The question of the resurrection of Jesus
Perspectives of two distinguished NT scholars
By Lee Greer, AToday.org.

"'God raised him [Jesus] from the dead,' is probably the earliest distinctively Christian affirmation and confession. It is presuppposed again and again in the earliest Christian writings"¹ and "is the faith to which Paul was converted...(1 Cor. 15.3-8)" notes James D. G. Dunn, Lightfoot (Professor of Divinity, University of Durham, UK) in his monumental work on the historical Jesus.² In chapter 18, "Et Resurrexit" ("and he rose from the dead" cited from the Latin of the Apostles' Creed), Dunn suggests two major categories of tradition behind the resurrection belief: (1) the empty tomb tradition and (2) the appearances tradition.

(1) The empty tomb tradition

• Apparently there were variable versions of the empty tomb, seen first by women who were disciples of Jesus, which is surprising since the value assigned to eye witness evidence by women at that time was lower than that of men (Mark 16:1-8; Matt. 28:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; cf. Mark 16:2; Luke 24:12; John 20:1-10).
• At a time when tombs of famous people were deeply venerated (cf. Acts 2:29), when secondary burial of bones in ossuaries was practiced, there is no evidence (a) of a Jesus tomb-veneration tradition, (b) of any reference to a known but undisturbed tomb location, or (c) that his tomb was unknown. The presence of any of these would have doomed the early Christian case for resurrection.

(2) The appearances or christophanies tradition. According to a number of passages, the risen Christ appeared

• To Mary (John 20:11-18; Luke 24:10; cf. Mark 16:9, which is not present in the earliest manuscripts)
• To the women (Matt. 28:8-10; cf. Luke 24:10)
• To Peter (Luke 24:34; I Cor. 15:5; cf. John 21:1-23)
• To two disciples on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35; cf. Mark 16:12-3, not present in earliest manuscripts)
• To the 11 disciples in Jerusalem on more than one occasion (Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-23, 26-9; I Cor. 15:5)
• To 120? about 40 days later in Jerusalem (Acts 1:3-11)
• To the 11 in Galilee (Mark 16:7; John 21:1-23)
• To 500+ (I Cor. 15:6)
• To James (I Cor. 15:7)
• To all the apostles (I Cor. 15:7)
• Lastly, to Paul on the way to Damascus (Acts 9, etc.; I Cor. 15:8).

Professor Dunn, a confessed believer, argues that even though we don't know details of how the traditions developed, beyond reasonable doubt, the experiences of "resurrection appearances" were added to the growing impact of Jesus' words and actions. The traditions enshrining them have been ultimately transmitted to us. These remain the historical materials with which we can approach this question.

With some contrast, there is Gerd Lüdemann (professor of History and Literature of Early Christianity, University of Göttingen, Germany), a liberal theologian participating as a Fellow of the new Jesus Project, an undertaking of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion or CSER (Council for Secular Humanism / Center for Inquiry) intended to investigate if Jesus actually existed and what we can know about him.³ In an inaugural piece⁴ for the Project, Lüdemann makes only brief mention of the tomb tradition stating that "the Roman authorities apparently allowed Jesus' body to be taken down from the cross; thereupon either Jewish leaders entrusted its entombment to Joseph of Arimathea or persons unknown buried or otherwise got rid of the corpse." Lüdemann goes on to describe the christophanies as "visionary experiences" such as that of Peter who "had a visual and auditory experience of Jesus's [sic] presence." The disciples' reports of "postmortem appearances" embodied in these "personal visionary encounters with the 'Risen One'" accordingly "proved so infectious" that more than 500 saw the risen Jesus on one occasion. Lüdemann comments that "at this point, surely, any non-ecstatic interpretation comes to grief." From there, the early faith then grew, cultivating Jesus' presence or spirit through (a) the act of breaking bread, (b) repeating the words and works of Jesus, and (c) argumentation from the messianic portions of Scripture. Although setting aside the empty tomb tradition, Professor Lüdemann is still left with a tradition of many "visionary experiences."

Ultimately by almost any definition, Dunn joins many others in pointing out, 'resurrection' from the dead is beyond what can be scrutinized by historical investigation. However, the resurrection faith is an inextricable part of the impact which memories of Jesus made on his contemporaries. The central event of Christian faith remains exactly that, an article of hope which continues to inspire millions of Christians worldwide.

¹"(Rom. 4.24-25; 8.11; 1 Cor. 6.14; 15.4, 12, 20; 2 Cor. 4.15; Gal. 1.1; Col. 2.12; 1 Thes. 1.10; Eph. 1.20; 2 Tim. 2.8; Heb. 13.20; 1 Pet. 1.21; Acts 3.15; 4.10; 5.30; 10.40; 13.30, 37)".
²Dunn JDG. 2003. Christianity in the Making (Volume 1): Jesus Remembered. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmanns; 1019 pp.
³Flynn T. 2007. "Prospective impact: The Jesus Project" Free Inquiry 27(3): 14-5.
⁴Lüdemann G. 2007. "What really happened? The rise of primitive Christianity, 30-70 C.E." Free Inquiry 27(3): 24-31.