Q1 - What would an observer have seen if he had stood inside the tomb watching the dead body of Jesus?
Q2 – What would an observer have heard attending a 1st century church?
Definition of Resurrection: From the Gk, Anastasis (An-ass’-ta-sis).
• a raising up.
• a rising from the dead. (42x in the NT)
• The resurrection of Jesus means His body came back to life.
Norman Geisler, “Jesus was raised in a literal, physical, material body of “flesh and bones” that could be seen, touched, and could eat food.”
• Some Christians have the idea that the resurrection is some bodiless, soulish, ethereal existence in some nebulous spiritual realm.
• Jesus does not want any of his followers to think that he was a ghost.
• Jesus’ resurrected body was a supernatural -- yet a physical reality.
Luke 24:39, “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you plainly see that I have.” 40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 While they still could not believe it because of their joy and astonishment, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
• Jesus (God) in flesh has always been the miracle.
• In the incarnation, Jesus took on flesh.
• In the resurrection, Jesus was raised in flesh.
• Which miracle is more incredible? The incarnation or the resurrection?
History shows the church has always taught the bodily resurrection of Jesus:
The Creed of Epiphanius (AD 374) - “Christ ... Suffered in the flesh, rose again; and went up to heaven in the same body, sat down gloriously at the right hand of the Father; is coming in the same body in glory to judge the quick and the dead.”
In the 39 Articles of Religion (AD 1562) - “Christ did truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with flesh and bones... Wherewith he ascended to Heaven.”
The Westminster Confession (AD 1647) - “On the third day he arose from the dead, with the same body in which he suffered; with which he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth at the right hand of his father.”
1 Corinthians 15, is the resurrection chapter.
• Some scholars (even sceptics) call this passage the best historical argument for the resurrection of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2 (NASB), “Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, 2 by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
• The Gospel will never expire, and we should never grow tired of hearing it, believing it, speaking it, and standing firm in it.
• To do anything less is to believe in vain.
• v3 – v7 are interesting, because these verses are believed to be an early Christian creed.
3 For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, [Peter] then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
• These verses are the most concise and the earliest source of the Gospel in the NT.
• These verses were known in the church before Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John were written.
• Dr. Gary Habermas and others says this is an early Christian creed dated to within months of the resurrection.
• These verses were originally in Aramaic, they have rhyme and rhythm to be easily memorized, and passed down to others.
• V3 says, I handed down to you what I received.
• Paul got this early creed from the early eyewitnesses.
• These were the “Gospel talking points” of the early church.
• Notice: The Gospel is of first importance, or first rank.
• The Gospel is the most important truth, not just for us, but for the whole world.
Paul goes on to give the Gospel outline (look for the word “that” 5 times).
1.) That Christ (refers to the identity of Jesus as God’s divine King),
2.) Died for sins (Christ was our sin substitute on the cross)
3.) And that He was buried (there is no resurrection if Jesus didn’t die first).
4.) And that He was raised on the 3rd day.
Here’s the earliest preaching points of the early church.
Where is the proof? The proof is in the Scriptures (2x) and that Jesus appearances to individuals and to groups:
• to Peter V5 (He was the leader of the apostles)
• to the 12. (the inner band of disciples)
• to 500 people at one time. (Most of these eyewitnesses are still alive).
• to his half-brother, James. (James was not a believer. Before the resurrection he thought Jesus was nuts -- an embarrassment to the family).
• to all the apostles (all the 12 together, or a larger group of eyewitnesses)
When you study history, and you want to know if a story is true, you look for early and eyewitness testimony. That’s what we have here in this account.
• There is no reason to doubt, that the earliest Christians preached: The deity of Jesus, His death for sins and burial, and His resurrection.
• This was preached from the very beginning. How do we know? The Scriptures and the resurrection appearances prove it is all true.
But, there is one more appearance of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:8-11 (NASB)
“... and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”
• Paul knows he is the last to see the risen Christ and the least deserving. (The name Paul means “least”).
• This appearance is untimely -- 2 years after the others -- Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus.
• By the grace of God, the great persecutor of the church became a great missionary for the church.
• He did not see Jesus in a vision, or a hallucination. This was the same kind of resurrection appearance as the other appearances.
• V. 11 - Paul went on to preach the same Gospel as all the others: The deity of Christ, His death on the cross for sins, and His resurrection from the dead. He is preaching the true message he got from the risen Lord. Just as Peter and James and all the apostles preached and all Christians truly believe.
**What is vain belief? (v.10, v.2) **
• Vain belief is a belief that is true, but it doesn’t change you.
• Belief in the resurrection is motivation to rise up and serve the risen Lord even more.
• The resurrection means we are not just waltzing to our graves (that’s vain belief), it means we are working by grace until He comes.
CONCLUSION
**Henry M. Morris, “The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth.” **
Q1 - What would an observer have seen if he had stood inside the tomb watching the dead body of Jesus?
* They would have seen Jesus body experience a surge of supernatural life. They would have seen Jesus get up from that stone slab. They would have seen Jesus fold up his head cloth. They would likely have seen an angel or two attending to Jesus. They would have seen Jesus walk out of the tomb alive (a 2,000 lb. stone was no problem at this point). And, they would have seen an empty tomb left behind.
*
Q2 – What would an observer have heard attending a 1st century church?
• Henry Morris, “The most startling characteristic of the first Christian preaching is its emphasis on the resurrection.”
• The early church preached these three most important things: 1. The deity of Jesus, 2. His death and burial for sins, 3. His resurrection from the dead.
• Every sermon in the book of Acts mentions these, and especially Jesus resurrection.
Add one final question...
**Q3 – Now that you know the resurrection is true, how has this truth changed you? **
