Post Author: Bill Pratt
Historical scholar Mike Licona, in his book The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach
A priority must be assigned to Paul because he is the earliest known author to mention the resurrection of Jesus, and there are numerous extant texts he wrote that give us clues pertaining to the nature of Jesus’ resurrection. Paul’s letters are the only verifiable reports by a verifiable eyewitness of the risen Jesus himself. And he personally knew the other disciples, who were also claiming that the risen Jesus had appeared to them in both individual and group settings.
Paul’s conversion is especially interesting because he was an enemy of the church when his experience of the risen Jesus occurred. Therefore Jesus’ resurrection is reported not only by his friends but also by at least someone who was a vehement foe at the time of the experience. Paul’s belief that he had witnessed the risen Christ was so strong that he, like the original disciples, was willing to suffer continuously for the sake of the gospel, even to the point of martyrdom.
Let’s recap what Licona is saying. Paul is important because:
- He is the earliest known author to mention the resurrection of Jesus.
- There are numerous extant texts he wrote that give us clues pertaining to the nature of Jesus’ resurrection.
- Paul’s letters are the only verifiable reports by a verifiable eyewitness of the risen Jesus himself.
- He personally knew the other disciples, who were also claiming that the risen Jesus had appeared to them in both individual and group settings.
- He was an enemy of the church when his experience of the risen Jesus occurred.
- He was willing to suffer and be martyred because his belief in the risen Jesus was so strong.
In future posts, we will look at a couple of skeptical arguments as to why we should discount Paul’s writings as evidence of the resurrection. Licona presents these arguments and then responds to them, so stay tuned.