EVIDENCE OF THE RESURRECTION
EXHIBIT B: THE SCRIPTURES
(PART 2)
I Corinthians 15:1-2
One of my favorite post Resurrection appearances of Jesus is that of the two followers who encountered the Savior on the road to Emmaus. As they were walking, Jesus approached them and “their eyes were kept from recognizing him”. Jesus asked them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad”. In response to His question, they began to tell Jesus, the story of Jesus!
After listening to their words and observing their sad countenance, Jesus said, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:25-26)
Later, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Jesus, they said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Commenting on this passage, R.C Sproul says, “A Christian is not a skeptic. A Christian is a person with a burning heart, a heart set aflame with certainty of the resurrection.”
One of the reasons that we can have hearts set on fire and unshakable certainty concerning the resurrection is the testimony of the Holy Scriptures. As Paul reminded the Corinthian Christians of the “gospel that he delivered unto them”, the gospel that they “received, and in which they stand”, he says “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures”.
- In the previous session of this study we began to consider the scriptures as evidence for the resurrection, we examined Paul’s declaration that:
CHRIST DIED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SCRIPTURES
Paul appeals to the many Old Testament “scriptures” that pointed to the fact that the Messiah would die for the sins of God’s people. Those prophecies were given several hundred and even thousands of years before Jesus was born, yet every single one of them was fulfilled in the death of our Lord and Savior.
- Just as there are many Old Testament passages that pointed to Jesus’ death, there are several scriptures that reference His burial. This is why Paul could say that:
CHRIST WAS BURIED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SCRIPTURES
The burial of Christ fulfilled prophecy, Isaiah prophesied that “they made his (Messiah’s) grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death…” (Isaiah 53:9). The Gospels tell us that Jesus was put to death along with two criminals and He was buried in a tomb owned by a wealthy man named Joseph of Arimathea. These things did not happen by chance, they happened “in accordance with the scriptures”. As Paul reminded the Corinthians, I remind you today that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, and he was buried.”
There is one more element of the scriptures that serves as evidence for the authenticity of the resurrection and that is the fact that while the scriptures that prophesied the life, death, and burial of the Messiah are fascinating, and the fulfillment of them bring us great hope and assurance, they would mean nothing at all Christ had not risen. As Paul declares in this very chapter, without the Resurrection, everything we believe would be in vain. If Christ is not risen then those who have died have perished forever. If the Resurrection did not occur and If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we truly are of all people most to be pitied.
I am glad that I can confidently echo the words of the Apostle Paul and say “in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”. Jesus did rise and it happened “in accordance with the scriptures”.
As was the case concerning the death and burial of the Messiah, there are various Old Testament passages that point to the fact that He would rise. The most obvious are Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, Daniel 12, and Psalm 16. It is Psalm 16 that I would like to examine today as we continue to consider “Evidence For The Resurrection” and conclude our investigation of:
EXHIBIT B: THE SCRIPTURES
- Christ died in accordance with the scriptures, He was buried, and:
CHRIST WAS RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SCRIPTURES
In Psalm 16:10-11, King David declares “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore”.
This is one of those passages that shows the great harmony of the scriptures. This Psalm was written a thousand years before Christ, yet Peter and Paul both appeal to it in their defense of the Resurrection of Jesus. Though Jesus did die at Calvary, and though His body was placed in Joseph’s tomb, Yahweh did not allow His “Holy One to see corruption”. Corruption here refers to decay and decomposition in the grave.
Job asked a question that every person here has asked at one point or another in their life, he asked, “If a man dies, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). During His earthly ministry, our Savior answered that question in the affirmative. Just before He went to the Cross, Jesus said to His Disciples, “Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.” (John 14:19)
At first glance, one may wonder how Psalm 16 applies to Jesus. Without question (as the heading says), this is a Psalm of David. It is true that many features of the Psalm reflect David’s thoughts about his own life. The King was indeed confident that God would not allow him to remain in Sheol forever. Sheol is a Hebrew word for the grave or the realm of the dead.
The best way to see how this Psalm applies to our Savior is not to consult a Bible Commentary or to seek answers from some scholar or theologian. We do not have to look any further than the preaching and teaching of the Lord’s own Apostles.
During Peter’s great sermon on the day of Pentecost, he referenced this Psalm. In Acts 2:23-28 he said, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, “I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
As Peter preached to those thousands who were gathered on the Day of Pentecost, he used common sense to prove that David was not speaking about himself in this passage. He said in, Acts 2:29 " Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day”. The Jews knew that David had “died and was buried”, and Peter goes on to point out the fact that “his tomb is with us to this day”.
David’s tomb is located on the south side of Jerusalem, not far from where these people were gathered as Peter was preaching. David had been dead and buried for hundreds of years and he had not come back to life; therefore he must have been speaking about someone else in this Psalm. In fact, David was prophetically speaking about the resurrection of someone else, his heir. The heir that David spoke of was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter goes on to say in Acts 2:30, “Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne”.
When David wrote Psalm 16, he was writing as a prophet. He recounted the promise that God had made to raise up one of his descendants to occupy his throne forever. God delivered this promise to David through the prophet Nathan, and it is recorded in 2 Samuel 7:16“And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever”.
David’ heir would be the promised Messiah, and though the Messiah would die, He would not remain in Sheol (the grave) and His body would not decay. This prophecy (along with many others) was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This reality is seen in Acts 2:31, there Peter says that David, “foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption”.
Peter points out the fact that David was not just a King, he was a prophet. One of the main purposes of a prophet was to point to the life and redemptive work of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The Jews on the Day of Pentecost needed to know that the one pointed to in the Law and spoken of by the prophets was none other than Jesus Christ. Though they had crucified Him, God had “raised Him up”. Notice: Acts 2:32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.
The fact that Jesus rose from the grave signifies that God approved and accepted His sacrifice at Calvary. Peter and the rest of the Apostles who were also present at Pentecost were witnesses of the resurrected Christ. Jesus was seen by the Apostles, by the women who followed Him, and by many others in Jerusalem. Back in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul declares that Jesus “was seen of above five hundred brethren at once” (1 Corinthians 15:6). This information certainly contradicted the false narrative that had been propagated by the religious leaders and the Roman soldiers that the Disciples had stolen the body of Christ in the middle of the night.
Peter reminded his audience that the tomb of David was with them and that he was “both dead and buried.” God had allowed David’s body to suffer corruption in the grave. Therefore, Psalm 16:10 could not be speaking about David, instead it was a reference to his future descendant, namely Jesus Christ. (The genealogies and other passages that show how Jesus was from the line of David are even more proof that Jesus’ death, burial, and Resurrection were “in accordance with the scriptures”.)
Paul, also appealed to Psalm 16 in defense of the Resurrection of Jesus. He said in Acts 13:36-38, “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you”.
In this passage, Paul points out that the promises that were given to David were and are fulfilled in his heir, Jesus Christ, the Seed of David. Because the Lord Jesus has risen from the dead, death has no more power over Him. He did die, but He will never die again. He was buried, but His body did not and will not ever “see corruption”. This promise did not apply to King David, for “after he had served his own generation by the will of God, he died, was buried, and his body saw corruption”. David’s corpse experienced decay and returned to dust. Jesus was buried on Friday, but Sunday morning He arose before it could “see corruption”.
William McDonald says, “On the basis of the work of Christ, of which His resurrection was the divine seal of approval, Paul was now able to announce remission of sins as a present reality.”
It is because of the Resurrection of Christ that we are able to receive and enjoy forgiveness of sins and because we have been redeemed we can live with assurance of our own resurrection someday. Because Jesus came as the sacrifice for our sins, we can live with hope and assurance that our sins have been forgiven, our sin debt has been paid, and we are part of the eternal family of God. We rest in the promise of salvation, and we look forward to being in the presence of the Lord throughout eternity. We have confidence in these truths because they happened “in accordance with the scriptures”.
As Paul reminded the Corinthians, I remind you today that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures”.
If you belong to Jesus, you have ample reason to rejoice. If you have yet to surrender to Jesus, I encourage you to repent and believe in Him for salvation. Perhaps there is one here who has some doubts; if you are looking for “Evidence Of The Resurrection”, I refer you to “Exhibit B: The Scriptures”.
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