Devon Dick | Resurrection of Jesus credible

Last Sunday was celebrated as the anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus, the fundamental belief of the Christian faith. But how credible is this belief?

The credibility of this belief is based upon eyewitnesses. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-16). Mary visited the tomb out of motherly compassion, and not with the hope of seeing the resurrected Lord. She was amazed to witness this miracle. And in fact, when she related the story, the other disciples initially thought it was nonsense (Luke 24:11). They believed her afterwards and discovered that she was a credible witness.

In addition, the resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples behind closed doors (John 20:19-20). The resurrected Jesus appeared also to the disciples by the Sea of Galilee where He ate breakfast with them (John 21:7). The nature of the appearances meant that Jesus was no duppy and the disciples were not dreaming. They are credible witnesses.

Thomas displayed normal, natural human tendencies in having doubts about the resurrection of Jesus. He wanted to touch and talk with Jesus for himself. (John 20:24ff). Although Jesus had hinted about His resurrection, it was a novel idea, having no precedent. There was no expectation of a Jewish Messiah who would die, much less to be resurrected. The Pharisees believed in a resurrection at the end of time, but not during salvation history. If someone claimed to be a Messiah and did not restore Israel to its former political glory, he would be considered a fraud. If someone claimed to be the Messiah and then died, then that person would be seen as no better than all other wannabe Messiahs. Doubting Thomas was a credible witness.

Furthermore, the resurrected Jesus revealed Himself in bodily form to 500 disciples (1 Cor. 15:6). These eyewitness accounts are very persuasive and powerful because they are credible people.

There are other reasons the resurrection of Jesus is credible. The disciples had lost hope. However, after the resurrection these same disciples, who were fragile, fearful and frightened, had a transformation and became forceful and forthright in preaching about the resurrection. They gave all – including their lives – for the gospel of Jesus. This change of personality and perspective was due to the resurrection of Jesus. Would disciples risk their lives if they knew that what they were saying was a hoax?

The resurrection of Jesus is credible because though there are differences in the details as set out in the four gospels, the essence is the same. A test of credibility is when the big picture can be attested to by many sources even as side issues differ.

Another way to test the truthfulness of a belief was shared with me by Clinton Chisholm, author of A Controversial Clergyman (2019). It is a response by Dr William Craig, who gave hints on how to test evidence which is useful in testing the claims about the resurrected Jesus or conspiracy theories concerning coronavirus or any evidence. Craig states that historians weigh various factors in assessing competing hypotheses. Some are that the hypothesis will explain more of the evidence; the hypothesis will make the evidence more probable; the hypothesis will fit better with true background beliefs; the hypothesis will not require adopting as many new beliefs which have no independent evidence, and the hypothesis will not conflict with as many accepted beliefs.

The resurrection of Jesus passes this test with flying colours and is therefore very credible.

Rev Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church in St Andrew. He is author of ‘The Cross and the Machete’, and ‘Rebellion to Riot’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.