6th Sunday in ordinary time - C 2025

 

Every so often, I come across remarks from a Christian leader who, when questioned about the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection, responds with something like this: “Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether Jesus physically rose from the dead.  What matters is that his teachings remained alive in the hearts of his followers.” Or they might say, “Perhaps his body didn’t rise from the dead, but Jesus rose spiritually and lives on in his followers.”

When I hear comments like this, I want to scream and pull my hair out.  Maybe I’m being a bit overdramatic, but not by much.  If Jesus did not physically rise from the dead, then your faith and my faith are in vain.  St. Paul is very clear about this in today’s second reading.  If Jesus has not been raised, then we have no hope for the resurrection of our bodies at the end of time.  If Jesus has not been raised, then we are simply wasting our time here.

Why?  Because if Jesus is God, then, of course, He would be able to physically rise from the dead.  This is the surest proof of His divinity.  It is the action that validates everything He taught and said.  And if He could not overcome death, how can we trust that He is who He claims to be?  How can we trust anything else He taught?

This afternoon (morning), I want to walk through some of the arguments against the historicity of Jesus’ bodily resurrection and show why we have good reason to reject them and believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus.  I won’t be able to cover every argument in one homily, but I will address what I believe are the two most popular objections.

Objection 1: The Apostles Meant “Resurrected” Metaphorically

Some argue that when the apostles said Jesus rose from the dead, they meant it metaphorically.  Here’s why this position is untenable:

1.     The Greek Word “Anastasis” – In the Gospels, the word used for Jesus’ resurrection is anastasis, which specifically means bodily resurrection.  If the Gospel authors intended a metaphorical interpretation, they would have chosen different language, as anastasis was commonly understood to mean a physical rising from the dead.

2.     The Gospels Emphasize Physicality – The Gospel writers go to great lengths to show that Jesus’ resurrection was bodily.  He eats with the disciples.  He invites Thomas to touch the wounds in His hands and side.  He tells the apostles to touch Him to prove He is not a ghost.  Clearly, they wanted to convey that this was a bodily resurrection, not a metaphor.

3.     The Apostles’ Radical Transformation – After the resurrection, the apostles were radically transformed.  All except John died gruesome deaths for their belief.  Would they have been willing to suffer and die for a metaphor?  Their courage makes no sense unless they had encountered a risen, physical Jesus.  They were transformed because they saw a corpse come to life again.

4.     The Empty Tomb – If the Jews and Romans wanted to discredit the apostles, they could have produced Jesus’ body.  But they couldn’t because the tomb was empty.  Some suggest the apostles stole the body.  Really?  This ragtag group somehow overpowered Roman guards, stole the body, and then willingly faced martyrdom for an elaborate hoax?  It defies logic.

Objection 2: The Resurrection Story Became a Legend

Another popular objection is that the resurrection story developed as a legend over time and that the early Church didn’t actually preach or believe in a bodily resurrection.  Here are some reasons for why this argument is flawed:

1.     Early Creed in 1 Corinthians 15 – In today’s second reading, St. Paul writes: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins…that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day…and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve” (1 Corinthians 15:3-5).  Scholars widely agree that this passage reflects an early Christian creed, likely composed within a few years of Jesus’ crucifixion.  This shows that the proclamation of Jesus’ bodily resurrection was present from the very beginning of Christianity, not a later development.

2.     Eyewitness Testimony – St. Paul mentions that Jesus appeared to over five hundred people after His resurrection (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:6).  Paul and the other apostles were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.  Legends take centuries to develop, but the resurrection accounts were circulating within the lifetime of eyewitnesses who could verify or dispute the claims.  Of course, this argument rests on the belief that the Gospels and New Testament writings must be historically reliable.  They are.  However, for the sake of time I cannot unpack every argument here for why that is the case.  For a deeper dive into the historical reliability of the Gospels, I very highly recommend Dr.  Brant Pitre’s The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ.  The evidence supports the claim that the resurrection proclamation was present from the beginning.

3.     The Apostles’ Martyrdom – As mentioned earlier, the apostles and early Christians willingly faced persecution and death for proclaiming the resurrection.  These are historically documented events, not legends.  If the resurrection were merely a legend developed over time or a metaphorical story from the beginning, why would they be willing to die for it?  Their willingness to die only makes sense if they truly believed in the physical resurrection of Jesus.

For the sake of time, these are the only arguments I will offer today.  But as I hope to have shown, the objections to the bodily resurrection of Jesus don’t hold up to scrutiny.  We have good reason to believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus.  The historical evidence points to the apostles proclaiming, from the very beginning, that Jesus rose bodily from the dead.  Jesus was alive, He was crucified, and His corpse came back to life.

And this matters.  It matters because, as St. Paul says, if Christ is not raised, our faith is in vain.  But if Christ is raised, then He truly is God, and everything He taught is trustworthy.  If Jesus has truly risen from the dead, then our faith truly matters.  It matters that we worship Him here at Mass.  It matters that we follow His commandments.  It matters how we live our lives.

If Christ is not risen, then our faith is empty.  But we have every reason to believe that He is risen.  And if Christ is risen, then our faith is not in vain.  Rather, it is something to be treated with the utmost gravity and seriousness.