Jesus’ appearances after his resurrection are described in at least five different New Testament books—the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John,[1] the book of Acts, and Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Most of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances are well known: to Mary Magdalene and the women at the tomb,[2] to Read more…
This Sunday, April 9th is Resurrection Sunday (also known as Easter). A couple of years ago, I wrote about the resurrection, and how we can know it really happened. But why is Jesus’s resurrection important? The Bible tells about other people who came alive after being dead, such as Lazarus Read more…
This Sunday, April 2nd, is Palm Sunday, the day on which we commemorate Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, as detailed in Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, and Luke 19:28-44. The story begins with Jesus telling two of his disciples (none of the gospels names them) to go into a nearby village Read more…
In my previous blog entry, I said that the proponents of a Thursday crucifixion make a pretty strong case. But there is one problem. Mark 16:1 says “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might come and anoint Read more…
In my last blog entry I pointed out that if Jesus was crucified on a Friday, as tradition says, then we run into a problem with Matthew 12:39-40, where Jesus predicts that he will be “in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” Friday afternoon to Read more…
Tradition says that Jesus was crucified on a Friday and resurrected on a Sunday. But is that true? What does the Bible say? First, the Bible tells us that the women came to the tomb where Jesus’ body had been laid sometime before or near dawn on “the first day Read more…
April 4th is Resurrection Sunday—also known as Easter—the day Christians celebrate Jesus’ rising from death to life. But did that really happen? (The following discussion is condensed from chapter two of my book, Beyond Blind Faith, which provides much more detail than is possible in a relatively brief blog entry.) Read more…