Week 13: Chapter 12 — The Resurrection

1.The women come to the tomb expecting to anoint a dead body — they are not expecting resurrection. Keller notes that the first witnesses to the resurrection were women, whose testimony was not legally admissible in the ancient world. Why is it historically significant that the Gospel accounts place women at the center of the resurrection witness? What does this say about the nature of this story — is it the kind of story a fabricator would tell?

2.The young man at the tomb tells the women: "He has risen! He is not here." Keller argues that the resurrection is not resuscitation — Jesus did not simply return to the life he had before. The resurrection is the beginning of a new kind of existence, the firstfruits of the new creation. What difference does it make whether Jesus merely came back to life versus rose to an entirely new form of life?

3.The messenger specifically tells the women: "Go, tell his disciples and Peter..." The singling out of Peter — who had denied Jesus three times — is, Keller argues, an act of extraordinary grace. Jesus is not writing Peter off; he is specifically seeking him out. How does this personalized grace change the way you think about your own failures and the possibility of restoration?