The resurrection of Jesus, as described in the NT of the Bible, is the foundation upon which the Christian faith is built. So you might say that Easter is a kindof a big deal for all Christians around the world!
We don’t even need to assume that the NT is inspired by God or even trustworthy. While I do believe these things, this post (notes from the sermon I preached on Easter Sunday April 21 2019, VIDEO HERE) is going to focus on three truths that even critical scholars admit. In other words, these three truths are so strong that they are accepted by serious historians, those who believe and accept the historicity of the Bible, and those who don’t.
OK, here we go, three pieces of evidence that Jesus really was raised from the dead:
1. The Empty Tomb of Jesus. Four things to consider…
First, the resurrection was preached in the same city where Jesus had been buried shortly before… not in some obscure place where no one had heard of Jesus. No one would have believed them if Jesus was still in his tomb! As Paul Althaus put it, preaching the resurrection of Jesus “could not have been maintained in Jerusalem for a single day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb had not been established as a fact for all concerned.”
Second, the earliest Jewish arguments against Christianity admit an empty tomb. In Matthew 28:11-15, there is a reference made to the Jew’s attempt to refute Christianity be saying that the disciples stole the body. The Jews did not deny an empty tomb.
This is important because the Jewish leaders were staunchly opposed to Christianity. Admitting the reality of an empty tomb was not in their favor. Harvard historian Dr. Paul Maier calls this “positive evidence from a hostile source. In essence, if a source admits a fact that is decidedly not in its favor, the fact is genuine.”
Third, Jesus’ tomb wasn’t made into a shrine. This is significant because it was the 1st century custom to set up a shrine at the site of a holy man’s bones. There were at least 50 such sites in Jesus’ day. No shrine for Jesus means his bones were nowhere to be found!
Fourth, the empty tomb was discovered by women. Significant because the testimony of women in 1st century Jewish culture was not taken seriously.
The resurrection of Jesus really is the best explanation for the empty tomb!
2. Jesus’ Closest Followers Believed They Encountered Jesus After He Was Raised From The Dead.
Three possible options explain this…
1. They were lying
This view says they knew Jesus had not been raised from the dead, but made up the story and most of them willingly died as a result of sharing it. People will often die for a lie that they believe is the truth. But no one dies for something they know to be a lie! And it’s hard to imagine a 2000 year long cover up!
2. They hallucinated
The lying disciples theory is close to absurd, which is why almost all scholars today admit that, if nothing else, the disciples at least believed that Jesus appeared to them. So, maybe they were all hallucinating?
- Doesn’t explain them eating and drinking with Jesus
- Nearly impossible for groups of people to have the exact same hallucination.
- Imagine if I came in here and said to you, “wasn’t that a great dream I had last night?” Hallucinations, like dreams, generally don’t transfer like that.
- On top of all of that, the hallucination theory doesn’t deal with the evidence for the empty tomb.
OR… it could be that they really saw Jesus after He was raised from the dead
Since the disciples could not have been lying or hallucinating, we have one possible explanation left: the disciples believed that they had seen the risen Jesus because they really had seen the risen Jesus.
3. The Christian Church Was Immediately Established…
Jesus’ followers preached that He was raised from the dead immediately after claiming they saw Him ascend to heaven. Thousands of people immediately responded and the Christian church was established and grew quickly and significantly. For 2000 years this message has been shared around the world and literally changed the course of history!
There you go, three reasons everyone should believe that Jesus was raised from the dead!
- The Empty Tomb
- The Disciples Believed They Encountered Jesus After He Was Raised From The Dead
- The Christian Church Was Immediately Established & Grew Significantly
RESPONSE
It’s interesting that so many people didn’t believe in Jesus before He was raised. Even His closest friends, who saw Him perform great miracles didn’t believe.
After He was raised several women went to His tomb, and an angel appeared, saying,
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” (Mark 16:6-7)
But Mark 16:11-12 says that when the women reported back they did not believe them!
It took Jesus appearing to them. Mark 16:14 says,
“Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.”
It wasn’t until they encountered the risen Jesus that they believed. But when they did they went and turned the world upside down. The gospel of Mark ends these words,
“After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” (Mark 16:19-20)
There is great evidence that Jesus died, was burried, and rose again. But no set of evidence is enough for most people to put their faith and trust in Jesus. Like the disciples, and the Apostle Paul, we need to encounter Him personally.
The Apostle Paul was as highly educated as any Jew of his time, a Jew of Jews, and a deeply committed persecutor of the first Christians. After Jesus was raised from the dead He appeared to Paul, suddenly, and revealed Himself, calling Paul to follow Him. You can read about that in the book of Acts chapter 9.
After Paul put his faith and trust in Jesus he gave his life to follow Him, eventually wrote most of the NT. He wrote some of the most important verses about the resurrection, that I want to leave you with…
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 Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters 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. (1 Cor 15:3-8)
Jesus lived the only perfect, sinless life ever lived and He died on a cross to bear the sins of the world. But Jesus didn’t just die… every human being dies eventually. On the third day Jesus was raised from the dead, back to life, so all people everywhere, from every nation, tribe, and tongue could have the chance to be RESTORED back to Him.
This story is being told all around the world with people who claim to have an encounter with the Risen Jesus!
Murders/haters like the Apostle Paul have been turned inexplicably into lovers of the people they once killed and hated… thieves changed into generous givers… self-centered hypocrites turned into humble authentic servants of others.
If you have never put your trust in Jesus to save you from your sin, to forgive you and give you new life, I invite you to do just that… right now, where you are! Just talk to Him, confess that you have fallen short of perfection and sinned against Him… that you believe that Jesus died and rose again to take the penalty for your sin, and that you accept the free gift of GRACE and ETERNAL LIFE that He is offering you through His Son Jesus!
OR, maybe you just need to come back to Him. Pray and tell Him how you feel and that you are returning home!
If you’ve read this and made any decision about your relationship with Jesus I’d love to hear from you. Comment here or through the contact page.
Christ is RISEN… He is RISEN indeed!