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Was Jesus Raised from
the Dead?
Introduction:
Christianity is based upon an objective, historical fact: the
resurrection of Christ. (Romans
1:3-4) The tomb
was either empty on the third day or it wasn’t. There is no middle
ground. The truth is knowable. (I
John 2:21)
Truth is that which corresponds to reality. Note the words of
Acts 17:2-3.
So what evidence do we have that Jesus was raised from the dead?
Body:
I. The Body Couldn’t
Have Been Stolen
-
Matthew
27:62-66
How could the disciples have stolen the body with highly-trained
Roman soldiers there? Rolling a huge stone and removing the
body would have no doubt awakened the guard. The penalty for
sleeping on duty was death. (Acts
16:27)
-
Matthew
28:11-15
If the guards were really asleep, how would they know what had
happened to the body?
-
If the Jewish or
Roman authorities had moved Christ’s body, when the disciples
began preaching that Jesus had been resurrected, they would have
produced the body and Christianity would have been destroyed.
II. Jesus Was
Definitely Dead When Put in the Tomb
-
All four accounts
state specifically that Jesus died. (Matthew
27,
Mark 15,
Luke 23,
John 19)
-
Pilate asked the
centurion if Jesus was indeed dead. (Mark
15:44-45)
If this account wasn’t true, the centurion would have said so
and the Roman authorities would have had it told far and wide.
-
Jesus’ side was
pierced with a spear. (John
19:31-34)
-
These things were
witnessed by multitudes of people, both friend and foe. (Luke
23:48-49)
-
The claim that
Jesus didn’t actually die but just fainted or lost consciousness
contradicts the evidence.
III. The Appearances
of Jesus
-
Acts 1:3
Mary Magdalene (John
20), other
women (Matthew
28), two
disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke
24), Peter
and all of the apostles (Luke
24), Saul of
Tarsus (Acts
9) were
witnesses of Jesus after the resurrection.
-
Read
I Corinthians
15:3-8.
Most of these were still alive!
-
These were willing
to suffer persecution and even be killed for their belief in
Christ’s resurrection.
IV. The Day of
Pentecost
-
Peter and the
apostles were preaching to people who knew about the
resurrection, the Jews. Not a single person out of many
thousands offered a rebuttal to what was said about Jesus being
alive. Three thousand people who were in a position to know the
facts repented and were baptized. The significance of this
cannot be overstated.
Conclusion:
Professor Thomas
Arnold for 14 years a headmaster of Rugby, author of the famous,
History of Rome, and appointed to the chair of modern history at
Oxford, was well acquainted with the value of evidence in
determining historical facts. This great scholar said: “I have
been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and
to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about
them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is
proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the
understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God hath
given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead.”
Invitation:
Christ’s resurrection ensures ours. (I
Corinthians 15:12-20)
Also, His resurrection assures us and all people of a coming day of
judgment. (Acts
17:30-31)
Bobby Stafford
April 15, 2012
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