News of resurrection puts Jesus’ obituary on hold

“Hold that obit!”

It’s 11:23 Sunday evening, A.D. 30, and we’re in the editorial offices of the Jerusalem Daily Journal.

On Friday afternoon a man known locally as Jesus of Nazareth was publicly executed on Skull Hill, just northwest of the city wall. According to the governor’s office, the body of the deceased was subsequently buried in a local tomb with a Roman guard posted nearby.

However, since early this morning we’ve been receiving reports. Multiple reports. Eyewitness reports. Reports from credible sources. Jesus of Nazareth has been seen in a variety of places. The garden tomb where the body was buried is empty. And strangely, the governor’s office is refusing comment.

Here at the Journal, Jesus’ death notice is in final copy. The presses are ready to roll. So what to do? Can these reports – should these reports – be ignored?

You’re the editor. How will you handle this? How long will you hold this obituary?

The question may be more than idle, fiction-illustrated conjecture. The Bible contains a verse that says this: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”

In other words, one’s eternal destiny hinges in part on one’s position on the resurrection of Christ.

So what’s your verdict? The resurrection of Christ. Is it real history or religious myth?

Would you e-mail your opinion to AIIAInstitute@aol.com within the next week? Write “Resurrection” or “No resurrection” in the subject line. Relate one major factor that has led you to accept or reject the doctrine, e.g. “Not scientific,” “Family influence,” “The Bible says so,” or “Koran disputes it.”

Provide your name, home town and telephone number. Your e-mail should consist of no more than 10 words.

Sincere opinions from Jews, Muslims, Hispanics, African Americans, whites, fundamentalists, liberals, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and others are welcomed. Please do not expect a reply to your e-mail. But after May 1, the results of this informal poll will be available upon request.

If you are currently uncertain what to believe about the resurrection, or if you are open to that which would further inform your opinion, you should know about Simon Greenleaf.

Simon Greenleaf was born in 1783. As a young man he prepared for a career in law under the tutelage of Ezekiel Whitman, once a chief justice of Maine. He practiced law here in Maine. He was appointed reporter of Maine’s supreme court when it was established in 1820. His own legal reputation and practice grew until he became, quite possibly, the foremost legal figure in the state at that time.

When he was 50, Greenleaf accepted an offer to become Royal professor of law at Harvard University’s Law School, a distinguished post that he held for 13 years.

Greenleaf was granted Doctor of Law degrees by Harvard, Amherst and the University of Alabama. He wrote a highly respected text and numerous papers, played a role in the formation of Liberia’s original constitution, and on at least one occasion appeared as chief counsel before the U.S. Supreme Court.

A chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court once referred to Dr. Greenleaf as “the greatest authority on legal evidence that ever lived.”

At one point in his career, Simon Greenleaf mounted an intensive examination into evidence from the Gospel accounts for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The result of his work was a published piece entitled “The Testimony of the Evangelists Examined by the Rules of Evidence Administered in Courts of Justice.”

Greenleaf concluded that in any unbiased courtroom in the world, if such evidence were presented, it would be adjudged as absolute historical fact.

Today, Gary R. Habermas, Ph.D., a professor of philosophy and theology at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., is another widely recognized authority on the resurrection of Jesus. The author of 25 books and hundreds of published articles, he is arguably the leading contemporary evangelical scholar on the subject.

In 2004, Dr. Habermas joined with Michael R. Licona to publish a definitive, highly acclaimed text entitled “The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus.” The book responds handily to almost every conceivable issue raised by those who question the historicity of the resurrection.

With such powerful testimony brought to bear on the matter and with so much riding on your own personal verdict, why “hold that obit” any longer? You owe it to yourself to take an informed stand today.

The Rev. Daryl E. Witmer is founder and director of the AIIA Institute, a national apologetics ministry, and associate pastor of the Monson Community Church. He may be reached through the Web site at AIIA.ChristianAnswers.Net or by e-mail at AIIAInstitute@aol.com. Simon Greenleaf image from a 1997 painting by C. Spontylides