You Ask me How I Know he Lives?

Scripture Reading

Luke 23:46–24:12 NKJV

And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last. So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!” And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” And they remembered His words. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

The famous hymn states - you ask me how I know he lives, he lives within my heart. Well, that’s not a terrible answer, as the Holy Spirit does live within us. But I think we can be a bit more objective then that. I can prove that he lives, not merely because I feel it, but because that’s what the evidence shows. You ask me how I know he lives? Because the evidence demands a verdict.

I. He Really Died

To prove the resurrection, we first must demonstrate that he truly died. His death was more documented than the death of most famous people prior to the invention of the printing press.

A. He died Publicly

There’s a little observation about Jesus’ actual moment of death. We use the phrase “gave up the ghost” but that is technically true only of Jesus. He actively gave up his life; we can only have it taken from us. In that crowd that saw him die were people of all sorts - his friends and disciples, yes; but also his enemies. And don’t forget, the soldiers were neutral observers. They were pagans, and rough, hardened men who didn’t care who was dying. Roman discipline was famously brutal; if they failed to properly carry out the execution, it was their lives on the line, so they were going to make absolutely sure that this guy was dead.

B. His death was confirmed by experts

the Centurion was specifically mentioned by Luke. How Jesus died impressed him. Why? He knew how crucifixion went. He knew when someone was dead. It was the Roman’s method of ultimate punishment, after all, so he had overseen numerous deaths. This one was different. He’d never seen someone just “give up the ghost,” as many times as he had done it. And he didn’t expect Jesus to react as he did. No one prays for the ones that are killing him. No one promises eternal life to the guy next to him. This was a righteous man.

To add to that, John tells us that later at the request of the Sanhedrin, Pilate ordered the legs of the victims broken because the Jews did not want the bodies to polute the land on the Sabbath. John 19:31-34 This would prevent them from pulling themselves up to breathe, so they would soon suffocate. But when they got to Jesus, they knew he was dead so they didn’t break his legs. But one of the soldiers wanted to make extra sure, so he thrust his spear into Jesus’ side. This wasn’t a little cut, it was a deep thrust that went all the way to the heart. He was dead already, as blood and water came out. The separation of the blood could only happen after death. Still, if somehow he had managed to survive, he is dead anyway.

John 19:31–34 NKJV

Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

Luke tells us that Pilate himself confirmed the death - Mark notes that Pilate was surprised that he was already dead. Mark 15:44-45. It usually took 2-7 days for the victim to die, so it was certainly unusual. But Pilate confirming the death makes Jesus’ death as official as it could possibly have been. From the lowly soldiers to the highest office in the land, all official government channels confirmed that Jesus was dead.

Mark 15:44–45 NKJV

Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

C. He was Buried

It was normal for victims of crucifixion to be thrown into a mass grave; doubtless that’s what happened to the other two victims that day. But Jesus was different; as Isaiah said, though he was branded a criminal, he was with the rich in his death. Now burial in the first century was a little different than today. Many families would have a family tomb which was more of a little cave. Inside the cave there would be benches on which the bodies would be placed. After a few years, the bodies had decomposed to just bones, and the family would return to the tomb, and put the bones into a little box called an ossuary. Then the benches would be ready for the next family member who died. Generations of family members could be buried in one cave.

That’s why Luke notes that no one had every been laid before. This tomb was brand new, so there was no possibility that someone would confuse his body with someone else’s; Furthermore, this was the most expensive kind of tomb; it wasn’t a natural cave, it was hand carved by Joseph of Arimathea for his own family; he was a rich man, so he could afford it.

Because it was necessary to allow access to the tomb periodically, a huge rock would be placed over the door. This rock would be put into a little channel that slopped down and little wedges would keep it from falling down into the door. Once they were ready, the wedges would be removed and it would roll in front of the door by gravity. This rock had to be huge, to keep wild animals out and the smell in. It could easily weigh a couple of tons, and had to be lifted out of the track to move it.

The body was buried with spices; John records about a 100lbs worth; if that sounds expensive, that’s because it was. Jesus was given a rich man’s burial; probably one of the only men to be crucified and then buried with such honor.

This tomb was then sealed, so there was no air in the little cave. That and the enormous weight of the spices would definitely have killed him if he hadn’t have been dead twice over already.

The women observed where the tomb was, so they could not possibly have gotten confused about where Jesus was buried. You don’t forget something like that in a hurry. But the women had to hurry when preparing the spices, since they needed to get everything done before sundown and the Sabbath began. They apparently didn’t quite finish putting all the spices they meant to include, so that’s why they returned Sunday morning. Normally, no one would have been there to observe Jesus’ resurrection, but because of when he died, they made an extra trip to finish everything. This is not an accident.

I. The Unexpected Witnesses

It is worth noting that in all the gospels it was women who were the first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. I have no doubt that the disciples trusted them and believed them, but it would be a bit different in the wider culture. Most people in Greco-Roman society didn’t think women were reliable witnesses, so if you were making it up, you’d not have had women as the first witnesses. The only reason Luke would be telling the story this way is if that’s what actually happened.

The women weren’t expecting Jesus to be gone at all. They were there to finish burial preparations, not find him alive. They were quite confused when Jesus wasn’t there. So not only were these witnesses the ones no one else expected, they were witnesses that didn’t expect the resurrection themselves.

Now one thing no one in the first century ever disputed was that the body was gone. The women didn’t expect it and weren’t strong enough to roll away the stone. The disciples were much too afraid and also didn’t expect Jesus to be alive. The soldiers guarding the tomb had their own lives at stake to make sure the body stayed there. The religious leaders wanted nothing more than to make sure the body stayed there, and if they could have produced the body, they could have squashed the early Christian movement before it even got going. But they didn’t, because it wasn’t there.

II. The Supernatural Confirmation

The second proof of Jesus’ resurrection is that it was confirmed by angels. Now with all the other evidence, it wasn’t strictly needed. However, the resurrection was of such monumental importance, and of such a radical shift in thinking, that God sent a couple of angels to add extra weight to the proof. The fact that angels announced his resurrection is about as firm evidence as you could get. It hit me that part of the reason Luke includes the account of the angels is because he assumes you believe in the supernatural. With so many people having a fundamentally naturalistic worldview, this point of evidence doesn’t impact them quite as much, but that doesn’t make it any less valid.

The angels, of course, already knew what was going on. They believed God already, so weren’t surprised by the resurrection.

III. The Prophetic Confirmation

The third proof of Jesus’ resurrection is his own prediction. The angels don’t have any extra revelation, since their only message is what Jesus already said (Luke 9:44, Luke 18:31-33). But none of Jesus’ disciples accepted the message when Jesus said it, so Jesus’ attempt to prepare them for this moment did not work. I think the reason was that the very thought was so awful they just didn’t hear him beyond the claim “I’m going to die.”

Luke 9:44 NKJV

“Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.”

Luke 18:31–33 NKJV

Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

Luke 22:15 NKJV

Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;

Luke 22:19 NKJV

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Luke 22:21–22 NKJV

But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”

Now when we are trying to follow God, as they were, and God sends us a trial to strengthen our faith, God remains patient with us. They failed to believe, but they weren’t rebellious in spirit. So Jesus dropped it for now, and brought it up later - they failed again. He brought it up at least three times, each time he patiently explained something that really isn’t hard to grasp intellectually. However, they could not comprehend a dying Messiah - a Crucified King was a contradiction in terms to them. They couldn’t reconcile the cognitive dissonance, so they just ignored the plain truth.

Now, however, they are finally ready to hear the simple truth Jesus was trying to tell them all along. They are now ready to believe that Jesus’ death wasn’t an accident, and that he did rise from the dead afterwords. They are ready to do this because now they can’t deny the reality of his death, and are bewildered because the events don’t fit what they think has to happen.

That’s why it states that they “remember his words.” It’s not like they forgot. Jesus had said it so many times. It’s just that it finally clicked - oh, Jesus was trying to tell us he was going to come back from the dead; all the horrible events of the last few days weren’t God failing, but part of the plan.

IV. The Investigation of the Skeptics

When the disciples hear the report of the women, they don’t believe them. They are skeptics, but Peter (of course Peter) takes action. He goes to see for himself, and finds the linen cloths still there. What’s the significance of that? Any grave robber wouldn’t take the time to remove the graveclothes first; they would just take the whole thing. But Jesus’ resurrection body operated according to different rules. Jesus just vanished through them, and left them behind. Peter, however, it seems still didn’t believe. He left wondering to himself confused about these reports.

Again, in the early church environment, where everything believed in the resurrection, the disciples wouldn’t invent a story of their unbelief. That makes them look bad. If you’re making up the story, at least make yourself the hero! But they told it like it was, even though it makes them look bad. It’s quite likely Luke got this account direct from Peter himself.

However, this means that the disciples are here playing the part of the skeptics. They won’t believe unless they have extraordinary evidence, yet the physical reality of the graveclothes is undeniable. Only the resurrection explains it.