Paul says that everything we believe as followers of Jesus hangs on the fact of his physical resurrection following his crucifixion (1 Corinthians 15:1-8, 17-19). What evidences can be advanced to support this claim?
Four Strong Evidences For The Resurrection Claim:
• #1: The Empty Tomb
• #2: The Eyewitnesses Accounts
• #3: The Easter Prophecies
• #4: The Enduring Church
#1: The Empty Tomb
There is a missing body. What happened to it? If the emptiness of the tomb had not been established as a fact for all concerned, the claim that Jesus was raised from the dead could not have been maintained in Jerusalem for even a single day. So what happened to the body?
Three Popular Theories:
• Someone Removed It
• Wrong Tomb
• Jesus Didn’t Really Die
“Someone removed it.” If so, who did it?
• Robbers? – But the most valuable thing- the burial shroud- was left behind
• The Disciples? – But the tomb was under Roman guard (Matthew 28:11-15)
• The Romans? – They really didn’t care what happened in this matter
• The Jews? – Why wouldn’t they have produced the body if they were responsible for removing it?
Did The Women Go Back to the Wrong Tomb?
• Mark says they saw where he’d been laid (Mark 15:27)
• This was a well-known family tomb of a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea
• If this were a geographical mistake, we’d expect the Jewish authorities to waste no time finding the correct tomb
Maybe Jesus Didn’t Really Die!
• John Crossan of the Jesus Seminar says: wild dogs probably ate Jesus’ body
• The traditional Islamic view is: Jesus was caught up into heaven and Judas Iscariot died in his place
• Schonfeld’s famous “Swoon Theory” (first proposed earlier by Venturini) says: Jesus was crucified but he did not die; he only 'appeared' dead after a great loss of blood but he later resuscitated while in the tomb
A Reasonable Response: Could Jesus be a sickly 'Lord of Life'?
“It is impossible that a being who had stolen half-dead out of the sepulcher, who crept about weak and ill, wanting medical treatment, who required bandaging, strengthening and indulgence, and who still at last yielded to his sufferings, could have given to the disciples the impression that he was a conqueror over death & the grave, the prince of life, an impression which lay at the bottom of their future ministry.”
~ Skeptic David Friedrich Strauss
John Records Postmortem Evidence of Jesus Death: Both blood and water flow from the side of Jesus (see John 19:34):
“Clearly, the weight of the historical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead before the wound to his side was inflicted… Accordingly, interpretations based on the assumption that Jesus was dead before the wound to his side was inflicted… Accordingly, interpretations based on the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at odds with modern medical knowledge.”
~ William D. Edwards, MD. The Journal of the American Medical Association- March 21, 1986
#2: The Eyewitnesses
• Women
• Multiple Appearances
• The Disciples
The Testimony of Women
“Women were on a very low rung of the social ladder in first-century Palestine. There are old rabbinical sayings that said, ‘Let the words of the Law be burned rather than delivered to women’ and ‘blessed is he whose children are male, but woe to him whose children are female.’ Women’s testimonies were regarded as so worthless that they weren’t allowed to serve as legal witnesses in a Jewish court of law.” ~ William Lane Craig, PhD
This is some strange marketing strategy! Who would fabricate a story knowing that the star witnesses would be viewed as having nothing credible to say to those being targeted with the very message? Not only does the Biblical record say that the first eyewitnesses were women but one of these women was either a former prostitute or a woman of questionable character (allegedly filled with demons).
Multiple Eyewitness Appearances
• There are 10-recorded appearances
– Involving over 500 people
– Paul’s readers are encouraged to personally speak to these eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15:6)
Were all of these simply hallucinations? If so, how do we explain away an event involving 500 witnesses at the same time? Also, recall that doubting Thomas and others had to be convinced that Jesus was alive (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:14-21)
Consider the Disciples Themselves: What caused these men to go everywhere telling people the message of the risen Christ?
Examine the Personality Transformations
• Simon Peter – From “Shifty Clay” to “The Rock”
• Thomas – From “Doubter” to one who cries “My Lord & my God” (John 20:28)
• James, the Brother of Jesus – From believing Jesus to be mad to calling himself “James, a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Mark 3:21; James 1:1)
• Saul Becomes Paul – From Zealous Persecutor to Passionate Preacher
Look At Their Self-Deprecating Style
• The disciples do not hesitate to present themselves as wishy-washy, weak-kneed losers denying Jesus at the most critical of moments
• Don’t people who make up stories (who lie) generally present themselves in the best possible light?
The Ability of the Early Church to Forgive Saul
• Paul, formerly Saul, murdered Stephen and many of the family members of the earliest followers of Jesus
• Without the belief in the resurrection, how can we account for the willingness of the early church to forgive Saul except that they truly believed he had experienced an encounter with the risen Lord?
The Powerful Evidence of the Martyr’s Blood
• Peter- Crucified up-side-down
• Andrew, James son of Alphaeus, Phillip, Simon and Thaddeus- Crucified
• James, Jesus’ half-brother- Stoned to death
• Matthew and James brother of John- Killed by the sword
• Thomas- Pierced by a spear
• Paul- Beheaded
Was This Simply Religious Fanaticism? What about the September 11th hijackers and the Palestinian suicide bombers? Weren’t they willing to die for what they believed in? Does this validate the belief system upon which they based their actions?
Response: The 19 hijackers were placing their confidence in the claims of another. The Disciples were motivated by what they personally claim to have seen with their own eyes. What might they have gained by making up a lie? What explanation is there to account for their behavior?
#3: The Easter Prophecies
Over 600 years before Jesus walked the earth (in some cases over 1000 years), Old Testament prophecies foretold many of the details of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection with amazing accuracy. Many examples can be provided. Here are a few:
•His Death Was Prophesied: Isaiah 53:3-5, 9; Psalm 22:1, 14-18
•His Resurrection Was Prophesied: Isaiah 53:10-11 (Dead Sea Scrolls contain this text pre-dating Jesus’ birth)
#4: The Enduring Church
• Day Of Worship Changed From 7th to 1st
• The Continued Existence, Durability & Vitality of the Church
• Over 2000 Years of Testimonies of New Life Found in Jesus
Christ
CONCLUSION:
If Jesus has been raised, then our faith is not in vain!
• We really do matter to God and there is real purpose and value to life
• Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life; and salvation is found in His name
• We can know for certain that Jesus does have power over sin, death and Hell
• We can be sure that Jesus will…
– Return to earth as He promised
– Give His Holy Spirit to those who ask
– Provide a future for us with His Father
