Is He Alive?

Several years ago, I began listening to the Ric Edelman Show. His two-hour talk show centers on financial planning, investing, retirement, and future technology. Most of the time, he talks about financial related news. Occasionally he will have interviews with experts focusing some aspect of the market but often about Social Security. Lately, he has been including a segment called “Really Bad Advice” where he highlights pundits who have made some sort of prediction. Recently, he talked about some dooms-day bloggers who were certain that the stock market would plummet in 2013. That year, instead of plummeting, it rose by more than 10%. That same blogger reinstated his prediction for the next year - the S&P 500 grew by more than 30%. Heeding that advice would have caused investors to miss out on big returns. In our media crazy work, news sources are constantly faced with a need to make big headlines, making dire predictions that get people’s attention, but end up far from reality.

Jesus’ ministry was filled with teachings that had people hanging on His every word. One of the things that we see here at His crucifixion is that people didn’t truly believe every Word. You see, on three different occasions in the book of Matthew (; ; ), Jesus told his followers that he would be delivered over to other people, would be beaten and put to death, then he would raise on the third day. And yet, in the emotional turmoil of his betrayal and crucifixion, his disciples did not seem to expect that He would come back to life.

Joel Gilbert / General

Easter 2019 / Resurrection; Easter; Resurrection of Jesus Christ; Listen / ;

Last week, we discussed the beginning of the Passion week, as Jesus clashed with the political and religious leaders of His time. He entered the city of Jerusalem as a Submissive King and entered the temple as a Provoking Prophet - challenging the religious conventions that dominated the culture. He then sparred with the religious leaders, revealing His rightful authority, and yet reinforcing their opposition to Him.

Throughout the book of Matthew, Jesus reveals to His disciples that He would suffer, die, and return to life. In spite of all of His advanced notice, His disciples still seemed unprepared for His death and were not looking for His resurrection. Do we take Jesus at His Word? Did the resurrection really happen?

Over the next several days, Jesus continued to teach in the temple and instruct His disciples privately. After His final meal with His them, He was betrayed by one of His disciples, arrested, wrongfully accused and indicted. The religious leaders convinced the political authority to have him flogged - a Roman punishment where He was tied to a post and whipped with cords in which pieces of bone, metal, and wood were intertwined. He was mocked by the soldiers as they assembled a crown of thorns and shoved it on His head. Exhausted from the beating, He was forced to drag a large wooden cross through the town, only to be nailed to it. For six grueling hours He fought through the pain as He would push Himself up on the the nails in His feet, trying to get air into His lungs, scraping His wounds on his back on the rough timber of the cross. When he could take it no more, He cried out, “My God My God, why have you forsaken me” and gave up His life.

The sky had been unusually dark for three hours. At the moment He died, an earthquake rocked the entire region. In response, one of the guards commented, “surely this was the Son of God.” This was no ordinary man.

Beyond all of the drama and the obscure weather, during the darkness, the a curtain in the temple which separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple was torn in two - from top to bottom. Now this curtain was thick and strong and tall. This seemed to signify that worshippers of God would have have direct access to God, no mediator was needed.

The book of John states that as the day wore on, the Jews asked that the legs of those on the cross be broken so that they could not hoist themselves up to breathe, hastening their deaths. So the soldiers broke the legs of two criminals. When they came to Jesus, it appeared that he was already dead. Instead of breaking His legs, he took a spear and pierced His side, cause blood and water to flow out - confirming His death.

This was no ordinary crucifixion. This was no ordinary death.

The book of John states that as the day wore on, the Jews asked that the legs of those on the cross be broken so that they could not hoist themselves up to breathe, hastening their deaths. So the soldiers broke the legs of two criminals. When they came to Jesus, it appeared that he was already dead. Instead of breaking His legs, their took a spear an pierced His side

Jesus was carefully lowered from the cross. A wealthy man named Joseph got permission from the political leader to place Jesus’ body in his own tomb.

According to Matthew’s account, Mary Magdalene and one of the other women named Mary observed his body being placed in the tomb and watched the stone be rolled into place.

Dusk of Friday ushers in the Sabbath. Day 1 is over.

The next day, the Sabbath, the religious leaders ask for guards to be placed at the tomb, because they heard Jesus discuss rising from the dead. The religious leaders wanted to ensure that the disciples would not steal His body and profit from propagating a lie.

Dusk of Saturday ends the Sabbath. Day 2 is over.

So this bring us to our text for today. If you have your copy of scripture, let’s open to .

New Living Translation Chapter 28

Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.

2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. 3 His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. 4 The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.

5 Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. 7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”

8 The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. 9 And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of going to California to see my dad and celebrate his 70th birthday with him. On my way back, I downloaded a movie on Netflix to watch on the plane. The movie was based on a true story and was set in the late 70s and early 80s. In this movie, a young reporter and his wife encounter a crisis of faith. You see they were devoted atheists - confident that there was not a God, believing only in what they could see and touch - believing only in matter. At dinner one night, their only daughter nearly died as a piece of food gets lodged in her throat. A nurse comes by and saves her - communicating that she felt led by God to go to that restaurant that night. This near-death experience led the mom to search for answers to the existence of God. The dad dug in his heals, strengthening his disbelief. As his wife eventually became a Christian, her new-found faith drove a wedge between them, causing a great deal of tension in their home. As he vented to one of his colleagues at the newspaper he was urged to treat the claims of Christianity like he would a news article and let the facts reveal the truth. And so, he set out to research the facts of the resurrection.

Today, as we consider the resurrection, we are going to consider some of the arguments both for and against it. My hope is that if you are a follower of Christ, that this will give you fuel as you encounter friends and family who are skeptical about that claims of Christianity. For those who may be here out of a courtesy to a loved one - thank you for being here. My hope in this conversation is that you might see that Christianity is not a fact-less faith, but rather a faith established sparked by the words of Jesus, propelled by the works of Jesus, and confirmed by the reality of Jesus.

We’re going to briefly look at the

Protests

Proof

Power, and

Product of the resurrection.

In - the Angel tells the Marys at the tomb that - Jesus is not here, he is risen, just as he said, go and verify it. Today, as we consider the resurrection, we are going to obey the angel’s command to the women, to consider his word (he said he would rise) and verify it by the facts that we can ascertain.

So to begin with, let’s consider the...

From the earliest days of the resurrection, people have been introducing arguments against the reality of the resurrection. Here are a few of the theories. Some of them are older than others. You can read a bit more about these in the book by Paul Little called Know Why You Believe. I think there is one copy still in the book rack in the foyer.

The first protest that people in Jesus’ day presented is...

The disciples stole him - Matthew records this protest in . He states that it is an excuse propagated by the chief priests and elders. Paul Little writes:

“This story was so false Matthew didn’t even bother to refute it! What judge would listen to you if you said your neighbor came into your house and stole your television while you were asleep? Who knows what goes on while he’s asleep? Testimony like this would be laughed out of any court.” (Know Why You Believe, p. 50).

If this was what really happened, then we would find that these disciples gave their lives for a hoax.

Another argument that people have put forward is that...

The Authorities moved him - what would this prove? They were trying to prevent this by placing guards. If they had moved the body, then they could simply produce the body as an argument against the resurrection. (Little, 51).

Another theory is that...

The women went to the wrong tomb: The Crux behind this theory is that it was dark when the women went to the tomb and would have mistaken it for another one. The challenge is that they had been there just a couple of days earlier. They saw the stone rolled in front of the tomb with his body in it (). These tombs were not like our modern grave yards, this was likely a uniquely hewn tomb in the side of a cliff. Beyond this, Paul Little suggests “If the women went to the wrong tomb, why did the high priests and the other enemies of the faith not go to the right tomb and produce a body? Further, it’s in conceivable that all of Jesus’ followers would succumb to the same mistake. Certainly Joseph of Arimathea, owner of the tomb, would have solved the problem.” (Little, p. 51).

A final theory that people sometimes put forward is that...

He didn’t die -The Swoon Theory (Know Why You Believe - Little, 51-52)- if you’ve ever seen the movie the Princess Bride, you may remember the scene when Miracle Max finds a “mostly dead” Wesley and gives him a magic pill to restore his full life. The Swoon theory suggests that Jesus was mostly dead and simply awoke a couple of days later. The challenge with this theory is that it fails to take into account the fact that crucifixion forced a person on the cross to practically suffocate as they lacked the physical ability to bring air into their lungs. This theory also fails to account for the fact that Jesus side was pierced. The blood and water that flowed from His side indicated that either his heart and pericardial sac (which contained fluid around the heart) was pierced (The New American Commentary: John) or that there had been so much fluid built up around his lungs because of the trauma he endured that the combination of blood and water included this fluid (The NIV Application Commentary: John). No matter what part of his body was pierced, John’s account seeks to prove that Jesus was physically dead. Beyond this, when his body was prepared for burial, he may have been wrapped in roughly 75 pounds of linen cloths and ointments, which would have been nearly impossible for a human in his condition to manage.

He didn’t die - otherwise known as -The Swoon Theory (Know Why You Believe - Little, 51-52)- if you’ve ever seen the movie the Princess Bride, you may remember the scene when Miracle Max finds a “mostly dead” Wesley and gives him a magic pill to restore his full life. The Swoon theory suggests that Jesus was mostly dead and simply awoke a couple of days later. The challenge with this theory is that it fails to take into account the fact that crucifixion forced a person on the cross to practically suffocate as they lacked the physical ability to bring air into their lungs. This theory also fails to account for the fact that Jesus side was pierced. The blood and water that flowed from His side indicated that either his heart and pericardial sac (which contained fluid around the heart) was pierced (The New American Commentary: John) or that there had been so much fluid built up around his lungs because of the trauma he endured that the combination of blood and water included this fluid (The NIV Application Commentary: John). No matter what part of his body was pierced, John’s account seeks to prove that Jesus was physically dead. Beyond this, when his body was prepared for burial, he may have been wrapped in roughly 75 pounds of linen cloths and ointments, which would have been impossible for a human in his condition to manage.

There may be other protests to the resurrection. For now, let’s set these aside an look at the...

The women went to the wrong tomb - but they had already been there when they laid him it it - it’s not like a grave yard - it’s a special cave in the side of a hill The Pharisees stole him - what would this prove- they were trying to prevent this by placing guards The disciples stole him - then their very lives would be founded on a hoax

How do we know that Jesus really came back to life? Gary Habernas, an expert in apologetics, presents eight reasons for the resurrection in a chapter he wrote in the book To Everyone an Answer. I’ll try to summarize his thoughts here. My hope is that this will reinforce and strengthen your faith and your trust in God’s Word. First of all, Habernas begins with...

The life of the apostle Paul - this seems odd on one hand to present this as a valid reason, but many scholars consider Paul to be the “best witness among the New Testament writers.” Paul was violently opposed to the Gospel. His dramatic conversion from enemy to enthusiast proclaims Paul’s own conviction that “he was persuaded that he had seen the risen Lord.” (p. 182). Beyond Paul’s radical conversion, another proof of the resurrection is...

The resurrection tradition that existed in the church. In , Paul communicates that he is proclaiming something that he had received.

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.

Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013), .

Habernas writes “While Paul penned the words, he is clear that this material was not his own but that he had passed onto his listeners years before () what he had received from others, as the very heart of his message.” Paul passed along what he received from others and even wrote at a time when people could reach out to other actual eye-witnesses. (p. 182-183). There are many more evidences that we can glean from proving that Paul received this from others which dive into nuances of language and word selection. The point, I think, that we need to understand is that not only was Paul an eye-witness to the risen Christ, but his testimony confirms what many others had experienced and formed into a credal statement shortly after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Another proof that Habernas suggests is...

3. The centrality of the resurrection in the message of the Gospel. As you read much of Paul’s teaching throughout the New Testament, you’ll find that “Paul was exceptionally careful to ascertain the content of the gospel message, which centered on the resurrection.” Habernas surmises from that Paul went to Jerusalem on a couple of occasions the verify his message - to make sure that he had not been running in vain. He seemed to be careful to talk with people who were authoritative on the subject of the resurrection - namely Peter and James (Jesus’ brother).

A fourth reason that Habernas presents is...

4. A unified resurrection teaching among all of the apostles. Paul discusses the fact that the resurrection was a key element in the Gospel he presented and in the Gospel the other apostles presented. They confirmed his message and he confirmed theirs

Fifthly,

5. The Creeds of Acts. In the book of Acts, especially in the first few chapters, we get “snipets” of sermons and beliefs that were held by the Christians who witnessed the resurrected Messiah. They had seen Him and testified about Him among people who could have denied their truth. Luke’s sources likely pre-dated any of the gospel writings, being able to be dated to the early 30s. (p. 186)

Next, Habernas puts forth...

6. The life of James - Jesus’ brother. Through much of Jesus’ earthly ministry, many scholars believe that James - one of Jesus’ brothers - “was an unbeliever and probably a skeptic” (; ) (p. 187). After the resurrection, however, many scholars believe that Jesus made a specific appearance to James, causing him to believe, ultimately resulting in James becoming one of the elders in the church in Jerusalem.

Next, Habernas suggests that...

7. Multiple witnesses verify the empty tomb. Habernas states that the empty tomb by itself does not confirm the resurrection. The fact that all four Gospels reference the testimony and witness of several women is significant. In that day, women would not be able to testify in court. If the story was fictional, the gospel writers would have included only the testimony of men to add weight to the story. The fact that the gospel writers included the testimony and experiences of women and other people, adds weight to the truth of the resurrection. He goes on to say:

“The empty tomb accounts are surprisingly attested by multiple sources, being found in almost every Gospel source. Ancient historian Paul Maier remarks, ‘Many facts from antiquity rest on just one source, while two or three sources in agreement generally render the fact unimpeachable.’” (p. 188)

He continues by saying, “ Not only did the Jewish leaders not dispute the empty tomb, but their reported response even conceded it (). So enemy attestation also supports the empty tomb (p. 189).

The fact that the empty tomb is corroborated by so many sources strengthens the reliability of the resurrection accounts.

Finally, Habernas suggests that...

8. The disciples believed they saw Jesus in the flesh after his resurrection and willingly died for that belief. Peter denied Jesus before the crucifixion and according to tradition was crucified upside down for his faith post-resurrection. The other disciples scattered on the night before his crucifixion and yet later were martyred for their faith. Who would give their lives for a lie? These men had a bold courage based on convictions that reinforce the reality of the resurrection.

Changed lives of his disciples - some doubted while he was alive- many died for their faith

aul writes of eye-witnesses

Paul writes of eye-witnesses

Beyond these arguments that Habernas puts forth, if the Gospel writers talked only about appearances of Jesus, it’s possible that people could have seen a vision or seen a ghost. Jesus was not only seen by his followers, but he was touched by them.

in says that the Marys took hold of his feet - they touched him.

in - Jesus urges them to touch Him and believe and then even proved that He was flesh and bone by eating.

implies that Mary Magdalene grabbed onto Jesus when she realized who he was in the garden.

in - Jesus invited Thomas to touch him and believe

Finally, in it appears that Jesus not only cooked for His disciples but He also ate with them.

I realize that this part of the message has probably felt a bit academic. If you are already a follower of Christ, I hope that what we’ve discussed strengthens and informs your faith. If you are still searching or still have questions, I hope that this causes you to want to investigate more. Let me encourage you to look up some information on the web by people like Gary Habernas, J. Warner Wallace, and Ravi Zacharias. They all have done excellent work looking at biblical and philosophical/logical proofs of the resurrection - some even approaching it from an unbelieving background - being led to faith through their research.

So far, we have considered protests to the resurrection and proofs of the resurrection. Now let’s shift from the logic to the spiritual as we consider the...

From one vantage point, you could look at the resurrection as a magic act. Jesus was obviously a fantastic teacher who had some magical ability to come back to life - so what! Is there power beyond just him coming back to life?

Actually, there is great significance.

First of all, Jesus told his disciples on three different occasions that he would have to suffer and die and would be raised back to life (; ; ). It’s one thing to say these sorts of things, but it’s completely another to do them. If Jesus’ was good on his word to come back to life, do you think His other words are worth paying attention to?

“

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

.”

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

.

Beyond just believing Jesus at His word, let’s consider briefly the larger context of the significance of his death, burial and resurrection.

In the Old Testament, God set up a sacrificial system that required that people to sacrifice animals so that their sin could addressed. By shedding the blood of an animal, people were forced to come to grips with the fact that their sin had consequences.

Annually, a priest would seek atonement for the sins of the nation. In this atoning process, two goats would be brought to the temple. After the priest would make atonement for his sins and the sins of his household, he would cast lots over the two goats, killing one and offering it as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of the people. Once this process was done, he would lay his blood-covered hands on the other goat, symbolically allowing that goat to bear the iniquities of the people and then would send it off into the wilderness - removing the sin from the camp.() This ritual was done annually as both a reminder of their sin and in anticipation of a perfect, permenant sacrifice to come.

The New Testament writers explain the spiritual significance Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection in this way:

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. .

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. .

.

Even John the Baptist, early in Jesus’ ministry identified him as “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

Jesus lived a perfect life and died a death that He did not deserve in order to pay the price for our sin so that we might have life with God and be in a right relationship with Him.

His death and resurrection paid our punishment and brought us eternal life - sacrificial lamb and scape goat

This brings us to our last point for consideration, the...

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, paying the price of our sin, and conquering death - sin’s rightful reward, produced the opportunity for you and I to have hope. You see the Bible says that the wages or the reward of our sin is death (). We are born in sin because of our human nature. Yet, if we would put our faith and trust in Him, in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then we would have life in Him, eternal. We would never have to face the rightful reward of our sinful state.

His death is sufficient to pay for the sins of all humanity, yet is limited only to those who respond to His call.

Believer, I pray that your faith has been reinforced today and that you and I have more confidence and material to share our faith boldly

Seeker - will you put your trust in Him today?

There is only so much proof that you can take eventually you have to take a step of faith.

As we began today, I told you a bit of the story of a movie I saw on the airplane on the way back from California. That reporter took his colleagues advice and travelled all over the United States talking to experts on the resurrection. He even contacted international experts. He worked as hard as he could to disprove the resurrection and yet he was faced with one clear fact - the resurrection really happened. The only question that remained is would he put his faith in a resurrected Christ.

Lee Strobel ended up giving his life to Christ in his living room and then wrote about his findings in the book “The Case for Christ” which is also the title of the movie that I referenced. If you’ve not read the book, and have questions about Christ, I have a few copies that I will happily give to you, if you will read it.

Believer, I pray that your faith has been reinforced today and that you and I have more confidence and material to share our faith boldly

Seeker - will you put your trust in Him today?

Protests, Proof, Power, and Product of the Resurrection

X Black

Several years ago, I began listening to the Ric Edelman Show. His two-hour talk show centers on financial planning, investing, retirement, and future technology. Most of the time, he talks about financial related news. Occasionally he will have interviews with experts focusing on some aspect of the market but often about Social Security. Lately, he has been including a segment called “Really Bad Advice” where he highlights pundits who have made some sort of prediction that turned out to be wrong. Recently, he talked about some dooms-day bloggers who were certain that the stock market would plummet in 2013. That year, instead of plummeting, it rose by more than 10%. That same blogger reinstated his prediction for the next year - the S&P 500 grew by more than 30%. Heeding that advice would have caused investors to miss out on big returns. In our media-crazy world, news sources are constantly faced with a need to make big headlines, making dire predictions that get people’s attention, but end up far from reality.

Jesus’ ministry was filled with teachings that had people hanging on His every word. One of the things that we see here at His crucifixion is that people didn’t truly believe every Word. You see, on three different occasions in the book of Matthew (; ; ), Jesus told his followers that he would be delivered over to other people, would be beaten and put to death, then he would raise on the third day. And yet, in the emotional turmoil of his betrayal and crucifixion, his disciples did not seem to expect that He would come back to life. Were his predictions really bad advice or words worth believing?

Last week, we discussed the beginning of the Passion week, as Jesus clashed with the political and religious leaders of His time. He entered the city of Jerusalem as a Submissive King and entered the temple as a Provoking Prophet - challenging the religious conventions that dominated the culture. He then sparred with the religious leaders, revealing His rightful authority, and yet reinforcing their opposition to Him.

Over the next several days, Jesus continued to teach in the temple and instruct His disciples privately. After His final meal with them, He was betrayed by one of His disciples, arrested, wrongfully accused and indicted. The religious leaders convinced the political authority to have him flogged - a Roman punishment where He was tied to a post and whipped with cords in which pieces of bone, metal, and wood were intertwined. He was mocked by the soldiers as they assembled a crown of thorns and shoved it on His head. Exhausted from the beating, He was forced to drag a large wooden cross through the town, only to be nailed to it. For six grueling hours He fought through the pain as He would push Himself up on the nails in His feet, trying to get air into His lungs, scraping His wounds on his back on the rough timber of the cross. When he could take it no more, He cried out, “My God My God, why have you forsaken me” and gave up His life.

The sky had been unusually dark for three hours. At the moment He died, an earthquake rocked the entire region. In response, one of the guards commented, “surely this was the Son of God.” This was no ordinary man.

Beyond all of the drama and the obscure weather, during the darkness, the curtain in the temple which separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple was torn in two - from top to bottom. Now this curtain was thick and strong and tall. This seemed to signify that worshippers of God would have direct access to God, no mediator was needed.

The book of John states that as the day wore on, the Jews asked that the legs of those on the cross be broken so that they could not hoist themselves up to breathe, hastening their deaths. So the soldiers broke the legs of the two criminals. When they came to Jesus, it appeared that he was already dead. Instead of breaking His legs, he took a spear and pierced His side, causing blood and water to flow out - confirming His death.

This was no ordinary crucifixion. This was no ordinary death.

Jesus was carefully lowered from the cross. A wealthy man named Joseph got permission from the political leader to place Jesus’ body in his own tomb.

According to Matthew’s account, Mary Magdalene and one of the other women named Mary observed his body being placed in the tomb and watched the stone be rolled into place.

Dusk of Friday ushers in the Sabbath. Day 1 is over.

The next day, the Sabbath, the religious leaders ask for guards to be placed at the tomb, because they heard Jesus discuss rising from the dead. The religious leaders wanted to ensure that the disciples would not steal His body and profit from propagating a lie.

Dusk of Saturday ends the Sabbath. Day 2 is over.

So this brings us to our text for today. If you have your copy of scripture, let’s open to .

New Living Translation Chapter 28

Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. 3 His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.

4 The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.

5 Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.

7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”

8 The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message.

9 And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him.

10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”

X black

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of going to California to see my dad and celebrate his 70th birthday with him. On my way back, I downloaded a movie on Netflix to watch on the plane. The movie was based on a true story and was set in the late 70s and early 80s. In this movie, a young reporter and his wife encounter a crisis of faith. You see they were devoted atheists - confident that there was not a God, believing only in what they could see and touch - believing only in matter. At dinner one night, their only daughter nearly died as a piece of food got lodged in her throat. A nurse came by and saved her - communicating that she felt led by God to go to that restaurant that night. This near-death experience led the mom to search for answers to the existence of God. The dad dug in his heels, reinforcing his lack of belief in God and in his atheism.

As his wife eventually became a Christian, her new-found faith drove a wedge between them, causing a great deal of tension in their home. As he vented to one of his colleagues at the newspaper he was urged to treat the claims of Christianity like he would any news article and let the facts reveal the truth. And so, he set out to research the facts of the resurrection.

Today, as we consider the resurrection, we are going to consider some of the arguments both for and against it. My hope is that if you are a follower of Christ, that this will give you fuel as you encounter friends and family who are skeptical about the claims of Christianity. For those who may be here out of a courtesy to a loved one - thank you for being here. My hope in this conversation is that you might see that Christianity is not a fact-less faith, but rather a faith established and sparked by the words of Jesus, propelled by the works of Jesus, and confirmed by the reality of Jesus.

X Blank

We’re going to briefly look at the

• Protests

• Proof

• Power, and

• Product of the resurrection.

In - the Angel tells the Marys at the tomb that - Jesus is not here, he is risen, just as he said, go and verify it. Today, as we consider the resurrection, we are going to obey the angel’s command to the women, to consider his word (he said he would rise) and verify it by the facts that we can ascertain.

So to begin with, let’s consider the...

From the earliest days of the resurrection, people have been introducing arguments against the reality of the resurrection. Here are a few of the theories. Some of them are older than others. You can read a bit more about these in the book by Paul Little called Know Why You Believe. I think there is one copy still in the book rack in the foyer.

The first protest that people in Jesus’ day presented is...

• The disciples stole him - while the guards slept - Matthew records this protest in . He states that it is an excuse propagated by the chief priests and elders. Paul Little writes:

“This story was so false Matthew didn’t even bother to refute it! What judge would listen to you if you said your neighbor came into your house and stole your television while you were asleep? Who knows what goes on while he’s asleep? Testimony like this would be laughed out of any court.” (Know Why You Believe, p. 50).

If this was what really happened, then we would find that these disciples gave their lives for a hoax.

Another argument that people have put forward is that...

The Authorities moved him - what would this prove? They were trying to prevent this by placing guards. If they had moved the body, then they could simply produce the body as an argument against the resurrection. (Little, 51).

Another theory is that...

The women went to the wrong tomb: The Crux behind this theory is that it was dark when the women went to the tomb and would have mistaken it for another one. The challenge is that they had been there just a couple of days earlier. They saw the stone rolled in front of the tomb with his body in it (). These tombs were not like our modern graveyards, this was likely a uniquely hewn tomb in the side of a cliff.

Beyond this, Paul Little suggests “If the women went to the wrong tomb, why did the high priests and the other enemies of the faith not go to the right tomb and produce a body? Further, it’s inconceivable that all of Jesus’ followers would succumb to the same mistake. Certainly Joseph of Arimathea, owner of the tomb, would have solved the problem.” (Little, p. 51).

A final theory that people sometimes put forward is that...

• He didn’t die - otherwise known as -The Swoon Theory (Know Why You Believe - Little, 51-52)- if you’ve ever seen the movie the Princess Bride, you may remember the scene when Miracle Max finds a “mostly dead” Wesley and gives him a magic pill to restore his full life. The Swoon theory suggests that Jesus was mostly dead and simply awoke a couple of days later.

The challenge with this theory is that it fails to take into account the fact that crucifixion forced a person on the cross to practically suffocate as they lacked the physical ability to bring air into their lungs. This theory also fails to account for the fact that Jesus side was pierced. The blood and water that flowed from His side indicated that either his heart and pericardial sac (which contained fluid around the heart) was pierced (The New American Commentary: John) or that there had been so much fluid built up around his lungs because of the trauma he endured that the combination of blood and water included this fluid (The NIV Application Commentary: John). No matter what part of his body was pierced, John’s account seeks to prove that Jesus was physically dead.

Beyond this, when his body was prepared for burial, he may have been wrapped in roughly 75 pounds of linen cloths and ointments, which would have been impossible for a human in his condition to manage.

There may be other protests to the resurrection. For now, let’s set these aside and look at the...

How do we know that Jesus really came back to life? Gary Habernas, an expert in apologetics, presents eight reasons for the resurrection in a chapter he wrote in the book To Everyone an Answer. I’ll try to summarize his thoughts here. My hope is that this will reinforce and strengthen your faith and your trust in God’s Word. First of all, Habernas begins with…

1. The life of the apostle Paul - this seems odd on one hand to present this as a valid reason, but many scholars consider Paul to be the “best witness among the New Testament writers.” Paul was violently opposed to the Gospel. His dramatic conversion from enemy to enthusiast proclaims Paul’s own conviction that “he was persuaded that he had seen the risen Lord.” (p. 182). Beyond Paul’s radical conversion, another proof of the resurrection is…

2. The resurrection tradition that existed in the church. In , Paul communicates that he is proclaiming something that he had received.

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.

4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.

6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.

7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.

8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.

Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013), .

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Habernas writes “While Paul penned the words, he is clear that this material was not his own but that he had passed onto his listeners years before () what he had received from others, as the very heart of his message.” Paul passed along what he received from others and even wrote at a time when people could reach out to other actual eye-witnesses. (p. 182-183).

There are many more evidences that we can glean from proving that Paul received this from others which dive into the nuances of language and word selection. The point, I think, that we need to understand is that not only was Paul an eye-witness to the risen Christ, but his testimony confirms what many others had experienced and formed into a credal statement shortly after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Another proof that Habernas suggests is…

3. The centrality of the resurrection in the message of the Gospel. As you read much of Paul’s teaching throughout the New Testament, you’ll find that “Paul was exceptionally careful to ascertain the content of the gospel message, which centered on the resurrection.” Habernas surmises from that Paul went to Jerusalem on a couple of occasions to verify his message - to make sure that he had not been running in vain. He seemed to be careful to talk with people who were authoritative on the subject of the resurrection - namely Peter and James (Jesus’ brother).

A fourth reason that Habernas presents is…

4. A unified resurrection teaching among all of the apostles. Paul discusses the fact that the resurrection was a key element in the Gospel he presented and in the Gospel the other apostles presented. They confirmed his message and he confirmed theirs.

Fifthly,

5. The Creeds of Acts. In the book of Acts, especially in the first few chapters, we get “snippets” of sermons and beliefs that were held by the Christians who witnessed the resurrected Messiah. They had seen Him and testified about Him among people who could have denied their truth. Luke’s sources likely pre-dated any of the gospel writings, being able to be dated to the early 30s. (p. 186) (; ; ; )

Next, Habernas puts forth…

6. The life of James - Jesus’ brother. Through much of Jesus’ earthly ministry, many scholars believe that James - one of Jesus’ brothers - “was an unbeliever and probably a skeptic” (; ) (p. 187). After the resurrection, however, many scholars believe that Jesus made a specific appearance to James, causing him to believe, ultimately resulting in James becoming one of the elders in the church in Jerusalem.

Next, Habernas suggests that…

7. Multiple witnesses verify the empty tomb. Habernas states that the empty tomb by itself does not confirm the resurrection. The fact that all four Gospels reference the testimony and witness of several women is significant. In that day, women would not be able to testify in court. If the story was fictional, the gospel writers would have included only the testimony of men to add weight to the story. The fact that the gospel writers included the testimony and experiences of women and other people, adds weight to the truth of the resurrection. He goes on to say:

“The empty tomb accounts are surprisingly attested by multiple sources, being found in almost every Gospel source.

Ancient historian Paul Maier remarks, ‘Many facts from antiquity rest on just one source, while two or three sources in agreement generally render the fact unimpeachable.’” (p. 188)

He continues by saying, “ Not only did the Jewish leaders not dispute the empty tomb, but their reported response even conceded it (). So enemy attestation also supports the empty tomb (p. 189).

Here is what writes:

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

The fact that the empty tomb is corroborated by so many sources strengthens the reliability of the resurrection accounts. The religious leaders did not deny the fact and had to make up a story to save face, even succumbing to bribery.

Finally, Habernas suggests that...

8. The disciples believed they saw Jesus in the flesh after his resurrection and willingly died for that belief. Peter denied Jesus before the crucifixion and according to tradition was crucified upside down for his faith post-resurrection. The other disciples scattered on the night before his crucifixion and yet later were martyred for their faith. Who would give their lives for a lie? These men had a bold courage based on convictions that reinforce the reality of the resurrection.

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Beyond these arguments that Habernas puts forth, if the Gospel writers talked only about appearances of Jesus, it’s possible that people could have seen a vision or seen a ghost. Jesus was not only seen by his followers, but he was touched by them.

• in says that the Marys took hold of his feet - they touched him.

• in - Jesus urges them to touch Him and believe and then even proved that He was flesh and bone by eating.

• implies that Mary Magdalene grabbed onto Jesus when she realized who he was in the garden.

• in - Jesus invited Thomas to touch him and believe

• Finally, in it appears that Jesus not only cooked for His disciples but He also ate with them.

I realize that this part of the message has probably felt a bit academic. If you are already a follower of Christ, I hope that what we’ve discussed strengthens and informs your faith. If you are still searching or still have questions, I hope that this causes you to want to investigate more. Let me encourage you to look up some information on the web by people like Gary Habernas, J. Warner Wallace, Frank Turek, and Ravi Zacharias. They all have done excellent work looking at biblical and philosophical/logical proofs of the resurrection - some even approaching it from an unbelieving background - being led to faith through their research.

So far, we have considered protests to the resurrection and proofs of the resurrection. Now let’s shift from the logical to the spiritual as we consider the…

From one vantage point, you could look at the resurrection as a magic act. Jesus was obviously a fantastic teacher who had some magical ability to come back to life - so what! Is there power beyond just him coming back to life?

Actually, there is great significance.

First of all, Jesus told his disciples on three different occasions that he would have to suffer and die and would be raised back to life (; ; ). It’s one thing to say these sorts of things, but it’s a completely different thing to do them. If Jesus’ was good on his word to come back to life, do you think His other words are worth paying attention to?

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

.”

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

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Beyond just believing Jesus at His word, let’s consider briefly the larger context of the significance of his death, burial and resurrection.

In the Old Testament, God set up a sacrificial system that required people to sacrifice animals so that their sin could be addressed. By shedding the blood of an animal, people were forced to come to grips with the fact that their sin had consequences.

Annually, a priest would seek atonement for the sins of the nation. In this atoning process, two goats would be brought to the temple. After the priest would make atonement for his sins and the sins of his household, he would cast lots over the two goats, killing one and offering it as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of the people. Once this process was done, he would lay his blood-covered hands on the other goat, symbolically allowing that goat to bear the iniquities of the people and then would send it off into the wilderness - removing the sin from the camp.() This ritual was done annually as both a reminder of their sin and in anticipation of a perfect, permanent sacrifice to come.

The New Testament writers explain the spiritual significance of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection in this way:

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. .

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. .

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Even John the Baptist, early in Jesus’ ministry identified him as “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” ()

Jesus lived a perfect life and died a death that He did not deserve in order to pay the price for our sin so that we might have life with God and be in a right relationship with Him.

This brings us to our last point for consideration, the...

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, paying the price of our sin, and conquering death - sin’s rightful reward, produced the opportunity for you and me to have hope. You see the Bible says that the wages or the reward of our sin is death (). We are born in sin because of our human nature. Yet, if we would put our faith and trust in Him, in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then we would have life in Him, eternal. We would never have to face the rightful reward of our sinful state.

His death is sufficient to pay for the sins of all humanity, yet is limited only to those who respond to His call.

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Last summer, Danielle, Zoe and I took a trip across the country. During part of our trip, we were in Whistler, British Columbia to see my brother run a triathlon and visit a church as a part of a sabbatical research project. Our families decided to go watch some friends go bungee jumping. After watching several jumpers survive the anxiety and thrill from beginning to end, a few brave souls in our group started to make claims about their interest in participating. Before I knew it, the operators were organizing us from lightest to heaviest. Zoe ended up being the first one to go in our group. When it came to me, being the biggest guy, they had to change the bungee - putting their strongest cord in place. I watched as they attached and double checked their connections. I felt the tightness of the harness as they fastened it to my cable. I even asked questions about weight limits (I was more than 100 pounds under the limit). I asked if anyone had reached the water, some 260 feet below. They said “no”. There was a sign near the entrance boasting 16 years of accident free jumps. The evidence was there, the proof was there, and the fact that 7 family members were jumping before me confirmed that I would probably be okay. I still had to take a leap of faith. All of the evidence did not change the fear that gripped my body as I stood on the edge of this bridge. I had to put my fear aside and leap.

As we began today, I told you a bit of the story of a movie I saw on the airplane on the way back from California. That reporter took his colleague’s advice and travelled all over the United States talking to experts on the resurrection. He even contacted international experts. He worked as hard as he could to disprove the resurrection and yet he was faced with one clear fact - the resurrection really happened. The only question that remained is would he put his faith in the reality of the resurrected Christ.

Lee Strobel, the journalist, put aside his fear that 30+ years of atheism had been wrong and ended up giving his life to Christ in his living room and then wrote about his findings in the book “The Case for Christ” which is also the title of the movie that I referenced. If you’ve not read the book, and have questions about Christ, I have a few copies that I will happily give to you, if you will read it.

Believer, I pray that your faith has been reinforced today and that you and I have more confidence and material to share our faith boldly.

Seeker - we’ve looked at some evidences for the hope that we have because of the fact that Jesus physically rose from the dead. You may still have questions, and that is fine. Let me encourage you to engage someone in a conversation - I’ll be happy to spend some time with you. I know others here would as well. Keep searching, keep asking.

Some of you may be here and you may be ready to take that leap of faith. Maybe today is the day that you do like Lee Strobel did, like I did years ago, like many of the people around you have done - admit that you are a sinner, that you know the path you’re on will lead to eternal separation from God, repent of your sin, confess your belief that Jesus died for you and took your sin. God may be drawing you to this decision today. It’s as simple as praying a prayer. Lee Strobel’s wife led him in a prayer. My father led me in a similar prayer. Talk to someone who invited you or talk to one of the folks at the door on the way out and ask them to walk with you into this step of faith.

Is He Alive?

Is He Alive?

Introduction

Is He Alive?

Protests to the Resurrection

Proof of the Resurrection

Power of the Resurrection

Product of the Resurrection

Conclusion

Introduction

Protests to the Resurrection

Proof of the Resurrection

Power of the Resurrection

Product of the Resurrection

Conclusion