The Resurrection:  Myth Or Real?

The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the Christian’s confessions that since first century A. D. has attracted the ire and criticism of other faiths. Even with the clamour of religious tolerance for national cohesion and unity, it is difficult for most non-Christians to accept that Jesus died and bodily resurrected after three days. Is it a myth, a hallucination, a fraud, a mistaken identity of tomb or a reality that Jesus resurrected bodily?
While Christians believe the resurrection of  Jesus Christ  is an attested fact of history, it is one of the fundamental elements of the deity of Jesus Christ, those who are sceptical about it find it difficult to explain the existence of Christianity without the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Though the bodily resurrection is incomprehensible absolutely and a mystery that can only be made known by God to man, this evident which formed the bedrock of the Christian faith has archaeologists’ support- the remains of Jesus was not found in the grave.  Of all the founders of religions that are dead, only Jesus’ remains were not found in the grave, some Christian leaders say.
This finding corroborates the angel’s declaration to Mary Magdalene, “He is not here, He is Risen”. The uniqueness of Christianity lies in the assurance of Jesus Bodily Resurrection.
Though the bodily resurrection narration is fraught with several dissenting opinions from the opposition way back, the  Resurrection Morning, over 2,000 years ago when the soldiers on guard the tomb where financially induced to deny the reality of the event which is as absolute as truth.
The overwhelming effect of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is what informs the annual Easter Conferences and Retreats by all Christ-centred churches who accept the Resurrection as a tenet of the Faith and a cardinal belief in Jesus the Christ.
Paul the divine in his apologetic to the Church at Corinth had articulated why the Resurrection is real and a futility of Christianity without the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Hear him: “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no Resurrection of the dead? But if there be no Resurrection of the dead then is Christ not risen:
“And if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain.
“Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that he raised up Jesus: whom he raised up not….For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
“And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your son’s. Then they also who have fallen asleep in  Christ are perished…
“But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept”.
The controversy on the Jesus Bodily Resurrection dates back to about AD 29, older than Christianity.  However it remains a non-fiction.
Christianity rises and falls on the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ thus Paul states “if only in this life we have hope, then we are of all men most to be pitied”.
According to Tim Lahaye in his devotional, “Perhaps Today”, the central miracle of Christianity is the Resurrection. From the doctrine comes our view of the afterlife.
The District Superintendent of Assemblies of God Nigeria Rivers District, the Rev. Dr. Daddy Ibulubo,described the resurrection as a valid hope of the Christian and mankind.
“The concept of the Resurrection gives us a bit of an appreciation for all that Jesus did on the Cross. It was there He paid the debt for our sin taking our judgement on Himself in order to give us eternal life”.
Also speaking on the Blessed Hope at this year’s Easter Retreat of Assemblies of God, Nigeria, Rivers District, the lead speaker of Area One Zone One (Port Harcourt, Rivers District), the Rev. Johnson Nwanebu, rehearsed the background of the “Blessed Hope”.
According to the man of God, Paul the intrepid evangelist, had founded the little church in Thessalonica, a city given over completely to idolatry and immorality. There were Jews there who rejected his Resurrection message and quickly drove him away.   Then within six months of Paul’s expulsion, he was told that some of the members of the church had died and those who remained wanted to know where the deceased had gone. They were afraid the buried loved ones would be left behind when Jesus will come again.
In responding to their doubts, Paul answers to the rest of us who also ponder over the fate of the dead in the Lord.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, no doubt offers invaluable benefits to mankind and Christianity.
According to Dr. Ibulubo the Blessed Hope is sublime to the final defeat of Satan and the power of death. “Oh death where is your sting, Oh grave where is your victory”.
It underscores the reality of the Resurrection of both the Righteous dead and the Wicked dead at the Rapture and after the 1,000 years reign of Jesus Christ on earth, respectively.
In the view of Rev. Nwanebu,  the resurrection was the greatest event which gave birth to Christian faith and power for divine sonship. He said by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, all people who believed in God through Jesus are empowered to overcome the dictates of the flesh.
No doubt, the Resurrection can not be fully and comprehensively explained. That however, does not mean that it is farcical because religion functions on belief even without proof and reason unlike science and philosophy, respectively.
Dr Ibulubo says what remains a mystery to man for lack of understanding, can be revealed by God through the teaching Ministry of the Holy Spirit called “Illumination”.
In the view of Dr Tim Lahaye, God is well able to take care of what remains a mystery to man. He said for scientific explanation, matter is neither created nor destroyed. While a body may turn to dust or ashes, the elements of a person will never leave the universe. It will be simple thing for God who created the entire universe to call together the elements of all the people who have ever lived in a new resurrected form. If He could speak a word and call this world with all its intricate details into existence, God can certainly bring the dead back to life in a new and improved form.
What is the purpose of the Resurrection, a person may ask?
Dr H. L. Wilmington, a professor of Systematic Theology, says that it is a tragic fact that our world is a materialistic one. So the purpose of the resurrection, among other things, was to destroy man’s final enemy—death.
Rev. Johnson Nwanebu, the Assistant District Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Nigeria, Owerri East lent support to Wilmington’ position and added that the resurrection was to deliver man from curse.
Dr Daddy Ibulubo, also said the purpose was to save man from the dominion of darkness, translate him to God’s kingdom, destroy completely the works of the Satan, whom he said came to steal, kill and destroy.
The Resurrection of Jesus which is the foretaste of the resurrection of the dead, is the explanation why people are transformed inside-out, to live for God through faith in the finished work of Jesus the Christ. How could a person explain the salvation of Paul and the several million Christians who forsook the flesh, sin and the lure of the world to serve God. What changes a sinner to a saint?, What transforms a persecutor of the Christian’s faith to an ardent preacher and martyr of the gospel.  The Resurrection of Jesus, undoubtedly, is the answer.

By:  Igbiki Benibo