“For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:14 ESV).
Before we consider the reference to Jesus’ return in this passage, we should pause to examine the statement that precedes it: “We believe that Jesus died and rose again…” (GNT). You see, a proper understanding of Jesus’ death and resurrection is at least as important as a proper understanding of His life and teachings. The Apostle Paul underscored that importance in the Biblical letter of 1 Corinthians…
“If Christ hasn’t been raised, then your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins, and what’s more, those who have died in Christ are gone forever. If we have a hope in Christ only in this life, then we deserve to be pitied more than anyone else” (1 Corinthians 15:17-19 CEB).
First, Jesus’ death is recorded in all four gospel accounts of His life (Matthew 27:35- 50, Mark 15:27-37, Luke 23:33-46, John 19:23-30). Each gospel also documents Jesus’ resurrection from His burial tomb as well (Matthew 28:1-15, Mark 16:1-13, Luke 24:1-42, John 20:1-29).
In addition, Jesus’ resurrection was attested by many who encountered Him following His crucifixion including…
- Mary Magdelene (John 20:11-16).
- Mary Magdelene and another woman named Mary (Matthew 28:1, 9).
- Simon Peter (Luke 24:34).
- Two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-22).
- The disciples together as a group (Luke 24:33-43).
- The disciples together with Thomas (John 20:26-29).
- Seven disciples together (John 21:1-14).
- The disciples together as a group (Matthew 28:16-20).
- The disciples together as a group (Acts 1:4-9).
- 500 people (1Corinthians 15:6).
- James (1 Corinthians 15:7).
- Paul (1 Corinthians 15:8).
Finally, the Biblical record of Jesus’ crucifixion is supplemented by several extra-Biblical sources as one author attests…
“Perhaps no other fact surrounding the life of the historical Jesus is better attested to than His death by crucifixion. Not only is the crucifixion account included in every gospel narrative… but it is also confirmed by several non-Christian sources. These include the Jewish historian Josephus, the Roman historian Tacitus, the Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata, as well as the Jewish Talmud…
Josephus tells us that ‘Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us…condemned him to the cross…’ …From a perspective of historiography, Jesus’ crucifixion meets the historical criteria of multiple, independent and early eyewitness sources including enemy attestation. John Dominic Crossan, non-Christian critical scholar and co-founder of the Jesus Seminar, states, ‘That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be…'” (1)
(1) Aaron Brake, The Minimal Facts Of The Resurrection Retrieved 16 March 2020 from https://crossexamined.org/the-minimal-facts-of-the-resurrection/