Minimal Facts Case of the Resurrection

INTRODUCTION

Why are you a Christian? Why do you believe in God. Specifically the Christian God?

My answer to that question used to be different than it is today. Today my answer to that question is four words: the resurrection of Jesus.

I remember struggling with doubt as a young person and I want to try and show you why those doubts have good answers.

I’ve heard sermons that ignore or outright deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus and spiritualize it instead.

They'll say “even if Jesus didn’t rise physically, he’s still alive in our hearts.” Or “he still lives on in our teaching..."

We have an old hymn that says: “ask me how I know he lives… he lives within my heart.” The disciples didn’t sing that. They sang “he lives because I saw him alive three days after his crucifixion! I touched him. I heard him. I smelt him. I watched him eat fish and chips."

That’s just not that impressive. ANYBODY can rise from the dead in that way! That’s not what changed the disciples. What transformed the disciples was a physical, literal, bodily resurrection.

The thing driving this “Symbolic approach” is a materialistic worldview that says miracles can’t happen therefore Jesus could not have had a physical resurrection.

But when did we ever prove that miracles are impossible? If God exists (and the vast majority of people think there’s at least something like a God out there) then that means miracles are at least possible.

SOMETHING happened to cause the explosion of early Christianity. And I seriously doubt that is was some “spiritual/symbolic” resurrection of Jesus in the hearts of the disciples. It was some grounded in fact and history.

Some people point to dying and rising gods in other myths and legends and say Christianity borrowed from these cultures.

Do the research. It’s the other way around. They borrowed the resurrection from Christianity.

In the words of C.S. Lewis the Christian Gospel is myth become fact. Why? Because God raised Jesus from the dead in history!

The resurrection is the historical climax of the greatest superhero movie ever told. The best thing about this story is that it happened in human history. It’s not just a bedtime story or a plot you’d see in a movie theater. It’s the real deal."

MINIMAL FACTS CASE :

Tonight I want to offer a minimal facts case for the resurrection of Jesus.

These facts are agreed upon by the vast majority of NT scholars and historians who’ve studied this topic.

These facts are agreed upon whether you’re a Christian, Jew, Muslim, Atheist, Agnostic, or anything else. That’s why it’s called “the minimal facts case.” Because these facts form a historical core that everybody agrees is probably reliable and true.

Dealing with facts is important because they carry a hard edge. They’re inconvenient. They won’t allow you to believe theories in the opposite direction. You’ve got to find a way to explain them all.

The first historical fact is the empty tomb.

We have evidence for the empty tomb from multiple independent historical sources.

(Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, & Paul) You don’t have to believe these documents to be divinely inspired to treat them as historically reliable accounts of the past.

Jesus death by crucifixion is also mentioned by non-Christian sources. Josephus (Ant. 18:3); Tacitus (Annals 15:44), Lucian (The Death of Peregrine 11-13), Mara Bar Serapion (Letter at British Museum)

The fact that the empty tomb was first discovered by women likely means it happened that way historically. If you were going to fabricate a story you wouldn’t use women as the first eyewitness because of their low status in society.

The early Jewish opposition to Christianity also indicates an empty tomb. They tried to lure people away from the Christian movement by saying “somebody stole the body of Jesus.” You’d only say that if there was, in fact, an empty tomb.

The second historical fact is the post mortem appearances.

We have evidence from within 5 years of the crucifixion that not only did Jesus appear to ONE or TWO disciples after his death but as many as 500 people at the same time!

This evidence comes from an early Christian creed that was written within about five years of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Scholars believe these claims were presented as a way of inviting skeptics to go explore the evidence for themselves. In other words, “nobody is trying to hide this stuff… this isn’t a secret…this isn’t a magic trick. Just ask around."1 Cor 15:3-8

1 Corinthians 15:3–8 (CSB)

3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. 6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me.

These appearances were to believers and unbelievers alike.

The third fact is the sincere belief of the apostles that God raised Jesus from the dead.

Not only did they believe that Jesus bodily rose from the dead. We have historical sources that say they boldly preached that message even though it invited severe persecution and their eventual martyrdom.

The apostles would’ve known for a fact whether or not Jesus was bodily raised from the dead. They preached and died for this message because they KNEW with certainty that it was true.

We also have evidence of their claims and conviction from outside the New Testament.

Polycarp (Pol. Phil. 9:2), Clement of Rome (1 Clem 5:2-7) , and Ignatius (Ign. Smyrn 3:2-3) all have extrabiblical writings that document the fact that the apostles of Jesus preached and died based on the conviction that God raised Jesus from the dead.

We also have later authors both friendly and non-friendly who affirm the same. Dionysius of Corinth (EH 2:25:8) Tertullian (Scorpiace 15) and Origin (Contra Celsum 2:56,77)

I could offer more facts but let’s stop there. Some say, “maybe all of these sources were just lying. Maybe the disciples were just lying.”

Here’s the thing: liars make poor martyrs. I can understand why some people might want to lie if it served them in some way. But would you willingly die a tortured death for what you KNEW to be false? That makes less sense to me.

The Fourth & Fifth Fact is the Unlikely Conversions of Paul and James

Admit-ably, the conversion of Paul the Apostle and James the brother of Jesus are less attested to outside of Christian sources and less agreed upon by Non-Christian scholars but it’s still over 60%

Paul’s conversion is reported in the book of Acts.

Paul’s suffering and martyrdom are affirmed by non-biblical sources like Clement of Rome (1 Clem 5:2-7) Polycarp (Pol Phil 9:2) Tertullian (Scorpiace 15) Eusebius (EH 2:25:8) Dionysius of Corinth (Eusebius EH 2:25:8) and Origen (Commentary on Genesis)

James’ conversion is recorded in the early creed in 1 Corinthians 15. James is also identified as a leader in Acts 15:12-21; Gal 1:19.

James’ martrydom is mentioned by Josephus (Ant 20:200), Hegesippus (EH 2:23) and Clement of Alexandria (EH 2:1; 2:23)

Alternative Theories

People have come up with various different theories but in my view they all fall short of explaining the facts.

Some say the disciples or Jewish leaders stole the body. The Roman guards had too much to lose to allow the disciples to steal the body and it wouldn’t make any sense for the Jewish leaders to do so.

Some say Jesus didn’t really die. That’s unlikely but even if Jesus didn’t die - it’s impossible that his bloody and half dead body would’ve inspired the kind of preach and martyrdom that we see from the disciples. It also makes the disciples out to be a bunch of liars because they preached a resurrection.

Some say the the disciples were hallucinating but there’s no medical or historical precedent for a shared hallucination. And even if they did, why not just squash it by showing the body? Because there wasn’t one.

The point it, the facts won’t let you wiggle out of the implication of the facts which is the claim that God raised Jesus from the dead!

RESURRECTION SO WHAT?

Jesus was raised physically, literally and bodily.

If God raised Jesus from the dead in space time history then that means everything changes.

So the rest of our time I want to show you two ways that a factual historical resurrection can change your life.

Jesus’ Words Are Really True

The first implication of a historical resurrection is that the words of Jesus carry much more weight.

If God raised Jesus from the dead then all the things he said about himself and all the things he said about God are much more likely to be true!

All the things that were fuzzy in the OT are now clarified in light of the resurrection.

The sacrificial system. How could the blood of bulls and goats take away sin? They can’t! But weren’t ever meant to take away sin. They were meant to point to Jesus who takes away sin through his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave.

The message of the Prophets. The first half is about a strong kingly Messiah. The second half is about a suffering servant Messiah. How can the Messiah be BOTH? Because Jesus suffered for sin and then reigned victorious over sin and death through is resurrection from the grave.

The New Covenant: Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In the New Covenant we would relate with God directly absent a high priest or temple system. How’s that possible? Oh! Through Jesus! He’s our GREAT high priest and he intercedes for us because he’s alive and in heaven to do so!

God’s blessing to Abraham? God told Abraham, I’m not just going to bless you and your decedents but through you ALL the nations will be blessed. How? Through Jesus’s death on the cross and resurrection from the grave that happens. He’s building a church from every tribe tongue and nation.

Jesus Death Really Matters

You cannot understand the death of Jesus unless you understand and believe in his resurrection.

It wasn’t the death of Christ that transformed the disciples.

It wasn’t the miracles.

It wasn’t his teaching.

It wasn’t his birth.

It was his resurrection. It put everything else into focus.

If Jesus wasn’t raised then his death is just a noble example of how to suffer. But if he was raised that proves his death actually accomplished something. It secured something amazing.

Because Jesus was raised you no longer have to wonder if YOUR life will be good enough to get you into heaven. You know his life was already good enough FOR YOU. (RECEIPT ILLUSTRATION)

Unless and until you believe the resurrection, your understanding of Christianity will be fuzzy and unclear.

That’s why Paul makes the resurrection central to the Christian faith. If Christ has not been raised then we are still dead in our sins and of all men most to be pitied.

In Romans 10:9 Paul says not only if you “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord” you will be saved but also “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.”

Why does Paul add that? Because the resurrection PROVES that Jesus is Lord.

Without the resurrection nothing else about Christianity makes sense. But because of the resurrection, everything else comes into focus.

We Have Hope for the Future

Finally, the third reason the resurrection matters is because it helps us overcome our doubts and embrace hope for the future.

Before seeing Jesus risen from the dead the disciples were struggling with fear and doubt, but the resurrection transformed that fear into confidence and boldness.

They became so confident in the resurrection of Jesus that they were willing to die horrific deaths in the name of Jesus Christ.

Even in the face of certain death they had had hope of an even better certain future. Why? Because God raised Jesus from the dead. And if he raised JESUS from the dead then he will raise us up as well.

Not only were THEY willing to do this, they preached and encouraged everybody else to live this way as well. The certainty of a future personal resurrection changed the way they faced persecution and danger.

What is your certainty in right now? What’s giving you confidence and boldness if life? Do you have anything? Is it real? Is it changing the way you live?

Everybody has their faith down into something. The question is, what is that faith producing in your life right now? Has the power of your faith brought positive energy or negative energy into your life?

The resurrection of Jesus brings hope and certainty into your life surrounding the things that create fear in the hearts of everybody else.

The resurrection enables you to believe there IS a future after you die. There are many people in our culture (and from history) who say, “When you die, that’s it. There’s no future beyond this life.” You simply cease to exist.

If, however, God raised Jesus from the dead, that means there is a life “after death.” That life after death is just as real (if not MORE REAL) than this life.

We Have Joy For the Present

So, Jesus’ words are really true, Jesus’ death really mattered, we have HOPE for tomorrow and finally we have JOY for the present.

In the Gospel of Luke there’s a story about these two disciples encountering Christ risen from the dead and they return to Jerusalem rejoicing!

Luke 50:51-52

After worshiping him, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they were continually in the temple praising God.

And this joy was given to them because through the resurrection they knew that Jesus would always be with them, even to the very end.

All of us are on a quest to find joy. It’s just how we’re made. In whom or though what are you trying to satisfy that longing?

Some of us are trying to find joy through a relationship. Maybe you’re trying to seek it out in drugs or alcohol. But you just can’t quite get it. It’s elusive that joy. It never lasts like you think it should.

Some of you may be seeking it through substances or drugs or some other form of self medication. It delivers for a while but then you’re left empty.

Adults try to seek it out through money or success. But you discover that you can never make enough. You’ve never quite arrived. The joy never settles down into your heart.

In the words of C.S. Lewis, “if we find in ourselves a desire that nothing on earth can satisfy, the only explanation is that we were made for someone who is not part of this world."

The resurrection of Jesus is God’s way of saying, “Jesus is where that joy is found.” It is through your communion with HIM that your joy will be complete.

Do you have that kind of joy? If you don’t, you can, though faith in Jesus.

CONCLUSION:

The confidence, hope and joy of those early Christians turned the world upside down. How did they live that way? Because they believed in their heart “God raised Jesus from the dead."

What about you? What about your life? What about this church? Are we living as if “God raised Jesus from the dead today?”

If you’re not, you can. It begins with embracing the fact of the resurrection.

Maybe you need to respond this morning by reevaluating your circumstances through the lens of this fact: God raised Jesus from the dead. How would that change your circumstances.

Some of you may need to give your life to Christ. If you’re not a Christian you can make that decision today.