We looked last week at the JW teaching that when Jesus died he went out of existence and that it required Jehovah God to raise him because he only existed in God’s memory - like every other creature that dies. It’s important to remember they consider Jesus a creature, albeit the first created. To say their teaching on Christ’s resurrection appearances is convoluted is an understatement. This week we look at the proof texts and begin to answer Watch Tower claims from the Bible.
The central biblical teaching is that of Christ’s resurrection. Paul described it as ‘of first importance.’
‘I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…’ 1 Cor.15:3,4
Peter, at Pentecost, preached a resurrected Christ:
‘Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs...God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death…’ Acts 2:22-24
Bootstrap Jesus
We saw last week the Watch Tower Society teaches that when Jesus died he went out of existence. It required Jehovah God to raise him because he was only in God’s memory:
‘Resurrection involves a reactivating of the life pattern of the individual, which life pattern God has retained in his memory.’ Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, p.333
We learn from Peter’s sermon that God raised Jesus, but Jesus also said that he would raise himself:
‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews then said,’It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had aid this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.’ John 2:18-20
How could a non-existent Jesus raise himself up? By his own non-existent bootstraps? God can create ex-nihilo, from nothing, but can something that doesn’t exist bring itself into existence?
A Physical Resurrection
Last week we learned Jehovah’s Witnesses believe God ‘disposed of Jesus body,’ leaving an empty tomb as evidence of a resurrection. He didn’t need a body since, as they argue from 1 Cor.15, Jesus was raised a spirit:‘So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. The it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a loving being, the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.’’ 1 Cor.15:42-45
They face so many problems here:
This passage is about ‘the resurrection of the dead,’ and not specifically the resurrection of the Christ. It answers the question,’How are the dead raised?’ (v.35) Paul makes clear his meaning when he writes to the Philippian saints:
‘...our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body…’ Phil.3:20,21
Our lowly bodies will be like his glorious body. This destroys the Watch Tower teaching of two grades of kingdom citizenship, those with physical bodies on earth, and those with spirit bodies in heaven. John writes:
‘Beloved, we are God’s children now and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.’ 1 John3:2
Jesus
Christ will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body.
We
know that when he appears we shall be like him.
We have already read from the gospel account of John that the disciples understood Jesus to be prophesying his bodily resurrection. Witnesses believe the resurrected Christ was a spirit being who materialised bodies to fit the occasion, but he was speaking about the temple of his body.
It Was Always Jesus – in the Flesh
They insist the disciples sometimes didn’t recognise Jesus because he appeared in different bodies:
‘Following his resurrection, Jesus did not always appear in the same body of flesh (perhaps to reinforce in their minds the fact that he was a spirit), and so he was not immediately recognisable even by his close associates. (John 20:14,15; 21:4-7)’ Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp 334/335
John 20:14,15 recounts the early morning incident of Mary at the tomb mistaking the risen Christ for the gardener. It seems infinitely more reasonable to understand her failure to recognise Jesus to the light at that time of day, ‘while it was still dark’ (v1), her distraught state, and the fact Jesus would be the last person she would expect to see outside his own tomb.
John 21:4-7 recounts another early morning encounter between fishermen out on the lake, Jesus on the beach, and again an early morning encounter, ‘just as day was breaking.’ v.4 These are not unreasonable explanations, and they make a great deal more sense than Jesus lying to the discipes about not being a spirit in Luke 24:36-43.
The resurrection is fundamental to our faith, without it we have no hope. Paul wrote:
‘If the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins...if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.’ 1 Cor.15:16-19
He also said it is on our confession of the resurrection and Lordship of Jesus that our salvation depends:
‘If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved…’ Romans 10:9
It is imperative that we have the right Lord and the right resurrection. As Matthew wrote;
'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.' Mt.28:5,6
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