A Brief History
On Easter Sunday, possibly April 5, 33 AD, the Christian Bible reports the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Although this resurrection is the most well known, there are of course reports of others. Here is a list of 10 of the most notable reports of human resurrection.
10. The Son of the Widow of Zarephath, date unknown.
As reported in the Bible(1 Kings 17:21), the prophet Elijah prayed over the body of the boy that God would “Let this child’s life come unto him again,” and the boy then lived again.
9. The Son of the Woman of Shunem, date unknown.
Also reported in the Bible (2 Kings 4:32) in this case Elisha prays to The Lord over the body of the boy, “putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands.” The child then sneezed 7 times and lived again.
8. The Son of the Widow Nain, circa 33 AD.
In this case cited in the New Testament (Luke 7:11) Jesus arrives at the boy’s burial and raises him from the dead, the first of 3 resurrections attributed to Jesus in the Gospels.
7. Jairus’s Daughter, circa 33 AD.
An interrelated report in 3 of the Gospels, Matthew 9:18-26 reports that Jesus is going to see the dying girl at the request of her father (Jairus), but He arrives after she has died. Jesus then “awakens” her, bringing her back to life.
6. Aristeas of Proconnesus, 7th Century BC.
A Greek poet (and reportedly miracle worker), Aristeas is reported to have “drop’t dead” while in a shop. When the shopkeeper returned with Aristeas’s family, Aristeas was gone and was not seen by them for 7 years. The story continues that 240 years after the resurrection Aristeas was in Italy where he ordered a statue of himself erected.
5. George Foster, 1803.
A condemned criminal, George Foster was hanged in England. When his body was taken down, it was transported to a college where Giovanni Galvani waited to demonstrate his ability to “resurrect” a corpse by using electricity. While observers looked on, Galvani touched electrodes to the corpse of Foster eliciting various twitches, convulsions and the opening of his eye. Of course, the body was just responding to the electrical stimuli and not really made to come back to life. Givanni was the nephew of the famous Luigi Galvani who had done similar experiments with dead frogs, showing that muscles are moved by electrical impulses. This demonstration may have been the inspiration for the Frankenstein story.
4. Dorcas, 1st Century AD.
A woman described in the New Testament as a disciple of Christ who aided the poor (Acts 9:36-42). When she died, Saint Peter was summoned from another city and raised Dorcas from the dead. An interesting note, the name Dorcas is the Greek version of the Aramaic Tabitha which means gazelle. There is an African gazelle called the Dorcas Gazelle.
3. Achilles, circa 8th Century BC.
According to some sources, Achilles, the great warrior hero of the Trojan War was taken from his funeral pyre by his mother and resurrected as an immortal, to spend his new “life” in the underworld (Elysian plains). Despite being a character in mythological literature, a historical “Achilles” may have existed with a basis from an actual great warrior in Greek history. In any event, Ancient Greeks likely believed he actually existed.
2. Lazarus of Bethany, circa 33 AD.
The third miracle of resurrection attributed to Jesus, told in the Gospel of John, Chapter 11. This time, Jesus arrives in Bethany at the behest of the sisters of Lazarus who is ill and dying. Apparently intentionally delaying his trip to Bethany, Jesus arrives after Lazarus is already dead and entombed. Jesus commands that the tomb be opened and he raises Lazarus from the dead.
1. Jesus Christ, circa 33 AD.
As described in the Good Friday article, Jesus is crucified by the Romans. He is then entombed, and on Easter Sunday (2 days later) is risen from the dead after which he continues his ministry for forty days until ascending into Heaven.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Licona, Michael R. The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach. IVP Academic, 2010.
