He is Risen

The most important historical event in history is the resurrection. Without a risen Lord, not only would Christianity never have existed in the first place, but a religion without a risen Savior not only isn’t Christianity, it is in a different category of religion altogether. The Resurrection demonstrates that Jesus was exactly who he claimed to be; if he stayed dead, it would be proof that he had not atoned for sin, since death is the punishment for sin.

Jesus’ Death Proves He is Messiah

The events surrounding the moment of Jesus’ death demonstrate again that Jesus is who he claimed to be.

Supernatural Darkness

First there was supernatural darkness from about noon to 3pm on Good Friday. They measured the hours from dawn, so the sixth hour is roughly noon and the ninth hour is roughly mid-afternoon. Clocks had not been invented so people did not measure time with the same precision we are used to, but the point is that this is the portion of the day when the sun is the hottest. The darkness that occured could not be an eclipse of the Sun, because Passover always happens on a full moon. And when the moon is full, that is because it is on the opposite side of the earth relative to the sun; while a total eclipse happens when the moon covers the sun; so a total eclipse only happens when the moon is on the same side of the earth relative to the sun. So this darkness is supernatural; there is no natural explanation for why it happened.

The reason for this supernatural darkness is as a sign to the people, that God is displeased with their killing of his Son. It’s a warning that they have killed the prince of Life.

Amos 8:9 NKJV

“And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;

My point is not that this passage was fulfilled at the Cross. I actually think Amos was referring to eclipses that took place in the near future of Amos’ day. The eclipses were portends of the destruction of the Northern Kingdom. But an eclipse is a natural phenomenon. The darkness that happened at the Cross was not a natural phenomenon. If a natural phenomenon can be a sign to Israel of her impending doom, what would that say about a supernatural darkness?!

Curtain Torn in Two

Second, the curtain of the Temple was torn in two. Matthew records that there was also an earthquake at that time

Matthew 27:51 NKJV

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,

On a physical level, the earthquake is probably what tore the curtain of the temple. The curtain that separated the holy place from the holy of holies was very thick; no human could tear it, though the motion of an earthquake might. But a physical explanation does not explain why God tore the curtain at that exact moment. There are at least two.

One reason was another warning. If God destroys his own temple, that’s a pretty big clue that he isn’t happy with Israel. They ought to be afraid and ask why God tore the curtain; sadly, they were probably afraid but did not ask why.

But another reason is to demonstrate that the way to God is now open.

Hebrews 10:19–22 NKJV

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

It is by the blood of Jesus that we have a way to get to God that did not exist before. We can enter the holy of holies by the blood of Jesus; and while in the present life we do so through prayer, this access will be visible and actual in the next; we will be able to see God without fear, and it is only by the blood of Jesus that we can do so.

Jesus gave up his life voluntarily

Third, Jesus voluntarily gave up his life. He committed his Spirit to the Father and breathed his last. No regular human can choose exactly when to die like that. You have to wait for death to come to you. Jesus did not wait; he gave up his life freely. No one took his life from him; he hadn’t been on the cross long enough to die.

John 10:18 NKJV

No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

Those present understood the message

Fourth, the witness of those present show they understood the message. The Centurion was the one presiding over this execution. He has an interest in not admitting that he crucified an innocent man. So if he says this man is innocent, it is in mourning. He would be quite upset because that means he just crucified someone who did not deserve it. The people watching were also not interested in admitting his innocence; but that’s what they did. It declares that when they saw all that happened - Jesus’ forgiveness of his enemies, his voluntary giving up of his life, the supernatural darkness and earthquake - they realized that contrary to the mocking words they had used just hours earlier, that instead a great miscarriage of justice had taken place. They beat their chests in mourning and went home. Many of them either later became Christians or just tried to forget the whole thing because it was painful. Either way, their actions show they realize that the official story - that the religious leaders were executing a dangerous revolutionary - was false.

Buried with the Rich in his death

We know little of Joseph of Arimathea other than what Luke tells us; it is even debated exactly where Arimathea was. In any case Joseph was a wealthy man and a member of the Sanhedrin.

Luke tells us that he was “good and righteous” meaning that the life he lived proved he was regenerated. Also that he “was looking for the kingdom of God.” It is part of being a Christian now to be looking for the return of Christ, just as it was part of being a godly Jew then to be looking for the Kingdom of God. We are told that he did not agree with the decision of the council to execute Jesus. Since he helped to bury Jesus, he really meant it. He put actions to his words.

Jesus received the burial of a rich man. Joseph’s tomb was expensive. To carve a cave out of solid rock with hand tools wasn’t cheap. And this tomb was empty. In ancient Israel, a tomb wasn’t just for one person; it was a cave for the family crypt. In such a tomb, there would be a bench or two where the newly deceased would be laid. Once the body had decayed to just bones, they would return to the tomb and put the bones in a bone box or ossuary; then the bench would be free for the next person to be buried there. This way, a tomb could bury generations of family members before it was full. But this was a new tomb; Joseph had it made for his family and he hadn’t had an opportunity to use it yet. To give up space in your family tomb was a pretty big deal.

Furthermore, the spices and wrappings were something you normally did for the wealthy. The spices were intended to overpower the smell of death. Crucifixion victims were normally buried in a mass grave with no ceremony. Jesus’ death showed he was the Messiah, again.

Isaiah 53:9 NKJV

And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

There was no possibility that Jesus could have survived. First of all, the Romans who presided over the execution were practiced professionals. They knew when someone was dead, and they could be killed themselves if they botched the job; so they weren’t going to make a mistake. Second, even if somehow they did, the act of burying Jesus in a hundred pounds of spices tightly wound in burial clothes, and then in a tomb with no air would certainly have killed him anyway. And the women followed him and saw the tomb; they would not have forgotten such a traumatic event, and they would not have gotten lost in a city they were familiar with. Since the Sabbath began at Sundown, it is now a rush to prepare everything before they can’t work anymore. They have a lot of the spices but they don’t quite finish everything, so the tomb is sealed and they go home and observe the Sabbath.

The Evidence for the Resurrection

Now this means that the reason the women were first to the tomb on Easter Morning was not due to faith, but simply due to needing to finish the burial process. No one brings burial spices unless they expect to find a dead person. The situation Luke describes could only happen if the resurrection was real.

The Women find the Tomb Empty

First of all, notice that it is women who first find the tomb. Now we are so used to the reality that men and women are ontologically equal that we forget that it is Christianity that elevated women to be seen as of the same level as men; even today in places where Christianity is not prevalent, it is more common than not for women to be seen as lesser than men. In the first century, women were believed to be less reliable then men. Why do I bring this up? Because if the disciples were going to invent a story about Jesus rising from the dead, they would not have had the women discover the tomb first and come to believe it before they did themselves. In other words, because all the gospels tell us that women found the empty tomb first, that is evidence that the reason they say that is because that is exactly the way it happened.

The Stone was rolled away

Second, the stone was rolled away. Since tombs were family crypts, they needed a way for people to get in from time to time. That’s why it was a cave with a stone at the entrance. But since it hides a decomposing body, they also need it to be big enough to keep wild animals out and keep the smell in. Therefore the stone had to be a rock big enough to cover an entrance that a person can get in and out of. In the case of a carved tomb, the rock would have been laboriously shaped into a circle, and placed at the entrance. A rock that big could weigh a couple of tons. It isn’t something a random guy could just move. More than that, to make it easy to shut the tomb and hard to open, the stone would have been put on its own track, with a downward slope to the entrance, and they would have used small stones to wedge it in place. When they were ready to shut the tomb, all they had to do was remove the wedges and the stone would roll down into the entrance by gravity. But getting the stone out again was not a simple task. It’s not just too big for a few women; it’s something that would take a dozen men to move. Yet it was rolled away - Matthew tells us it was an angel that did that.

Matthew 28:2 NKJV

And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.

The Angels Met the Women

Third, the angels that met the women. It’s obvious they are angels - most often angels are described as looking like men - only the Seraphim are described as having wings; regular angels like these appear to be don’t have wings. They just look like men. This is why the women believed. They finally are ready to hear what Jesus had been telling them all this time. The angel reminded them that they had already heard the information they needed. Something finally clicked in their brains. “Oh, year. he did say that.” Jesus told them that on at least three occasions.

Luke 9:22 NKJV

saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

Luke 9:43–45 NKJV

And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.

Luke 18:31–34 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.” But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.

The Disciples do not believe at first

Fourth, the disciples don’t believe at first. If you were inventing a story, would you deliberately make yourself look stupid and faithless? You might not make yourself look like the hero, but you wouldn’t make yourself look faithless especially when you’re the leader of the Christian faith.

The Graveclothes were still there

Fifth, the graveclothes were still there. Peter went to check out what the women had said to him. The key point is that the graveclothes were still in the tomb. Remember that the whole point of packing the body with spices was to counteract the smell of death. No one would take the time to laboriously unwrap a body before stealing it, especially when those wrappings keep the body less gross. The reason the graveclothes were still there is that Jesus passed through them and left them behind. There’s no other rational explanation for them being there.

Later on everyone figured out that the tomb was empty. No one ever produced the body of Jesus, despite the fact that the religious leaders were desperate to stop the spread of Christianity, and Jesus died in Jerusalem. If the religious leaders could have produced the body of Jesus, they could have stopped the early Christian movement before it even got started, but they never even looked for the body. Why? Because they knew that they didn’t have it and couldn’t get it. A three minute walk could have destroyed Christianity, but they never did that because the tomb was empty.