What do the Scriptures say of the Resurrection?

Luke 24:44

Luke 24:44–45 NKJV

Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

Proofs that Jesus is the Messiah.

Long before Jesus was ever born, specific prophecies in the Old Testament Scriptures had predicted not only the specific circumstances of His birth, but just as precise, many of the details of his adult life. What's astonishing is that fact that Archeological proof substantiates these prophecies actually were recorded, in varying languages, at least 300 years before Jesus Christ was even born.

Of the Christ it was predicted:

He would be born in Bethlehem: Micah 5:2/Matthew 3:1

He would be preceded by a messenger: Isaiah 40:3/Matthew 3:1-2; 11:10

He would enter Jerusalem on a donkey: Zechariah 9:9/Matthew 21:6-11

He would be betrayed by a friend: Psalm 41:9/Matthew 10:4

He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver: Zech. 11:12/Matthew 26:15

He would be forsaken by His disciples: Zechariah 13:7/Mark 14:50

His hands and feet would be pierced: Psalm 22:16/Luke 23:33

He would be between thieves during His death: Isaiah 53:12/Matthew 27:38

His garments would be parted and lots cast for them: Ps 22:18/John 19:23-24

Gall and vinegar would be offered to Him: Psalm 69:21/Matthew 27:34

He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb: Isaiah 53:9/Matthew 27:57-60

Not one of His bones would be broken: Psalm 34:20, 22:14,17/John 19:33

If Jesus had been a mere man, there would have been many of these predictions over which He would have had no control, such as whether or not He would die between two thieves, or what people would say to Him while He was dying. Or, even more importantly, the fact that not a bone was broken during or after His crucifixion.

The mathematical probability of one man fulfilling just eight such prophecy’s is 1 in 10 (followed by 17 zeros). If we converted that number into silver dollars, one could cover the entire state of Texas up to two feet deep.

The type of death pictured in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 (hands and feet pierced—yet no bones broken) did not come into practice until hundreds of years after the prophecy was written.

The prophecy about what would be done with His garments was fulfilled in a unique way. The garments were parted—except the outer cloak, which was seamless, and for that reason lots were indeed cast for it (John 19:23-24).

His Resurrection was Prophesied. Isaiah 53; Psalm 16; Lk. 24:44-45; Matt. 16:21; 27:63

It is clear that the Old Testament clearly predicted the resurrection of the Messiah.

In Isaiah 53 after describing the suffering, death and burial of the Messiah (53:5,9), the text then says, “He shall prolong His days”(53:10).

David, in Psalm 16 describes an individual, a Holy One, whose soul was not left in Sheol, nor did His body suffer decay (16:10).

Clearly the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah is a truth found in the Old Testament and not merely something Christians have invented (Luke 24:45-46).

In addition, Jesus plainly predicted His own death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21).

This prediction was given so clearly and publically that even the enemies of Jesus understood what He was claiming and thus wanted His tomb guarded (Matthew 27:63).

His Miracles were astonishing. Jn. 1:1,14; 11:47; Matt. 4:23; Acts 2:22; Mk. 3:22

If God became man (John 1:1,14), then one would expect that He would do amazing things, such as walking on water, instantly exercising control over the weather, healing every kind of sickness (Matthew 4:23), healing the blind and raising the dead.

John 1:1 NKJV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 NKJV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Matthew 4:23 NKJV

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

These miracles were so public that even His enemies could not deny their reality (John 11:47; Acts 2:22).

John 11:47 NKJV

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.

Acts 2:22 NKJV

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—

The only argument that His enemies had against His miracles was that they claimed they were performed by the power of the devil (Mark 3:22).

His Moral Character was flawless. Phil 2:6; 1 Pet. 2:22; Matt. 22:16; Jn. 19:6; Mark 15:39; John 8:46

If God became man (Philippians 2:6ff), then He would live a sinless life.

The disciples, like Peter spent at least three years constantly with Jesus, and yet Peter would write concerning Jesus, “who committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:22).

Even His enemies had to acknowledge, “We know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any” (Matthew 22:16).

Pilate, a Roman governor after examining Jesus conceded, “I find no guilt in Him” (John 19:6).

Even the centurion who was there at His death and watched Him die said, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39).

Our culture is used to scandal being associated with famous people that some may be surprised that when it comes to Jesus—there were absolutely no skeletons in the closet. In fact, Jesus even challenged people to try to find something (John 8:46).

John 8:46 NKJV

Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?

His Amazing Teachings Matthew 7:28; Luke 19:48; John 7:46

If God became man, then we would expect that He would teach the highest moral standard known to man, and Jesus did just that.

People then and now are completely amazed at what He taught (Matthew 7:28; Luke 19:48; John 7:46) and if His moral teachings were applied in the lives of individuals or in foreign policies, most the world's problems would resolved.

His Ability to Take the Complicated and Make it Simple. Matthew 7:12; 22:36-40

Mankind will often multiply words to try to muddy the waters. But if God became man, then He would be able to take the complicated questions or broad principles, boil them down and sum them up in a single, simple statement (Matthew 7:12; 22:36-40).

Matthew 7:12 NKJV

Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Matthew 22:36–40 NKJV

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

No One Could Stump Him. Matt. 22:17, 23-33

If God became man then one would rightly conclude that no one could stump Him or beat Him in an argument.

The Bible records a number of attempts by His enemies to stump Him.

We know that these are not manufactured situations by the gospel writers, for the arguments brought to Jesus were incredibly difficult and real, such as the moral dilemma of whether or not to pay taxes to an immoral leader such as Caesar (Matthew 22:17), and the complicated argument against the reality of a resurrection (Matthew 22:23-33).

Matthew 22:23–33 NKJV

The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.” Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

Jesus answered these questions without hesitation or apology, modifications, corrections or withdrawing anything that He had taught.

He Made the Claim - the Son of God. John 5:17-29,23; 8:19,24; 58; 14:6-9; Matthew 16:16-18

We are not putting words into Jesus’ mouth when we say that He is the Son of God, for that is clearly what He claimed on many occasions (John 5:17-29,23; 8:19,24; 58; 14:6-9).

When Peter confessed Jesus as the Son of God—Jesus fully endorsed Peter’s confession (Matthew 16:16-18).

Matthew 16:16–18 NKJV

Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Some have argued that the gospel writers more or less invented the character of Christ, yet this does not square with the facts:

Such men gained nothing materially from preaching Christ as the Son of God—they only received great persecution, often to the point of death.

How could and why would a group of deceivers invent the greatest moral character and teachings of all time?

We know that the entire New Testament was written within the First Century, so it had to pass the scrutiny of the generation that was alive when these events were said to take place. If they were making all this up, then that generation would have clearly rejected and exposed their stories as lies.

It was not centuries after Jesus lived that people started believing He was the Son of God, rather, immediately, even very near to the First Century, other documents besides the New Testament prove this point. Writing in 112 A.D., Pliny the Younger wrote that Christians were in the habit of meeting on a certain day and when they did they sang hymns to Christ "as to a god."

He Lived at the Right Time. Daniel 2:36-45; Mal. 3:1

The prophecies were specific: Daniel claimed that God would set up His kingdom during the time of the 4th Empire that followed Babylon (Daniel 2:36-45).

That Empire is clearly the Roman Empire.

It is also obvious that Jesus would be killed by a method of execution that would not break his bones, bit in which His hands and feet would be pierced.

This method ended in the 4th century A.D - a very narrow window in which the prophecy could be fulfilled.

The prophecies said that the Messiah would come to God’s house, the temple (Malachi 3:1)—and that Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 and has never been rebuilt.

The genealogies that would clearly prove that one was related to not only Abraham, but David were equally destroyed in A.D. 70. Therefore, the Old Testament prophetic window has closed for anyone since A.D. 70 to be able to claim that they are the Messiah.

He Left Nothing Undone. John 7:31

When Jesus was alive some in the crowds said this: John 7:31

John 7:31 NKJV

And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”

That is a telling observation. They knew that Jesus had basically covered all the bases and really left nothing undone when providing His credentials.

The Evidence Supports the Resurrection

A “knee-jerk” reaction: “There was no Jesus”.

Every now and then someone seeks to argue that Jesus of Nazareth never really lived and is instead merely a fictional character. In this lesson however we will observe that this position is truly a lost cause. Before we look at the evidence, I want to address why anyone would hold such a point of view. It appears to me that such an extreme opinion is admitting the following:

· Unbelievers have not been able to successfully argue against what Jesus is said to have taught.

· Unbelievers cannot find any flaws in the Jesus presented in the Gospels.

It is far easier to simply deny that Jesus existed than to deal with Him, His character, His life, His miracles, the prophecies of His life, His resurrection and His teachings.

Can History Be Known?

“The assertion that history cannot be known is against all common sense. Are we not sure that George Washington was the first president of the United States? That Lincoln was the 16th. That Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941? Of course we are. Finally, if we cannot know history, then skeptics cannot claim that Christianity is untrue. Because every negation implies an affirmation. To say that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead (the negation), the skeptic must know what actually did happen to Him (the affirmation). In the end, skeptics are caught in a dilemma. If they say history cannot be known, then they lose the ability to say evolution is true and Christianity is false. If they admit history can be known, then they must deal with the multiple lines of historical evidence for creation and Christianity” (I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be An Atheist, Geisler and Turek p. 232).

The Number of Witnesses.

In First Corinthians chapter 15 Paul gives a list of those who saw Jesus after He was raised from the dead. Far from mentioning two or even ten people, there were over 514 witnesses of the resurrected Christ! Any event that is witnessed by over 500 people must be taken seriously. In addition, this does not include all the people who saw the events on Pentecost (Acts 2) or the miracles of the apostles (Acts 3) which are likewise proofs that Jesus was raised, was seated at the right hand of God and sent the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33).

The Honesty in the Accounts.

Far from making things up or trying to make themselves look good, the men who wrote the gospels were very truthful. They clearly admit:

The apostles all fled when Jesus was arrested: Matt. 26:56

Jesus first appeared to women—not them: John 20:1,18

They refused to believe and were rebuked for it: Mark 16:11-14

They were fearful and not courageous: John 20:19

The Supporting Evidence Outside the New Testament

The New Testament is not the only collection of writings that speak of the historical reality of Jesus. Other sources also mention Him, and these other sources serve like support wires that keep a tall antenna straight, or tie-downs that keep a load secure in the back of a pickup truck.

“Just how many non-Christian sources are there that mention Jesus? Including Josephus, there are ten known non-Christian writers who mention Jesus within 150 years of His life. By contrast, over the same 150 years, there are nine non-Christian sources who mention Tiberius Caesar, the Roman emperor at the time of Jesus. So discounting all the Christian sources, Jesus is actually mentioned by one more source than the Roman emperor. If you include the Christian sources, authors, mentioning Jesus outnumber those mentioning Tiberias 43 to 10” (I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, Geisler and Turek p. 222).

Flavius Josephus (AD 37-101): Antiquities, Book 18, Chapter 3, Paragraph 3

“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ. And then Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day”. Concerning this passage, Edwin Yamauchi notes, “Scholarship has gone through three trends about it (this quotation). For obvious reasons, the early Christians thought it was a wonderful and thoroughly authentic attestation of Jesus and His resurrection. They loved it. Then the entire passage was questioned by at least some scholars during the Enlightenment. But today there’s a remarkable consensus among both Jewish and Christian scholars that the passage as a whole is authentic, although there may be some interpolations (a phrase inserted here or there by a copyist)” (The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel, p. 79).

In addition, Josephus also mentions John the Baptist.

"Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness” (Antiquities, Book 18, Chapter 5, paragraph 2). And James, the brother of Jesus: "Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the Sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done” (Antiquities, Book 20, Chapter 9).One reason why Josephus does not write more about Jesus is that Josephus was interested in political matters and the struggle against the Roman Empire. Remember, unlike the Zealots, Jesus did not object to paying taxes to the Roman Government (Matthew 22), thus Jesus and His followers were not viewed as a political threat. Josephus is quite a reliable historian, his accounts of the Jewish War have proved to be very accurate, and have been verified by archaeological excavations.

Tacitus (A.D. 55-117): Famous Roman Historian: Annals 15:44

“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular…Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty: then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, has of hatred against mankind”.

Commenting upon this passage, Yamauchi notes, “It does provide us with a very remarkable fact, which is this: crucifixion was the most abhorrent fate anyone could undergo, and the fact that there was a movement based on a crucified man has to be explained. How can you explain the spread of a religion based on the worship of a man who had suffered the most ignominious death possible?” (The Case for Christ, p. 82). Also notice that Tacitus reports that an immense multitude held so strongly to their beliefs in Christ that they were willing to die rather than recant.

Pliny the Younger, Governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor (112 A.D.)

“They (the Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food but food of an ordinary and innocent kind”.

This quotation reveals a couple of things: Jesus was worshipped as God (John 1:1). Christians had high ethical standards, and they were not easily swayed from their convictions. It equally infers the rapid spread of Christianity, both in cities and rural areas and among every class of persons.

The Talmud (A.D. 500)

“On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, "He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy. Anyone who can say anything in his favor, let him come forward and plead on his behalf." But since nothing was brought forward in his favor he was hanged on the eve of the Passover!” This quotation was taken from the reading in The Babylonian Talmud, transl. by I. Epstein (London: Soncino, 1935), vol. III, Sanhedrin 43a, p. 281 as cited in Habermas, Gary R., The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ, (Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company) 1996. There are a couple of references to Jesus in this large work of Jewish traditions. There are not a lot of references seeing that the Jews, as a whole, did not go into great detail concerning people they viewed as heretics. One passage repeats the rumor that Jesus was born of Roman soldier and Mary, yet this rumor suggests that there was something unusual about His birth. Thus in a negative way, the Talmud admits undeniable things about Jesus:

He really lived.

He was a healer and wonder worker.

He had an unusual birth.

He was crucified during Passover.

He was a popular teacher.

The Day the Earth Went Dark

“Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour” (Matthew 27:45).

Thallus (A.D. 52)

Thallus wrote a history of the Eastern Mediterranean world from the Trojan War to his own time. His writings are only found as citations by others. Julius Africanus, who wrote about A.D. 221, mentioned Thallus’ account of the eclipse of the sun:

“On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun”. So Thallus was apparently saying, “Yes, there had been darkness at the time of the crucifixion, and he speculated it had been caused by an eclipse. Julius then argues that it could not have been an eclipse, given when the crucifixion occurred, that is, during Passover which was a full moon, because it is not possible for a solar eclipse to occur at a full moon. And this writer is not the only writer who mentions this event. Phlegon, a Greek author from Caria writing a chronology soon after 137 A.D., reported that in the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (i.e. 33 A.D.) there was the ‘greatest eclipse of the sun’ and that ‘it became night in the sixth hour of the day (i.e. noon) so that stars even appeared in the heavens. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea” (The Case for Christ, p. 85).

Thus, even if we did not possess a New Testament, from secular sources we would know the following things about Jesus:

He was a Jewish teacher.

He lived a virtuous life.

Many people believed He could heal and cast out demons.

He had a brother named James. 5. Some people believed He was the Messiah, and He claimed to be the Messiah.

He was rejected by the Jewish leaders.

He was crucified under Pontus Pilate in the reign of Tiberias on the eve of the Passover.

Darkness and an earthquake occurred when He died.

Despite a shameful death, many believed and were eyewitnesses of the fact He was still alive and spread this message beyond Palestine so that there were multitudes of believers in Rome by A.D. 64.

All kinds of people, slave and free, worshipped Him as God.

They would not recant even on pain of death.

All The Historical Details.

From the gospel accounts we learn that:

The authorities confirmed the fact that Jesus had died before they released the body for burial: Mark 15:43-45

People handled the body, preparing it with spices and wrapped it—yet detected no life: John 19:40-41

The location of the tomb was well known: Mark 15:46-47; Matt. 27:61; John 19:41

The only entrance into the tomb was blocked by a large stone: Matthew 27:60

The tomb was sealed the authorities and guarded: Matthew 27:65-66

No one had ever been buried in this tomb, so there could be no mistake concerning which remains were Jesus': Mark 15:46

Both the Romans and Jewish authorities wanted the body to remain in the tomb and yet their vigilance could not even begin to prevent the resurrection.

The Changed Lives of the Apostles.

Something significant must have happened between the burial of Jesus and the day of Pentecost in Acts 2— a period of about 50 days.

On the one hand we have the disciples hiding out because they are afraid of the authorities (John 20:19).

Yet some 50 days later, the same group of men are courageously preaching Jesus and the resurrection, defying the authorities (Acts 4:19), willing to be beaten (Acts 5:41), working miracles (Acts 2:43), and giving arguments for the resurrection based Old Testament Scripture (Acts 2:24-32).

Most of these men would die for preaching Jesus, yet they never looked back or backed down.

The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus.

How does one explain the 180 ° conversion to Christianity of one of the most ardent persecutors of the church?

At first Paul is breathing out threats and slaughter (Acts 9:1), and on his way to arrest as many Christians as he could find.

Then shortly thereafter, he is instead preaching Jesus (Acts 9:22), and not only preaching, but being very effective in proving that Jesus was the Christ.

The Events on Pentecost/Establishment of the Church.

Without Jesus, and with just a band of uneducated (Acts 4:13) Galilean disciples, how did Christianity even get off the ground?

Their leader was dead. He had died the death of a criminal. Yet all of a sudden the church has 3000 members (Acts 2:41), then over 5000 just counting the men (Acts 4:4), and then multitudes of men and women (Acts 5:14), even including many former Jewish priests (Acts 6:7).

This is not a movement that took centuries to form and spread, rather, within 30 years of Jesus’ death there are organized churches all over the Roman Empire teaching all the same doctrine.

Neither does it take centuries for the doctrine to form, rather it was all there right in the First Century (Jude 3).

Every Objection against the Resurrection Has Failed.

There is no credible alternative explanation.

There are arguments against the resurrection of Jesus, but these arguments are so very weak, they only tend to only strengthen the conclusion that He was raised.

· The first and original argument was that the disciples had taken the body while the guards slept: Matthew 28:13. Yet it is a sorry excuse, for if the guards were truly sleeping then they could not have known who took the body. It also fails to account for question of why these guards, who were professional soldiers on a serious watch and under threat of death if someone took the body, would fall asleep!

· Some say the women went to the wrong tomb. Yet the tomb was not out in the middle of nowhere and they had been present at the burial. And even if they did—the body would still be in the tomb and such evidence could have easily been available.

· Some say that someone else took the body, but this was impossible: It was a guarded tomb! Furthermore, if the enemies of Jesus took the body—then why was the body never produced after the apostles started to aggressively preach Jesus and the resurrection?

· I find it very telling, that in the book of Acts, both the Jewish and Roman authorities have no argument or answer against the claim that Jesus was raised. The only thing they do is threaten the truth tellers (Acts 4:2,17). It would be a strange strategy to simply threaten— if they had clear evidence against the resurrection, but never used it.

Thus, all the feeble arguments against the resurrection, or others such as Jesus never really did die on the cross, or that the apostles only imagined they saw Him—are, as God would have it, powerful arguments in favor of the resurrection.

What the Arguments Admit:

Unbelievers need to be careful when they try to form an argument against the resurrection, for many of the above arguments clearly admit:

Jesus really did die on the cross and was buried.

The Jewish/Roman authorities had power and control over the tomb.

On the third day that tomb was empty.

The authorities never produced the body even in the face of a rapidly growing Christianity that threatened their influence and power: Acts 6:7

The Only Real Choice Left

A Liar

Really? Did a deceiver give us the Sermon on the Mount, which itself condemns deception?

A Lunatic

Really? Are His life-improving, world-changing teachings the words of a crazy man?

Good Man but not God?

Really? He actually claimed to be the Messiah and good men don’t make false claims.

The Son of God

The only choice left and the one that fits all the facts is that Jesus is truly the Son of God.

If God became man, then we would expect Him to do and be all that Jesus did and was.

He would have an unusual entrance into life.

He would be without sin.

He would manifest the supernatural in the form of miracles.

He would be acutely different from other men.

He would speak the greatest words ever spoken.

He would have a lasting and universal influence.

He would satisfy the spiritual hunger in men and women.

He would exercise power over death.

He would be exceptionally kind, compassionate and confident.