The Resurrection Of Jesus

I Cor. 15:12-19

I. INTRODUCTION:

B. At the outset, let it be clearly understood that we are talking about the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1. Some claim to believe in the resurrection of Jesus; however they do not have in mind a bodily resurrection; they might mean nothing more than the fact that the influence of Christ lives on in the hearts of people.

2. Multitudes are those who question and/or deny the bodily resurrection of the Lord (includes religious folks, even some preachers).

 3. Let it be clearly understood that the Bible emphatically teaches that the body of Jesus came forth from the tomb on the third day.

C. Brethren, we cannot over-emphasize the importance of the Lord's resurrection:

1. As Guy N. Woods said, "The resurrection of our Lord is the cornerstone of Christianity...."

            2. It was one of the fundamental facts of the gospel.

                        a.         The resurrection of Jesus was a fundamental part of apostolic preaching.

                        b.         Emphasized more than anything else in their preaching.

                                    1) I fear that we don't preach on it nearly enough today.

3. As Benjamin Warfield said, it "is the cardinal doctrine of our system: on it all other doctrines

hang."

a.      If it could be proven that Christ did not rise from the dead, the whole system of            Christianity could be overthrown.

            4. Paul dealt with this in I Corinthians 15:12-19.

Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up — if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

  5. He shows the logical consequences that must follow if Christ was not resurrected:

                        a. "Then is our preaching vain." v. 14

                        b. "We are found false witnesses of God." v. 15

                        c. "Your faith in vain." v. 17 (also v. 14)

                        d. "Ye are yet in your sins." v. 17

                        e. "Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." v. 18

                        f. "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." v. 19

                        g. All of this suggests the importance of Christ's resurrection.

                                    1) The Christian's hope is based on the fact that Christ arose from the dead.

                                    2) Ultimately, Christianity stands or falls with the resurrection of Christ.

6. Let it be clearly understood that the doctrine of the resurrection did not develop accidentally.

Neither did Jesus' disciples invent the doctrine & popularize it among certain uneducated & superstitious classes of people, as His critics have claimed.

Jesus repeatedly made reference to his death & resurrection from the dead during the three & a half years of His public ministry.

b. After cleansing the temple, Jesus said,  Jn. 2:19,20

 "Destroy this temple, & in three days I will raise it up. But he spake of the temple of his body."

c. While preaching in Galilee he said,   Matt. 12:40

"For as Jonah was three days & three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days & three nights in the heart of the earth."

d,  Mark 9:31  "For he taught his disciples, & said unto them, the Son of man is delivered up into the hands of men, & they shall kill him; & when he is killed, after three days he shall rise again

e. So very clearly Jesus expected to die at the hands of the religious rulers in the city of Jerusalem; but He also expected to rise from the dead on the third day.

D. The case stated:

1. It is generally conceded by both friends & enemies that a man by the name of Jesus lived;
   1. that He rose to great prominence; that He was crucified,
   2. Was thought to be dead when He was taken down from the cross;
   3. His body was placed in Joseph's new tomb;
   4. A great stone was placed at the door of the tomb;
   5. The Roman seal was affixed to the stone;
   6. The sepulchre was watched by a Roman guard;
   7. The body disappeared;
   8. The disciples came to believe with unshaken confidence that Jesus had arisen from the dead.
2. J.W. McGarvey wrote: "By the leading skeptics it is now admitted,
   1.  first, that Jesus actually died & was buried;
   2. second, on or before the third morning His body disappeared from the tomb;
   3. third, that the disciples came to believe firmly that He arose from the dead.

The exact issue has reference to the last two facts, & may be stated by the two questions:

Did the body disappear by a resurrection, or in some other way?

And did the belief of the disciples originate from the fact of the resurrection or from some other cause?"

E. Question: What became of the body of Jesus?

Here is where the battle begins.

a.         Did he rise from the dead?

The Shroud of Turin is a centuries old linen cloth that bears the image of a crucified man. A man that millions believe to be Jesus of Nazareth. Is it really the cloth that wrapped his crucified body, or is it simply a medieval forgery, a hoax perpetrated by some clever artist? Modern science has completed hundreds of thousands of hours of detailed study and intense research on the Shroud. It is, in fact, the single most studied artifact in human history, and we know more about it today than we ever have before. And yet, the controversy still rages.   

If the shroud was real, did he rise from the dead?

1. It might be called, "The battle over the empty tomb."  

            b.        There are several possible views:

                        1. Jesus never actually died.

                        2. The women went to the wrong tomb.

                        3. The people were deceived into thinking He actually arose from the dead.

4. The body was removed or stolen by either friends or enemies.

                        5. His body was actually raised by the power of God.  

Perhaps other possibilities could be suggested as well, but I want us to consider these five just briefly.

SOME OF THE THEORIES FOR THE EMPTY TOMB: 

A. Swoon Theory:

a. According to this theory Jesus never really died, but merely fainted on the cross

b. Was mistakenly buried alive & survived the ordeal of the grave to later escape.  

Possible way it happened:

1. One theory suggests that Jesus did not die during the crucifixion.

            a. Longinus (the centurion mentioned in the apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus, but nowhere in the Bible,   as the one who lanced Jesus’ side)

was known to be a secret convert to the teachings of Jesus.

b. There is little historic evidence to verify that a centurion named Longinus

1. existed,

2. was present at the crucifixion,

3. or was a secret disciple of Jesus. 

c. He gave Jesus a sponge dipped in a vinegar solution, just prior to Jesus falling unconscious.

                  1. Some suggest that the vinegar solution was actually a drink containing a drug.

                  2. This prevented Jesus from screaming when the spear was jabbed into his side,  hence he  was pronounced dead. 

            d. This theory suggests that Jesus was wrapped in a cloth filled with the herbs

Aloe and Myrrh, commonly used to treat injuries by the Essenes.

Assuming that the Biblical texts relied upon for the account of the crucifixion are accurate as to Jesus being presented with vinegar, this bolsters the opposing argument contained in the Biblical account of water and blood flowing from the wound inflicted by a Roman soldier.

Apparently to make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance through the fifth interspace between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. The 34th verse of the 19th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John reports: "And immediately there came out blood and water." That is, there was an escape of water fluid from the sac surrounding the heart, giving postmortem evidence that Our Lord died not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure (a broken heart) due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium

Dr. C. Truman Davis is a nationally respected Opthalmologist, vice president of the American Association of Ophthalmology

Even if Jesus was not dead, such a wound would prove fatal in the amount of time it took to prepare the body of Jesus for burial and the three days before the alleged resurrection 

2. Is this possible, or was it possible for Jesus to merely “faint” and be mistaken for dead?

            a. His graves clothes served as bandages for his wounds.

            b. The burial spices plus the chill of the tomb served to awaken Him.

            c. In this revived state He left the tomb by His own efforts.

            d. He then made appearances to the disciples.

            e. His disciples, believing He had died, concluded that He had risen from the dead.

            f. This theory has the advantage of accounting for both the empty tomb & the appearances.   

3. If you stop and think about it, this theory takes a lot of imagination to swallow.

            a. The soldiers thought He was dead. John 19:33-34

But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

            b. Before releasing the body, Pilate made investigation as to whether Jesus was dead,

            c. He received the  assurance of the Roman centurion, who was surely experienced in such                                matters, that Jesus was dead. Mark 15:44-45 

Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. 45 So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph

            d. Keep in mind that Jesus had been pierced by a spear. Jn. 19:33,34  

4. Some think that the coming forth of blood & water was evidence of a ruptured heart, meaning either the heart had already been ruptured or that the spear itself pierced the heart.            

            a. Could He have survived such an injury? 

            b. If He did, would He have been able to break out of the tomb. 

            c. Just for the sake of argument, let's grant that He was buried alive. Note the difficulties in view                           of His terrible physical condition:

                        1. He had been on the cross approximately six hours

                        2. He had suffered the ill effects of crucifixion

                        3. His side had been punctured by a spear

                        4. He had lost blood

                        5. before passing out He had complained of being thirsty.

                        6. He had been in the tomb for three days with no food, water or medical attention. 

                        7. When He did awaken, can it be would have been extremely weak & sick 

His swoon was deep enough to convince all that were near Him that He was dead including the centurion.

If His burial clothing was of the usual type, His air supply was cut off completely or greatly diminished.

            d. How was He able to:

                        1. break out of the grave clothes; 

                        2. roll away that huge stone blocking the door, 

                        3. fight off the armed guards, 

                        4.  make His get-away? 

            f. How was He able to accomplish so much following His revival from the swoon? 

                        1. In His impaired physical condition, to walk to Emmaus (about seven miles)

                        2. Talk sensibly with the two men with whom He traveled?

            g. How could one in His sick & weakened condition favorably impress His followers?  

5. If Jesus revived from unconscious state, did not ascend to heaven, what happened to Him. 

            a. If he lived, in or around Palestine, why didn't His enemies capture Him 

                        1. make a public spectacle out of Him disproving the resurrection

                                                1. It would have been an easy thing to do. 

6. If Jesus didn’t die here, let the advocates of the swoon theory tell us when & how He did die!  

7. When He finally died, why didn't enemies tell the news to disprove the resurrection story.  

8. Much more could be said, but this is adequate to disprove the swoon theory?  

B. Women Went To The Wrong Tomb Theory:

1. According to this theory those women who went out on the first day of the week with spices & ointments to anoint the body of Jesus (Mk. 16:1), in their great grief went to the wrong tomb, found the stone standing away from the door & jumped to the conclusion that this was the tomb of Jesus & thus started the resurrection story.  

2. But did those women go to another tomb (wrong tomb)? 

            a. Would these dear friends of Jesus forget the location of his burial in just three days? 

                        1. If a close friend of your was buried on Friday, do you suppose you would forget by Sunday morning where the body had been placed. 

            b. Keep in mind that this was not a public cemetery with many tombs nearby. 

                        1. Jesus was buried in a private tomb, in a private burying ground.

                        2. There is no evidence there was another tomb nearby that could mistake.  

Had this been a large public cemetery, there might be some

            c. Several women made this trip as we see in Luke 24:10.

                        1. Are we to believe that all of them would forget the location of Jesus' tomb? 

            d. Since the women were discussing the removal of stone as they went to the grave,

         1. they would know they went to the wrong tomb if found the stone removed & the tomb empty  

            e. But here is the clincher: The angel told the women that it was Jesus' grave.    

Matt 28:5,6: "And the angel answered & said unto the women, fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. (6) He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

3. Granting that all of these women forget the location & went to the wrong                                                             a. would Peter & John make the same mistake when they went out to investigate?  

4. But here is the clincher:

                        a. Even if women & apostles were mistaken, the Jewish authorities wouldn’t have been.

They would have gone to the real tomb & carted out the body of Jesus, nipped Christianity in the bud!  

C. The Disciples Stole The Body Theory:  

1. This is the oldest explanation for the empty tomb.    

Matt. 28:11-15: "Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, & shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.  & when they were assembled with the elders, & had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, & stole him away while we slept. & if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, & secure you. So they took the money, & did as they were taught: & this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day."

2. The apostles (disciples) would not have stolen the body even if they could have. 

            a. They had no reasonable motive.

                        1. Risk their lives for a dead Christ they had forsaken & denied short time before.

                        2. Would they steal a body in order to be able to preach a resurrection gospel?      

3. The dangers & risks involved would far outweigh their ambition (more on this later).  

4. Why would they want to preach a resurrection gospel when they had not understood nor accepted the Lord's teaching in regard to the resurrection.  

            a. The Lord had repeatedly told them of His death & resurrection never understood or believed.

            b. Later, when His resurrection was reported to them, they disbelieved. it seemed as idle tales to them.  

Mk. 16:9-14: "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. & she went & told them that had been with him, as they mourned & wept. & they, when they had heard that he was alive, & had been seen of her, believed not. After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, & went into the country. & they went & told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, & upbraided them with their unbelief & hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen." 

Consider the case of Thomas: Jn. 20:24,25: "But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, & put my finger into the print of the nails, & thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe."  

5. They were in no frame of mind to attempt such a daring act.  

            a. What happened to change Peter from a coward rushing out to fight Roman soldiers

.                 1. Their pessimism following the crucifixion, no frame of mind to steal the body.

6. Add to all of this the fact body stealing was punishable by death 

We must conclude that it was not very likely that they would have stolen the body.

 7. Furthermore, it is unreasonable they could have stolen the body had they wanted to steal it.  

            a. The tomb was protected by a Roman guard usually composed of 15 to 60 soldiers.

                        1.  Can you imagine these few disciples with only two swords among them

                                    A. (Lk. 22:38) fighting this Roman guard in order to take the body.

            b. Is this reasonable in view of their conduct 3 days earlier?

It is unthinkable that a few weak, timid, unarmed men would attempt to take the body from an armed guard that was set to defend the grave to the death (their own lives were at stake)!

8. Did they obtain the body by bribing the guard? Not very likely! 

            a. The great risk would most likely have deterred the guards from doing such.

            b. The poverty of the disciples (Acts 3:6) made it difficult for them to do this.   

D. After the resurrection the guards were bribed to say that the disciples stole the body while they slept. Matt. 28:11-15

1. Can you believe this Roman guard actually slept on duty.  

            a. Keep in mind that the penalty for sleeping at one's post of duty was death.  

                        1. Would they do something & then voluntarily confess it, knowing it would bring death?

                        2. No record of their apprehension & punishment for allowing the body to be stolen

            b. There was no reason for them to be sleepy: The guard was changed every six hours.  

            c. Would all the guards (60) go to sleep at one time?

                        1. Would all the guards remain asleep while the body was being stolen? 

            d. If the soldiers were asleep when the sepulchre was opened & the body removed, how did they know   that the disciples did it?

                        1. Would such testimony stand up in a court of law?

                        2. They could only testify that the tomb was empty when they awakened.

                        3. They could not say who did it or what became of the body.   

2. If they did steal the body, why did they take the extra time to disrobe the body

                         & then take time to neatly fold & arrange the burial clothes. Jn. 20:5-7 

            a. Would they have left the grave clothes in the tomb, neatly folded & laid in order?

            b. Would thieves take the extra time to unwrap the body (while guards were sleeping)                                           c. neatly fold the clothing

            d. carry a naked body somewhere else to bury it again?    

3. Besides the risk involved in taking this extra time, nakedness and death both unclean 

4. How could they have escaped detection? 

            a. Jews from everywhere were camping everywhere in the city of Jerusalem (for the Passover).

                        1. Is it possible that they carried away a body without being seen by anyone?   

5. Wouldn't someone have discovered the body or a newly made grave somewhere. 

            a. Why were the disciples never apprehended & duly punished if this absurd claim was believed?

            b. Why weren't they forced to surrender the body?

            c. A few lashes across the back would have them talking freely.  

6. If the apostles did steal the body, how did they put life back into it? 

7. How do we account for their changed attitude if they stole the body? 

            a. How can we account for the return of faith where there had been doubt?

            b. How do we explain their despair being replaced by hope?

            c. How can we explain the change that came over them?

                        1. The answer is simple: They saw the resurrected Lord! 

8. If they did steal the body, they were lying deceivers -- they preached & lived a malicious lie! 

            a. Why did they deceive & lie when there was nothing to gain by it here or hereafter?

            b. How were they able to go out & preach so boldly the things of the kingdom with this upon their             consciences?

            c. Why were they willing to suffer & die (& watch others suffer & die) for this deception?

                        1. All of them died for this testimony of the resurrection except John & he was exiled to Patmos.  

E. The Lord's Enemies Stole His Body Theory: (This is a rather strange explanation for the empty tomb)    

1. They had no motive for taking the body from the tomb. 

            a. The body was right where they wanted it to be.

            b. It was to their advantage to leave the body right where it was.  

2. To have stolen the body would have promoted the resurrection claim -- Matt. 27:62-66).

3. They had absolutely nothing to gain by it.  

4. They too would have had the problem of getting by the Roman guard. 

            a. Assuming they did, why take the time to remove the clothing & leave it so neatly folded & arranged?

                        1. Do thieves take time for unnecessary actions?

                        2. They want to get in & get out as quickly as possible.  

5. They never claimed to have stolen the body (not one time).

            a. (They claimed that the disciples came & stole the body).  

6. The apostles & other followers of the Lord never claimed that the Lord's enemies removed the body from the tomb. (They claimed that Jesus was resurrected.)  

7. If they stole the body, they would know its whereabouts & could have made a grand exposure of the apostle's claim for a resurrection.  

            a. The resurrection of Christ was central to the apostles preaching.

                        1. They began preaching it in Jerusalem only days after the empty tomb was found.

            b. Their enemies could have exposed them if they had possessed the body or knew its whereabouts.

            c. If the Jews had had the body, they would not have hesitated for a minute to:

                        1. Produce the body. Or,

                        2. Produce witnesses to testify that Jesus was dead & give the location of the tomb.  

F. The Visionary Theory: (Hallucinations of the disciples):  

1. This is considered to be a very important & effective answer to the resurrection claim. 

            a. This is perhaps the most widely accepted of the theories being considered.  

2. The appearances of the Lord are simply explained as visions or hallucinations. 

            a. Those who claim to have seen Christ alive following His death were not trying to deceive anyone, they were merely mistaken, having seen visions of the Lord.  

3. They were not in a proper frame of mind for visions or hallucinations. 

            a. Visions come to those expecting them. 

                        1. Those who saw Him (where the details are given), not expecting Him to rise from the dead.

                        2. In fact, for the most part, they found it difficult to believe, even with the evidence before them. 

            b. The women who went to the tomb on the first day of the week were not anticipating a resurrection -- they came to the tomb with spices & ointment to anoint a dead body, not a risen Christ.

            c. When Mary Magdalene first saw Jesus, she did not react hysterically, thinking she had seen Jesus,     but still thinking Jesus was dead, she mistook Him for the gardener & requested the body. Jn. 20:1-18  

                        1. At this point, she did not think Jesus had risen.

                        2. She didn't even recognize Him until He called her name.

                        3. She appears to have been quite rational.

            d. The apostles were not anticipating a resurrection. 

                        1. Notice their reaction to the women's report of the resurrection: Lk.24:1-12; Mk.16:10 

  Notice Mark 16:10: When Mary Magdalene went & told them of the empty tomb, she found them mourning & weeping.  

            e. They were not expecting a resurrection! Mk. 16:12-14 

4. On the evening of the resurrection day Jesus appeared to ten of the apostles & the two men with whom He had walked to Emmaus. Lk. 24:36-43 

            a. Were they expecting to see Him? 

                        1. Certainly not, for they were terrified & frightened, supposing they saw a spirit.

                        2. To convince them he was real he showed them His hands & feet & then asked for food & ate.

5. Thomas certainly was not anticipating a resurrection. 

            a. Didn’t believe report that Jesus had arisen, but was later convinced. Jn. 20:24-29

            b. How can this theory account for Paul's testimony?  (we studied last week)

                        1. He certainly was not expecting to see Christ

                        2. this appearance to him occurred several years after the resurrection of Christ. 

6. A vision is generally received by one person at a time. 

            a. Two or more persons will not usually have the same hallucination.

            b. This is not to say that such is impossible, but it is highly unlikely.

            c. The greater the number who have the hallucination, the more doubtful it is an hallucination.  

            d. Such is the case with the resurrection of Jesus. 

                        1. Jesus not only appeared singly to people, but He appeared to small groups of 2-3                               2. On the Sea of Galilee He appeared to seven.

                        3. On different occasions He appeared to ten or eleven.

                        4. Paul says He appeared to more than 500 at one time.  

            e. Such a variety, groups, numbers of people, impossible hallucination or vision caused appearances.  

7. "Visions" ended abruptly, all within 40 days (except for the appearance to Saul)  

            a. People suffering from hallucinations go from one hallucination to another,

                        1. but these people never had any other hallucinations (that we know of).

            b. If they had been suffering from such visions, they would have had other visions also. 

8. If this theory is true, what became of the body of Jesus?

            a. It fails to account for the empty tomb. The body is still missing.

            b. The question of the empty tomb becomes a real problem for this theory!  

CONCLUSION:

1. There is but one adequate explanation for the empty tomb -- Jesus rose from the dead!

            a. The theories we have considered are flimsy, invalid explanations. 

2. Jesus repeatedly appeared to those who knew Him before His resurrection.  

    a. They were eminently qualified to identify Him as the one with whom they had associated before the crucifixion.  

3. Keep in mind that the resurrection was foretold:

   1. Acts 2:22-32: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles & wonders & signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: (23) Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel & foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, & by wicked hands have crucified & slain: (24) Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. (25) For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: (26) Therefore did my heart rejoice, & my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: (27) Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (28) Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. (29) Men & brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead & buried, & his sepulchre is with us unto this day. (30) Therefore being a prophet, & knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; (31) He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. (32) This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses."

            a. This quotation is from Psalms 16:8-11.

            b. It is written as though Jesus were doing the talking.   

Matt. 12:39,40: "But he answered & said unto them, an evil & adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; & there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: (40) For as Jonas was three days & three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days & three nights in the heart of the earth."

            a. This is an obvious reference to Jonah 1:17.  

            b. There are numerous other Bible claims for the resurrection:

                        1. Mk. 16:9; Lk. 24:13-35; Acts 1:1-5; I Cor. 15:1-8  

II Cor. 5:15: "And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, & rose again."            

I Pet. 1:3: "Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."  

I Thess. 4:14: "For if we believe that Jesus died & rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."