The risen Christ: A bodily or spiritual resurrection? The empty tomb as historical evidence in favour of the bodily resurrection of Jesus

Abstract

The resurrection of Jesus Christ has been and remains a topic of debate among New Testament scholars. Accepting that some form of resurrection occurred, the central question remains: Was the resurrection of Jesus bodily or spiritual?This study is biblical research in the field of the New Testament (NT). Hence, I will attempt to answer the stated question from an exegetical perspective within the reformed tradition, which accepts Scripture as the supreme authority. The aim of the study is to demonstrate that there is reliable historical evidence that the discovery of the empty tomb with empty burial linen favours the bodily resurrection. Therefore, the investigation will include a discussion of two opposing views about the resurrection, death, burial, the eyewitnesses, the empty tomb, the missing corpse and the resurrection of Jesus taking the gospel accounts as point of departure. In addition, other literature will be analysed, relevant Old Testament (OT) passages, extra-biblical and non-biblical sources will provide substantive data regarding the subject of the resurrection. The extra-biblical sources are sources or literature that was written by earlier Christians other than the evangelists while the non-biblical sources are sources from writers that did not belief in Jesus. Thus, non-biblical sources including evidence from Jewish and Roman historians namely Flavius Josephus and Cornelius Tacitus, among others. Thus, an exegetical framework of the passion narratives of the gospel accounts (Mtt. 28:1-10; Mk. 16:1-11; Luk. 24:1-12; Joh. 20:1-17) will facilitate an explicit comprehension of the resurrection event and provide a basis for discussion and investigations. The historical-critical method, more specifically source criticism, will be used to investigate the credibility, historicity and facticity of the passion narratives.