Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay” ( Psalm 16:9-10). Timothy 2:8: "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead... this is my gospel for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained...". [43]

a truly amazing tour de force.' 'Allison is a fair and judicious scholar, who is prepared to interact as much with evangelical scholarship as with more liberal-minded critics and will not dismiss anything out of hand without a thorough examination. This is a scholar's book, but will bring great rewards to those who persevere in reading it.' Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go, tell my brothers that they should go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” The Guards’ Report The story of Jesus has not waned in its power to change lives. Yet today, even though the majority of us grew up in a culture suffused by the mythos of Jesus, many of us feel disconnected from the essence and vitality of his teachings. With Resurrecting Jesus, Adyashanti invites us to rediscover the life and teachings of Jesus as a direct path to what may be the most radical of transformations: spiritual awakening. Easter is a powerful revelation of the power and presence of God Almighty. The revelation that comes with knowing the truth that if Jesus can overcome death, then there is nothing in our lives that he cannot defeat or overcome.Misguided students and unscrupulous scholars of Scripture have sometimes erroneously claimed that the concept of the resurrection is absent in Judaism; and, therefore, an unknown idea in the Old Testament. Such false teaching (or to be more charitable: “ignorance”) not only denies the very words of the Old Testament but also defies the very teaching of Jesus. For our resurrected Redeemer revealed to the disciples on the road to Emmaus the truth of the Old Testament and His resurrection: The moment of resurrection itself is not described in any of the gospels, but all four contain passages in which Jesus is portrayed as predicting his death and resurrection, or contain allusions that "the reader will understand". [19] The New Testament writings do not contain any descriptions of a resurrection but rather accounts of an empty tomb and appearances of Jesus. [20]

As they were on their way, there were some members of the guard who went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 After the chief priests had assembled with the elders and had reached a decision, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came at night and stole him away while we were sleeping.’ 14 If the governor hears about it, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 After the soldiers took the money, they did as they were instructed. And this story has been repeated among the Jews until this day. “Go and Gather Disciples” Secular and liberal Christian scholarship asserts that religious experiences, [5] such as the visionary appearances of Jesus [6] [7] [8] [note 3] and an inspired reading of the Biblical texts, [9] gave the impetus to the belief in the exaltation of Jesus [10] as a "fulfillment of the scriptures," [11] and a resumption of the missionary activity of Jesus's followers. [6] [12]They hurried away from the tomb, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly [ a] Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” The resurrection of Jesus Christ not only validates His deity, but it also validates the Old Testament prophecies that foretold of Jesus’ suffering and resurrection (see Acts 17:2–3). Christ’s resurrection also authenticated His own claims that He would be raised on the third day (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34). If Jesus Christ is not resurrected, then we have no hope that we will be, either. In fact, apart from Christ’s resurrection, we have no Savior, no salvation, and no hope of eternal life. As Paul said, our faith would be “useless,” the gospel would be altogether powerless, and our sins would remain unforgiven (1 Corinthians 15:14–19). In the Antiquities of the Jews, a 1st-century account of Jewish history by Josephus, believers of the resurrection are discussed. However, this reference to the resurrection is widely believed to have been added by a Christian interpolator. [168] Within the non-canonical literature of Gospel of Peter, there is a retelling of the resurrection of Jesus. [169] Ushering in the last days [ edit ] Your long-awaited vacation is cancelled because of Covid. Hope of getting the rest you desperately need is shattered.

The life of Jesus offers each one of us a map to the direct realization of our eternal and divine nature. On Resurrecting Jesus, Adyashanti excavates the deep, mythic underpinnings of the Gospels to show how we can all find in the story of Jesus the spark for our own spiritual unfolding. Dale Allison is one the very best Jesus scholars of our time. The six essays in this volume show him to be the master of the pertinent Gospel and early Jewish texts, modern biblcail scholarship, and everything from patristics to modern psychology and theology. Moreover, they sparkle with his intellectual independence, fresh insights, and good judgment." --Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Cambridge, MA This article is part of our larger Holy Week and Easter resource library centered around the events leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We hope these articles help you understand the meaning and story behind important Christian holidays and dates and encourage you as you take time to reflect on all that God has done for us through his son Jesus Christ! Furthermore, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). He claimed to be the resurrection Himself; He has absolute authority over life and death (Revelation 1:18). Jesus is God. He could say He would raise up His body on the third day because He, being God, has power over death. Smith argues that Mark has integrated two traditions, which were first separate, on the disappearance (from the tomb, interpreted as being taken to heaven) and appearance (post-mortem appearances), into one Easter narrative. [126] [127] According to Géza Vermes, the story of the empty tomb developed independently from the stories of the post-resurrection appearances, as they are never directly coordinated to form a combined argument. [128] While the coherence of the empty tomb narrative is questionable, it is "clearly an early tradition." [128] Vermes notes that the story of the empty tomb conflicts with notions of a spiritual resurrection. According to Vermes, "[t]he strictly Jewish bond of spirit and body is better served by the idea of the empty tomb and is no doubt responsible for the introduction of the notions of palpability (Thomas in John) and eating (Luke and John)." [129] Ehrman rejects the story of the empty tomb, and argues that "an empty tomb had nothing to do with it [...] an empty tomb would not produce faith." [130] Ehrman argues that the empty tomb was needed to underscore the physical resurrection of Jesus. [131] Resurrection of a transformed body [ edit ]Asked to teach in 1996 by his Zen teacher of 14 years, Adyashanti offers teachings that are free of any tradition or ideology. "The Truth I point to is not confined within any religious point of view, belief system, or doctrine, but is open to all and found within all." For more information, please visit adyashanti.org. Peter claimed forcefully that Jesus appeared to him, [223] [185] and legitimised by Jesus's appearance he assumed leadership of the group of early followers, forming the Jerusalem ekklēsia mentioned by Paul. [223] [167] He was soon eclipsed in this lea This self-presentation culminates with the discussion of the resurrection in an intimately personal spiritual soliloquy that could well serve both budding and senior scholars by reminding them that beyond finding historical-critical answers, their task inevitably includes finding themselves at each stage of their intellectual journey. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above. -- Scholars differ on the historicity of the empty tomb story and the relation between the burial stories and the postmortem appearances. Scholars also differ on whether Jesus received a decent burial. Points of contention are (1) whether Jesus's body was taken off the cross before sunset or left on the cross to decay, (2) whether his body was taken off the cross and buried specifically by Joseph of Arimathea, or by the Sanhedrin or a group of Jews in general, and (3) whether he was entombed (and if so, what kind of tomb) or buried in a common grave.

Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. [my emphasis]” ( Acts 2:30-32 ESV). The broken relationship that occurred in the garden when Adam and Eve sinned can be restored because of Jesus’ sacrifice of shed blood, death, and resurrection (see Genesis 3:8-10). Do you need renewed hope today? Maybe things have not been easy. Life, health, work, or relationships have been challenging for some time now. Some of our church family and friends have experienced loss, even in this past month. Hearing of a medical diagnosis and surgery needed for a friend has caused hope to shrink. It feels like the weight of the past two years and the Covid nightmare is so heavy. The future looks bleak. The fighting over in Ukraine and all the lives lost, people being displaced from their homes, buildings, even entire cities destroyed. At times you may wonder where is God is in all this? Everything seems hopeless. No hope for the future. Yet scriptures tell us that, in the middle of the darkest hour, there is hope. But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” ( 1 Corinthians 15:13-17 ESV).The resurrection of Jesus Christ is also important because it validates who Jesus claimed to be, namely, the Son of God and Messiah. According to Jesus, His resurrection was the “sign from heaven” that authenticated His ministry (Matthew 16:1–4). The resurrection of Jesus Christ, attested to by hundreds of eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15:3–8), provides irrefutable proof that He is the Savior of the world. The Bible indicates that all three Persons of the Trinity were involved in Jesus’ resurrection. Galatians 1:1 says that the Father raised Jesus from the dead. First Peter 3:18 says that the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead (see also Romans 1:4, and note that Romans 8:11 clearly says that God will resurrect believers “through His Spirit”). And in John 2:19 Jesus predicts that He will raise Himself from the dead (see also John 10:18). So, when we answer the question of who resurrected Jesus, we can say God did. And by that we can mean it was the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Dunn argues that the burial tradition is "one of the oldest pieces of tradition we have," referring to 1 Cor. 15.4; burial was in line with Jewish custom as prescribed by Deut. 21:22–23 and confirmed by Josephus War; cases of burial of crucified persons are known, as attested by the Yehohanan burial; Joseph of Arimathea "is a very plausible historical character"; and "the presence of the women at the cross and their involvement in Jesus's burial can be attributed more plausibly to early oral memory than to creative story-telling." [111] Andrew Loke, after replying to various objections against the historicity of the guards at the tomb, argues that "the presence of guards at the tomb would imply that Jesus was buried in a well-identified place (contrary to unburied hypothesis)." [112] Easter offers hope, of renewed relationship with God Almighty. Easter offers hope in a hopeless situation. New growth springs forth following a harsh, cold winter season. The fresh green leaves of spring sprout forth. The budding of trees speaks of new life out of what appeared to be dead or dormant trees.