Michael Denelsbeck LUO THEO 313 B02
Denelsbeck, Michael
THEO 313 B02 LUO
Dr. Russ Daubert
February 27, 2017
The Resurrection of Christ:
Theological Implications
Journal Article Critique
Critique
Daniel B. Wallace, author of The Resurrection of Christ: Theological Implications, has
taught both New Testament and Greek courses on a graduate level since 1979. He earned a Ph.D.
from Dallas Theological Seminary, and currently teaches New Testament Studies at Dallas
Seminary. Dr. Wallace has written several books, one becoming the standard textbook for New
testament classes in college and seminaries. He is the senior editor for the New Testament
section of the NET bible. He is a member of the Society of New Testament Studies as well as the
Institute of Biblical Research. All of this showing his qualifications for knowing the material in
which he wrote his article.
Dr. Wallace is able to demonstrate through his writing an understanding of the subject in
such a way that it allows the reader to visualize the scenes unfolding before them, but also to see
the importance of those scenes as they happen. Dr. Wallace’s writing style is very relaxed and he
uses terminology and examples to draw the reader in. Dr. Wallace then takes a slightly different
approach than most; he abandons the historical path to focus on the theological implications of
the resurrection. He notes that many times theologians focus too much on the death of Christ,
and skip over the resurrection aspect. Wallace then goes into how the Old Testament revealed
information of the resurrection until God felt there was a need for it. He goes through citing
scripture to back up his arguments, and includes to a slight degree, some of the oppositions
Michael Denelsbeck LUO THEO 313 B02
views. For a believer, this is an informed article. For a non-believer, Wallace does touch on some
opposing views, but only to make his point, not to discuss them in depth.
As for weaknesses, by Dr. Wallace not including any historical backing for the
resurrection, if the reader is a non-believer, they have nothing to go on to validate Wallace’s
claims. If they do not believe the bible, then Wallace has lost his base for the arguments. It is
understood that Wallace purposefully wrote this article in this fashion, but he still leaves much
room for rebuttal based on this.
Personal Conclusion
I fell that Wallace did well getting his point across, which I agree with completely. I
appreciated the nine points which he made, they made it very easy for me to agree with him.
Being a believer of 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who
belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” I appreciated the amount of
scripture that Dr. Wallace used to verify each of the nine points. I feel that the Old Testament
pointed to the resurrection through several scriptures, one of them being Psalm 16:10 “For you
do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit.” Showing that through the
resurrection of Christ the Messiah, we all who believe will also see resurrection. If Jesus was not
resurrected from the dead, then the bible is useless. If Jesus had not been resurrected from the
dead, then our faith has been for nothing. If Jesus has not been resurrected from the grave, then
any hope that we have is for nothing. All of Christianity hinges on the belief and act of God
resurrecting Jesus from the grave. Without this we may as well follow the saying from Isaiah
22:13 “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” For this is what our future will hold without
the resurrected Jesus sitting at the right hand of God in heaven.
Michael Denelsbeck LUO THEO 313 B02
(Word count 607)
Wallace, D. S. (2004, May 28). The Resurrection of Christ: Theological Implications | Bible.org.
Retrieved from https://bible.org/article/resurrection-christ-theological-implications
