Easter. The Resurrection. We’ve all heard the story about Jesus rising from the grave and being taken up to Heaven after appearing to His disciples and many other people over the next 40 days. I remember wondering in my younger years if there was any evidence to support these claims? Is there any logic at all to believing that a guy named Jesus was strung up on a cross and then returned from the dead?
After all, who in their right mind would believe something like this? Well, I’ve come across a lot of interesting writings during my almost 50 years on this Earth that cement my faith in Christ. I just thought I’d share a few of the more interesting ones with you as we draw closer to Easter.
Before we talk about Easter and the resurrection, let’s get the gruesome stuff out of the way first. I found out something about crucifixion I didn’t know. It’s not the wounds to the hands and feet that end up killing people. They suffocate.
A website detailing the science of the crucifixion makes it even clearer. To inhale, the diaphragm must push down to enlarge the chest cavity to bring air into the lungs. To breathe out, the diaphragm pushes up, contracting the lungs, which then pushes out the air. As Jesus hangs on the cross, the weight of his body pushes down on the diaphragm, bringing air in. However, to breathe out, Jesus would have to push up on His nailed feet, causing excruciating pain. The difficulty surrounding exhalation is nothing but a slow, cruel form of suffocation.
And to be even more correct, the nails more than likely went through His wrists. If a nail is driven through each of the hands, they couldn’t support the full weight of a human being. The soft tissue of the hands would simply rip away from the nails. Those nails in His wrists and feet pierced major nerves in both His arms and feet. Imagine the agony. The Romans knew what they were doing. It was brutal.
As the victim continues to suffocate, carbon dioxide begins to build up. As carbonic acid builds in the blood, the body instinctively triggers the desire to breathe. At the same time, the heart beats faster to circulate whatever oxygen is available. The decreased oxygen damages the tissues, causing the capillaries to begin leaking watery fluid from the blood into the tissues. This results in a build-up of fluid around the heart and lungs. The decreased oxygen also damages the heart itself, which leads to cardiac arrest.
Remember John 19:34? “Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water?” It was the watery fluid that built up in His tissues, lungs, and heart. It makes more sense now. It’s not a made-up fairy tale and there’s a logical reason it happens.
Long story short, Jesus was dead when He was brought down from the cross.
Let’s go with the “swooning” argument that says Jesus wasn’t dead, He’d just fainted. Think about what He would have looked like during His “appearances” to His disciples after “returning from the grave.” He would have been a bloody mess, leaving a trail of blood behind Him, limping, bones would have been showing through the skin in His back after the flogging, and he wouldn’t have presented the kind of resurrection picture that the disciples would suddenly have been willing to die for. They would have run in fright from that horrible sight. Period. I would have. Did you see “The Passion of the Christ?” He would have looked like walking raw hamburger. Roman guards were savage animals when they put people to death.
The disciples were transformed after seeing the risen Jesus multiple times. They were suddenly ready to travel to the ends of the Earth to spread this new Gospel (Good News) and to die for it, if necessary. How do you explain their transformation from a group that was cowering in an upper room to suddenly ready to evangelize the world?
Maybe it was a “mass hallucination,” as some have said. Come on. People don’t have “mass hallucinations.”
Jesus’ own brother James didn’t believe He was the Son of God until after the resurrection. You don’t change your mind and write an entire book in the Bible unless you’ve seen something radical. He saw his brother back from the grave.
How do you explain the conversion of Paul? He once killed Christians and was so transformed after experiencing Christ by the side of a road that he eventually became one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) apostles in history.
The conversions of James and Paul have me convinced they saw something radical. They saw the risen Christ. Remember “Doubting Thomas?” He touched the hands and the side of Jesus, where the wounds were. They didn’t see a “ghost.”
Hundreds of witnesses saw the resurrected Christ. There are too many things that line up to convince me it’s real. There are enough historical documents about a man named Jesus who walked the Earth and claimed to be the Son of God. Either He was completely insane, or He was exactly who He claimed to be.
Don’t believe it because I say it. Look into it yourself. There has to be more to life that the 80-some years we spend on Earth, right? I believe it takes more faith to believe in the “Big Bang” and that we’re all here by coincidence than it takes to believe in intelligent design. Jesus Himself said, “you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart” (Paraphrasing). Why not take a look? Is there a better time of year than Easter? After all, Easter has to be more than just the occasional chocolate bunny rabbit.
