Did Jesus Really Come Back to Life?

Intro

He is Risen!

Response: He is risen, indeed!

Easter Sunday is all about the resurrection of Jesus

It will mark our final sermon in our “When in Doubt” series

Thank you for your honest questions as we worked through sensitive issues

The resurrection is quite the miracle

It is something that skeptics find hard to believe and often propose alternate theories

Even for believers, we will sometimes wrestle with the doubt, “Did Jesus really come back to life?”

We will approach Scripture with this question and see what it has to say

Pray

The Creed: 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

1 Corinthians 15:3-7 is an early Christian creed

When we look for trustworthy accounts of an event (like the resurrection), we search for the document written closest to that event

This was one of the foundations we laid in our first sermon in the series

While the gospels depict the events of Jesus’ life, many of Paul’s letters were actually written first

His letters give us the earliest indication of what may have happend and what the early church believed

1 Corinthians was likely written between 51-55 AD; only 15 - 20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus

Not only that, but Paul is reciting a creed that he “received” (v. 3) earlier

Likely from the apostles during a time of training in Jerusalem after his conversion (Acts 9)

That would date this creed to 35 AD; 2 years after Jesus died and rose again

This also shows that the idea of Jesus’ resurrection was not a legend that grew over time

Often the case in religions; the further you are from the actual event, the larger the tale grows

But here Paul has learned firsthand the truth about Jesus, from eye-witnesses IMMEDIATELY after it all happened

4 necessary claims of the resurrection found in the creed:

All of these must be in true in order for the belief in the resurrection to be possible

Jesus died: “Christ died for our sins” (v. 3);

Jesus was buried: “he was buried” (v. 4)

Jesus rose from the dead: “he was raised on the third day” (v. 4)

Jesus appeared to His followers: “he appeard to Cephas, then to the twelve” (v. 5); “he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time” (v. 6); “he appeared to James, then to all the apostles” (v. 7); “he appeared also to me” (v. 8)

If any one of these claims is untrue, the resurrection becomes less likely

If he didn’t die, then of course he didn’t come back to life. If we wasn’t buried in a tomb, who cares if it is empty. If the tomb isn’t empty, He remains there still. If He didn’t appear to others after the fact, the body could have just been stolen.

The Evidence

Did Jesus really die on the cross? What if he only appeared to die (swoon theory)?

Torture before the cross was so severe that he was likely “in serious to critical condition even before the nails were driven through his hands and feet” (Alexander Metherell)

The cross killed people ALWAYS; which is why the Romans used it

Nails were driven through wrists and feet (sometimes rope was used)

Death was by asphyxiation; must push up to exhale; when you are too weak to push up you die

Which is why the criminals on either side of Jesus had their legs broken

For good measure, professional soldiers oversaw that everyone died (this was their area of expertise)

A soldier stabbed Jesus with a spear to ensure He was dead; there is no doubt

Was Jesus really buried in a tomb?

An honest question, because criminals on a cross would have been left to rot or thrown into mass graves; not given the dignity of burial in a tomb

Burden of proof: All 4 gospels list Joseph of Arimathea by name as the one who asked for the body of Jesus (trustworthy accounts written close to the events)

It WAS an exception, but one that is reliable and understandable

Did Jesus really come back to life? Was the tomb empty?

The tomb was secure

Large stone rolled in front (explain the disk and groove)

Cf. Mark 16:3 “And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”” (women on their way to pay respects to Jesus)

Guards were also placed to ensure the disciples did NOT steal the body

In Matthew 27, guards were bribed by the authorities to say they fell asleep when the body of Jesus went missing… this proves that the body was indeed missing!

Don’t forget that their were firsthand witnesses to the empty tomb

First witnesses = a group of women (Mary Magdalene mentioned by name in all 4 gospels)

These women saw Jesus’ body being laid in the tomb (cf. Luke 23); they did not mistake which tomb was which, and they knew for sure that Jesus was dead

Women made poor witnesses (did not have trustworthy legal standing)

The only reason they would be recorded as witnesses is if it were true!

Then Peter and others rushed to the tomb to see for themselves; it was indeed EMPTY!

Did Jesus really appear to many firsthand eye witnesses?

Go back to the creed in 1 Cor. 15: Jesus appeared to Peter, then the twelve and then 500 people at once!

The group of 12 and crowd of 500 would make the explanation of hallucination nonsensical

Hallucinations are personal experiences that are never shared by a group

Paul actually invites his original hearers to go and fact check for themselves! (most of whom are still alive, though some of have fallen asleep)

Go and see! Ask away! You only do this if you are confident that these (not quite) 500 witnesses really did see the resurrected Jesus

Consider the impact that seeing the risen Jesus had on everyone

The apostles = All died for their faith; not something you do for a hoax

Jews = Completely re-defined their religion in a blink of an eye

Jews believed in a single, transcendent, personal God. It was absolute blasphemy to propose that any human being should be worshipped. Yet hundreds of Jews began worshipping Jesus literally overnight… What enormous event broke through all of that Jewish resistance? If they had seen [Jesus] resurrected, that would account for it. What other historical answer can do so? (Tim Keller)

The Conclusion

The burden of proof is on the side of the resurrection

There is GOOD REASON to trust that Jesus died, left the tomb empty and appeared to many followers

In other words, there is good reason to believe that Jesus really did come back to life

Yet it always takes faith to believe in this miracle

Share story of the little girl saying, “Good thing He doesn’t stay dead”

Do you have faith in the resurrection of Jesus?

If true, the resurrection changes everything

We have new life NOW

Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:12-17.

Stated negatively here (“still in your sins”) but postively in Romans 6:4.

The resurrection frees you from bondage to sin, death, despair

The resurrection gives you new life (forgiveness, mercy, hope and joy)

Use spring and new plants as an analogy here

It changes the way we approach our death (having the hope of resurrection)

Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:17-22.

The resurrection is the one and only key to our greatest hope: that we will one day follow Jesus and be alive with our God who loves us forever

End with the hope the resurrection gives me for my Mom and for Selah and for myself

This Easter, do you believe that Jesus really came back to life? Your answer to that question makes all the difference