The Resurrection
Science does not make miracles impossible, and we can confidently examine the claim of Christianity that Jesus rose from the dead. The leaders of the Christian community based the validity of the gospel message on this claim from the very beginning. Therefore, if the resurrection can be disproven, Christianity will collapse.
We can draw the following conclusions about the reality of the resurrection:
The Death of Jesus: There would be no resurrection if Jesus had not truly died. Accounts of his execution can be found in multiple ancient sources, including Josephus, Tacitus, and the eyewitness testimony of John. The Roman soldiers did not break Jesus' legs because he was already dead. They pierced Jesus' side with a spear, from which water and blood flowed, providing strong scientific evidence for his death.
The Burial of Jesus: Two members of the Sanhedrin, Joseph and Nicodemus, buried Jesus' body in Joseph's private tomb. Other witnesses saw the location of the tomb, so the women could not have mistaken it when they came to the tomb. Jesus' body was wrapped in cloth with 35 kilograms of spices, making it impossible for Jesus to have escaped. Joseph secured the tomb with a large flat stone, and moving it would have required several men. The Jewish authorities officially sealed the tomb and placed guards to prevent the disciples from stealing the body and spreading rumors of a resurrection.
The Empty Tomb: The women found the tomb empty when they arrived on Monday to finish embalming Jesus' body. The apostles also went to check the tomb, and they found it empty as well. The Jewish authorities were the first to announce that the tomb was empty, and they started spreading the story that the disciples had stolen the body while the guards slept. But can we trust the gospels? The gospels were likely written around AD 50-100. By then, news of Christ's crucifixion and burial could have spread throughout the synagogues. If these stories had been invented later, people would have seen them as fiction. Christians would not have risked telling made-up stories to Jewish communities. There is no reason to assume that these accounts are untrue. The authorities knew from the guards that the tomb was empty, and recognizing this, they sought to discredit the Christian explanation with their own version. The propaganda spread by Christ's enemies is the strongest historical evidence that Jesus' empty tomb was a fact. Had it not been empty, the authorities could have shown Jesus' body.
The Burial Cloths: John found the burial cloths in the tomb, which lay as they had when Jesus' body had been wrapped in them. The body was gone, but it seemed as though Jesus' body had passed through the burial cloths. John had no doubt that he was witnessing supernatural evidence. Grave robbers would not have left the valuable cloths and spices behind if they had only wanted the body; they would not have rolled up the cloths. Moreover, due to the guards, they could not have moved the stone unnoticed.
Eyewitnesses of Christ's Appearances: After the resurrection, Christians met with Christ multiple times over a period of forty days. They saw him, spoke with him, touched him, and even ate with him. It is not possible that 500 people were hallucinating. The first to report the resurrection were the women, who at the time were not considered reliable witnesses. Testimony is valuable only if it is true and easily verifiable. The mere mention of the women's testimony is another sign of historical authenticity. The global presence of the Christian Church is an indisputable fact. From a frightened group of first disciples, a powerful international movement suddenly erupted, rapidly spreading throughout the world. Moreover, the first disciples were Jews, who were not known for evangelizing other nations. What explains this? The Church did not arise to fight for moral renewal, but to testify that God intervened in history, raised Christ from the dead, and that forgiveness of sins is available in His name. The message of the resurrection was at the heart of it. For 2000 years, critics have desperately tried to discredit the resurrection, but the evidence is simply too strong.
John Lennox "Megmagyarázhat- mindent a tudomány?", Evangéliumi Kiadó, Budapest, 2021