The Resurrection! What an exciting opportunity it is to celebrate the privilege of being a Christian. But, what does that really mean, and how is it intrinsically tied to Jesus Christ and our responsibility to correctly teach others about the most important series of events in all of history?
Paul, the penman of First Corinthians gives a succinct, exact answer; that is, he codifies these events as the gospel: … I declare unto you the gospel … By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you … (If we live accordingly)
- how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (Jesus didn’t just die; He died for our sins as predicted hundreds of years beforehand.)
- And that he was buried,
- And that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (The expression referring to the fact that things happened according to the Scriptures or that the Scriptures would be fulfilled occurs more than 30 times in the New Testament.)
If there are discrepancies between the Scriptures and the life of Jesus, then either the Scriptures are wrong or Jesus is not God, and we have no future beyond this life. However, neither of the aforementioned can be false, if our theology and our Bible are doctrinally accurate.
If you do not understand why it’s important that our Bible is doctrinally sound, send for our publication “Who Changed the Truth …?” or study our online article.
Additional vital factual proofs of the Resurrection are given by Paul. He records that more than 500 people saw Jesus alive, bodily. In the forty days that Jesus again walked upon this earth, after His resurrection, He appeared to more than 500 eye witnesses. After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present … after that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles, And last of all he was seen of me [Paul] also … 1 Corinthians 15:6-8
Why is it important to establish the fact that Jesus arose after His physical death?
And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 1 Corinthians 15:14 If our faith is in vain (false), then … ye are yet in your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:17 The consequence of being in sin is eternal separation from the LORD. The blood that Christ shed on the cross paid the price (atoned) for the sins from which we turn (repent). IF you do not understand or cannot explain to others why it is that Jesus, rather than God, had to be the One to shed His blood to atone for our sins, review our teaching: https://www.restorationofthefamily.org/a-dichotomy-a-child-a-son/
Those who are habitual liars, thieves, drunkards, murderers, fornicators, or adulterers (those who divorce and marry another while they have a living covenant spouse), etc. are examples of those who haven’t repented of a lifestyle sin. They choose to separate themselves from the sin debt payment Jesus made by the shedding of His blood on the cross. The latter is the only way for which sin can be atoned (paid for). Forgiveness restores broken relationships, but to receive forgiveness there must be a sacrifice which “atones” for the sin.
Minute details of the Resurrection were accurately predicted hundreds of years before Jesus Christ mysteriously escaped (resurrected) from a tomb barricaded with a stone that could have weighed between one and two tons. This was after He had been brutally beaten; died after being nailed through his hands and feet to a cross for six hours; His body taken from the cross and placed in a tomb owned by a wealthy follower, Joseph of Arimathaea, and wrapped with linen and … a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. John 19:39
Pilate had ordered that the tomb be securely sealed and guarded. It may be ironic that it appears that Pilate had more belief than did the followers of Jesus that Jesus would arise on the third day. Pilate said to those who were sent to guard the tomb of Jesus … make it as sure as you can. Matthew 27:65
Why did those who were intimate friends not recognize the risen Jesus?
In addition to the undisputable Biblical statistics of those who saw Jesus after His Resurrection, what may be behind the mystery of Christ’s identification to some of His closest friends? This included even His disciples, both men and women, who walked with Him and were trained by Him in an intimate relationship for some three years.
Mary Magdalene, a close, loyal disciple of Jesus, was the first to see Him after His Resurrection. She thought He was the gardener. How strange is that? She was at the tomb early in the morning and was weeping. One of the two angels at the sepulcher said to her … Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. John 20:13-15 … She, supposing him to be the gardener … John 20:13-15
Two Disciples who witnessed the Resurrection didn’t recognize Jesus. Why? They were on the road to Emmaus when they were joined by a stranger and entered in to a seven-mile Bible study by this stranger, the Resurrected Jesus.
And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. Luke 24:15-16 The two disciples were surprised that this stranger, Jesus, didn’t seem to know about … how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. Luke 24:20 Jesus continued with them, even chastising them while sharing Scriptures: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:26-27
This was for the seven-mile journey. However, when Jesus acted as if he were going to leave them, the two … constrained him saying, Abide with us … This Jesus did. However, even though it was customary for the host to serve, Jesus … took bread and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him … Luke 24: 30-31 Since it seems that the two disciples did not recognize the visage (face) of Jesus, what happened that their eyes were opened, and they knew him? Was it not when Jesus handed the bread to them, and they took it from His hands. What did they see? Would it not have been the nail prints in the palms of His hands? But Jesus … vanished out of their sight. Luke 24:31
The disciples recognized the nail prints in the palms of the hands of Jesus.
The two disciples immediately left to return to Jerusalem to share with eleven disciples the news that Jesus had Resurrected … and how he [Jesus] was known of them in breaking of bread. Luke 24:35 Immediately after they shared this wonderful information, Jesus suddenly … stood in the midst of them. Luke 24:36 What did He tell them? Behold my hands and my feet … Luke 24:39 In case anyone should doubt, the Scripture repeats again in verse 40: And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
They, and Jesus, knew 100% where the nails had pierced His body. The pure WORD had taught them, just as the Scripture teaches every person who studies … to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 Jesus further reminded them of the Old Testament from where they likely had studied as He told them … all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me … and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached … Luke 24:44, 47 There is no question that Jesus requires all to preach that we must repent from sin else there is no remission (atonement) for sin.
As noted above, when the two disciples on the road to Emmaus went to Jerusalem to meet with the eleven, it was the nail prints in the hands of Jesus that helped the disciples to recognize their LORD and Saviour in His Resurrected body.
But why was it not the face (visage) of Jesus that His disciples recognized?
It’s time to stop and ponder some other vital information given in the Scriptures which confirms further that those with whom Jesus had intimate daily communication did not recognize His face. With Mary Magdalene, it was when she heard Jesus call her name: Jesus said unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. John 20:16 She recognized His voice, not His face (visage): My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
What about one’s visage (face)? A personal experience gave me insight. When my husband and I were in graduate school many years ago, we lived in married student housing. Near us, on the same floor, lived a couple who would become our best friends at this huge university complex. What was so unique that I would bring this friendship into this teaching?
The husband, George, was a brilliant, very personable, talented man who graduated the same year my husband and I did. George, however, was totally blind, and his VISAGE was something very different. You see, George’s face had been partially blown off by a flare that blew up in his face when he was in the armed forces. His assigned task: to set the flares on the ship for incoming war planes. However, one fatal night, one of the flares misfired and blew up in his face. They said he would not live to make it to the emergency hospital, but live he did. After months of reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation, George married his dear wife whom he met in the hospital. She was a nurse in the hospital where he received much of his treatment.
If we would have known George before the accident, we likely would never have visually recognized him as we now knew him as his face was not attractive (comely). There was no natural nose or eyes, only scars and depressions behind those sun glasses that he wore in public. His face was quite deformed; but it was the person behind that face that we learned to love and cherish, and we knew well his voice.
Thus, I have what has become to me a personal, understandable parallel to what is recorded in the Bible when the very dear intimate friends of Jesus did not recognize Him when they saw him after His Resurrection. This is because I have pondered not just the New but the Old Testament Scriptures. We learn in the New Testament that Jesus was brutally beaten, spit upon, and abused in so many different, cruel ways. However, the Old Testament prophet Isaiah clearly gives us important prophetic details written hundreds of years before this abuse on the body of Jesus took place.
His visage was marred.
It may help to also review the word visage. It refers to a person’s face and to its form or proportion of the features. Study Isaiah’s prophetic statements about the visage (face) of Jesus: As many were astonied at thee [Jesus]; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men. Isaiah 52:14 … he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. Isaiah 53:2
Many were astonied: shocked at Him—His form was so disfigured, and His visage so marred. The astonishment would be extreme shock. His face was marred: defaced, destroyed, disfigured so much more than any other man; He no longer retained the appearance of any man. Isaiah records what might have been a large contributing factor to the total disfigurement of the visage (face) of Jesus. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. Isaiah 50:6
What would likely happen if a man’s beard were pulled out by the handfuls? The skin would also be pulled off, badly scarring and disfiguring the face.
The “marks” of Jesus’ humiliation must be accurately taught and recognized.
One of the major, indistinguishable ways Jesus will be known to us will also likely be by the scars on his body. These will uniquely distinguish Jesus: His face scarred and unattractive; the scar on His side and the nail prints in His hands and feet.
It’s vital that every Christian understand the importance of accurately teaching these facts to others and that the Bible, graphics, and teachers accurately relate these details. However, one aspect of the permanent marks on the body of Jesus, and the one He specifically referenced the most, was the nail prints in his hands. However, many may have seen pictures in which Jesus is falsely depicted as being nailed to the cross through his wrists. This is a horrific error.
Many have been falsely taught that nails in the palm of the hands of Jesus could not have held Him on the cross and that the flesh would rip off and release His body. First, and foremost, we must realize that it wasn’t the nails that really held Jesus; it was the power of God; however, it is TRUE that the nails did hold the weight of His body.
Sadly, some misguided teachers tell their listeners that the Word of God is not accurate. They imply that God did not distinguish between the wrists and the palms of His very own hands. After all, they say, those who are knowledgeable KNOW that nails in the palms of the hands would rip through one’s skin. They falsely allege that the nail-pierced hands could not hold the weight of a mature man on the cross. Such erroneous statements negate both spiritual and biological facts.
The Passover is prophetical.
In both the Old and New Testaments, the LORD repeatedly tells us that not a bone of Jesus would be broken. This immutable, prophetical fact is further illustrated by commanding the Israelites, when preparing the Passover Lamb, to not break a bone.
Jesus is our “Passover Lamb.”
The ordinances of the Passover, established hundreds of years ago on the eve of the Exodus from Egypt, state clearly and repetitively that no bone could be broken … for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. 1 Corinthians 5:7 In one house shall it [ the Passover Lamb] be eaten … neither shall ye break a bone thereof. Exodus 12:46 They shall leave none of it [the Passover Lamb] unto the morning, nor break any bone of it … Numbers 9:12
Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus … they brake not his legs … for these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. John 19:32, 33, 36
Everything was done so that the Scripture would be fulfilled … (The word fulfilled is used in the New Testament 57 times.)
Some biological facts give additional physical proof.
I don’t know about you, but I believe the Word, even when many others say it cannot be true. On this matter of the hands of Jesus being nailed to the cross, the LORD, I believe providentially, brought to me a dear brother not only deeply studied in the Scriptures but with a background in biology, anatomy, and physiology. As we conversed by mail, he shared first his theology, then his medical background and how he knew, first, Scripturally, and then confirmed medically, that Jesus was nailed through His hands to that tree (cross).
“My father,” wrote Brother Rafael, “was a MD. I studied biology, anatomy, physiology and others; but the most important is that I worked for 33 years in the labs at the University of Miami, School of Medicine.
“There is not a square centimeter in the body that has not its scientific name. There surely is not a small space in the wrist that does not have any bones, medically proving that Jesus could not have been nailed to the cross through His wrists without breaking bones.
“Those who think that Christ’s hand would rip away not only lack knowledge in anatomy and Bible but aren’t thinking of the manly hand of one who was a construction worker since His early childhood.”
The nails had to be in the hands of Jesus (selected notes from R.L. Serralta).
Brother Serralta writes: “The hand is full of conjunctive tissues, which are stronger than a rope: tendons, transverse ligaments, and aponeurosises. Consider also the hand strength of Jesus, a 33-year-old carpenter who started in the trade with His adoptive carpenter father Joseph. Is this not the carpenter … Mark 6:3 It’s not possible that tendons of a person’s hands, transverse ligaments and aponeurosies, pierced by a nail, give way to let the weight of the body rip the hand because conjunctive tissue is very strong. This wouldn’t happen even if the body of Christ was hung from only one hand, much less than from both. This lie (that Jesus was nailed through the wrists) was introduced into Christianity by its enemies, especially by the Russellites.
“Above and beyond all these anatomical arguments are the Biblical arguments. In the Bible, it says consistently that Jesus was pierced at His hands and His feet. It never ever mentions the wrists. Why then are people trying to instill in us, by means of pictures and conferences, that Jesus was nailed at His wrists? What are they up to? Here’s what Jesus said when He showed himself to apostles: … Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails … I [Thomas] will not believe … Then saith he [Jesus] to Thomas: Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands … John 20:25-27 And when he [Jesus] had so said, he shewed unto them his hands … Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. John 20:20
And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? … Behold my hands … that it is I myself … and when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands … Luke 24:38-40 The “identifying mark” Jesus emphasized was His hands, not His wrists. Likewise do Old Testament writers record in agreement: For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. Psalm 22:16 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? … Zechariah 13:6
Brother Serralta writes: “Here’s what many authors state today about the nails that were placed in the body of Jesus. This, of course, is incorrect Scripturally which is MOST important, but anatomically also:
‘Most pictures of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ show the nails driven through the palms, but this was not the case, because nails driven into the palms would have torn through the soft tissue of the hand due to the continuing weight of the victim.’”
What if your eternal salvation were at stake?
What if your eternal salvation depended on your correctly identifying Jesus from your Bible and all you had was the book of Zechariah from which you would be able to, without a doubt, identify Jesus from the many counterfeits? Which Bible would give the correct description that Jesus used to reveal Himself to His followers? Yes, EVERY Word of God must be pure. Study the table below to discern the errors in the new version Bibles: the NIV, NKJV, ESV, and NASV.
The Hebrew word yadeyka is translated more than 1600 times as hand(s) in the Old Testament. It is never translated as back, body, or arms. New version authors have inserted very serious doctrinal changes to how Jesus “showed” Himself to His close followers as He prophesied He would do—hundreds of years before this happened. But, perhaps more important is the fact that these new version authors are falsely quoting the LORD and making God’s words incongruent and false. There is a Hebrew word for back (achowr); it is nowhere in the text from where the new version authors are translating in Zechariah 13:6.
Brother Serralta continued his anatomical explanation of the bones and hands with the following:
“If any bone of Jesus could not be broken, then a nail could not have been driven through his wrists because then for sure his wrist bones would have been broken. The wrist has eight bones: scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, and hamate. These bones are kept tightly together by ligaments in such a way that if you drive a nail through the wrist, you have to pierce and break some of them. See image of wrist.”
“The five metacarpal bones which constitute the palm of the hand are separate from each other (image at right), and thus a nail can be driven between two of them without breaking any. Therefore, Jesus could not be nailed by the wrists but by the palms of the hands.”
“There are now some questionable ‘scholars’ that are trying to convince Christians that in ancient times, people never did make a difference between the hand and wrist in order to justify that Jesus was nailed by the wrist. This is false. In ancient times, they made a difference between hand and wrist. Both Latin and Greek have a word for wrist: in Latin, it was, ‘carpus,’ and in Greek it was pronounced very similar but written ΚΑΡΠΟΣ (carpoz). What these dubious scholars say is not true.”
It’s your choice.
Whether to believe the Scripture or man is a decision each person must make. Do we believe Jesus when He told His followers to observe the nail prints in His hands, or do we believe those who choose to believe man’s philosophies and conjectures?
If you have questions or would like prayer, please write to us. We are blessed when we hear from you.
In Christ’s Service,
Judith Brumbaugh
President/Founder
Restoration Of The Family, Inc.
P.O. Box 621342 Oviedo, FL 32762
www.RestorationOfTheFamily.org
