This month’s Synchroblog asks a tough question: What if Jesus did not rise from the dead?

I believe the resurrection did, in fact, occur. I believe Jesus truly did rise physically from the grave on the third day after He was crucified and buried. But the question before us is, “What if Jesus did not rise from the dead?”

There are a thousand possible answers to such a question, but let’s just face the music and jump to the hardest and most troublesome answer of all: If Jesus did not rise from the dead, probably most of Christianity is a lie. We could probably hold on to the idea of God, and some of the historical events in the Bible, but beyond that, most of it would probably not be true.

I mean, if the resurrection of Jesus did not happen, then most of the Bible is probably not true because most of the Bible is centered on the idea of the resurrection.

If the resurrection did not happen, the truthfulness of the Bible itself should be doubted.

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What does Jesus think about doubt?

It is common in Christian circles today to require faith and certainty before people are allowed to serve. We feel people need to be sure that Jesus was the Messiah, was God in the flesh, died on the cross, and rose again from the dead before we give them an opportunity to follow Jesus into the world.

Until people get this faith and certainty, we often don’t feel they are fully qualified to serve in church. Instead, we recommend they read a book on proofs for the Christian faith, attend a class about the basics of Christianity, or perform some sort of other study so that they can gain the faith and certainty we feel is necessary for followers of Jesus.

It does not appear that Jesus feels the same way.

Throughout His entire ministry He was calling and inviting people to follow Him who knew next to nothing about Him, and were sometimes even antagonistic to who He was and what He stood for. But Jesus knew that if they followed Him, they could learn about Him while they were in the midst of loving and serving others.

One event in the Gospels shows this more than any other.

After Jesus died on the cross, and after He has risen from the dead, and after He has appeared numerous times to His apostles, and after He has eaten with them, talked with them, and let them touch His resurrected body, He appears to them again.

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What are the most beautiful words in the Gospels?

These two right here:

…and Peter…

These two words are found in Mark 16:7 and I find them to be the most beautiful and moving words in the Gospels. Every single time I read them, they get my heart beating. They give me shivers and chills. Sometimes I even choke up in tears.

…and Peter…

Why?

We all know what Peter did. He was one of the three closest companions that Jesus had. He was the spokesperson for the twelve apostles. He was the one who promised He would never deny Jesus.

And when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter was the only one who tried to defend Jesus.

When Jesus was escorted away to His trial, Peter was the only apostle who followed. The rest scattered into the night and hid.

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Maybe this is a pointless question, but why did Jesus wait three days to rise from the dead?

I mean, once He died, He had fully paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind. Why couldn’t He just resurrect right there, jump down from the cross, dust himself off, and call it good?

Maybe he needed to be buried in the grave. Fine. But why wait three days for the resurrection? Why not get wrapped in burial clothes, then rise sometime during that first night?

Here are some possible reasons, but honestly, I find none of them satisfactory.

To prove He was dead

I suppose some could argue that He had to stay in the tomb for three days to prove He was dead. There is, after all, the “swoon theory” in which people say Jesus didn’t really die, but just went unconscious. I suppose if Jesus “resurrected” two minutes after dying on the cross, this theory would be much more plausible. But when Jesus is buried in tomb for three days, this theory loses all credibility.

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An alert reader, Kristen, sent in the following email:

I just saw some interesting news about some archaeologists who claim to have discovered Jesus’ ossuary and another one of a relative. I actually saw these two ossuaries at the Discovery Times Square Exhibit and they were really amazing.  After seeing the news it aroused intense dialogue between me and my roommate (she is not Christian) about what this means for Christianity.  The exhibit is really awesome and you should check it out if you have the chance.  Anyway, I’m writing to see if you could blog a response to this “finding.”

Here’s a link to the article about it: Questions Raised About Possible Clues to Jesus and His Disciples

I think it’d be awesome if you address this topic! I’d love to hear your opinion on this and I’m sure your  viewers are probably also interested in learning how they can strengthen their faith even when faced with scientific challenges to our religion.

Thanks, Kristen! Not surprisingly, I do have something to say about this!

…And some of it will be controversial…

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