Chapter 9: Jesus’ Resurrection

9-1: The contradictions of the resurrection story

We find a lot of differences between the four Gospels. We never find two Gospels agreeing on the same story. This affects the credibility of the entire story. Among these differences we note the following:

1. Mathew mentioned, as did Luke and Mark, that a man called Joseph toke Jesus’ body to bury him. While John mentioned that a man called Nicodemus helped Joseph. We may wonder why Joseph toke Jesus’ body, not one of the disciples and who is this Joseph? Mathew said he is one of his disciples, but he was never mentioned before during Jesus’ life. Joseph was the only one who dared to ask the king for Jesus’ body, but Jesus never praised him.
2. Mathew was the only gospel to mention that the priests asked the king to watch the grave in case the disciples decided to steal Jesus’ body. The king agreed, and they went to watch the grave. Here we have questions: Is it possible that the priests who killed Jesus are the ones who care and remember what he said about resurrection and go to watch his grave, while none of his disciples bothered to go. Secondly, his disciples are supposed to be waiting for his resurrection, how could they not attend such a great event?
3. The four gospels told different stories about the resurrection. The only thing they agreed on was that nobody saw Jesus going out of his grave. Mathew mentioned that the two Marys went to see the grave on Sunday and they saw that the angel moved the stone and the guards looked like they were dead. The angel told them: Jesus is not here. He resurrected. Here we may ask a question: Is it possible that the strong guards who are used to wars were shocked when they saw the angel while the two Marys were fine and even talked to the angel? Mark mentioned that they saw a young man, not an angel. Luke said that the two Marys were not alone, they went to the grave with other people and saw two men in shining clothes, not an angel. Mark said that one of the Marys went to tell Simon, while the other found two angels by the grave. Then she saw Jesus behind her and did not know that he was Jesus. But Mathew mentioned that Jesus went before them to Galilee.
4. It was mentioned in Mathew that the two Marys went to tell the disciples when they heard that Jesus resurrected. They saw Jesus on their way, and he told them to tell the disciples to follow him to Galilee. We understand from that event that Jesus went out of the grave before the two Marys. How did he meet the two Marys although he went out before them?
5. We find a lot of disagreement on what happened after the resurrection. While Luke and Mark mentioned that Jesus went to heaven, John did not say anything about that. Mark, on the other hand, mentioned that Jesus would live with them forever

9-2 The contradictions within  the resurrection story itself:

1. We conclude from that story that he was crucified at 9 PM on Friday. After his death and Joseph asking Pilatus to take his body, he was buried, and that must be after 12 Am. That means he stayed in the grave Saturday and Saturday night and Sunday. When it was dawn, they found the grave opened. He stayed in the grave one day and two nights which conflicts with what he says:                                                         “38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Mathew 12:38-40)
2. We understand that he was still afraid of Jews. For that reason, he wanted to meet his disciples in Galilee. How is that possible when he had his full glory as he said:           ”16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when they saw him, they worshiped him: but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in the earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”: (Mathew 28:16-19)

Going out from the grave hiding before anyone can see him and be escaping to Galilee is a sign for his fear which conflicts with what he said about having the power of heaven. Everyone is supposed to be afraid of him not the opposite.

3. The four gospels mentioned that the disciples doubted his resurrection:                    “16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when they saw him, they worshiped him: but some doubted.” . (Mathew 28:16-17)                                                                                            Mark also mentioned that after the resurrection, his disciples did not believe and he blamed them for their disbelief:                                                                             “9 Now when Jesus has risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12 After that, he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed them. 14 Afterward, he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he has risen. “(Mark 16:9-14)                                                                                  John also mentioned:                                                                                             “8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, which he must rise again from the dead… But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples, therefore, said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side; I will not believe. “: (John 20:8-25)                                                                                                           Luke mentioned that the two men whom the two Marys met reminded them of what Jesus said about resurrection after three days. When they told the disciples, they did not believe. When Simon entered the grave, he wondered. John mentioned that Mary did not recognize Jesus. Luke 24:13-24 tells us that Jesus walked with two disciples and they did not know him. We conclude from these verses that even the disciples did know that Jesus would resurrect after death. They event suspected the person whom they saw was Jesus.
4. Luke mentioned that Jesus will not eat Passover and will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come                                                          “14And when the hour has come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. 15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: 16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 17, And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.” .( Luke 22:14-18 )                                This means that it will be the last time he eats and drink with them. But Luke mentions that Jesus ate with them after he resurrected:                                                       “41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? 42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. 43 And he took it, and did eat before them.” (Luke 24:41-43)

9-3: Did Jesus really resurrect after his death?

Jesus said there will be no resurrection after his death and asserts that there will be false Christs who will claim that they are him:

“3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many… 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things are fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Mathew 24:3-35)

The last verses should be reread multiple times to understand the great power of Jesus. The scene he described with the angles and the trumpet is suitable for the glory of Jesus. While the events of his death and humiliation do not suit his nature and glory which casts doubt on the whole theory of redemption. , Look Also:

“23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they should deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.” (Mathew 24:23-25)

This makes us doubt the person who claimed to be Jesus after his death. The verses show that someone will claim to be Jesus. So who is the Christ that talked to the disciples and they suspected him?

Besides, there is more evidence:

1. Nobody saw Jesus going out of the grave. Why is that? If resurrection aimed to show them a miracle, should not they be there to witness this miracle?
2. Resurrection is of no use to him, the disciples nor the people. His mission was to die to redeem the people. The mission was accomplished. Therefore, resurrection is useless. He should have come in the glory of his father so that everyone sees him surrounded by angels as he said in previous verses. Thus we believe that Christ did not resurrect. He is supposed to come in the glory of his father.

9-4: What are the results of resurrection?

Let’s read the following versus:

“15 and it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. 17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? 18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? 19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: 20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel… 25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?” (Luke 2415-26)

Note that after his death, people did not understand why he died. Verse 21 shows us that they wished he had redeemed Israel, not forgiving their sins. When he rebuked them, he told them that he died to suffer and enter into his glory. That means he died for himself to be holy not to redeem them.

“14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart because they believed not them which had seen him after he has risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:14-16)

“45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:45-47)

Let us read the previous two verses carefully and note the following:

• After the resurrection, he ordered his disciples to preach the gospel to every creature. This is the same preaching he did before his death. So what is the difference between preaching before and after his death? Nothing. They are the same. So why was he killed and crucified?
• The disciples who are the closest to him, whom he explains to everything and who lived with him did not believe when they saw him with their own eyes. Would it be possible that nations who did not see him will believe in him and his resurrection? Without seeing him? Why did not he go himself to show people that he resurrected? Why did he resurrect if he will not show himself to the people? He could have told his disciples to preach simply. There was no need to his resurrection as he did not do anything nor did he come with glory from heaven.

9-5: A discussion about crucifixion:

Let us read the following verse carefully:

“24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples, therefore, said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side; I will not believe.” (John 20:24-25)

This verse clearly reads that Jesus resurrected in his human form. He even had the prints of the nails on him. What does that mean?

The First Meaning

The first meaning is a little bit problematic because it is related to the nature of Jesus Christ, is he a human being, or God, or the son of God, or a prophet. But resurrecting in his human form, lead us to think about the possibilities of how Jesus was born.

First: Either Jesus lived like a God before. Then God ended his life and recreated him again in Mary’s womb. After that, he was crucified, killed and resurrected as a human as the previous verse says. This means that Jesus is completely different from the divine being he used to be in heaven. If he were to resurrect as God, he should resurrect in his divine form, not the human one.

Second: God did not end Jesus’ divine life. Which means Jesus lived a dual life, divine, and human at the same time. According to this assumption, redemption is not valid because the original divine copy of Jesus is still alive.

Third: The last possibility is that Jesus was not in heaven before his birth on earth. This is closest to truth as he was born from the word and then redeemed people, died and resurrected as a human.

The Second Meaning:

Let us have a sentimental discussion:

• No doubt that humans value their life. They won’t sacrifice their life to anybody unless they regard them more precious than their lives. If, for example, someone was asked to die for another person, would he accept? He would certainly ask himself why? What will I have in return? We have read stories and watched movies about poor people who would confess a crime they did not commit to redeem rich criminals for money.
• We would accept that a woman redeems her son and die for him so that he would live.
• The lover also would redeem his lover and die for her so that she would live. If, for example, somebody kidnapped her and tried to shoot her, he would stand between them and take the bullet for her.
• We might see people sacrificing for others while doing their job. Firemen would go through themselves into the fire to save a kid. Lifeguards would do the same. Those people sacrifice to save others and die with honor.
• The above examples are logical and accepted. But we don’t think a sane person would accept to end his life for no reason. Would someone, for example, redeem a person who is sentenced to death for nothing in return? He wouldn’t do that of course. But what if we told him that he would redeem that person temporarily for two or three days then live again? A lot would accept this redemption even if there is nothing in return. Because after two days he will come back to normal life as if nothing had happened. He won’t lose anything. Only two days. Even if he suffered to die, it is ok as long as he will come back to life. He would consider himself sleeping or having a surgery in the hospital.
• Let us read what Jesus himself says:

“38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights.” (Mathew 12:38-40)

• Jesus here is like the son of man “till now nobody knows who the Son of man is?” He says that he will stay three days and three nights like Jonas. It is known that Jonas stayed alive in the whale’s belly. Therefore, Jesus was alive in the heart of the earth and not really died

Now, can we call Jesus’ death on the cross and then his resurrection after one and a half day redemption (From Friday night till Sunday early morning is equal to one day and a half, and not really three nights)? Everyone should think for himself and judge the credibility of this redemption. As far as understanding, redemption should mean that Jesus dies and remains dead until the Day of Judgment. This way, we would believe that he died for us. But resurrecting after one and a half day means that he did not really die.