Why Is The Resurrection So Difficult To Believe? Series

SERIES ON PASSION WEEK

EASTER SUNDAY-"Why Is The Resurrection So

Difficult to Believe?"

Text-Acts 26:1-32

Introduction-

You will recognize that what I have just read was

the Apostle Paul’s defense of the Christian faith

before King Agrippa. It is specifically stated

by the Apostle Paul that he knew that Agrippa

believed the prophets(vs. 27), yet, he thought

Paul mad when he proclaimed to him the resurrection

of Christ Jesus from the dead. Why was it so

difficult, and incredible a thing for him to

believe that God, the Creator, could raise the

dead? Indeed, why is it so difficult for us to

accept by faith in our own day and age? Surely,

if there is a God in Heaven, and there is, and

if He is all powerful, and He is, if He spoke

the worlds into existence, and delivered His

chosen people from Egyptian slavery through

mighty miracles, and did so many other unimagin-

able things, why think it strange, or impossible,

or unreasonable, that He could raise the dead?

And, more to the point, why did not even the dis-

ciples of Jesus believe it? They doubted even

as they saw Him ascend back to the Father! He

had told them at least three times that He was

going to go to Jerusalem, and that He would be

brutally killed, and crucified, yet, they just

couldn’t take it in. It was too incredible a

thing for them to accept and believe, at that

point in time. Here are some of the references

that He made to this:

Matthew 26:2-"Ye know that after two days is the

feast of the passover, and the Son of man is be-

trayed to be crucified."

Matthew 20:18-19,"Behold, we go up to Jerusalem:

and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the

chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall

condemn him to death. And shall deliver him to

the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to

crucify him: and the third day he shall rise

again."

Mark 8:31-"And he began to teach them, that the

Son of man must suffer many things, and be re-

jected of the elders, and of the chief priests,

and scribes, and be killed, and after three days

rise again."

Matthew 17:22-"And while they abode in Galilee,

Jesus said untothem, The Son of man shall be

betrayed into the hands of men: vs. 23 And they

shall kill him, and the third day he shall be

raised again."

Even the beloved apostle John doubted his resurr-

ection, and he had stayed closer to Jesus during

His ordeal than any of them. But, when he heard

of the resurrection, and ran to the burial place

of Christ, he halted, and was apparently afraid

to go in, at first, out of fear, or unbelief.

Why was it so hard to believe? I want to give

at least 3 reasons.

I. IT WAS HARD TO BELIEVE BECAUSE THEIR HEARTS

WERE TORMENTED WITH GRIEF AND LOSS.

We can only begin to imagine how they must have

felt. They had been with Jesus(the disciples),

had heard His messages, and witnessed His mira-

cles, had seen Him do astounding and amazing

things, that defied all human reasoning, yet,

when they went through the grief process, they

just couldn’t believe that the one that they

knew had been so brutally scourged and crucified,

the One whose body was in shreds from the awful

beating, the One who had a spear thrust into His

side, could ever live again.

II. SECONDLY, IT WAS HARD FOR THEM TO BELIEVE,

BECAUSE THEIR MINDS WERE CONFUSED WITH IDEAS

THAT THEY FOUND SO DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT.

They wanted Jesus to be a political Savior, and

set up a kingdom in which they could rule and

have power and wealth, and peace, yet, He went

in another direction. His way was the cross,

the crown and kingdom rule would come later.

III. THIRDLY, IT WAS SO HARD FOR THEM TO ACCEPT,

BECAUSE THEIR HUMAN SPRITS WERE CRUSHED WITH

HOPELESSNESS.

They had forsaken all, and followed Jesus. They

had believed in Him. Now, it appeared, He had

failed them. All their hopes and dreams had

vanished, and they felt utterly hopeless and

helpless.

Back to King Agrippa, as Paul stood before him

rehersing the Christian faith-why, if he believed

the prophets, could he not accept the resurrection?

God is revealed as the God of the living. Had

not David proclaimed, and many others, that those

who believe in Him would dwell in the House of

the Lord forever, even though they had to walk

through the valley of death?(Psalm 23)

So, modern day man, so far removed from these

events, and truths, do you find it hard to believe?

Is it a thing incredible to you? Like John, the