If true, it is the greatest event in all of human history.
The story that is recorded on the pages of the New Testament is a radical one – one that Christians around the world have believed for over two millennia. The belief that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was crucified, died on a Roman cross, and rose again on the third day.
How can we know if this remarkable claim is true in our age of fake-news and false advertising? If it is difficult to ascertain whether or not something is true today, then what about an event that happened two-thousand years ago?
The begin with, I will state the obvious. The resurrection of Jesus is an event of history. It happened over two thousand years ago. So how can we KNOW it? And secondly, how can we know it is TRUE?
In truth, the question of Jesus, and the question of God appearing in human form and rising from the dead, is not merely a historical question, it is also an existential, and a personal question. This is not to say, however, that one cannot arrive at a reasonable, rational conclusion based on evidence. Each person must decide who they think Jesus is, and what he means to them personally. No one is exempt from the question of who Jesus is.
So the resurrection of Jesus is a question that archaeology alone, cannot answer. Reason may accompany faith to bring us to the truth about who Jesus is and what He did.
Archaeology, however, is a key piece of a larger body of evidence that Jesus is indeed, God in human form, and that He rose again the third day after being crucified.
How do we know the past? How do we access it? This is a question of KNOWLEDGE, or a knowledge of HISTORY specifically. Obviously, if we want to know if an event in the past really happened, then we need to understand exactly how we know the past.
Since we are separated by historical events by many years – perhaps even hundreds, or thousands of years, then we must rely on sources that bring us into contact with past. Historians call these sources, PRIMARY SOURCES. They are “primary” in the sense that they are sources which connect us with the past. Primary sources are vital links in the chain that connect us with historical events. Simply put, if primary sources did not exist, then we would have no knowledge of the past.
Again, one of the problems with fake news and pseudo-news today is the difficulty in ascertaining whether the sources of so-called “news stories” can be trusted. The same problem is true for historians. Sources must be vetted and evaluated for their trustworthiness. How do can we be sure our “primary sources” are telling us the truth?
What are our primary sources for history? Ancient or modern?
THE THREE PRIMARY SOURCES OF HISTORY ARE:
- EYEWITNESSES
- HISTORICAL RECORDS
- ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS
In a future post we will explore more in depth, the relationship between these three primary sources. In our post Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries of the New Testament, we review the three primary sources, as well as look at additional archaeological artifacts associated with the resurrection of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament.
Here is a PODCAST I recorded with with Brian Chilton, with Bellator Christi, where we discussed two well known artifacts connected to the resurrection of Jesus – the empty tomb at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Shroud of Turin.
Below are some further resources on both of these remarkable artifacts – A Recent article which on the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin and some pictures & diagram of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
PODCAST – ARCHAEOLOGY & THE RESURRECTION (CLICK TO LISTEN)
A recent article written by – Myra Adams of National Review features new research confirming the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin (CLICK TO READ THE ARTICLE)
The mysterious and peaceful face on the Shroud. New research reveals that blood and blood stain patterns on the Shroud are identical to the blood and stain patterns on the Sudarium of Oviedo
Pictures of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher associated with our discussion in the Bellator Christi PODCAST
Beam of sunlight beaming in from the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
By Yupi666 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4611826
The edicule which covers and protects the stone tomb of Christ, underneath, was recently cleaned and the steel structure removed.