Without the resurrection the apostles would have had no missionary message, nor would there have been

any Christology relating to the person of Jesus - Wolfhart Pannenberg

Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3 The Empty Tomb and Eyewitnesses ................................................................................................... 3 The Truth behind Christology ............................................................................................................. 4 The Resurrection and Jesus Divinity ................................................................................................... 4 A deliverer of His people..................................................................................................................... 5 The prophesies and the Pentecost ..................................................................................................... 5 Validity of Personal faith ..................................................................................................................... 6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 6 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 8

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Abstract
OUR religion is not based upon opinions, but upon facts. We hear a person sometimes saying, Those are your views, and these are ours. Whatever our views may be, is a small matterwhat are the facts of the case? We must, after all, if we want a firm foundation, come down to matters of fact. Now, the great facts of the Gospel are that God was Incarnate in Christ Jesus, that He lived, here, a life of holiness and love, that He died upon the Cross for our sins, that He was buried in the tomb of Joseph, that the third day He rose, again, from the dead, that after a while He ascended to His Fathers Throne where He now sitsand that He shall come, by-and-by, to be our Judgeand in that day the dead in Christ
shall rise by virtue of their union with Him.

C.H Spurgeon

It is very true that all the blessings and promises and validity of our Christian faith rest on the firm foundation of an empty grave. This paper considers discussing and critiquing some of the issues related to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ - The importance of the happenings and its impact on the society of Christians.

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Introduction
Haddon Robinson tells the story of a book written in the later part of the 19th century entitled When it was dark where the author imagined that a group of atheistic archaeologists had found the body of Jesus in a Syrian grave. Then the author imagined what would happen if such a discovery was accepted as true. He suggested that Christians would lose their faith, Christian churches would close their doors, and Christian missionaries would be summoned home from the mission field. He predicted that within half a century, the western world would be plunged into chaos, defeat and despair. A British Agnostic once said, Lets not discuss the other miracles: resurrection. Lets discuss the

Because if the resurrection is true, then the other miracles are easily

explained; and if the resurrection is not true, the other miracles do not matter (Hayden 2008). The same context is explained by Paul1 to emphasise the importance of the

resurrection of Christ.

The Empty Tomb and Eyewitnesses

The empty tomb made the whole Jewish community and the Roman world upset. Though great care was taken to keep Jesus in the tomb with the guard of Roman soldiers and the Roman seal, the grave was empty that morning and they could not deny it (C.P Thiede, M D'ancona 2000). Matthew tells us2 that the Roman and the Jewish authorities tried to

explain and put the blame on the disciples that they stole Jesus body. However, considering the incidences that followed, the silence of the enemies of Christ on that day was as impressive as the preaching of Peter (Hayden 2008). Even Paul begins his defence of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 by appealing to the fact that there were many eye witnesses who claimed to have seen Him alive after his death3. In all the bible records ten distinct appearances of the resurrected Christ with regards to a variety of times, places and people (Hayden 2008).
1 2

1 Cor 15:17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. [NIV] Matt 28: 11-15 3 1 Cor 15: 4-8

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The Truth behind Christology

Theology has to speak to common concerns, since there is no special Religious truth. If something is true, it has to be true for everyone, not just for oneself. For him, the truth question is the main question of theology (Karkkainen 2003). God is the object and

determining reality of all theology. God is the power that determines everything. If the reality of God must be able illumine not only human life but also the experience of the world, and then Christology should also do the same. Along with the historical study, a

careful study with faith becomes necessary to examine the divinity of Christ. Pannenberg (Karkkainen 2003) develops his Christology into three parts: Jesus relationship to humanity, Support for the claim of his divinity and finally Jesus role in salvation. In simple words,

Jesus is the fulfilment of human destiny with regard to inter-human relationships. Also the purpose of crucifixion and resurrection is well established in Christs role as Messiah (or the hope of Israel and the whole humanity). The Messiah brings to fulfilment this divine plan, finally uniting all people under one God to the worship of the one true God (Karkkainen 2003). From a personal experience, in all other religions forgiveness of sins happens by efforts of oneself. But only in Christianity, forgiveness of sins happens instantaneously because Jesus died for the remission of our sins. (Morris 2012).

The Resurrection and Jesus Divinity

Rising of Jesus from the dead provided the assurance for the disciples of Jesus and the later Apostles and even us for that matter in the truth behind Jesus Divinity and our Eternity. For Pannenberg (Karkkainen 2003), the event of the resurrection was the starting point for the assertion of Jesus Deity, his unity with God. It also gave a reassurance that the human

person called Jesus was one with God. Though the prophecy of Daniel4 spoke about the eschatological Son of man, after Jesus died on the cross, the disciples and the people could
4

Daniel 7: 13-14 In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. [NIV]

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not justify belief in Jesus and his claims without divine confirmation. Had there been no resurrection, his enemies claims would have been correct: His authority claims would have been blasphemous. Again, for us as followers of Christ and being members of the Christian community, we no longer have to be terrified of death. Because there is an assurance that we participate thorough faith in the new life brought by Christ, and we can look forward to participating in Gods life beyond death.

A deliverer of His people

The understanding of the Jewish people in the interpretation of the Old Testament which presented the Law of God for His special people, the Jews disagreed with what Jesus claimed himself to be. This was disagreed by Stephen who said The institution of Jewish life, the law and the temple was temporary (Shelley 1995). God intended them to look beyond themselves to the coming Messiah, who would fulfil the righteousness for all people. God. The events surrounding Jesus crucifixion gives a clear evidence of the hand of Jesus was not what he had seemed to be to the Jews He was beyond their

expectation: as a deliverer of His people (What If There Is No Resurrection? 2010). Along with being a traditional formula that Christ died for our sins, it is very true that the son of God loved me (us) and gave himself for me (us) (Shelley 1995).

The prophesies and the Pentecost

Seven weeks after the crucifixion of Christ, people gathered around the Holy City for the celebration of Pentecost. Gods spirit fell upon those who gathered there5. Prophesies

were fulfilled as many heard their native tongue coming from the lips of the disciples6. Peter stood up and told them what they were witnessing was a fulfilment of the Prophet

Acts 2: 1-2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. [NIV] 6 Acts 2: 3-4 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. [NIV]

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Joels promise about the outpouring of Gods spirit in the last days7.

He appealed to the

Jewish scriptures, which said that the Messiah would not be abandoned in death but would be enthroned at Gods right hand until universal victory was His8 (Kinnaman 2005). It is indeed very true and we are all witnesses of the fact9. This is a great proof not only to the disciples and the Apostles, but even for us. Apart from that miracle, said the apostles, there is no gospel, no salvation and no church (Wright 1996). In a similar way, Johns baptism formed a way by which members of the infant church professed their faith in a kingdom yet to come. Being the second ceremony, the Lords Supper, looks back to Jesus betrayal, death and events at the Calvary and the empty tomb which forms the basis for a new covenant promised by Prophet Jeremiah. Bound together, by the teaching of the apostles and the two ceremonies depicting the death and the resurrection of the Lord, the infant church spread throughout Judea (Wright 1996). The glorious truth is that the

bodily resurrection of the word made flesh10, the Lord Jesus Christ, has been shown to be a true fact of history by many infallible proofs (Morris 2012).

Validity of Personal faith

Faith in Christ for salvation is a valid thing. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen11. Christian faith is built upon the firm evidence of a risen saviour as a proof of the fact that His sacrificial death on the cross was effective as the means of our salvation (Hayden 2008). Theres substance to our faith. Its built upon facts that can be historically verified (Yogananda 2002).

Conclusion
It is very true that creation and resurrection go together. The creator had an eternal purpose in creating men and woman and cannot fail in that purpose. Therefore, He is the
Joel 2: 28-29 And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. our sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. [NIV] 8 Psalm 16:10, Psalm 110:1 9 Acts 2:32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.. [NIV] 10 Acts 1:3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. [NIV] 11 Heb 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. [NIV]
7

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only one who can and must overcome death. Death is the wages of sin, and must be paid either by those (us) who are guilty or by an innocent human substitute for sinners who is Himself sinless and is willing to take their place in death. Only the creator himself could meet this criterion, and therefore He must become man, then die and then restore himself to life by resurrecting himself from the grave. What we have in Jesus is not tradition, but

truth; not religion by reality; not ritual but a personal relationship with God. Our faith is not worthless because Jesus IS risen from the dead.

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Bibliography

1.

C.P Thiede, M D'ancona. The Quest for the True Cross. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2000. Hayden, Dan. What if Jesus never rose from the dead. Word from the Word. 2008. http://www.awordfromtheword.org/what-if.htm (accessed May 20, 2012). Karkkainen, Veli-Matti. Christology, A Global Introduction. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic , 2003. Kinnaman, Gary. Experiencing the Power of the Cross. Minnesota: Bethany House, 2005. Morris, Henry. Religion and Resurrection. Institution of Creation Research, 2012. Shelley, Bruce L. Church History in Plain Language. Updated 2nd Edition. Melbourne: Word Publishing, 1995. What If There Is No Resurrection? Grace to you. 17 October 2010. http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/90-408/What-If-There-Is-No-Resurrection (accessed May 20, 2012). Wright, N.T. Jesus and the Victory of God, Christian Origins and the Question of God (Book 2). Augsburg Fortress Pub (August 1997), 1996. Yogananda, P. The Second Coming of Christ, The Resurrection of the Christ within you. Self Realixation Fellowship, 2002.

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