Jesus' Resurrection I. Introduction A. The event that changed everything 1. Plenty of people taught great things 2. Many have died for their cause, died despite being innocent 3. But none rose from the dead 4. That is, until Jesus of Nazareth did so! B. The resurrection is the centerpiece of the Christian religion 1. Jesus' atoning sacrificial death is very important, no doubt 2. Yet 1 Corinthians 15:14-19: without the resurrection, Jesus' birth, life, and death ultimately without value 3. The message of the resurrection was the focus of the preaching of the Apostles, the basis of the preaching of the Kingdom, and it represented hope for transformation in the future C. Despite its critical importance, not spoken of very often! D. Let us therefore consider the resurrection of Jesus in greater depth II. What is Resurrection? A. What is the resurrection? What does it involve? 1. Resurrection, put simply, is life after life after death 2. Jesus' soul did not die on the cross-- He went to Paradise, yet not abandoned to Hades (Luke 23:43, Acts 2:27) 3. On the third day, however, His earthly corpse was reanimated and transformed through the power of God, as the Gospels attest (cf. Matthew 28, etc.) 4. Therefore, "resurrection" not merely some synonym for the afterlife; instead, the re-creation of the body and then a transformation B. The resurrection involved the physical body of Christ 1. As we shall see, the women and disciples found the tomb empty (Luke 24:3)! 2. Jesus, after the resurrection, corporeal enough to be touched, to eat food (Luke 24:39-43) 3. Yet Jesus was not exactly the same as He was before the resurrection: He transcends space/time distinctions, able to pass through into a locked room (Luke 24:27-31; 35-36, John 20:26) 4. The exact nature of the resurrection body unknown-- the perishable "puts on" imperishability, but nothing else known (1 Corinthians 15:51-53) 5. But that it involves fleshly re-animation and then transformation is without doubt, based on what happened to Jesus and what Paul reveals in 1 Corinthians 15 C. Resurrection, therefore, primarily refers to the re-animation/re-creation of the physical body and its transformation for immortality, seen first in Jesus in 30 CE D. What happened? III. The Resurrection Story A. We learn regarding Jesus' resurrection mostly from Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20-21, and 1 Corinthians 15 B. Resurrection predicted 1. John 2:19-22, Matthew 16:21, Luke 9:22 2. Jesus knew quite well what was going to take place 3. He explained these things to His disciples, also in teaching to the Jews 4. Yet the disciples did not understand 5. Resurrection concept accepted by Pharisees, denied by Sadducees, others 6. Yet even those who believed in resurrection believed only in resurrection of everyone on last day (cf. Daniel 12:2, John 11:24) 7. The disciples did not understand then that Jesus would show that He indeed is the Christ through dying and being raised from the dead on the third day! C. Burial preparations 1. For purposes of our story, we must quickly consider how Jesus was buried 2. Joseph of Arimathea takes body, wraps it in cloths, applies a hundred pounds of perfumes and aloes, places Him in his own rock-hewn tomb; heavy stone moved in front of tomb (Matthew 27:57-61, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-56, John 19:38-42) 3. Tombs often used for burials, re-burials, had many entrances, yet Joseph's tomb new, never used, only one entrance, exit (cf. Luke 23:53, John 19:41) 4. Location of tomb of a man of Joseph's stature would be known by many; Mary Magdalene, other Mary saw where tomb was (Matthew 27:61, Mark 14:47) 5. Pharisees remembered Jesus' teaching, demand for guard of soldiers to watch tomb, lest disciples steal body (Matthew 27:62-66) D. First day of week after Sabbath of Passover week, 30 CE 1. Women come to tomb early in morning with additional spices to anoint body of Jesus 2. They find the stone rolled away, body of Jesus not there 3. Two angels had moved rock away; soldiers fled in terror, lied to cover themselves 4. Angels tell women what happened, how Jesus spoke of it; women run and speak to disciples 5. Peter and John run to tomb, find it empty, linen cloths folded; still did not entirely understand 6. Mary Magdalene speaks with person she believes is gardener, asks where body of Jesus has been placed; person is really Jesus! 7. Jesus then appears to Simon Peter 8. Jesus comes upon two disciples walking to Emmaus; explains Scriptures regarding Himself; is made manifest to two men while breaking bread; He vanishes 9. He appears to ten of disciples; later appears also when Thomas present: disciples encouraged to touch Him, He eats food before them 10. Jesus also appears to 500 at one time, His brother James E. 40 Day Period 1. Jesus also appears to disciples over the forty day period between His resurrection and ascension 2. Instructs them regarding Himself, Scriptures; restores Peter 3. After forty days, Jesus ascends to the Father (Acts 1:1-11) 4. Ten days after that, Apostles begin preaching as eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ the Lord (Acts 2 and beyond) F. Thus we have the Biblical account of Jesus' resurrection IV. Testing the Claim A. The resurrection of Jesus the cornerstone of Christianity-- if it is not true, then the whole religion is false (1 Corinthians 15:14-19) B. On the other hand, if it is true that Jesus was raised from the dead, definitive proof of the working of God through Him, demonstration that He is indeed the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and we should obey Him (Acts 2) C. Because of its essential nature to Christianity, many have attempted to discredit the resurrection narrative in the Bible using alternative explanations D. Since the resurrection is so critical, we must consider these alternatives! E. The "Swoon Theory" 1. Some advance the idea that Jesus did not really die on the cross, but merely swooned, and "came to" three days later 2. Extremely improbable: Jesus likely near death after scourging, was pierced with a spear, verified as dead by Roman soldiers 3. Furthermore, wrapped tightly in linen cloths with a hundred pounds of aloes and myrrh-- enough to wake anyone up! 4. Finally, even if it were possible that He were still alive, He would be extremely weak and dehydrated-- no match for a stone, let alone Roman guards! 5. This theory generally discredited F. The Wrong Tomb Theory 1. Others believe that Mary Magdalene, others, went to the wrong tomb 2. Are we to believe that they kept going to the wrong tomb? That the disciples also went to the wrong tomb? 3. The soldiers did not know which tomb to guard? Did Joseph not remember where his own tomb was? 4. Finally, would not the Jewish authorities and others be more than willing to go to Joseph's actual tomb and bring out the remains of Jesus when the Apostles began making their claims? 5. This takes more faith to believe than the Bible's claims! G. The Hallucination Theory 1. In order to explain the various accounts of witnesses to Jesus, many will say that the disciples were hallucinating 2. While that could perhaps suffice to explain one person's story in one place and time, it is hardly sufficient to explain all the appearances! 3. Are we really to accept that the women had multiple hallucinations, as did the eleven disciples, and that 500 people experienced the exact same hallucination at the exact same time? 4. Another theory that cannot really explain the evidence! H. The Stolen Body Theory 1. In order to explain the empty tomb, many use the same argument as the Jews in Matthew 28:11-15: the disciples stole the body 2. The real problem with this theory is the disciples themselves! 3. They are dispirited and downtrodden, trying to make sense of how this all "failed" 4. Attitude of two men heading to Emmaus instructive (Luke 24:19-21) 5. If this were all a fraud they were in the midst of perpetuating, why were they hiding behind locked doors? 6. And why, all of a sudden, were they bold and preaching this message strongly fifty days after the event? 7. And why did the charge that the disciples stole the body never stick? Consider Acts 4:13-14! 8. The transformation of the disciples from the time of Jesus' arrest to the day of Pentecost is not easily explained by this, or any other, theory I. The Spiritual Theory 1. Many, even in "Christianity," have posited that Jesus' resurrection was really a "spiritual" event, that their faith would not be disturbed if Jesus' body were discovered 2. Yet this is not what the Apostles preached! 3. They affirmed that the body of Jesus was not in the tomb but raised from the dead and that they interacted with Him and ate with Him afterward 4. This theory cannot account for the empty tomb, and makes little sense of the later encounters! J. None of these theories adequately accounts for all the pieces of evidence: the empty tomb, the eyewitness accounts, the changed disciples K. The only theory that accounts for all of these things is that Jesus really was raised from the dead with power on the third day! V. What Jesus' Resurrection Means A. What, then, does Jesus' resurrection mean? B. Jesus' resurrection means He is Lord and Christ 1. Acts 2:22-36 2. Peter stands up 50 days after the resurrection and confidently declares that Jesus is both Lord and Christ based on His resurrection 3. He is risen-- and He is ruling! C. Jesus' resurrection means victory over death 1. 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 2. The power of Satan and tyranny is effectively broken when death no longer means the end! 3. The Jews and the Romans did everything they could to stop Jesus, including to kill Him, and yet He triumphed over death 4. The Christian can look forward to physical death with confidence, knowing that he or she will live again in Christ D. Jesus' resurrection confirms the day of Judgment 1. Acts 17:30-31 2. Paul affirms that a day of reckoning is coming, and our assurance is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 3. Death does not mean that people are going to evade consequences-- there will be a new life, and one will then reap what they sowed in this life! E. Jesus' resurrection represents the firstfruits, the basis of the hope of our redemption 1. 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23; Romans 8:18-25 2. Paul describes Jesus' resurrection as the firstfruits: He is the first to be raised from the dead, and because of His resurrection, we can have confidence in the hope of our own resurrection 3. The future hope of the Christian is not tied to "Heaven," as so many would think, but instead to the resurrection, spoken of in terms of redemption of the body in Romans 8 and in its own right in 1 Corinthians 15 4. As we see decay and corruption in life, we yearn for the days of incorruption and imperishability in the resurrection from the dead! 5. We have that hope and confidence through Jesus' resurrection! F. Jesus' resurrection represents the breaking in of the new life and Kingdom into the old world and kingdom 1. Romans 6:1-7, 2 Corinthians 5:17 2. While it is true that we will not obtain the full redemption of our bodies until the final day, we can and must experience the fruit of resurrection in our current lives! 3. Paul speaks of baptism as a spiritual death, burial, and resurrection 4. He describes those who are in Jesus as the "new creation" 5. Therefore, even though we are still in the world of sin and death, we are to live as if in the new creation since we are part of Christ's Kingdom! 6. As we "put to death" the old man of sin and are renewed in spirit and "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3-7, Ephesians 4:22-24), we help promote the Kingdom of Christ in this sinful world, providing light where there was darkness, hope where there was despair-- in short, bringing forth the fruit of resurrection! 7. This new life is only possible through Jesus' resurrection! VI. Conclusion A. On that early spring day in 30 CE, everything changed 1. Jesus' resurrection brought forth a whole new world 2. The world was turned upside down completely because of Jesus! 3. It has never been the same since B. Do you believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and is now Lord? C. Have you obeyed Him? D. Invitation/songbook