Resurrection of Jesus

The resurrection of Jesus (Biblical Greek: ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day^{[note 1]} after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring^{[web 1]}^{[note 2]} – his exalted life as Christ and Lord.^{[web 2]} According to the New Testament writing, Jesus was firstborn from the dead, ushering in the Kingdom of God.^[1]^{[web 2]} He appeared to his disciples, calling the apostles to the Great Commission of forgiving sin and baptizing repenters, and ascended to Heaven.

For the Christian tradition, the bodily resurrection was the restoration to life of a transformed body powered by spirit,^{[web 3]} as described by Paul and the Gospel authors, that led to the establishment of Christianity. In Christian theology, the resurrection of Jesus is "the central mystery of the Christian faith".^[2] It provides the foundation for that faith, as commemorated by Easter, along with Jesus's life, death and sayings.^[3] For Christians, his resurrection is the guarantee that all the Christian dead will be resurrected at Christ's parousia (second coming).^[4]

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]

"Historical Jesus" scholars in general tend to avoid the topic since many believe the matter to be about faith, or lack thereof.^[13]

Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
Cite error: There are <ref group=web> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=web}} template (see the help page).

^ Novakovic 2014, p. 152.
^ Siniscalchi 2011, p. 363.
^ Dunn 1985, p. 53.
^ Novakovic 2014, p. 153-154.
^ Hurtado 2005, pp. 72–73.
^ ^a ^b Koester 2000, pp. 64–65.
^ Vermes 2008b, p. 141.
^ Ehrman 2014, pp. 98, 101.
^ Hurtado 2005, pp. 74, 84.
^ Ehrman 2014, pp. 109–110.
^ Hurtado 2005, p. 186.
^ Vermes 2008a, pp. 151–152.
^ Bockmuehl, Markus (2001). "7. Resurrection". In Bockmuehl, Markus (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Jesus. Cambridge University Press. p. 103. ISBN 9780521796781. Nevertheless, what is perhaps most surprising is the extent to which contemporary scholarly literature on the 'historical Jesus' has studiously ignored and downplayed the question of the resurrection...But even the more mainstream participants in the late twentieth-century 'historical Jesus' bonanza have tended to avoid the subject of the resurrection – usually on the pretext that this is solely a matter of 'faith' or of 'theology', about which no self-respecting historian could possibly have anything to say. Precisely that scholarly silence, however, renders a good many recent 'historical Jesus' studies methodologically hamstrung, and unable to deliver what they promise...In this respect, benign neglect ranks alongside dogmatic denial and naive credulity in guaranteeing the avoidance of historical truth.

[FOOTNOTENovakovic2014152-5] Novakovic 2014, p. 152.

[FOOTNOTESiniscalchi2011363-7] Siniscalchi 2011, p. 363.

[FOOTNOTEDunn198553-8] Dunn 1985, p. 53.

[FOOTNOTENovakovic2014153-154-9] Novakovic 2014, p. 153-154.

[FOOTNOTEHurtado200572–73-10] Hurtado 2005, pp. 72–73.

[FOOTNOTEKoester200064–65-11] Koester 2000, pp. 64–65.

[FOOTNOTEVermes2008b141-12] Vermes 2008b, p. 141.

[FOOTNOTEEhrman201498,_101-13] Ehrman 2014, pp. 98, 101.

[FOOTNOTEHurtado200574,_84-15] Hurtado 2005, pp. 74, 84.

[FOOTNOTEEhrman2014109–110-16] Ehrman 2014, pp. 109–110.

[FOOTNOTEHurtado2005186-17] Hurtado 2005, p. 186.

[FOOTNOTEVermes2008a151–152-18] Vermes 2008a, pp. 151–152.

[19] Bockmuehl, Markus (2001). "7. Resurrection". In Bockmuehl, Markus (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Jesus. Cambridge University Press. p. 103. ISBN 9780521796781. Nevertheless, what is perhaps most surprising is the extent to which contemporary scholarly literature on the 'historical Jesus' has studiously ignored and downplayed the question of the resurrection...But even the more mainstream participants in the late twentieth-century 'historical Jesus' bonanza have tended to avoid the subject of the resurrection – usually on the pretext that this is solely a matter of 'faith' or of 'theology', about which no self-respecting historian could possibly have anything to say. Precisely that scholarly silence, however, renders a good many recent 'historical Jesus' studies methodologically hamstrung, and unable to deliver what they promise...In this respect, benign neglect ranks alongside dogmatic denial and naive credulity in guaranteeing the avoidance of historical truth.

[note 1]

[web 1]

[note 2]

[web 2]

[1]

[web 3]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[note 3]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]