Title: Jesus Is . . .The Risen Christ
Series: Who Is Jesus? (Sermon # 4)
Text: 1 Cor 15:3-8
March 23, 2008 (Easter Sunday)
COPYRIGHT © Joe La Rue, 2008
INTRODUCTION
A. Perhaps the most famous missing man in American history is Judge Joe Crater, who was an associate justice of the New York Supreme Court when he vanished without a trace in August, 1930. One of the most recognizable people in New York City, he was vacationing with his wife in Maine when he received a phone call and told her only that he had to return to the city to straighten some things out. Before leaving, he promised to return in time for her birthday in just a few days. His wife later reported that when he left, he was behaving normally and seemed to be in good spirits.
It is known that he went back to the city and spent two hours looking through his files in his courthouse chambers. He then had his assistant, Joseph Mara, cash two checks for him that totaled $5,150—equal to roughly $60,000 today. Around lunchtime, the assistant helped him carry two locked briefcases to his apartment, where Judge Crater dismissed him for the day.
Later that evening, Judge Crater bought a ticket for the Broadway comedy Dancing Partner that was playing later that night. He then went to dinner at Billy Haas’s Chophouse on West 45th Street, where he ate with an attorney friend of his. The lawyer would later tell police that Judge Crater was in a good mood during dinner and gave no indication that anything was amiss.
Around 9 p.m., shortly after the opening time for Dancing Partner, Judge Crater and the lawyer left the restaurant. Judge Crater hailed a cab, and before stepping in waved back to his friend. That was the last anyone ever saw him.
What happened to Joe Crater remains a mystery. The nation became engrossed with the massive investigation for the missing judge. It was discovered that the judge’s safe deposit box had been cleaned out, and the two briefcases that Joseph Mara helped him carry to his apartment were missing. How can such a prominent person simply vanish without a trace? Had he been murdered because he was about to expose corruption in Tammany Hall? Or, was he himself involved in corruption, and he ran away? Could it be that he intended to use the cash to pay off someone, and the deal went bad? It is known that he was having an affair with a 22 year old dancer: some have speculated that she was also seeing a mobster. Could the mobster boyfriend have had the judge killed? Or, could he have run off with another woman? Or, maybe with the dancer? She herself disappeared two months later and was never seen again. Or, perhaps he had been killed by a mob boss as a political favor to politicians who were protecting the mob. No one could say. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
In October a grand jury was convened, which expressed the opinion that, “The evidence is insufficient to warrant any expression of opinion as to whether Crater is alive or dead, or as to whether he has absented himself voluntarily, or is the sufferer from disease in the nature of amnesia, or is the victim of crime.”
Joe Crater had simply disappeared, never to be seen again.
(Joseph Force Crater, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_F._Crater (last visited Mar 18, 2008)).
B. Occasionally people go missing, with no way to tell whether they are dead or alive. But seldom do you encounter someone who claims to have come back from the dead. Unlike the case of Judge Crater, the issue with Jesus isn’t that He was nowhere to be seen. Rather, it’s that He was seen: He was seen dead, He was seen locked in a tomb, and then He was seen alive again. The story of Easter is not the story of a missing person. Rather, it’s the story of Jesus being raised from the dead, and remaining alive down to the present time. The Apostle Paul wrote in the Bible,
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally—[or, untimely]—born.” (1 Cor 15:3-8, NIV).
C. Sceptics, though, say that the evidence for the resurrection is as inconclusive as the evidence for the fate of Judge Crater: there is simply not enough proof to reach a firm conclusion. Some go even farther and assert that there is no evidence that Jesus was raised from the dead, and the whole thing is nothing but a fairy tale. So, who’s right? Is there evidence that Jesus rose from the dead? Actually, there is. In fact, I maintain that an honest consideration of the evidence will lead to the conclusion that Jesus really did rise from the dead on Easter Sunday morning.
D. Trans: Let me share some of the evidence with you this morning. There are a number of pieces of evidence we could consider, but in the interest of time, I have chosen to focus upon only two. First, the fact of the empty tomb, coupled with the absence of any credible, alternate explanation for it, points toward the reality of the resurrection. If one is going to deny the resurrection, he must be able to explain the empty tomb. Yet all the explanations fall short.
I. THE FACT OF THE EMPTY TOMB POINTS TOWARD THE REALITY OF THE RESURRECTION.
A. The Bible’s Claim: The Tomb Was Empty. All four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—make the bold proclamation that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead, and that His tomb was found to be empty early Sunday morning. And the early church was founded upon this claim. The very first sermon that the Apostle Peter preached, which historians regard as the birth of the church, is found in Acts 2. And in verses 22-24 Peter said this:
“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:22-24, NIV).
The Bible says that about 3,000 people accepted Peter’s message. They placed their faith in Jesus, repented, and were baptized, and received salvation. (Acts 2:37-41). And just a few chapters later we read of five thousand believers, and then a multitude of believers. Many people accepted the story that this dead man Jesus, whose grave was only yards from their city gate, had risen to life! And the secular, non-biblical historical evidence agrees with this chain of events: the apostles preached that Jesus had been raised from the dead, and many people came to believe that assertion.
The Bible also tells us that the Jewish religious leaders who had conspired to put Jesus to death tried to dissuade the people from this belief. The Bible says that “they were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.” (Acts 4:2-3, NIV). Now, when Peter preached about the resurrection of Christ just a few days after Jesus had been put to death, the easiest way for the Jewish leaders to stop people from believing what he was saying would have been by producing the body. The tomb was right outside their city; all they had to do was go to it and retrieve Jesus’s body and say, “Look! He didn’t rise from the dead! He’s right here!” But they couldn’t. There was no body to produce, because there was no body in the tomb. In fact, the Bible tells us that the Jewish leaders claimed that Jesus’s apostles stole the body and just pretended he was resurrected, and we know from historical records beyond the Bible that is in fact what they claimed.
B. The Alternate Theories Cannot Explain It.
1. The Stolen Body Theory. So, is there anything to this assertion? Did the apostles steal the body? Hardly.
a. The Bible says that the Jewish leaders went to Pilate and told him that they worried the apostles would steal the body, so Pilate ordered that a contingent of soldiers guard the entrance to the tomb. Historians tell us that this would have been a contingent of 4 or so well armed, battle-hardened Roman soldiers. And under Roman law, they would suffer execution if they fell asleep on their watch, or let anything happen to the body they were guarding. These men would have fought to the death rather than allow the apostles to steal the body.
b. Perhaps even more significant than that is the fact that the apostles seemed to sincerely believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. The New Testament is plain on this; and, in fact, no one really questions it these days. That’s why few if any sceptics advance the stolen body theory anymore: they recognize that the apostles do not seem to be the type of people who would have stolen the body and then perpetrated a hoax, especially in light of the fact that they ended up dying for their claim that Jesus had risen.
2. The Wrong Tomb Theory. More prevalent today is the idea that the women who went to the tomb on Easter Sunday morning, and reported that the tomb was empty, simply went to the wrong tomb. Yet, if that was the case, why did the Jewish leaders not simply present the body of Jesus to combat the claim that He had risen from the dead? That would have been the slam-dunk smoking gun! Yet, they never produced the body.
3. The Swoon Theory. It has also been suggested that perhaps Jesus’s tomb really was empty, but only because He had never died. Rather, He had merely fainted on the cross, and was buried while still alive. By Sunday morning He had revived enough to come out of the tomb and fooled everyone into believing He had risen from the dead.
a. Quite honestly, this theory is the most preposterous of all. Medical doctors tell us that a person undergoing the type of scourging Jesus received, coupled with crucifixion, would not have survived being buried for any length of time in a moist, cold tomb.
b. Also, historians tell us that Roman soldiers were trained killers, and the certainty of the death of condemned was extremely important to them, because if the condemned survived, the soldiers responsible for the failed execution would be put to death.
c. And, to top it off, there was the stone at the entrance to the tomb. The Bible tells us it was there, and we know from archeological discoveries that tombs during that period were sealed with a stone rolled into a v-shaped trench at the mouth of the tomb. It took several men to roll the stone out of the trench. Even assuming that Jesus survived the crucifixion, could He have rolled the stone away in His weakened state? Could He have done so from inside the tomb, where He would not have been able to push on the edges of the stone?
d. And then, even assuming He could have rolled away the stone, how exactly would He have gotten by the Roman guard, whose very lives depended on Him staying dead?
e. Truthfully, it takes more faith to believe that Jesus fainted on the cross, was revived in the tomb, and deceived His followers into thinking He had been raised, then it does to simply believe in the resurrection! The apostles would have taken Jesus to a hospital. They wouldn’t have proclaimed Him the resurrected Christ, if He had merely fainted on the cross.
4. So, the alternate theories cannot explain the empty tomb, and that’s probably why the Jewish leaders never claimed that Jesus had merely fainted, or that the disciples went to the wrong tomb.
a. They knew that their only shot to refute the claim that Jesus rose from the dead was to claim his followers stole the body. That is the only explanation for the disciples claim, aside from an actual resurrection, that is plausible, and so that is what the Jewish leaders claimed.
b. And yet, that explanation is rejected today, because the apostles are regarded as too credible of witnesses to seriously think that they stole the body.
C. Trans: I remind you what we said when we began this discussion: if one is going to claim that Jesus did not rise from the dead, he must be able to explain the empty tomb. All the alternate theories fail to do that. Therefore, the empty tomb points toward the possibility of the resurrection. Let me share a second line of evidence:
II. THE SUFFERING OF THOSE WHO CLAIMED TO HAVE SEEN JESUS ALIVE POINTS TOWARD THE REALITY OF THE RESURRECTION.
A. Each of the apostles, with the possible exception of John, died horrible deaths for their claim that Jesus rose from the dead.
1. Very early tradition tells us that Peter was crucified in Rome for his faith, requesting to be nailed to the cross upside down since he did not feel worthy to die in the same manner as Jesus;
2. The apostles Philip, Andrew, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and Bartholomew were also crucified for their faith.
3. James the brother of John was beheaded;
4. The other apostle named James, at the age of 94, was beat and stoned, and finally had his brains dashed out;
5. Matthew was chopped to death with an axe;
6. Matthias was stoned and then beheaded;
7. Thomas, perhaps best known for initially doubting whether Jesus really had risen from the dead, was ultimately thrust through with a spear.
8. Paul, who was added later to the group and who also was allowed to see the risen Christ, was beheaded for his testimony.
9. Of the apostles, these original followers of Jesus who claimed to have seen him alive many times after his crucifixion, only John may have escaped a violent death, yet even he suffered for his faith, being exiled to a lonely island in the Mediterranean Sea.
B. Now, I admit: People die for their beliefs all the time. Muslims die for their faith, followers of Jim Jones and David Koresh died for their faith, and Christians die for their faith. Big deal. There’s no proof in that.
1. But, before we dismiss this too quickly, consider this: Every Muslim who has ever died for his faith has died for what he believed to be true. He couldn’t know for sure that it was true; but, he believed it was. The same is true of every Jew who ever died for his faith, and every Hindu who ever died for his faith, and every Christian who ever died for his faith. They died for what they believed to be true, but they couldn’t know for sure whether it really was true or not.
2. The same would be true for me. I am determined that, if it should come to it, I will die for my faith. But, it is my faith that I would be dying for: I cannot know for sure that what I believe is actually true: I accept it on faith. Now, I believe it to be true. I think that the evidence suggests that it is true. I will even go so far as to say that the evidence for the truthfulness of Christianity is so great that it takes more faith to deny it than to accept it. But I cannot know for sure that it is true. If I am called to die for my faith, I will be dying for faith, and not for what I know to be true.
3. The apostles, though, were different. They knew whether what they were dying for was true or not. They knew whether they had really seen Jesus alive or not. They knew whether they had stolen the body or not. They knew whether they had made the whole thing up. They knew. And, they chose to suffer horrible deaths, rather than recant their assertion that Jesus was alive. All they would have had to do was deny the resurrection and they could have avoided the suffering they endured. Yet, they chose to suffer, rather than deny the resurrection.
a. Now, why would the apostles have done that? Why would they have chosen to die, rather than recant their testimony about having seen Jesus alive, when they knew whether their testimony was true or not? I can think of no explanation other than this: they had really seen Jesus.
b. People will die for their religious beliefs if they sincerely believe they are true. But people won’t die for their religious beliefs if they know their beliefs are false. And the apostles would have known. As we already said, either they stole the body, or Jesus really rose from the dead. Those are the only plausible explanations for the empty tomb. They knew what happened. They knew. And they died for their claim. And not just died, but died in horrible, excruciating ways, for what they knew was a lie, if Jesus did not really appear to them, if he did not really rise from the dead.
c. Every once in awhile, you will find a crackpot who is willing to die for what he knows isn’t true. But 12 crackpots? All willing to die for the same lie? And not just die, but be tortured to death in the most horrible ways imaginable?
d. I will say it again: I can think of no explanation for the decision of the apostles to die in such horrible ways rather than recant their testimony, other than this: they had really seen Jesus alive, after He had been dead. That is the only explanation that makes sense. And their willingness to suffer for their claim, when they actually knew whether it was true or not, points toward the reality of the resurrection.
CONCLUSION
A. There is so much more we could talk about, but I am already over time. Thank you for being attentive and listening patiently. Please give me just a couple more minutes to wrap this up.
1. Just over 5 months ago, on Nov 2, 2007, the remains of Sarah Symonds, who died in 1821, were reported stolen from the Bible Hill Cemetery in Hillsboro, New Hampshire. The grave was excavated with a rectangular hole dug 5 and a half feet deep. Dirt was piled up on either side of the hole, and the headstone was intact. But the body was gone. (Kristen Senz, Remains Stolen From Grave in Hillsboro Cemetery, The Union Leader (Nov. 6, 2007) at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21663336/ (last visited Mar 18, 2008)). While police were unsure who took the body, Lt. Darren Remillard informed a reporter investigating the story, “The body is certainly missing.” (WMUR 9, Grave-Robbing Could Be Linked to Ritualistic Beliefs, (Nov 7, 2007) at http://www.wmur.com/news/14526508/detail.html (last visited Mar 18, 2008)).
2. In similar fashion, the body of Jesus is certainly missing! However, his body was not stolen, as poor Ms. Symonds’ body was. The evidence points to the inescapable conclusion that Jesus really was raised from the dead. And because of that, we can trust that the words that Jesus spoke, and all the promises he made, are true. When Jesus said that God loves every one of us, it’s true. When Jesus said that the one who trusts Him will live forever, it’s true. When Jesus promised to prepare a place for us in heaven, he did. When Jesus promised that He would never leave us, He won’t. When He promised that He would give us His joy, and His power, and His love, it’s true. It’s all true, if Jesus really rose from the dead. It’s true. When God raised Jesus from the dead, He vindicated Jesus and proclaimed that what He had said was true. And we can trust it.
2. And you can leave here today knowing that it is true for you. The Bible is plain: Jesus’s death on the cross and resurrection from the dead paid the price for our sins. We can be forgiven by God! We can be made right with Him! We can have His presence in our life today! We can have the promise that He is with us, always! And we can have the promise of eternity in heaven.
3. The Bible is also very plain about how we receive this gift of salvation. When we:
a. Put our faith in Christ and believe in Him and trust Him to save us; and,
b. Repent of our sins, which means commit ourselves to trying to live life God’s way, under His authority; and
c. Are baptized for the forgiveness of our sins,
d. God forgives our sins,
e. Places His Holy Spirit inside us to help us and guide us, and
f. Promises us heaven.
B. Do you need to make that decision this morning? Perhaps you have been convicted by the evidence for the resurrection, and you want to make sure that Jesus is your savior. If so, come forward as we sing. I’ll meet you down front here, and we’ll discuss privately what your spiritual need is, and you will leave here today knowing that Jesus has saved you.
C. Maybe you are a Christian already, but you have lost some of the fire and zeal that you used to feel. Maybe you want to rededicate your life to Christ on this Easter Sunday morning. We invite you too to come forward, as we sing.
D. Whatever your spiritual need is today, Christ died to meet it, and was raised to life to guarantee that He can meet it! All that you need to do is accept His gift by trusting Him to meet it. If you have a decision to make for Jesus, please come forward as we sing.
