John 20:1-18

How do you handle shocking news? I see it on a weekly basis. A patient in the hospital is doing well and all of a sudden they pass away. Families begin to grieve and a part of their grief is anger, and denial. They want proof that their loved one is no longer alive. The resurrection of Jesus was shocking news, and it is still shocking news to many today in the sense that they want proof that Jesus really did resurrect from the dead, good news is that we have evidence of the resurrection

-But It want us to consider a few things before we get to the evidence of the resurrection in John 20:1-18.

-First, why is the resurrection of Jesus so important?

-Paul made the case pretty clear in 1 Cor. 15. They were teaching at the church in Corinth that there was no bodily resurrection for followers of Christ, Paul assures them that if there is no resurrection for believers then Christ did not rise from the dead and if Christ did not rise from the dead then our preaching of the gospel is to of no avail, what are we doing here if we do not live for a risen Savior, Christ had to rise from the dead this is of vital importance, if Christ had not risen from the dead then there is no victory over sin and death, the resurrection of Christ is the triumph over sin and death

-the resurrection of Christ is also important because Jesus said He would

Matthew 16:21 ESV

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

John 2:19 ESV

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

-So if Christ did not rise from the dead then He is a liar, Scripture teaches that Christ knew no sin and was a perfect sacrifice

-If Christ did not rise from the dead then we cannot trust the Scriptures, OT prophecy about the death and resurrection of Christ

Isaiah 53:10–11 ESV

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Daniel 12:2–3 ESV

2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Hosea 6:1–2 ESV

1 “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.

Martin Luther - the resurrection is the chief point of the whole Bible

-Christ had to rise from the dead and He did

1211The resurrection is a fact better attested than any event recorded in any history, whether ancient or modern.—15.185

Charles Spurgeon

-What is the proof, what are the evidences of the resurrection?

The Empty Tomb

-all four gospel accounts record that the tomb was empty

-early, Mark = very early, Luke = early dawn, Matthew = dawn

-So what would Mary Magadelene think about the stone being rolled away from the tomb? Would she remember the times in which Jesus said He would resurrect, no instead she runs to the tomb and suspects someone has taken his body

-Shows that this was not some plot by the disciples to take the body of Christ, they were not even expecting Him to have risen from the dead, Mark 16 the women were wondering who would roll the stone away

-Now we have it recorded that the chief priests and Pharisees had a Roman guard at the tomb to ensure no one would steal the body (Matt 27)

-earthquake happens, stone is rolled away, Matt 28 soldiers report to the chief priests of what happened, paid them to say the disciples stole the body

-So Mary told John Peter, John makes sure we know that if we were looking for a running back then he’s our guy, he outran Peter to the tomb, John just looks in and sees the cloths lying in the tomb, Peter goes in

-stone rolled away

-guards are gone

-Jesus is not there

-cloths folded up in a place by itself, why is that important? well there was no embalming during that time, what they would do is place spices on a body and then wrap it, lay more spices and wrap, and so forth, so if the body had been stolen the cloths would either be still on the body and not in the tomb or they would all over the place, instead they are neatly folded, disciples have no inclination that Jesus is alive

The Message from God

-The gospel accounts also indicate that a message comes to the women from God that confirms the resurrection of Jesus

-Two angels ask Mary why she is weeping

-Mathew - he is not here, he is risen just as he said

-Told Peter and John to go into Galilee

-Jesus spoke to Mary, go to my brothers

-Jesus appeared to the disciples, doubting Thomas

The Eyewitnesses

-The gospels record the empty tomb, the message from God from the angels and from Jesus Himself, but I think of the one of the surest forms of evidence are the eye witnesses, why do I say that? For who they are

-Many say that the resurrection is made up, that these so called eyewitnesses fabricated the resurrection, well lets think on this for a moment

-Who were the first eye witnesses? women, not the disciples. Why is this important, because in that culture a woman’s testimony was not considered credible, so let me ask you if you were to fabricate a story as truth would you include women to be the first to find the empty tomb?

-others say well not all the gospels agree on who were the first to go to the tomb

-John said Mary Magdalene, Luke said Mary Magdalene, Joanna, other women; Matthew said Mary Magdalene and the other Mary; Mark said Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and Salome

-So why do they not all read the same? Is this a contradiction? No. In fact if they all read identical then we should all be skeptical, perhaps it would be a fabricated story if it was all the same, it would be as if three of us witnessed an event we might share different aspects of the event but we would share the major points

-some still say well the disciples fabricated this, let me ask you would be willing to beaten, and put to death for something you knew was a lie? When all you would have to say is you know we made it all up and yet the disciples were willing to die? Why? Because they knew the truth of the risen Lord

Perhaps the transformation of the disciples of Jesus is the greatest evidence of all for the resurrection.

John Stott; Robert J. Morgan

Jewish historian Josephus:

They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have reported wonders. And the tribe of the Christians, so named after him, has not disappeared to this day.

-Jesus appeared to the women, two disciples on the way to Emmaus, the disciples who were in the upper room

-Yet another point is that over 500 people saw the risen Lord 1 Cor. 15.