Transcript

Proof For The Resurrection-Part Two

1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Pastor Randy Smith

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If you have followed the news recently, you have either read or heard the headlines: "The Gospel of Judas Contradicts Christian Belief!" "Judas was doing God's Will!" Once again, the secularists have mounted their attack to discredit the Christian faith by bringing forth this so-called "gospel" from antiquity. However, their case only penetrates the fainthearted and gullible.

As we dig just slightly below the rhetoric, the information never presented on CNN, we discover that a different author composed this document at least 100 years (or possibly longer) after the death of Judas. We must realize that just because something is old, it does not make it accurate, or just because something mentions Jesus, it is on par with other biblical documents. As a matter of fact, the Gospel of Judas is a work of fiction composed by someone seeking to promote a completely different religion, a religion called Gnosticism that is utterly contradictory with monotheism and the Hebrew Scriptures.

By the third century, Gnosticism was full-blown, but this heresy began to surface in the church when the gospel moved into the Greek culture. Gnosticism claimed that the soul which was good was imprisoned in the body that was evil. Therefore salvation was releasing the soul from the body in which it was trapped.

The Gospel of Judas is Gnostic. Gnosticism denied the physical resurrection. Similarly, chapter 15 our text for this morning needed to be written to this Greek church in Corinth that denied the physical resurrection as well. They had no problem with the soul going to heaven upon death, but they could not fathom a bodily resurrection.

You'll remember when Paul preached Jesus in Athens, another Greek city. He told these philosophers the gospel and then mentioned the following words: "(God) has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead" (Ac. 17:31). They listened up to this point. In the next verse we read their response to the Resurrection. "Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer" (Ac. 17:32a).

The Christian church is continually under attack. The Gospel of Judas campaign seeks to undermine the authority of the Scriptures. But possibly nothing has sought to undermine the Christian faith more in the past 2,000 years than the desire to discredit the Resurrection. Whether it was the Gnostics in the first century or the Liberals in the twenty-first century, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ has received more vicious assaults than possibly any other doctrine. Understandably so, if you are a critic.

William Lane Craig said, "Without the belief in the Resurrection the Christian faith could not have come into being. The disciples would have remained crushed and defeated men. Even had they continued to remember Jesus as their beloved teacher, His crucifixion would have forever silenced any hopes of His being the Messiah. The cross would have remained the sad and shameful end of His career. The origin of Christianity therefore hinges on the belief of the early disciples that God had raised Jesus from the dead" (Knowing the Truth About the Resurrection, Moody, 1981. p. 116-117).

Discredit the Resurrection and you have successfully discredited the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul concurs in Scripture. Beginning in verse 17 of this chapter he said, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied" (1 Cor. 17-19).

Last week on Resurrection Sunday we began to debunk the five most powerful attacks on the Resurrection mounted in the past 2,000 years using the material for the first eleven verses on 1 Corinthians 15. I'd like to conclude this message by reviewing the two we covered last week and then introducing the remaining three this week.

Again, I am well aware that most if not all of you do not need to be convinced on the reality of the Resurrection. Therefore it is my intention that this information provide you with tools to defend your faith, as well as the encouragement to strengthen your faith.

1. THE PASSOVER PLOT - REVIEW

The first attack made national exposure 40 years ago when Hugh Schonfield wrote his controversial book entitled, "The Passover Plot." The thesis states that Jesus, only a normal man, sought to deceive the world that he was the Messiah by fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies. Along with some other conspirators, he even staged a mock death and mock resurrection. However the plan went bad when the Roman soldier speared Jesus on the cross. The actual Jesus died and the "so-called" resurrected Jesus was a different man also part of the conspiracy.

Is that what really happened?

We mentioned last week that such a theory fails to take into account the thousands of lives that have been changed due to the Resurrection, especially those who would step-up and assume leadership of the early church.

Peter was among the unbelieving and fearful when Jesus was crucified, but as verse 5 of 1 Corinthians 15 says, "(Jesus) appeared to Cephas" (Aramaic - Peter). Seeing the Resurrected Jesus transformed his life into one of the boldest leaders the church has ever known.

The remaining disciples (except John) were also behind locked doors (Jn. 20:19) disbelieving the report from the ladies who first saw the resurrected Jesus (Lk. 24:11; Mk. 16:11). But as verse 5 also indicates, Jesus appeared "to the twelve." Just like Thomas, they all doubted until they saw, and once they saw they turned the world upside-down (Ac. 17:6).

According to John 7:5, James, the half brother of our Lord was unbelieving just prior to the crucifixion. But as verse 7 says, "Then He appeared to James." James after seeing the Resurrected Jesus became a leader in the Jerusalem church and even wrote a book in the Bible that bears his name.

Finally, the Apostle Paul. Arguably one of the greatest persecutors transformed to the greatest propagator of the Christian faith. Instantly from foe to friend. How? While seeing to destroy the church, he too encountered the resurrected Jesus (Ac. 9:1-2). In verse 8 of 1 Corinthians 15 he said, "And last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also." His life would never be the same.

Now let me ask you, could a mysterious young man seeking to be the risen Lord possibly fool and subsequently transform all these once skeptical men to take up his cause and eventually be martyred for their faith? That's a hard sell, my friend!

2. THE SWOON THEORY - REVIEW

Another hypothesis we covered last week was the "Swoon Theory." The "Swoon Theory," proposed over a hundred years ago argues that Jesus never really died on the cross. He merely fainted, was revived by the cold tomb and pungent burial spices and managed to convince His followers He rose from the dead.

Or if you follow The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, Jesus survived the crucifixion, married Mary Magdalene and went into hiding.

Is that what really happened? Did Jesus survive the crucifixion?

First of all, the death of Jesus on the cross was never even an issue until the 18th century. All the earliest records made on Christianity are emphatic about the fatality of Christ. Many of these writers were secular historians that wrote in the first few centuries. One scholar said, "Let it simply be said that we know more about the details of the hours immediately before the actual death of Jesus, in and near Jerusalem, than we know about the death of any other one man in all the ancient world" (Wilbur Smith, Therefore Stand, Baker, 1945, p. 360).

Second, the Roman soldiers, no strangers to death themselves pronounced Jesus dead. And since He was dead, they did not break His legs to hasten His death as they did the other two criminals being crucified beside Him (Jn. 19:31-33).

Third, modern medical experts analyzing the events surrounding the death of Christ have affirmed that Jesus died and that He probably died from a cardiac rupture or cardiorespiratory failure (JAMA, Mar. 21, 1986 - Vol. 255, No. 11). Even common sense tells us that nobody could have survived the intense flogging, crucifixion and spearing.

Fourth, even if Jesus did survive His death, are we foolish enough to believe that He was able to roll away the stone, sneak past or fight off the guards and then convince His disciples He was the risen Son of God in less than 50 hours after His bloody ordeal? Would you believe that story and follow a man like that to your death?

3. THE SPIRITUAL RESURRECTION

As we move to the new material, another attack commonly aimed at the Resurrection is that Jesus died, but He never returned from the grave physically. Yes, He rose from the dead spiritually, but His body still remains buried in some Palestinian tomb.

Or if you are a Jehovah Witness, Jesus was never raised to life in bodily form. He is a spirit-creature and His body was removed from the tomb and disposed of by God's power (Reasoning From the Scriptures, 1989, p. 217).

Is that what really happened?

Again, if we run with this conclusion how do we explain the appearances He made to His followers that we have looked at in 1 Corinthians 15? As a matter of fact, when Jesus first appeared to His disciples the Scriptures say "they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit" (Lk. 24:37). To which our Lord responded by way of correction, "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have" (Lk. 24:39; cf. Mt. 28:9). How can we forget those memorable words to the Apostle Thomas? "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing" (Jn. 20:27). In addition to being seen and touched, Christ ate with His disciples as well to prove He had a physical body (Lk. 24:42-43; Ac, 10:40-41; cf. Ac. 1:3).

Furthermore, a spiritual resurrection alone follows the Gnostic beliefs we studied earlier and is utterly inconsistent with the teaching of Scripture. That was Paul's whole purpose for writing chapter 15. The Corinthians didn't doubt a spiritual resurrection; they doubted that they would ever rise in bodily form consistent with the Greek thought of the day since matter was considered evil. On the contrary Paul argued that our resurrection as Christians is based on the resurrection of Christ. He is the "first fruits" (1 Cor. 15:20) and all those who die in Christ will receive a resurrected body at His coming (1 Cor. 15:23). Paul then extends great effort to specifically describe the glory of our resurrected bodies in verses 35-49.

The Old Testament prophesized His bodily resurrection (Psm. 16:10), Jesus predicted His bodily resurrection (Jn. 2:19-22) and the Apostles preached His bodily resurrection (Ac. 2:22-36; 3:13-15; 13:34-37; 17:31; Rom. 10:9)

Think about it! If Jesus only rose spiritually, why has nobody ever produced the body of Jesus? Do you think the Jews would have loved to find Jesus' body? Absolutely! It would have ended the Christian opposition once and for all. Do you think the Romans would have loved to find Jesus' body? Absolutely! They were embarrassed the body disappeared from their guarded tomb. So why was the body never produced? Reason being, it is not there anymore! God rolled the stone away to show the body was gone because Jesus had risen in spiritual and bodily form. Just as the angel said, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him" (Mk. 16:6).

4. THE HALLUCINATION

The fourth attack against the Resurrection claims that those who saw the resurrected Jesus merely hallucinated. Jesus died and was buried, but His followers were so emotionally driven with Christ's messianic expectations that their minds imagined that Jesus really did rise from the grave.

In other words, "If there was a good neurologist for Peter and the others to consult there never would have been a Christian church" (Gresham Machen)

Is that what really happened?

The clearest rebuttal to this theory comes directly from our text in 1 Corinthians 15. We have examined the quality of the witnesses already and it would be hard to convince anyone that all these men merely hallucinated, but when we examine the quantity of the witnesses it is impossible to convince anyone all these individuals hallucinated as well. In verse 6 we read, "After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep."

In the ancient world eyewitnesses were considered the most reliable form of evidence in a court of law. The presence of two or three was mandatory to prove the accuracy of an event (Dt. 17:6; 19:15). Five hundred is enough to convince any jury! Did they all suffer from the same hallucination? As a matter of fact, Paul goes on to say that some have died, but most are still alive some twenty years after the fact. Find them! Ask them! Question them! They'll tell you what they saw for themselves!

Psychiatrists concur that hallucinations only occur in certain types of people and are linked in an individual's subconscious to his particular past experiences. All hallucinations are very individualistic and extremely subjective. They conclude it is extremely unlikely, then, that two personas would have the same hallucination at the same time. How do you account for more than five hundred?

Thomas Thorburg concurs, "It is absolutely inconceivable that as many as five hundred persons, of average soundness of mind and temperament, in various number, at all sorts of times, and in diverse situations, should experience all kinds of sensuous impressions - visual, auditory, tactual - and that all these manifold experiences should rest entirely upon subjective hallucination. We say that this is incredible, because if such a theory were applied to any other than a "supernatural" event in history, it would be dismissed forthwith as a ridiculously insufficient explanation" (The Resurrection Narrative and Modern Criticism, 1910, p. 158-159).

We must remember than none of Jesus' disciples expected Jesus to rise from the dead. All of them viewed Christ's death as final. Even the women who went to the grave that Sunday morning mistook Him for the gardener (Jn. 20:15). When the Lord finally appeared to the disciples, they didn't recognize Him and thought they were seeing a ghost (Lk. 24:37). How could all these people hallucinate something they never expected.

C. S. Lewis adds, "A theory of hallucination breaks down on the fact (and if it is invention, it is the oddest invention that ever entered the mind of man) that on three separate occasions this hallucination was not immediately recognized as Jesus" (Miracles, Macmillan, 1960, p. 153).

No, the quality and quantity of the eyewitnesses, multiple appearances where Jesus ate and permitted the disciples to touch Him, the unoccupied tomb, the unexpected nature of the Resurrection among His followers and the sudden ceasing of the hallucinations within forty days all testify to the fact that Christ's supporters did not suffer from hallucinations.

Moreover, as J.T. Thorburn said, "(Hallucinations have never) stimulated people to undertake a work of enormous magnitude, and, while carrying it out, to lead lives of the most rigid and consistent self-denial, and even suffering. In a word…we are constrained to agree with Dr. Sanday, who says, 'No apparition, no mere hallucination of the senses, ever yet moved the world'" (The Resurrection Narrative and Modern Criticism, 1910, p. 136).

Dr. Luke made it clear in his introduction to the biblical book of Acts: "To (the Apostles, Jesus) also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God" (Ac. 1:3).

5. THE BODY WAS STOLEN

The final theory that seeks to disprove the Resurrection claims that the body of Jesus Christ was stolen. Most supporters of this theory admit that the Jews and the Romans would not have stolen the body. As I said, they of all people would have loved to produce the body. Their theory claims the body was stolen by His disciples who then told the world that Jesus rose from the dead.

As a matter of fact, this theory is as old as the church. When the Roman guards reported that the body of Jesus was gone, the chief priest paid them money and said, "You are to say, 'His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep'" (Mt. 28:13)

Is that what really happened?

Right off the bat we need answers to the following questions: If the guards were sleeping, how did they know that the disciples stole the body? Do we really think highly disciplined guards would have slept on their watch when the penalty for this action could have resulted in their execution? Why would grave robbers in a hurry take time to unwrap the body and leave the grave clothes behind lying orderly in their place? Why would the disciples steal a dead body when they were not expecting a resurrection? Are to we to believe that the disciples could have overcome the armed and trained Roman guards?

All these questions are very difficult to answer, but possibly the most difficult is why all these men would have stolen the body and deceived the world about a resurrection. Such a story is utterly inconsistent with all we know about their character and the message of truth they professed to believe (see Jn. 21:24). They may have been deceived, but they were not deceivers.

Moreover, why would all of these men persist in this falsehood at the torment of their conscience led by no hope, spending "the rest of their lives proclaiming the message of the resurrection, as cowards transformed into men of courage. They were willing to face arrest, imprisonment, beatings, and horrible deaths, and not one of them ever denied the Lord and recanted of his belief that Christ had risen" (Rosscup, Class Notes, Talbot Theological Seminary, 1969)?

If they stole the body and fabricated the lie, I really believe they would have recanted the moment their life was on the line. The moment before Peter was crucified upside-down or before James was beheaded or before Bartholomew was skinned alive, I can imagine these men saying, "Guys, we were only kidding!"

As one scholar said, "Men will die for what they believe to be true, though it may actually be false: They do not, however, die for what they know is a lie" (Little, Paul. Know Why You Believe, Scripture Press, 1987, p. 173).

Now, I know believing a body came back from the dead appears to be a gigantic leap of faith. It's not like we see resurrections on a regular basis.

There once was a woman who was planning to move to another city. She had already packed her furniture and she had only her dog left, a brown cocker spaniel. She placed her dog into a cage, had it crated, and instructed the movers to transport it to her new home.

When the movers had arrived at the new city, they opened the cage and found that the dog was dead. This threw them into something of a panic until one of them had an idea. "We can go out and find another dog to replace this one and she will never know the difference."

With this plan, the men combed every pet store in the city until the found a dog that looked exactly like the one that had died. They purchased him and placed him in the cage and closed it up to await the coming of the woman.

When she arrived, they opened the cage for her and, as her eyes saw the dog jumping and barking in the cage, her jaw dropped and her eyes became as wide as saucers. "Is anything wrong," they asked. Still staring at the barking dog, she replied, "Yes there is. When I put that dog in there, it was dead."

Yes, coming back from the dead is something out of the ordinary, but according to our study these past two weeks, it actually takes more faith to believe Jesus never rose from the dead than to believe He did as the Scriptures clearly teach. As we honestly study the Resurrection, the attacks fade away, but the truth stands. Christianity begins where all the religions of the world end, at death, because it starts with resurrection.

So I ask you after our lengthy study, is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ "one of the most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted upon the minds of men, or is it the most fantastic fact of history?" (Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, p. 203). You must examine the evidence and make that decision for yourself.

And it is a decision you must not take lightly. For the Scriptures declare that belief in the Resurrection is essential for salvation. Romans 10:9, "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the gospel by which we are saved (1 Cor. 15:1-2).

As for me, as you sang this morning, "Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph o'er His foes; He arose victorious o'er the dark domain, and He lives forever with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ Arose!" (Robert Lowry, Christ Arose, 1874).