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The Case For The Resurrection Message Four – Passion Series March 7, 2004 |
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After two hours of intense, brutal and very graphic representation of the suffering of Christ we were given a one minute, eighteen second glimpse of what happened next: the Resurrection. Only seventy-eight seconds, but those seventy-eight seconds changed the world. The power of the entire Gospel story is not that Jesus died – though we can not emphasize enough the necessity of Jesus’ death. (See last week’s message, So Many Questions for details) The power of the PASSION of the CHRIST is found in the RESURRECTION of the CHRIST. Lot’s of people had been beaten and scourged by Romans soldiers. Thousands were crucified. What makes the crucifixion story so powerful is what happened next! We don’t have an international holiday commemorating the crucifixion, but we do celebrate Easter because it’s the Resurrection that finishes the story, not the cross. We need to comprehend the passion and the cross, but we need to live out the Resurrection. It is the Resurrection that makes the difference. Dying for our sins was necessary, but it is the new life because of the Resurrection that gives us hope. So this morning we want to discover, the rest of the story. We want to look at the Proof and the Power of the Resurrection. So why do we need to talk about the proof of the Resurrection? Because it’s hard to believe. Don’t get me wrong – I do believe in the Resurrection. The Resurrection may seem obvious, but it’s also hard to believe because people do not normally rise from the dead. It’s even harder to believe if you are unwilling to really look at the evidence honestly – and more importantly – if you are unwilling to respond to the evidence. There’s a powerful scene in the movie, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, which illustrates this point well. It’s a conversation between Pilate, the Roman Governor over Jerusalem, and his wife Claudia. Claudia has already warned her husband to have nothing to do with Jesus and the mockery of a trial because of a terrible dream she had had. Pilate has been challenged by Jesus to accept the truth and Pilate’s response “what is truth”. Later when Pilate and Claudia are along, the conversation begins… PILATE: What is truth Claudia? Do you hear it, recognize it when it was spoken? CLAUDIA: Yes,…don’t you? PILATE: How? Can you tell me? CLAUDIA: (Taking Pilate’s face in her hands and gently shaking her head) If you will not hear the truth, truth no one can tell you. It’s at that point that Pilate makes his pivotal decision. He replies: PILATE: Do you want to know what my truth is Claudia? Did you catch that? Pilate was unwilling to accept the truth, but instead set out to make his own truth. It’s hard to recognize truth that you are unwilling to accept it. So let’s look at the evidence this morning. However, before we look at the facts, let’s look at the theories. Throughout history people have tried to disprove the Resurrection with some pretty lame theories. Why? Because if you can disprove the Resurrection, you can disprove that Jesus is God. And if you can disprove that Jesus is God, then you can pretty much live the way you want without any real consequences. Much like Pilate, they are unwilling to accept THE TRUTH, and instead attempt to create their own. The problem with that is – you can not create truth, you can only accept or reject it. And, in order to reject the truth of the Resurrection people have come up with all sorts of explanations. The oldest explanation or theory is the theft theory. It goes all the way back to the morning of the Resurrection. Look at Matthew chapter twenty-eight. “some of the soldiers who had been guarding the tomb went into the city to tell the leading priests everything that had happened. Then the priests met with the older Jewish leaders and made a plan. They paid the soldiers a large amount of money and said to them, “Tell the people that Jesus’ followers came during the night and stole the body while you were asleep. If the governor hears about this, we will satisfy him and save you from trouble.” So the soldiers kept the money and did as they were told. And that story is still spread among the Jewish people even today.” Matthew 28:11-15 Of course the theory, even on face value, is silly. First, Roman soldiers were killed if they lost possession of their charge. That’s why the priests told the Roman soldiers they would “satisfy” Pilate (the governor). Second, how would they have known it was the disciples who stole the body if they were all asleep. Third, how would they all have been able to sleep through fifteen or sixteen men rolling back the stone door? Another theory is that the women and subsequently the disciples, who found the empty tomb made the mistake of going to the wrong tomb. In their excitement they went off to tell everyone what they had found. I think you can see the foolishness of this theory right away. Even if the ladies had been mistaken, Peter and John surely would have gone to the right tomb. On top of that, if it was all a big mistake, why pay off the Roman guards? Why not just take everyone to the right tomb and disprove the Resurrection? A really cool theory is what has come to be known as the “swoon theory”. This one goes like this… ”Jesus wasn’t really dead. He just fainted on the cross and after laying in a cool place (the tomb) for a while (three days) he revived and walked out of the tomb.” I love this one the best I think because it’s soooooo unbelievable. Let’s think about this one together… Beat a man to within a few breaths of life. Shred his body to a point that he is beyond recognition. Then nail him to a cross where he hangs for six hours. Then thrust a sharp spear into his side all the way to the heart (where blood and fluid around the heart come pouring out). Then wrap him tightly in grave cloth (including his face) and leave him in a tomb. After three days this guy’s going to jump up, move a stone door (that would take a large group of men to move) and then appear before his disciples. Even if it were possible, it would not be a triumphant entry – but someone badly in need of medical attention. People have been coming up with these kinds of silly theories for two thousand years. One final theory I’ll share this morning is the “imposter” theory. This one claims that it wasn’t really Jesus on the cross at all, but an imposter posing as Jesus. (This is one that Islam teaches.) First, I’d really like to meet the man who would be willing to go through what Jesus went through just to pull off such a hoax. Any volunteers? The real problem with this explanation is that too many people recognized Jesus. They were close to Him. Do you think the religious leaders would have let that happen – they wanted Jesus dead! Beyond that, all you have to do is read the Resurrection accounts to see that even skeptics of the Resurrection believed when they saw Jesus and the scars on his hands and in his side. Say what you want, but the theories don’t add up. Skeptics have tried to come up with alternate theories. They have attempted to discredit the Bible as a myth, yet have failed because the Bible has been proven historically (the legal argument) and archeologically (the scientific argument) – TRUE! So what about all those supposed “scholars” that we keep seeing on television and in the media? You know, the ones who feed us all these unreasonable theories? Aren’t they reliable? The answer is simply - no. Many of those you see who are attempting to discredit the Resurrection are connected in some way with the so called “Jesus Seminar”. They may call themselves scholars, but they are not honest scholars. In fact most Christians and non-Christian historians discredit the Jesus Seminarians as a group of biased academics who have an agenda to discredit the Bible and historic Christianity. They start and end with the same premise – Jesus is just human and He would never say or do anything supernatural. They are unwilling to even consider the truth. So we can’t rely on such pseudo scholarship. We could go on – we’ve looked at some of the so called case against the Resurrection, now let’s look at the Case for the Resurrection. Is there any proof that Jesus actually came out of the grave? The answer is an overwhelming yes! I love the way the Book of Acts in the New Testament begins. Listen to these words written by Luke, the first Church historian. “During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time and proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive.” Acts 1:3 The Old King James translation says it this way, “he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs” See that phrase at the end, “infallible proofs”, that means “incapable of error”. It means there’s no way to deny it. Sort of like saying I’m bald. You can’t deny it – it’s just true. So what were those proofs? Let’s quickly look at three this morning: First, there is the proof of the missing body. Jesus wasn’t in the tomb. His body was gone. That’s powerful, so don’t just pass that by quickly. Today you can look at every major religion in the world, look at it’s founder and find their grave. Inside that grave you will find some kind of remains. Not so with Jesus. The tomb was and is empty. There was no denying the empty tomb. All the detractors could do was come up with lame excuses (which we’ve already seen!). Not only was the tomb empty, but the grave clothes were still intact. You have to understand the burial process. They would take the dead body and wrap it tightly with cloth. While they were wrapping they would pour ointments and spices over the cloth. It would become somewhat like a cast in the process, though not as hard. Now, try to remove the grave clothes without tearing them up. Impossible. But when the disciples found the grave wrappings it was as if someone had simply passed out of them leaving them intact. All that was different was the face cloth that was folded. (Mothers…even Jesus made His bed when He got out of it!) The tomb was empty. Second, there is the proof of the resurrected sightings. Jesus appeared to a lot of people! By my count, at least 515 different people saw Jesus after He rose from the dead. Think about that – 515 different people! Lee Strobel who wrote a powerful book called “The Case For Christ” in which he estimated that if each one of those witnesses were called to court to take the witness stand and given just fifteen minutes to speak –it would take over a week of round-the-clock testimony to hear each one. I like what an old preacher once wrote: "A man could be stoned in the Old Testament under the testimony of two or three witnesses (Deut. 17:6; Num. 35:30). A jury of twelve men can now condemn a man to the electric chair. Practically every action of the Supreme Court of the United States, every decision, is based on lesser evidence that the Resurrection of which literally hundreds of people were eyewitnesses. No wonder Jesus said that those who did not believe in His Resurrection according to the Scriptures were “fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken” (Luke 24:25)." – (Filled With the Spirit, Rice, John R. Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1969, p. 34.) How did Jesus appear and who did He appear to? 1. He appeared to several different people at different times. 2. His ate and drank with them (He wasn’t just a ghost). 3. His met with them in Galilee (away from Jerusalem). 4. They actually touched Him. 5. He continued to teach them. 6. He continued to appear to people. 7. 1 Corinthians tells us Jesus appeared to over 500 people at one time and when the Apostle Paul was writing most of those people were still alive. (If he had been lying he certainly would have been found out.) “After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now.” 1 Corinthians 15:6 So who did Jesus actually appear to? He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary on Easter morning near the tomb. Matthew 28:1-9. The second, to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus (a town just west of Jerusalem) Luke 24:15. The third, to Simon Peter, Luke 24:34. The fourth, to ten of the apostles when Thomas was absent. Luke 24:36, John 20:19. All these four appearances took place on the day of his Resurrection. The fifth was to the eleven disciples a week later, this time Thomas was there. John 20:26. The sixth, to seven of the apostles in Galilee, at the sea of Galilee. John 21:4. The seventh, to James, probably His half-brother back in Jerusalem. 1 Corinthians 15:7 The eighth, when Jesus took them to Bethany where He ascended back into heaven. Luke 24:50, John 21:14 That’s a lot of witnesses! Ahh…but Pastor, how can we believe that the Bible accounts are actually true and someone didn’t make all of them up? That’s the point – both Luke (who wrote Acts) and Paul (who wrote 1 Corinthians) are saying that you don’t have to just take their word for it – ask the other eyewitness. Beyond that, the New Testament accounts of the Gospels are some of the most credibly validated writings in all of history.
Think of this example. Much of what we know about the Roman Empire comes from one author, a man named Tacitus, who wrote the Annals of Imperial Rome around 116 AD. Today we have only one copy of a portion of what he wrote (over half of his original writings are lost) and that copy is from over 700 years after Tacitus died. By comparison, we have over 5,000 New Testament manuscripts, in whole or in part, that date back to within fifty to sixty years of their writings. (Strobel, The Case for Christ, pg.61-63) What’s the point? There is no other book in all the world that has been proven more authoritative that the Bible – period. And the Bible lists the eyewitnesses to Jesus being alive after the Resurrection. We even have secular historians such as a man named Josephus who mentions the story of the Resurrection. (He didn’t believe it, but he still accurately reported that there were many eyewitnesses who did!) Proof of the Resurrection? First there is the missing body. Second, there are the eyewitnesses. Third, there is the evidence of the transformed followers. As we said earlier, why would a bunch of people follow a lie, knowing all the time that it was a lie? What was in it for them? They were kicked out of their synagogues (churches) for believing in Jesus. They lost most or all of their worldly possessions for believing and teaching the Resurrection. They were put to death for following Christ. Why would they give up everything if they did not have solid proof that Jesus was alive? Think about Thomas, one of the disciples. His own words were, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” (John 20:25) Even Thomas believed after seeing the resurrected Jesus. Jesus’ half-brother, James who was a skeptic became not only a follower of Jesus, but the Pastor of the church in Jerusalem. And my favorite skeptic of all, Saul, who became known as the Apostle Paul, went around killing early Christians until he came face to face with the resurrected Jesus. You see, the disciples did not expect the Resurrection. Even though Jesus had told them what was coming, they didn’t get it. They didn’t understand. It was not until after they had seen Jesus alive again that they truly believed. The Resurrection changed their lives and their life mission forever! They were transformed from a bunch of fearful, weak men into a powerful group of believers who grew from eleven, to 120, to thousands within days and then spread throughout the entire world with the message of the Resurrection and the Good News that it brings. The greatest evidence of the Resurrection is not the historical or scientific evidence – it’s the evidence of a changed life. That’s why we started this morning by saying we wanted to look at both the proof and the power of the Resurrection. It’s not just the changed lives of people who lived two thousand years ago, but the changed lives of people who live today. You want to see proof that Jesus lives. Look at people who have really had their lives changed. Don’t look at the ones who simply say they are Christians and then live like everyone else. Look at the ones who are genuine believers; whose lives are truly changed because of that belief. Look at the ones who have been freed from the bondage of a sinful life because of Jesus’ forgiveness and victory because of the cross and the Resurrection. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ changes everything. So…has it changed you? = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
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(c) Paul Newell 2004 FamilyFellowship Church P.O. Box 465, Beaumont, CA 92223 |
