The Bible declares 24 times, that it was God the Father who raised His Son Jesus from the dead.
- Acts 2:24 God loosed his pains of death
- Acts 2:32 God raised up this Jesus
- Acts 3:15 God raised the Prince of life …
- Acts 4:10 God raised him from the dead
- Acts 5:30 God of our fathers raised him
- Acts 10:40 Him God raised up the third day
- Acts 13:30 God raised him from the dead
- Acts 13:34 He (God) raised him up from the dead
- Acts 13:37 God raised again Jesus
- Acts 17:31 God raised him from the dead
- Romans 4:24 Him that raised up Jesus
- Romans 6:4 Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father
- Romans 8:11 He (God) that raised up Jesus from the dead
- Romans 10:9 God raised him from the dead
- 1 Corinthians 6:14 God has raised up the Lord
- 1 Corinthians 15:15 God raised up Christ
- 2 Corinthians 4:14 He (God) that raised up the Lord
- Galatians 1:1 God, the Father, who raised him
- Ephesians 1:19-20 by the Father’s mighty power when He (God) raised Christ from the dead
- Colossians 2:12 God who has raised him from the dead
- 1 Thessalonians 1:10 whom He (God) raised from the dead, even Jesus
- Hebrews 13:20 the God of peace brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus
- 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
- 1 Peter 1:21 God raised him up
There are two places in Scripture, both in the book of John, to which people go to claim that Jesus raised himself from the dead.
(1) ”Jesus answered, and said unto them, Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up again” (John 2:19).
(2) “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes if from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (John 10:17-18).
The claim is that if Jesus could raise himself from the dead, he must be God.
Or, because Jesus is God, he could raise himself from the dead.
There are big problems with the interpretation that Jesus raised himself from the dead.
1. Biblical interpretation methodology (hermeneutics). The biggest problem from the perspective of biblical interpretation methodology is that the claim that Jesus raised himself from the dead contradicts a multitude of other Scriptures. The claim breaks one of the main rules of good biblical interpretation:
“Interpret a less clear passage from the clear passage(s)”.
2. Theological problems – besides directly contradicting a multitude of other Scriptures, the claim that Jesus raised himself from the dead does not theologically align with the Bible.
God doesn’t die and the dead don’t raise themselves to life. – Bill Schlegel
Note that despite Trinitarian translations which say \”…..temple, and in three days I will raise it UP again\” (John 2:19). “……my life only to take it UP again……authority to lay it down and authority to take it
UP again…..” (John 10:17-18). The word \”UP\” is not in the Greek. The idea is that Jesus had been both authorized to surrender his life TO God and to take his life \”back\” FROM God – once God had resurrected it.