paul, the alternative to resurrection isn’t “your soul goes to heaven.” It's no future at all.

3. Come to find out, our popular notions of the immortality of the soul are more Greek than biblical. It's not that we can't make them fit. There are several hints of something similar. "Into your hands, I put forth my spirit" (Luke 23:46). There are martyred "souls" under the altar in Revelation 6:9.

But Jesus' resurrection is a bodily resurrection. Luke and John make a big deal of this fact. In Luke, the risen Jesus asks for fish to show he is not a ghost (Luke 24:39-43). In John, he offers the marks in his hands, feet, and side for Thomas to touch to know it is him (John 20:27).

And I've already mentioned the apostle Paul, who apparently can't understand what the Corinthians are thinking about resurrection. He doesn't understand how they can believe Jesus is alive and yet not believe in resurrection. As a former Pharisee, resurrection for him obviously means that our corpses rise from the dead. [1] "Someone will say, 'How will the corpses be raised?' and 'With what sort of body are they coming?' (15:35). 

He just assumes everyone knows that resurrection involves our bodies. It doesn't even occur to him there might be another view like, "You die your soul is freed." In this part of his ministry, he even talks about the time between death and resurrection as "sleep" (1 Thess. 4:13; 1 Cor. 15:51).

Resurrection of the dead is the rising of dead corpses. The Greek story said, "Your soul escapes your body." The biblical story says, "God raises your body."

4. But the biggest shift came when I realized that this embodied eternity in the New Testament is almost certainly on earth. The kingdom of God in the Bible is God's kingdom come to earth.

This seemed heretical to me as a young man studying for ministry. And I know I wasn't the only one. I know a church leader who was shocked to hear a professor at my seminary point out that this is exactly what Revelation 21 describes. Somehow, while we took all the rest of Revelation literally -- the parts that probably weren't meant to be taken literally -- we took this part figuratively. We took the descent of the heavenly Jerusalem as a poetic expression of the future rather than something that might literally happen.

Yet, when I became a professor, my theology colleagues would assure me that historic Christianity has always believed that eternity is on a new earth, the redeemed earth of Romans 8:18-23. That was news to me. "Orthodoxy" in my low church background meant an eternity in heaven.

But it's all there in the New Testament. I just mentioned Romans 8 and Revelation 21. But Jesus too talks of people coming from north, south, east, and west to feast with him in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:29). I had just always ignored the clear implication that this was on earth somehow. But it's strange verses like that one that lead to paradigm shifts.

I still believe we are conscious between death and resurrection, somewhere, in some form. The details are above my pay grade. I believe in spending eternity with Jesus.

But I now believe it will be in a glorified body. And I believe the kingdom of God will be right here, on a new earth. Christianity isn’t about leaving earth for heaven. It’s about heaven coming to earth.

[1] N.T. Wright emphasized this fact in his book, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church (HarperOne, 2008).

Though the Bible -- Mark 16 (Easter)

Happy Easter! I have done a more detailed verse-by-verse analysis of the resurrection stories in the Gospels in Explanatory Notes on Jesus' Resurrection.

Psalm Sunday
Temple Monday
Debate Tuesday
Maundy Thursday
Good Friday

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1. The burial of Jesus is not the end of the story! In many ways, it is just the beginning.

We get the impression from the other Gospels that Jesus was buried somewhat hurriedly. Joseph of Arimathea secures the body. The women take note of where his body was put so that they can come back after the Sabbath and perform proper burial rites. What can be done is done before the Sabbath begins at sundown.

Accordingly, the women come early on Sunday morning to the tomb with spices to anoint Jesus' body. Present are Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome (16:1), the same three women mentioned in 15:40. In that world, they are overlooked and often unseen. The others are hiding, but they are still thinking about Jesus.

Who will roll the stone away? It is apparently a large stone in front of the tomb. They are not expecting there to be any other people around. It is barely sunrise. But to their surprise, the stone in front of the tomb is already rolled away.

As we have seen throughout Mark, his presentation is very to the point. The women go into the tomb. It is apparently big enough at least for four people, for when they go inside, there is a young man in white sitting there on the right. Although Mark does not tell us, Matthew tells us this was an angel.

2. "He is risen!" That is the message that the angel gives them. "Don't be amazed."

But the women are fearful. Mark 16:8 ends the Gospel as it has survived with the women telling no one out of fear. More on the ending of Mark in a moment. It is curious that Mark says the women tell no one out of fear. In Matthew, which almost all think used Mark as its main source, the women immediately tell the disciples, as also in Luke and John. 

Some have suggested that the women's reaction in Mark 16:8 fits with Mark's repeated sense of the disciples' misunderstanding. They repeatedly do not understand what is really going on. They don't understand the nature of Jesus' mission. They don't understand that he has to die. Here, they don't see that this is exactly what Jesus had been saying would happen.

Others have suggested that this ending is meant to urge us to tell about Jesus' resurrection. The women don't tell. Are you going to remain silent too? Go and tell that Jesus is risen!

3. Some have misread Mark as not teaching resurrection. But the angel clearly tells them that Jesus is risen. Just because Mark does not narrate any resurrection appearances doesn't mean he doesn't believe they happened. He clearly alludes to resurrection appearances in Galilee.

In Matthew and Mark, we only hear about resurrection appearances in Galilee. The fact that Peter is singled out probably alludes that the key resurrection appearance in Galilee was to him. The only candidate we have among the various appearances mentioned in the Gospels is John 21, along the Sea of Galilee. Luke syncopates the Galilee appearances out of his narrative, although he hints of the appearance to Peter in Luke 24:34.

These curiosities are a reminder that the picture is likely much clearer to us -- with four Gospels -- than it was to them as they lived through it. We wonder how anyone could question. But Jesus' appearances likely left room for both faith and doubt. As it is with us, there was enough evidence for faith if we have the heart for it. And there was enough room for doubt if someone had the heart for it.

4. The ending of Mark was quite a debate point when versions other than the King James began to come out. The earliest Greek manuscripts of Mark do not have 16:9-20. There is early evidence for it in the quotations of the Fathers, but these come to us by way of later manuscripts too. We can have fun debates about the external evidence for the ending. 

The internal evidence is definitive. Mark 16:9 starts the resurrection story all over again, as if 16:1-8 didn't exist. It is in a different style, giving a pop-pop-pop summary rather than a narrative unfolding like the rest of Mark. In short, it is an obvious tack-onto a version of Mark that seemed to end abruptly. It caps a tooth using an early summary of Jesus' resurrection appearances, a summary that draws from the endings of the other Gospels. The summary may indeed be as old as the second century. There is another shorter ending among the manuscripts that did the same thing.

There's thus nothing wrong with the content of Mark 16:9-20. I suspect it's all true. It just wasn't part of the original Gospel of Mark. Given how ancient and orthodox it is, I don't have a problem with pastors using it (for example, I have seen pastors quote it's version of the Great Commission). However, I suspect many do so without realizing it.

Did Mark really end at 16:8? Like the ancient church, 16:8 does seem like an odd way to end the Gospel. I personally lean toward a sense that the original ending was lost or removed very early on. I've heard some suggest that the ending of Matthew points toward how Mark orignally ended. 

Whatever the case, God has let it come to us as it is and there is nothing wrong with it. It does leave us with the question of what we will do. Will we be silent in fear or will we tell others that Jesus is risen. There is space for doubt. But there is space for faith too! What will you do?

Explanatory Notes -- Mark 16:1-8 (Resurrection)

Explanatory notes on Passion Week in the Gospel of Mark (still a few missing pieces). 

• Palm Sunday (Mark 11:1-11)
• Monday Money Changers (Mark 11:12-19)
• Tuesday Debates I (Mark 11:20-33)
• Parable of the Tenants (Mark 12:1-12)
• Tuesday Debates II (Taxes and Resurrection, Mark 12:13-27)
• Tuesday Debates III (Great Commandment and David's Son, Mark 12:28-44)
• Prophecy on Destruction (Mark 13:1-23)
• Second Coming (Mark 13:24-37)
• Jesus' Anointing (Mark 14:1-11)
• The Last Supper (Mark 14:12-26)
• Gethsemane, Trial, Arrest (Mark 14:27-72)
• Friday Morning (Mark 15:1-15)
• The Crucifixion (Mark 15:16-37)
• The Burial (Mark 15:38-47)

Today for Easter, we conclude with the resurrection in Mark 16. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

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16:1 And when the Sabbath had passed, Mary the Magdalene and Mary the [mother] of James and Salome bought spices in order that, having come, they might anoint him. 2. And very early on the first [day] of the week they come to the tomb, the sun having risen.

The women observed where they had put the body of Jesus on Friday (15:47). But they do not anoint him in observance of the Jewish Sabbath from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. They now come to finish the burial process on Sunday morning. 

Nothing in these verses transfers the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. The expression, “on the first of Sabbaths,” is an idiom for “on the first day of the week.” They buy spices on Sunday and do not treat the day as they have just treated Saturday.

However, this first day is an eighth day—it is a day of new creation. This day will be the “Lord’s Day.” For Christians, every Sunday is a little Easter, another day of Christ rising from the dead. The sun has risen, and the Son has risen.

The women who come are the same women we saw in Mark 15:40 who looked on as Jesus died. Mark makes no mention of Jesus’ mother Mary. We know from that verse that the Mary here is the mother of James “the less” or “the younger,” presumably James the son of Alphaeus.

16:3 And they were saying to themselves, “Who will roll away for us the stone from the door of the tomb?" 4. And having looked up, they see that the stone has been rolled away (for it was very large). 5. And having entered into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right, having worn a white robe, and they were alarmed.

They understandably wonder who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb. The tomb has been cut out of a rock face, and a rock has been used to secure the entrance. Such rocks at times sat into grooves in the bedrock so that they stayed in place when in position.

However, when they arrive, they not only find that the rock has been rolled away from the entrance. There is a man in white inside the vault. Presumably, he is an angel.

16:6 And he says to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are seeking Jesus the Nazarene, the one having been crucified. He is risen and is not here. Behold, the place where they put him."

The angel announces Jesus’ resurrection. “He is risen!” The women are understandably alarmed. This is neither the first nor the last time that an angel tells someone not to be afraid when appearing to them.

Jesus’ resurrection is a bodily resurrection. Because he is risen, his body is no longer there. Resurrection is not a spirit going to heaven. For the earliest Christians, like the Pharisees and other Jews of the time, resurrection involved a body (cf. 1 Cor. 15).

16:7 "But depart, tell his disciples and Peter that he goes ahead of you into the Galilee. There you will see him, just as he spoke to you."

Interestingly, the angel points to Galilee as the place where Jesus will appear to the disciples. However, in Matthew, Luke, and John, Jesus’ first appearance is in Jerusalem. In Matthew, he appears there to the women on their way (Matt. 28:9). In John, he appears near the tomb to Mary Magdalene (John 20:14). In Luke and John, he appears to them on the night of his resurrection (Luke 24:36; John 20:19). 

Assuming that the original ending of Mark is lost, it is of course possible that Mark also told of a Sunday night appearance. However, as the text of Mark stands, we are left to expect the primary appearance to be in Galilee. In Matthew, this appearance is when Jesus gives the Great Commission.

In Mark 14:28, Jesus tells the disciples that he will meet them in Galilee after he is raised. At the time, they have no real understanding of what he has told them. Here, Mark makes it clear that this promise was fulfilled, even though in the verses we have he does not go on to narrate the event. He only indicates here that it would indeed take place.

16:8 And having gone out, they fled from the tomb, for trembling and amazement was taking hold of them. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

In its current form, Mark does not narrate the women going on to tell the disciples what had happened, although Matthew does (28:8). The women are understandably confused and frightened. On a historical note, it is unlikely that someone would invent this account if it were not true. It is a strong historical argument that Jesus’ tomb was indeed empty when the women came to anoint him.

The reaction of the women also fits two key features of Mark’s narrative. First, it fits the hiddenness of Jesus’ messianic identity. He did not rise publically in front of everyone. His resurrection took place in a way of which only a few were initially aware. He required faith.

Secondly, his followers do not immediately understand what was going on. This fact fits with the lack of understanding his followers have in general. Their lacking may have provided hope for the audience of Mark, especially if Mark was written around the time of the Jewish War or the destruction of Jerusalem. Even the first disciples did not get it right the first time.

Some believe that Mark ended his Gospel at this point to prompt the audience to consider its response to Jesus, his death and resurrection. Are they going to be like these women or are they going to go tell someone? My personal hunch is that more verses sat here originally, but that they were lost at an early date. 

Other Endings

Most scholars consider it quite unlikely that the ending of Mark in the King James was part of the original Gospel of Mark. We of course do not have any original manuscript of any book of the Bible. So scholars look at the copies we have and try to determine the most likely conclusion, using both internal and external evidence.

External evidence is what we see in the manuscripts. Here, the oldest Greek biblical manuscripts we have do not have verses 9-20. There are mentions of the ending that seem to be quite old, but Eusebius in the early 300s indicates it is not a prevalent reading of the Greek manuscripts in his day. There is a "shorter ending" that exists in some manuscripts, indicating that someone capped the book at one point because there was no ending they found pleasing there.

In the end, the internal evidence is determinative. Verse 9 effectively starts the whole chapter over again, like verses 1-8 didn't exist. It proceeds in a summary rather than narrative fashion--there is a sudden style change and the text forgets anything about what was said about the women in 16:8.

I personally think it likely that there was another ending to Mark after verse 9, but one that was lost to history at a very early date indeed. Since Matthew used Mark as a source, it may give us some hints as to what was originally there.

Sermon Starters: Blessed Belief (John 20:19-29)

Title: Blessed Belief
Text: John 20:19-29
Date: Second Sunday of Easter, April 8, 2018, Forest UMC

Introduction

• The first week of the new age. Some questions about how to fit the gospels together. We know that somewhere in the next forty days, they went back to Galilee. Matthew, Luke, and John all tell about an appearance that first Sunday night in Jerusalem. Matthew, Mark, and John all indicate appearances back in Galilee, but in Luke it almost sounds like Jesus ascends immediately (cf. Acts!), and Luke-Acts never give any hint of appearances in Galilee.
• None of this is any reason to worry or doubt. It does indicate that the Gospels are not simply video tapes. Luke knows about the appearances in Galilee. He intentionally chooses not to tell the story that way. Some of our doubts about the Bible come because we have the wrong expectations, not because there is any problem with these presentations. 
• In fact, differing presentations speak to a reality that has rippled in different ways. The Gospel authors are not just copying and developing each other. These are multiple ripples. 
• 1 Corinthians 15 + empty tomb = reasonable faith
• John is the only one who tells about the appearance in our Scripture today one week later... Thomas was not there the night of the resurrection to see Jesus.
• Thomas symbolizes all of us who would love to believe but have honest doubts.
• Illustration

Body
1. We need faith to live.

• We need faith because we need hope.
• Victor Frankl - "A man can live with any how, if he has a why."
• Simone Weil, philosopher who died in England while France was under German occupation
• Star Wars - Padme at the end of the third movie
• Hebrews 11:1 - "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
• What is faith?
• There are distinct definitions: 1) simple belief, 2) faithfulness, 3) confidence or trust. The last definition is the one we are concerned with today.
• Faith implies a lack of complete certainty, but it is not necessarily blind.
• You can't keep doubt from flying overhead, but you don't have to feed it. (A "double-minded" person is not a person who has doubts go through their head. It's a person whose loyalties are truly divided between God and the world.)

2. God understands doubt

• 1) Doubt can be healthy - Reagan - "Trust but verify."
• 2) Faith is not confessing the creeds or quoting the Bible. The demons have belief without faith.
• Alfred Lord Tennyson - "There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds."
• The biblical "debate" between James and Paul - "You show me your faith without works, and I'll show you my faith by my works." Jas 2:18
• 3) Some people do not question because they lack faith. They are afraid what they will find.
• On the other hand, as long as you are not hypocritical about it, it is okay to protect oneself from questions because you are not sure you can handle it.
• 4) Without really considering other possibilities, you do not yet really believe. You are just a slave to what someone else told you.
• Doubt seeking faith. (which is a form of faith seeking understanding)
• Pascal - God has not made things definitively clear because that would move our head and not our heart. God wants to see our hearts.

3. Faith is a miracle available to all.

• Faith isn't something we can work up on our own. It is a gift from God. Prevenient grace
• Arguments never make someone believe. Only the Holy Spirit makes it possible. Arguments can only alleviate obstacles to faith.
• If you want faith...
• Ask God for more. Ask others to pray for you to have more.
• Surround yourself with people of faith. Some people have the gift of faith.
• Immerse yourself expectantly in Scripture. What might God say to me?
• Illustration

Conclusion

• Matthew 28 and the great commission - "some doubted"
• Easy to doubt on the individual level. If we could see the big picture...
• "I believe. Help my unbelief." (Mark 9:24) - the object of our faith in the New Testament is primarily God the Father, sometimes in Jesus. Saving faith is not faith in the Bible, although trust in the Bible can lead to faith in God. 
• "I am willing to believe. Help me to believe."

One Week After Easter

Today's excerpt from my recent novella.
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... One week after his previous appearance, all eleven were in Capernaum at the house of Peter, including Thomas. It was Sunday night, one week after the resurrection. And he appeared to them again.

Thomas had doubted them before. He thought they must be hallucinating. “You just want him to be alive,” he said. “I’m going to need to touch the holes in his hands and side for me to believe.”

And Jesus knew his doubt. “Here I am Thomas. Touch my hands and side.”

But Thomas did not need to touch him. He fell to his knees. “My Lord. My God.” And Jesus was gone again.

The next morning they went everywhere telling anyone they found that he was risen. Philip went to Bethsaida. Nathaniel to Cana. Matthew and James the younger went to Chorazin...

Monday--Back to Galilee

Today's excerpt from my novella.
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Early the next morning, they all began the three day journey up the Jordan to Galilee. Lazarus went with them too.

The highest heaven does not have the same time as the earth or the universe. The very moment of creation was the same moment that the Logos was incarnated and glorified in the universe. And it was the same moment that Jesus was enthroned as Lord.

He is Lord. He is risen from the dead, and he is Lord. He was always Lord outside of time. He was always the Son of God from eternity past. Yet he was also exalted to God’s right hand after he rose from the dead. He was enthroned as Son of God after the resurrection. It is a paradox beyond human understanding.

From the moment of creation the LORD said to the Lord, “Sit at my right hand.” Now, exalted to God’s right hand, God said what he says in the eternal now at the beginning of time: “You are my Son. Today I have given you birth.” Christ was eternally begotten of the Father, and Christ was declared God’s Son at the moment he was exalted after the resurrection. The heir apparent took the throne that he was already sitting upon.

The disciples spread out in Galilee to proclaim Jesus’ resurrection. They were becoming his apostles, witnesses of the resurrection sent to proclaim his risen Lordship. His mother Mary proclaimed his Lordship to Jesus’ brothers. Later that year, Jesus would appear directly to his brother James...

Sunday: I've just seen Jesus!

Today's excerpt from my novella.
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For the moment, they were devastated for Jesus’ body to be missing. It was devastating to the already devastated. Many of them had already wept on the way to the tomb, and now they could not even anoint him. They had been so concerned even for his body to be buried. So many bodies of the crucified were simply tossed into the trash heap of Hinnom to burn or were torn apart by stray dogs. A sudden fear came on them that someone had simply thrown Jesus’ body away.

They quickly returned to Clopas’ house. Mary Magdalene in particular ran as fast as she could—quite an unusual sight to see a woman running through Jerusalem. They hoped someone might go to Joseph of Arimathea to see if he knew what had happened.

Peter and Lazarus were the first two disciples Mary encountered. Out of breath, she finally managed to get across that Jesus’ body was gone. “They’ve taken him,” she said. “His body is gone from the tomb.” Then after a few more gulps of air. “We don’t know where they’ve taken him.”

Simon Peter and John Lazarus bolted for the door, with Mary not far behind. They passed the other women, who were a little over half way back to the house. Lazarus got there first, with Peter not far behind. There were no more answers for them than there were for the women.

“Maybe Joseph knows something,” Peter said. “He has to still be in town. He wouldn’t travel to Arimathea on the Sabbath. We need to find out where he’s staying.”

But just before he started running again, Lazarus grabbed Peter’s arm. “What if he’s risen?” he said.

“What?” Peter said.

“He raised me from the dead. What if he raised himself?”

Just at that moment, Mary Magdalene arrived back again as well.

“We’re going to go find Joseph,” Peter said to Mary.

“Be encouraged, sister,” Lazarus also told her. “Nothing is impossible for God!” And they left again.

Mary Magdalene just sat in the garden weeping and praying. “Abba, where have they taken my Lord? Abba, have mercy on us!” At that moment Jesus appeared to her. She thought he might be the gardener. She wondered if perhaps God had answered her prayer to show where the body was.

“Why are you crying?” he said to her.

“Sir,” she said. “I am looking for the body of Jesus of Nazareth, who was set in that tomb over there right before the Sabbath. Do you know where they have taken him? Have you taken his body somewhere?”

She could not recognize him yet, although there was something oh so quieting and peaceful about him. There was something very familiar.

“Mary,” he simply said, and she knew.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8

"I passed on to you as most important what I also received: Christ died for our sins in line with the scriptures, he was buried, and he rose on the third day in line with the scriptures. He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve, and then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at once—most of them are still alive to this day, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me, as if I were born at the wrong time" (CEB, from Biblegateway).

Return to Jerusalem

In Acts, Jesus spends the bulk of forty days after his resurrection in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, appearing off and on to his disciples. Given that Matthew and Mark only tell us of appearances in Galilee, the disciples would then have to return to Jerusalem.

So this morning I'm remembering their return to Jerusalem, another three day trip.

The Great Commission

People often confuse the Great Commission in Matthew 28 with the ascension in Acts 1, but there is a significant difference in these two texts. Matthew 28 takes place in Galilee. Acts 1 takes place in Jerusalem.

In the Great Commission, Jesus tells his disciples to "make disciples." The commission is not just to Israel, but now to all nations. This is not about some narrow "pray a prayer-ism" but about making followers of Jesus by teaching them "everything I have commanded you." Baptizing is mentioned, but it is only the beginning. The Great Commission is a commission to discipleship, not to evangelism as it is often narrowly conceived today.

A surprise after overnight fishing

John 21 is quite peculiar. It doesn't fit into any of the tidy resurrection appearances. Peter has been fishing all night on the Sea of Galilee with Thomas, Nathanael, James and John, as well as two other unnamed disciples (I think the anonymous, "beloved disciple," is one of these).

After a night without anything, someone appears on the shore and tells them to throw their net on the other side of the boat. Suddenly, they have more fish than they can haul. Then they all realized it was Jesus. He cooks for them and serves them.

The disciples arrive back in Galilee.

If the disciples were in a hurry to return to Galilee, perhaps we might conclude that they would have arrived back to Capernaum and other villages near the Sea of Galilee by late Wednesday.

Did they have anticipation? The angel told the women Jesus would appear to us here. Where and when will that be?

Return to Galilee

Neither Matthew nor Mark tell of any appearances in Jerusalem. But they both predict that the disciples will see Jesus in Galilee.

We can imagine that the disciples headed for Galilee on Monday morning. It was a three day journey. So they would arrive late Wednesday or Thursday.

The easiest route followed the Jordan River north.

Faith becomes sight!

The two men rushed back from Emmaus to find that Jesus had also appeared to Peter and some of the women. All the disciples but Judas and Thomas were there.

He showed them his hands and feet, so that they wouldn't think he was a ghost. He ate some fish. This was not the appearance of a spirit but the first resurrection body. You could even see his scars from the crucifixion.

After he was gone, they would follow the instructions of the angels and go to Galilee, where they would see Jesus again.

Guest at Dinner

Rumors that Jesus' body could not be found were swirling among the followers of Jesus. Could it be resurrection? What was going on?

In early afternoon, two men were making there way back to a village called Emmaus. Another traveler joins them and hears their questions. He has some ideas they haven't thought of. He mentions Scriptures to them like Isaiah 53 and others that could be taken to mean that the Messiah would die for the sins of his people. Did not Psalm 16 say that God would not let the body of his Messiah decay?

They invited the mysterious man for supper, and as he broke the bread, they immediately recognized who he was!

What's happening?!

Mary Magdalene finally tells Peter. Jesus' body is not in the tomb.


Peter and a follower of Jesus in Jerusalem named John immediately get up and race for the tomb Joseph of Arimathea had originally prepared for himself. Sure enough, Jesus' body is not there.

Peter was puzzled. What has happened here? But John wonders, "Is this resurrection?!"

Mysterious morning...

The women took note of where they had buried Jesus, but they were not able to anoint him for burial because of the Sabbath. They come back first thing Sunday morning at sunrise.

But he is not there. They are confused. They are afraid. They tell no one at first...

He Arose!

Lo in the grave he lay,
Jesus, my Savior,
Waiting the coming day,
Jesus, my Lord.

Up from the grave, he arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er his foes.
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
And he lives forever with his saints to reign.

He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah!  Christ arose!

Vainly, they watch his bed,
Jesus, my Savior.
Vainly, they seal the dead,
Jesus, my Lord.

Death cannot keep its prey,
Jesus, my Savior.
He tore the bars away,
Jesus, my Lord.

Up from the grave, he arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er his foes.
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
And he lives forever with his saints to reign.

He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah!  Christ arose!

Christ has died. Christ has risen! Christ will come again!

The Empty Tomb

What a mix of emotions this day held for the women and disciples of Jesus 2000 years ago!

It starts with sadness. "We didn't even have time to anoint his body on Friday," the women are thinking.   "How will we manage to move the stone?"

But they have to try. Jesus deserves that much. He deserves the honor of a decent burial.

Then confusion. The stone is removed but Jesus' body is not there. Someone has taken it. Where have they laid it? Someone reminds them of resurrection, mentions Galilee. They don't know what to make of it. They tell no one at first. They are afraid.  Soon it is time for the disciples to be confused.

Then there is hope and the greatest thrill of not just a lifetime--of all time! He has appeared to Peter. Then he appears to the other ten remaining disciples.  It is amazing. No one expected him to die. But then no one absolutely expected him to come to life again!

James believes--James of all people!  He had seriously questioned Jesus' legitimacy when he was on earth. A group of over 500 people sees him at once, including a husband and wife by the names of Andronicus and Junia. Jesus commissions them along with others like Barnabas and eventually Paul to spread the word that Jesus has been enthroned king and is risen from the dead.

The mission continues...

Why Believe in the Resurrection?

In my opinion, whether you believe in the resurrection of Jesus boils down to one thing: do you believe resurrections can happen?  If you do not believe resurrections can happen, then of course you will find some alternative explanation for what happened that Sunday so long ago.  But if you do believe resurrections can happen, then I believe you will conclude that Jesus rose from the dead.

There are two reasons.  The first is the fact that no one seems to have been able to account for the body of Jesus from Sunday on.  The second is the multiple eyewitness accounts to having seen him alive after his death.

1. I believe that even an objective atheist should conclude that individuals like Peter, James, Paul, and John were convinced they had seen Jesus alive after he was dead.  Paul knew these individuals (e.g., Gal. 2) and passed on their common testimony to Jesus' resurrection (e.g., 1 Cor. 15).  Paul himself gives clear testimony to seeing Jesus alive as well (e.g., 1 Cor. 9).

We can debate what they thought they saw.  But we have every reason to believe Paul's account that multiple people on multiple occasions were convinced that they had seen Jesus alive after he had died.  And they were  convinced enough to undergo quite a bit of hardship and ultimately to face death.  If they had any significant doubt, why would they have persisted?

And surely either the Corinthians or the Jerusalem church would have jumped on the opportunity to correct Paul if his story about Peter, James, and himself was not commonly accepted.  His multiple writings leave no trace of such counter rhetoric.

Some point to difficulties in reconciling the resurrection accounts as a reason to doubt them.  But consider, if oral traditions go in various directions, it points to some big splash at their root.  In other words, we are not talking about a single story that changed over time.  We are talking about waves that went out in multiple directions.

And what was the splash likely to be?  What is the common ground behind the variations?  It is sightings of Jesus alive after he died.

2. Certainly the canonical gospels indicate that a group of women were unable to find the body of Jesus on Sunday.  I don't suppose you would invent women as the ones to find the empty tomb, if the story were made up.  It would be much more believable to have some man, maybe even someone important find it empty. The specifics of the names point most likely to people who continued to talk about the story of the empty tomb and were remembered for telling the story for decades.

The idea of a Joseph of Arimathea--an otherwise completely unknown character--taking the body of Jesus and putting it in a tomb also is exactly the sort of oral tradition we would expect. Matthew further tells of a rumor that the disciples had stolen the body.  Notice what is being disputed--not that there is no body, only why there was no body.  In other words, we have evidence that at least some of those who disputed the resurrection accepted that the tomb where Jesus had been laid was later found empty.

So we have an empty tomb and a number of eyewitnesses.  A final thing to mention is that it does not seem likely at all to me that the disciples were expecting Jesus to rise from the dead.  If Peter denies Jesus, if Judas betrays Jesus--these are not the sorts of things that happen in a climate of expectation.  Peter was thus firmly convinced over and against his likely expectations.

So if you believe resurrections can happen, you should certainly believe in this one.

May all have a blessed day celebrating Christ's victory over death!