EVIDENCE FOR THE RESURRECTION
3-18-07
Ken Peterson
1 Cor. 15:1-19
TEXT: 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:
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 Peter, and then to the Twelve.
6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally [untimely] born.
(1 Cor 15:3-8)
INTRODUCTION
Some 5th and 6th graders were asked to scientifically define some of the things in nature.
- On clouds, on student said, “I’m not sure how clouds are formed, but clouds know how to do it, and that’s the important thing.
- On rain, a 6th grader said, “Water vapor gets together in a cloud. When it is big enough to be called a drop, it does.” Also, another defined a monsoon as a French gentleman.
- On planets, one youngster observed, “When planets run around and around in circles, we say they are orbiting. When people do, we say they are crazy.”
- And, the spinal column was defined as, “a long bunch of bones. The head sits on top and you sit on the bottom.”
There are many amazing things in our world that seem to defy our full comprehension. There are none more amazing and important than the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on Easter. Yet, there is no end of people trying to “explain away” anything supernatural about it. In recent years, it has become almost as predictable as spring itself– as we approach Easter, there will be some startling “revelation” that tries to throw doubt upon the resurrection of Jesus. Last year, it was the “discovery” of the Judas gospel which was written two or three hundred years after Jesus, and long after the New Testament gospels. Also, last year we had the fiction novel, The Da Vinci Code made into a movie at this time, masquerading as science,. Both the Judas gospel and The Da Vinci Code offered “alternative views” of the Biblical data. This year, there was a Discovery Channel special by James Cameron called The Lost Tomb of Jesus, claiming the discovery of Jesus’ family tomb, complete with the bones of Jesus. As you know, I generally don’t respond to these kinds of things, not wanting to waste our time and energy as a church arguing against error that is, to me, hardly worth the dignity of refuting. These are all designed to cast doubt upon the authenticity of our Christian faith, and I’d rather focus upon our major task of following Christ. However, this alleged discovery of the tomb of Jesus and His family provides a wonderful opportunity for us to review the real evidence that Jesus physically rose from the dead. I didn’t want to do this on Easter, since what we’ll do this morning is more teaching, looking at the facts. On Easter, I want to proclaim the message rather than focus upon proof of the resurrection.
class=Section2>This is another example of pseudoscience and revisionist history trying to make a splash in an all-to-eager media to cast doubt on the evangelical Christian claims. First of all, the discovery of this tomb, the Talpiot tomb, is not new at all. It was found in 1980 and the careful archaeologists involved at that time concluded, the “possibility of it being Jesus’ family [is] very close to zero.” And the Israeli Antiquities Authority agreed, “that the chances of these being the actual burials of the holy family are almost nil.” Nothing has changed that in 27 years, except Cameron’s desire to make a sensational documentary and ask lots of open-ended, “What if?”, “Is possible?”, and “Could it be?” kinds of questions. Even at Harvard and National Public Radio they are calling this bit of revisionism “preposterous.” So, we won’t bother with dismantling Cameron’s claims.
But all this does raise an important question for Christians, “Just how important is the bodily resurrection of Jesus to our faith? Does it really matter?” There are some liberal Christians who say that whether or not Christ physically rose from the dead doesn’t really matter. The idea of Christ’s rising from the dead brings us hope and encouragement that ultimately good will triumph over evil. The message doesn’t depend upon actual events. To this kind of thinking, the Bible says, “No way.” Everything about Jesus must be firmly rooted in actual history. Let’s explore this further.
WHY JESUS’ BODILY RESURRECTION MATTERS
The resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of all the teaching of the New Testament. Everything about Jesus is understood in light of His resurrection. His resurrection validates His message, His actions, and gives significance to His death on the cross. Paul says it succinctly in our text,
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. (1 Cor 15:17)
Without Christ’s body being raised from the dead, our sins are not forgiven and we do not have eternal life. It all rests upon this fact.
Christianity is firmly rooted in the real events of history as no other religion is. Christianity is not ideas and good teachings, it is a person, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Our text contains what is probably the earliest formal creed of the early church.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:
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 Peter, and then to the Twelve.
6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
The way it is stated, the words used, and the retention of the Aramaic “Cephas” for Peter in the original give strong evidence that this formulation was in use in the church within two to eight years of the resurrection. “Received” and “passed on” are technical rabbinic terms for passing on a holy tradition. Notice it says nothing about what Jesus taught. It is all about the crucial events that prove who He was: died for our sins; buried; raised on the third day; and a list of post-resurrection appearances. These are the crisp, hard facts of the Christian faith. I Corinthians 15 is the earliest account we have of the resurrection. It was written a number of years before the first of the gospels.
Think of the Apostles’ Creed we commonly use to affirm our faith. It is a succinct summary of the critical tenets of the Christian faith used since about the 3rd century. What does it say about Jesus? Say it with me, if you can remember (the section about Jesus):
“I believe.... in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hades; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”
Not a word about what Jesus taught us. The even older Nicene Creed likewise focuses upon the historical events of Jesus’ life. It is who Jesus was and His actions in real historical events that form the core of our faith. That is what is unique about Christianity. And it is because of who Jesus is and His death and resurrection that we can have our sins forgiven, enter into new life right now with Christ living in us in power, and know we have eternal life.
Other religions are based upon teachings. Buddhism would continue even if there never was a Buddha because the teachings are the main thing. Whether Confucius lived or the kind of life he lived is not crucial to the teachings of Confucianism. Islam does not hinge upon Mohammad. The system of belief, the teachings of any other world religion stand apart from the founder. But not Christianity. If Jesus is not the divine Son of God, proven by His bodily resurrection on Easter, it falls because it is based solidly upon a miracle that only God can perform in our hearts.
But, we need not fear that the bones of Jesus may one day be discovered and disprove it all. No, we have absolutely solid evidence for the physical resurrection of Jesus. Let me just list a few of the most compelling facts. Here I am using a lot of Lee Strobel’s research in his compelling book, The Case for Christ.
THE EVIDENCE OF THE EMPTY TOMB
It is important to realize that the site of Jesus’ tomb was known to Christians, Jews, and the Roman authorities. As you read the Book of Acts and the beginning days of the early church, you can’t miss the feeling of crisis the Jewish authorities felt. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preaches and boldly affirms the resurrection– Acts 2:22-24, 32, 36:
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.... God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.... Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
After that sermon, 3,000 converts were added to the church through the power of the Holy Spirit. Then, a few days later (Acts 3), Peter and John are on their way to the temple to pray and they passed a crippled man begging. In those wonderful words,
Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. (Acts 3:6-7)
That drew a crowd and Peter preached another sermon. The heart of his sermon was this statement:
You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. (Acts 3:15-16)
Now, Peter and John are hauled before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish authorities. Acts 4:2 tells us,
They [the Sanhedrin] were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
They jailed Peter and John then released them with warnings not to speak in the name of Jesus. Of course they keep speaking and are jailed again and supernaturally delivered.
Through these first chapters, you sense the panic of the Jewish authorities at this exploding church and they are completely helpless. They know where the tomb is. If there is a body, all they have to do is produce it and Christianity is dead. But Jesus is not there, He is risen. Thirty years later, Rome is troubled by the rapid spread of Christianity and launches its first wave of persecution of the early church. Again, all they have to do to destroy this movement is to find the body of Jesus and that would be the end. The early Christians make this clear, as Paul does in this letter to the church in Corinth. There is not hedging of things on the part of these believers. But, Rome, with all its armies and power are helpless to come up with Jesus’ body because there isn’t one. He has risen and ascended into heaven.
Of course there are skeptics that suggest the disciples stole the body and hid it. Matthew deals with that in his gospel where the Jews had already entertained that possibility. At their request, Pilate grants them Roman guards for the tomb saying, “Go make the tomb as secure as you can” (27:65). But, considering the Roman guards, the huge stone rolled in front of the door, and the ineptness of these disciples, do you really think this is possible? Before Pentecost, this band of disciples hardly seems capable of pulling off such a plot. They are all hiding, paralyzed by fear and failure.
One other compelling fact in the gospel accounts, arguing for their authenticity is that the empty tomb is discovered by women. Women were not considered reliable witnesses. They couldn’t give testimony in court. If the disciples were writing a legend, they certainly wouldn’t place women as the discoverers– they would have claimed to have been there first.
THE EVIDENCE OF THE APPEARANCES
The Gospels go to great lengths to show that Jesus appeared in a real physical body. They touched Him, He ate food, they talked with Him– though just as clearly, He wasn’t bound by the same physical limitations we are. Paul cites the large number of witnesses– over 500,
most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. (15:6). “Fallen asleep” means dead. Now 1 Cor. was written around 55 A.D. Paul is in essence saying, if you have doubts, talk to these people. They are still around and they met with the risen Jesus.
Suppose you were to consider this a court case to prove that Jesus bodily rose from the dead. If each witness were presented and given 15 min. for cross-examination, you’d have 129 straight hours of court testimony. After listening to 129 hours of eyewitness accounts, attesting they saw Jesus in a resurrected body– many verifying the same event– could you walk away unconvinced? And, remember, these appearances weren’t like the apparitions we sometimes here in our day of the Virgin Mary or something. These were in flesh, hard reality events.
The gospels detail a number of appearances to the disciples (“the Twelve”), several of the women followers of Jesus, and some others. Paul adds the appearance to James. This is not James the Apostle, but Jesus’ half-brother who later became a leader in the church in Jerusalem. Remember, many of these early disciples were put to death for their conviction that Jesus was the Son of God, verified by His resurrection. Out of all these witnesses, even though tortured, no one ever changed their story. Isn’t it probable that if there were some vast conspiracy in hiding the bones of Jesus, someone would have folded under torture and revealed the secret?
THE TRANSFORMATION OF BELIEVERS
I’ll only touch on this due to time, but how do you account for the radical transformation of the disciples and the explosion of the early church? Peter, the bumbler, foot-in-the-mouth apostle who folded under pressure and betrayed Jesus, is suddenly a powerful preacher with unstoppable courage. The miracles performed through the early Christians come with the message, “You see the same healings and miracles happening now through us that Jesus did when He was here. It means He is alive and still working though us, in His name.” Within five weeks of Jesus’ crucifixion, 10,000 Jews are following Him.
And, Paul cites his own case in our text as an example. He’d made himself a name for being the primary persecutor of these new Christians. He had the blood of the church’s first martyr on his hands in those early months of the church. After murdering Stephen in Jerusalem, we are told that Paul (then known as Saul), began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison (Acts 8:3). Then, on the road to Damascus to destroy the church there, we are told he was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples (9:1) when he encountered the risen Christ. Meeting the risen Lord Jesus Christ, Paul was totally changed and became one of the greatest evangelists and advocates for Christ the world has ever known.
Now, other religions have converts. Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and new age religions all have people convert to them. But, what you hear from converts is that they studied the teachings and became convinced of their value or decided that’s how they wanted to live. If you hear that kind of talk from the lips of someone who calls themselves a Christian, you can be sure they are not one. Christian conversion means meeting Jesus Christ, an encounter with the risen Lord. It involves a miracle of heart-transformation, being born again– not being convinced of the truth of the teachings of Christianity. Of course, the following of the teachings does come later and is part of it. But Christianity is at the core a personal relationship with the living Christ. If it is not that, it is nothing at all.
CONCLUSION
I have a friend from a previous church who occasionally sends me articles on the internet to “keep me up to speed” on what’s going on “out there” in newspapers like The New York Times or Washington Post. He is the one who first alerted me to the supposed discovery of Jesus’ tomb trumpeted by the media I referred to in the beginning. His journey is a good illustration to close with, because it all comes down to an encounter with Jesus.
John (not his real name) was a skeptic as far as Christianity was concerned when I first knew him. His sister was involved in our church and prayed regularly for him. But John loved intellectualism and pursued many of the eastern religions, ending up with an eclectic mix that was pretty “new agey.” He was single, but enjoyed the sexual freedom his beliefs allowed. Now and then we’d talk, and he seemed to like asking the hard questions about things like, “How can a loving God, if He’s all powerful, allow evil in the world?” I will say, he certainly stimulated my thinking in our intellectual sparing– and he often shared some interesting ideas from his wide ranging reading. But John was very much in control of his life and proud of that. It was fine to discuss the ideas of the Christian faith, but its claim to salvation through Christ alone was repugnant to him and he didn’t get the idea of a personal relationship with Christ.
Then, the bottom dropped out of his life through some bad choices. He was in deep emotional distress. His sister was worried and asked me to try and help. But John rejected any overtures from me. Then, I began to get a few e-mails from him. We carried on quite a correspondence. That “felt” safe to him and gave him more control over what was said or revealed. Then, late one night I received a call from his sister saying that John was at her house and she thought he needed me. When I got there, I found John in what I can best describe as a crumpled heap of despair, sitting on the bottom steps of their basement stairs. Now it was a finished basement, but still I found it rather symbolic– John was as low as he could get and as close to absolute despair as I’ve ever seen. There wasn’t much conversation, just copious tears. But, finally John understood the need for a Savior– a risen Christ to recreate this self-made man. He entered into a brand new life.
As John began life with Christ, he didn’t lose his love of intellectual pursuits and ideas. But now it was all pondered from the other side. And the risen Christ worked wonderful miracles in John’s new life, untangling messes and giving him a new future beyond what he could imagine.
Christianity comes down to an encounter with the risen, living Lord Jesus Christ for each of us. It is all because He lives. As we close, I want to ask you if you’ve made that choice. I suspect there are some here who have thought Christianity was a religion, a system of belief, and a way of life to adopt. No, that is not it. It is coming to our risen Lord and letting Him into our lives. He is Lord of all. That’s what all the creeds affirm. If He is Lord, then we’re not. And that means a change of who’s in charge. I want to give you a chance to do that this morning.
Evidence For the Resurrection
For Further Study and Reflection on Sermon for 3/18/07
reread the scripture I Cor. 15:1-19.
resurrection of Jesus is so believable. Which one
impressed you the most?
doubts about Christ’s resurrection, what would you
say to him/her?
doubts, simply because if they did believe the truth of
Jesus, it would demand a complete change of their
lifestyle and morals? How would you approach such
a person if you thought this was his true motivation?
Discuss the meaning of this verse.
his praying sister. Does this encourage you to be
more intentional in your prayers?
(or possibly yourself) who had the same
kind of journey to a relationship with Christ?
Without using names, feel free to share these
stories with the group.
powerful promise of our resurrection. Read I Cor.
15:50-58. Discuss vs. 58 and how it encourages you:
“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let
nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to
the work of the Lord, because you know that your
labor in the lord is not in vain.”