EVIDENCES OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST

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INTRODUCTION

If the center of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Divine Son of God, then the center of that belief is His Resurrection. His Resurrection would establish His divinity in the minds of even the most hardened skeptics.

Jesus emphasized His Resurrection, the apostles used it as the basis of their preaching, and man through the years has held it to be the most crucial evidence for the divinity of Jesus.

THE QUESTION

The question to be answered in this lesson: was Jesus resurrected? We will examine five pieces of empirical evidence to determine the answer. Empirical evidence is the kind that has been seen by the human eye, touched by the human hand and heard by the human ear. In the sense of law: eyewitness testimony. As we look at these evidences, see if they pass the empirical test!

Evidence 1- The Old Testament

(Psalms 16:8-11) is the crucial text in Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:25-32.)

To find Messianic Prophecy of the Old Testament referred to as being fulfilled in the New Testament is very common. In future lesson on the Unity of the Scriptures we will examine some of the references in more depth.

Evidence 2- The New Testament

Christ anticipated His resurrection in His actions and teachings. (Jn. 2:19-22; Lk. 9:22; Mt. 12:40; 16:21; 20:18-19)

The remainder of the NT gives us the where, when, why and how of Christ's death and resurrection. From the NT we learn:

• Who got His body, how he got it and where he laid it,
• the resurrection was on the first day of the week,
• the empty tomb was discovered by the women,
• the stone was rolled away,
• Angels were present,
• after the resurrection Jesus appeared to individuals and groups, and
• They recognized him as the Master of the pre-crucifixion days, possessing the same powers and perhaps additional ones.

The preaching of the apostles gave precedence to the Resurrection. From Pentecost to the Isle of Patmos, it was the crucial evidence used to show Jesus as the Christ.

Evidence 3- Church History

Throughout the uninspired writings of the early church, the resurrection is accepted as fact and never disputed. What else can explain the spread of the early church, the conviction of the apostles and the conversion of Saul?

In his book, The Mission and Message of Jesus, H.D.A. Major says concerning the Resurrection:

Had the crucifixion of Jesus ended His disciples' experience of Him, it is hard to see how the Christian Church could have come into existence. That Church was founded on faith in the Messiahship of Jesus. A crucified Messiah was no Messiah at all. He was one rejected by Judaism and accursed of God. It was the Resurrection of Jesus, as St. Paul declares in Rom.1:4, which proclaimed Him to be the Son of God with power.

[To many minds, the following evidences are the most significant.]

Evidence 4- The Empty Tomb

The Gospels are full of evidence pertaining to this fact. The testimonies of the women, the apostles, even the Roman guard entrench this piece of evidence beyond the reach of skeptical criticism.

Skeptics have attempted to explain the empty tomb through four traditional arguments:

1st] The body was stolen by the disciples.
2nd] The body was removed by Joseph of Arimathea.
3rd] The women went to the wrong tomb.
4th] The so-called "swoon theory", that is: Jesus was not dead when placed in the tomb.

Our answer to the first two arguments: What was the Roman guard doing while this was going on? To the third argument we answer: if the women went to the wrong tomb, so did the divinely directed Angels. Finally, to the fourth argument: when and where did Jesus die? Where was His body? Were the Roman soldiers incapable of determining death?

The burden of proof lies with the skeptics. To prove that Jesus was not resurrected, they must produce the corpse!

Evidence 5- The Post-resurrection Appearances

During the time between His resurrection and His ascension, Christ appeared at least ten times to His disciples. The scriptures records the eyewitness accounts of these appearances. (A study of the Fourfold Gospels and Acts would examine these appearances in detail) His death, they saw Him die on the cross and they saw Him alive after that time. This is the empirical evidence we were talking about! He was, seen touched and heard, after His death!

Once again the critics object.

1st] The vision hypothesis- mass visions.
2nd] The television theory- Jesus televised pictures of Himself into the, minds of the disciples.

The answer to both of these theories is the same. How do you touch a vision? How does a vision eat physical food?

An additional witness on the list is Paul. The one formerly called Saul knew every available argument against Jesus as the resurrected Son of God. This same Saul is convinced, convicted and converted by his eyewitness experience.

Dr. Wilbur Smith in his book, Therefore Stand, wrote:

To reject the Resurrection is to go against every law of logic which man has discovered; to reject the Resurrection is to put out the one great light that can illuminate our future; to reject the Resurrection is to involve ourselves, for the rest of life, in all kinds of efforts to explain the principles and teaching and work and influence of Jesus Christ; to deny the Resurrection of Christ is to forfeit any right to preach in a Christian pulpit, to talk to others about the blessings of following Jesus, or to kneel down at the bedside of a dying man or woman and expect to bring them any comfort.

THE CONCLUSION

If the Resurrection was a hoax, then why did the Romans or the Jews not produce the body? This would have discredited Jesus once and for all.

If it was a hoax, what was to be gained by being a First Century Christian? Nothing of worldly significance. From the worldly viewpoint they were a hated sect, following a despised martyr. Many of them became martyrs for His cause. They did so willingly holding true to their conviction that Jesus Christ is the Son of God- dead, buried and resurrected!