A Muslim Reflection On The Resurrection Story

For many years our house church met for our Easter sunrise service at the entrance of Massanutten Caverns, the entrance of which is now sealed and with a no trespassing sign.

"Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher and miracle worker walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the "Kingdom of God." The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was captured, tortured and executed as a state criminal."

- Reza Aslan, religion scholar and author of Zealot--The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

Here's what Aslan writes about the resurrection:

"Jesus's resurrection is an extremely difficult topic for the historian to discuss, not least because it falls beyond the scope of any examination of the historical Jesus. Obviously the notion of a man dying a gruesome death and returning to life three days later defies all logic, reason, and sense. One could simply stop the argument there, dismiss the resurrection as a lie, and declare belief in the risen Jesus to be the product of a deludable mind.

"However there is this nagging fact to consider: one after another of those who claimed to have witnessed the risen Jesus went to their own gruesome deaths refusing to recant their testimony. That is not, in itself, unusual. Many zealous Jews died horrible deaths for refusing to deny their beliefs. But these first followers of Jesus were not being asked to reject matters of faith based on events that took place centuries, if not millennia, before. They were being asked to deny something they themselves personally, directly encountered.

"The disciples were themselves fugitives in Jerusalem, complicit in the sedition that led to Jesus's crucifixion. They were repeatedly arrested and abused for their preaching; more than once their leaders had been brought before the Sanhedrin to answer charges of blasphemy. They were beaten, whipped, stoned and crucified, yet they would not cease proclaiming the risen Jesus."

I don't agree with all of Aslan's conclusions, but I found this part of his book fascinating and provocative.

Have a blessed Easter!