Talk 6 - The Resurrection Of Jesus (Overview)- The Five E's Of The Resurrection Series

SERMON OUTLINE:

Execution - Jesus was dead.

Empty tomb - the missing body

Eyewitnesses

Early records - the gospels / creeds / other historians

Emergence of the Church

SERMON BODY:

Ill:

• Mel Blanc is a voice you will all know,

• But a name you will probably not.

• He has been called, “The man of 1,000 voices”.

• Some of them you will instantly recognise.

• ‘Woody Woodpecker, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Sylvester & Tweety Pie’

• On the Warner Brothers cartoons, it is Mel Blanc who does the voice at the very end.

• Of the cartoon; “That’s all folks!”

• On his gravestone, just under the Star of David (he was Jewish),

• Is the inscription, “That’s all folks!”

• TRANSITION: Many people view life that way,

• When you are dead, you are dead - “That’s all folks!”

• But Easter is a reminder that ‘death is not the end”.

• There is more to follow!

For Christians Easter is the most important celebration, season or festival.

• If Christ had not risen, the Christian faith would have no foundation.

• If Christ had not risen, we might as well pack up and go home!

• If Christ had not risen, there is no Christian faith.

Quote: The apostle Paul (1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 14-19 NLT).

“And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”

• Easter: the resurrection is the entire crux of the Christian faith.

• The fact Christ arose from the dead as was prophesied,

• Makes our faith confirmed, sure and secure.

Ill:

• If you are challenged on the resurrection of Jesus, by an unbeliever or an enquirer,

• Please don’t respond by quoting the old chorus, ‘I serve a risen Saviour.’

“You ask me how I know He lives?

He lives within my heart.”

• That just sounds like you have heartburn or indigestion,

• It might be nice poetry, but it is not an argument for truth.

• So, let me start my talk by giving some evidence for the resurrection.

The Five Es of the Resurrection.

(1). Execution - Jesus was dead.

Ill:

• We all know the expression, “When you’re dead, you’re dead,”

• I like the poster/T-Shirt that reads,

• “When you're dead you don't know you're dead, it’s the same if you are stupid.”

• TRANSITION:

• It is important to start this talk by emphasizing Jesus actually died.

Ill:

• Islam and the Quran which came into being 700 to 800 years after Jesus was on earth,

• And it claims that Jesus did not die and therefore was not resurrected.

• They believe Allah deceived people (so much for truth!),

• And secretly swapped Jesus on the cross for another person who looked like him,

• (Yep, you couldn’t make it up, well actually Muhammad did!)

Ill:

• Then 1,000 years later in 1828, H. E. G. Paulus,

• Who was a German theologian and critic of the Bible,

• Came into prominence and claimed that Jesus did not die.

• He suggested that Jesus merely fainted on the cross, from pain, shock, and loss of blood.

• Jesus was then mistakenly buried alive.

• Somehow the cool, damp air of the tomb, revived Jesus after three days,

• And he decided to exit the tomb and so it appeared he was risen.

• This is called the ‘Swoon Theory’,

• And the more you examine it the more holes you find in it!

• e.g., Jesus had no access to desperately needed medical care and nourishment,

• e.g., Jesus supposedly managed to unwrap his dressings and then,

• e.g., In the total darkness of the tomb, he managed to locate and then,

• Roll away the mammoth stone sealing the tomb entrance.

• e.g., And then, still unnoticed by the guards,

• Jesus supposedly walked away, on feet punctured by the cross nails,

• To rejoin His disciples and convince them he arose in power!

• You will need more faith to believe this theory,

• Then what Christians say really happened.

Question: Did Jesus die?

Answer: Yes – three reasons why!