Christian churches sprang up all over the Middle East, Eurasia and Europe within a few years of the crucifixion of Jesus. How did it happen so quickly?
Jesus died for us, and then rose from the dead. They taught that in Sunday school when I was a boy, I suspect they still do. The impact of resurrection eluded me for many years. I viewed it as a prime example of a “God thing”; one of those once in history type miracles – this one occurring as a means of bringing us closer to God because His son lived as a man.
Is the resurrection of Jesus simply a faith based concept? Or did it really happen? Does it matter?
The resurrection could be an enabling mechanism of sorts. Does it make a difference if it was due to individual or collective visions and a bit of poetic license? Part of our deity trod the earth just we do. It may be easier to pray to Jesus because of his understanding and compassion for human weakness and concerns. After all he wasn’t always way up there in heaven like God; he lived and interacted as one of us.
Think of the incredibly strong belief and commitment necessary to emulate the accomplishments of the pioneers of Christianity. Keep in mind that Christianity spread like wildfire. Why? Some attending the study sessions thought many people were receptive to a new faith because it was based on loving and sharing church centered communities. I could only suspect that it was another example of God’s will, a way that He showed folks the path we were meant to follow.
Paul, Peter and others named in the New Testament were touched directly by Jesus. Hence they had extraordinary belief and motivation. But there were only a handful of such men. How were so many churches established so quickly in so many places? Why were the words of a few men so persuasive? It was puzzling.
I looked once more at Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I read the Gospel of Thomas and other books and letters that didn’t make it into the Bible. I perused the works of Josephus to glean a further understanding of the times. It was still difficult to understand how or why Christianity grew and developed so rapidly.
There is now a scientific basis to believe that the resurrection of Jesus really happened; that it wasn’t a matter of vision, metaphor or exaggerated poetic license to make a point. Is there also a historical basis?
N.T. Wright is widely regarded as one of the premier scholars involved in the historical study of Jesus. In his book, The Challenge of Jesus, he maintains that Christianity was not just a kingdom of God movement. It was, from the onset, a resurrection movement; the belief in resurrection was unquestionable and not merely a central belief but the central driving force of early Christianity.[i] As to those in the earliest churches, “The only explanation for their behavior, their stories, their symbols and their theology is that they really believed Jesus had been reembodied, had been bodily raised from the dead.”[ii]
Mr. Wright, ever meticulous, added further perspective:
The resurrection narratives of the Gospels, for all their puzzling nature and apparent conflicts, are quite clear on three points.
First, the sightings of and meetings with Jesus are quite unlike the sort of heavenly visions or visions of a figure in blinding light of dazzling glory or wreathed in clouds that one might expect in the Jewish apocalyptic or mystical traditions. They are not, that is to say, attempting to describe the sort of thing one would expect if what he or she wanted to say was simply that Jesus had been exalted to a position of either divinity or at least heavenly glory…
Second, the body of Jesus seems to be both physical, in the sense that it was not a nonmaterial angel or spirit, and transphysical, in the sense that it could come and go through locked doors. As I read the Gospel accounts, I have a sense that they are saying, in effect, “I know this is extraordinary, but this is just how it was.”…
Third, the accounts are quite clear that the appearances of Jesus were not the sort of thing that went on happening during the continuous existence of the early church. Luke did not suppose that his readers might meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Matthew did not expect his audience to meet him on a mountain. John did not suppose that people were still liable to come upon Jesus cooking breakfast by the shore…[iii]
Christianity did not come into being “simply” by the power of the life and teachings of Jesus. It was not “simply” faith or God’s will. It was that Christ was truly resurrected. Those that saw believed; it was a one time, totally unique happening. They could not only convey the extent and reason for their belief, but also they were compelled to do so - and they did it far and wide. The time had come for God’s kingdom to dawn, for a new agenda which trusted in Jesus for the way of bringing that kingdom to life here on earth.
The resurrection of Jesus actually occurred. There is both scientific and historical basis for it. Thanks to a TV program on the History Channel and the scholarship of N.T. Wright I’m no longer puzzled as to how and why Christianity spread so far and so rapidly. One could even say it’s an affirmation of faith. The reality of resurrection mattered; it was the good news.
PawPaw Dave ©2011
(Image of the empty tomb and crosses from Christian clip art and graphics at http://www.cc-art.com/)
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