CFS-WB-CH07

St. Peter Preaching in the Presence of St. Mark, by Fra Angelico.
had to make up a new term to describe the idea of a spiritual and glorified
body; they literally didn’t have a word for it!). Combine the novelty
of the doctrine with how uniquely controversial it was — again, it was
the only area where Christians opposed the prevailing Jewish doctrine,
Christians knew that the negative consequences would be significant,
and yet they fearlessly separated themselves from the doctrine and endured
its consequences, including expulsion from the Synagogue. Thus,
we are forced to ask, where did this conviction come from, if not from
the gloriously resurrected Jesus witnessed by the early Christians?
The early Church sought to
maintain continuity with the
broader Jewish community
when possible, but the
Resurrection necessitated
radical new changes in
doctrine.
4. The Empty Tomb
The empty tomb does not in and of itself give direct evidence of
the Resurrection, of course, but does provide indirect corroboration.
When the Apostles began gaining converts by preaching
the Resurrection, it was in the interests of the Jewish authorities to
© Sophia Institute for Teachers
Unit 3, Chapter 7: Evidence for Jesus’ Divinity
137