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!
FIRST: He died practically.
• The Romans were no novices when it came to crucifixion.
• The most famous crucifixion in the world took place when Jesus was put to death.
• But he was far from the only person who perished on the cross.
• In antiquity, thousands upon thousands of people were crucified,
• The Romans were experts and there is no record of anyone surviving a crucifixion.
• Roman guards could not leave the site of the execution,
• Until after the condemned had died,
• So, they sometimes hastened the prisoner’s end by breaking their legs with an iron club.
• They knew that Jesus was already dead, remember the beatings he had at his trial.
• These Roman soldiers would not have taken down their celebrity victim,
• If there was any possibility of life in his body.
SECOND: He died medically.
Ill:
• In John chapter 19 verses 34 we read,
“But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and
water came out.”
• In the human body, water doesn’t separate from blood until circulation stops,
• At which point it accumulates in the heart and lungs.
• When a Roman soldier shoved a spear into his side, likely under his ribs,
• That would rupture the pericardial sack, resulting in a flow of both blood and water.
• Since both "blood and water came out",
• This is seen as evidence that the circulation of Jesus had stopped,
• So, Jesus was medically dead.
• A quick Google search will give you all the medical terms for what happened,
• From a variety of creditable doctors.
THIRD: He died theologically.
• e.g., James in his letter (chapter 2 verse 26) writes these words,
• “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
• Theologically speaking, the body is dead without the spirit.
• e.g., Luke chapter 8 verse 58, When Jesus raised Jairus daughter back to life.
• “Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up.”
• e.g., When Jesus was on the cross, he prayed, or spoke seven times,
• His last words were, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
• (Luke chapter 23 verse 46)
(2). Empty tomb - the missing body
Ill:
• Many books over the years have been written by lawyers or journalists.
• Who set out to disprove the resurrection and ended up believing it.
• e.g., Val Grieve, ‘Your Verdict’ – free copy to anyone who wants one today!
• e.g., Lee Strobel, ‘Case for the Resurrection.’
Quote: Val Grieve.
“Contrary to popular opinion, a lawyer does not begin a legal case by considering how much he or she intends to charge! They start with the facts.”
The empty tomb of Jesus, results in two choices.
• FIRST: Fraud – the body was stolen.
• SECOND: Miracle – the body was resurrected.
FIRST: Fraud – the body was stolen.
• Christianity could have been, ‘nipped in the bud’,
• It could have been stopped at an early stage if the body was found.
When it comes to fraud, there are again two options.
• First, the enemies of Jesus stole the body.
• Second, the disciples stole the body.
• First, the enemies of Jesus stole the body.
• If the enemies of Jesus stole the body,
• All they had to do was provide evidence that they had taken it, or destroyed,
• And it would have been ‘game over,’ no more Christianity!
• Second, the disciples stole the body.
• But these disciples were transformed from those who days earlier had deserted Jesus.
• From cowardly hiding in a room in case they too were arrested and killed,
• Suddenly they are courageously proclaiming the news, that Jesus had risen.
Ill:
• How did the disciples die?
• (https://arcapologetics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/the-death-of-the-apostles.pdf)
• Name: Simon Peter
• Tradition says that Peter died in A.D. 64-68 during Nero’s persecution of the Christians.
• He was crucified upside down on a cross.
• Name: Andrew
• Andrew was crucified on a St. Andrews cross.
• The cross has the shape of an “X.” He was not nailed to the cross but was tied.
• It took several days before he died.
• Name: James (James, son of Zebedee).
• James died in A.D. 44 after he was beheaded by King Herod I.
• Who had launched a new persecution of Christians.
• He was the first martyr from among the twelve apostles.
• Name: Philip
• Philip died in Hieropolis, Turkey by hanging (A.D. 80).
• Name: Bartholomew (another name: Nathanael).
• It is believed that Bartholomew had ministered in Armenia,
• And was flayed to death with knives in India.
• Name: Matthew (another name: Levi).
• Matthew died a martyr’s death in Ethiopia.
• Name: Thomas (Another name: Didymus).
• Ancient tradition says that Thomas died near Madras, India in A.D. 70.
• He was killed with a spear.
• Name: James, son of Alphaeus (Another name: James the Less)
• Tradition says that James was crucified in Lower Egypt,
• And then sawed in pieces (A.D. 62).
• Name: Thaddaeus
• Thaddaeus was martyred in Persia. He died via arrows.
• Name: Simon the Cananaean (Another name: Simon the Zealot).
• Tradition says that Simon was crucified.
• It is believed that he ministered together with Thaddaeus.
• Name: John (also known as the disciple whom Jesus loved)
• John was in exile on the Isle of Patmos for about 18months before he was released,
• And then he went to Ephesus where he died a natural death (A.D. 100-105).
• Paul (Another name: Saul of Tarsus).
• Was martyred in Rome. As a Roman citizen Paul was beheaded by the sword.
• TRANSITION:
• These men went from cowards full of fear to those willing to die for their beliefs,
• They did not die for a lie!
• They died with absolute certainty that Jesus had been raised from the dead.
If the disciples had stolen the body:
• You would have expected one of them to crack into torture & execution.
• It also would make a mockery of their claim to be preaching, ‘the truth.’
(3). Eyewitnesses.
Ill:
• A stupid burglar was arrested, and the police told him,
• “We have five people who saw you commit the crime.”
• He replied, “But I have 50 people who didn’t!”
• TRANSITION:
• Using the testimony of eyewitnesses is important.
• They help to add missing details to the crime scene,
• And offer a novel viewpoint of the lawbreaking,
• Now we have the testimony and witness of the disciples,
• We have the four gospel accounts recording what the first followers of Jesus believed.
• We have the book of Acts, the history book of the early Church,
• It contains 11 sermons that were preached,
• Only one thing is mentioned in all 11 sermons – the resurrection!
• i.e., Sermon #1 found in Acts 2:14-36 by Peter.
• i.e., Sermon #2 found in Acts 3:12-26 by Peter.
• i.e., Sermon #3 found in Acts 7:1-53 by Stephen.
• i.e., Sermon #4 found in Acts 10:34-43 by Peter.
• i.e., Sermon #5 found in Acts 13:16-41 by Paul.
• i.e., Sermon #6 found in Acts 17:22-31 by Paul.
• i.e., Sermon #7 found in Acts 20:18-35 by Paul.
• i.e., Sermon #8 found in Acts 22:3-21 by Paul.
• i.e., Sermon #9 found in Acts 24:10-21 by Paul.
• i.e., Sermon #10 found in Acts 26:2-29 by Paul.
• i.e., Sermon #11 found in Acts 28:25-28 by Paul.
Note: One eye-witness detail is important to note.
• Important to note that Jesus appeared to women first instead of the disciples.
• God chose a small group of women to share the greatest news of all time.
• And in case you miss the point,
• All four Gospels affirm that women were the first to see the empty tomb.
• (Matt 28:5-8, Mark 16:1–8, Luke 24:1-8, John 20:1ff).
• Matthew and John also affirm that Jesus appears to the women.
Now if you were faking this account of the resurrection, you would not do that,
• In the culture of the day a woman’s testimonies carried little if any weight.
• The exclusion of women from courts was normative.
• Courts were made by men for men.
Quote:
• Joel Green, in his commentary on Luke,
• Affirms this as a reason for the disciples’ disbelief of the women’s testimony:
“The dismissive response [is explained by the fact that] those doing the reporting are women in a world biased against the admissibility of women as witnesses.”
• So, it does not make sense for the gospel writers include these details,
• Because they knew that their readers would have the same response.
• But they record this information,
• Because they are giving an accurate account of what happened.
• Time bears witness to that information as being a true gathering of the facts.
(4). Early records - the gospels / creeds / other historians
• The New Testament provides accounts from multiple sources,
• Who claimed to witness Jesus firsthand after the resurrection.
• In fact, Jesus made at least 10 separate appearances to his disciples,
• Between the resurrection and his ascension into Heaven, over a period of 40 days.
• Some of those appearances were to individual disciples,
• Some were to several disciples, and once to some 500 at one time.
Note:
• It is noteworthy that there were no accounts of witnesses,
• Who came forward and disputed these appearances or called it a “hoax.”
• Not a single one!
• Nor do we find any historical record of any witness accounts that were contradictory.
• And that is worth noting!
Ill:
• Josephus was a Jewish historian, Suetonius was a Roman historian,
• Pliny the Younger was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome.
• In their writings talk about the Christian belief of the resurrection.
Quote: Josephus (AD 37-100)
• Josephus was a Jewish historian born just a few years after Jesus died.
• His most celebrated passage, called the “Testimonium Flavianum” says:
“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”
• (Source: Flavius Josephus, “Jewish Antiquities,” in The New Complete Works of Josephus, trans. William Whiston (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1999), 18.63–64,)
Quote: Suetonius (AD 70-160)
• Suetonius was a Roman historian and annalist of the Imperial House.
• In his biography of Nero (Nero ruled AD 54-68),
• Suetonius mentions the persecution of Christians by indirectly referring to the resurrection:
“Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition [the resurrection].”
Quote: Pliny the Younger (AD 61 or 62-113)
• Pliny the Younger wrote a letter to the emperor Trajan around AD 111,
• (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96.1–7.)
• Describing early Christian worship gatherings,
• He recalls that they met early on Sunday mornings in memory of Jesus’ resurrection day:
“I have never been present at an examination of Christians. Consequently, I do not know the nature of the extent of the punishments usually meted out to them, nor the grounds for starting an investigation and how far it should be pressed…They also declared that the sum total of their guilt or error amounted to no more than this: they had met regularly before dawn on a fixed day [Sunday in remembrance of Jesus’ resurrection] to chant verses alternately amongst themselves in honor of Christ as if to a god.”
• TRANSITION: The historical testimony of those who were not Christians,
• Stands in agreement with what the New Testament teaches, that Jesus died and rose.
• Christians proclaimed that message and non-Christians acknowledge it.
(5). Emergence of the Church
• When Jesus Christ was crucified in 33 ADS,
• There were only about 120 people who publicly followed him.
• (Acts chapter 1 verses 15-26).
• Today, 2,000 years later, 2.4 billion people in the world,
• Claim to follow Jesus.
• (They are not all evangelical Christians, but they claim an association with Christ).
• Now let me put that in perspective.
• Nearly one-third or 31.2% of the world's population is considered to be Christian.
• That is one out of every three people on this planet,
• The Christian church is bigger than China.
• In fact, the church is bigger than China and Europe put together.
• It is bigger than China and Europe and the United States put together.
• Nothing is bigger on planet Earth than the church of Jesus Christ.
Questions:
• How in the world did that happen?
• How could a group of 12 men turn this world upside down?
• So that today, one out of every three people on planet Earth claim to follow Jesus?
Answer:
• The resurrection.
• The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the one event that changed everything.
• It split history into AD and BC.
• Every person in this room regularly refers back to it.
• Every time you write your birthday, it is dated by day, month, and the year!
Note:
• The Church grew with no social media, or TV or radio coverage etc.
• And it grew and grew in a time of persecution.
• Persecuted from its beginnings and is still persecuted today!
• Quote: Open Doors.
“More than 360 million Christians worldwide suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith – that’s a staggering 1 in 7 believers.”
Quote:
• It was Tertullian,
• (An early Christian apologist, theologian, and moralist from Carthage, North Africa).
• Who said, “the more they kill us, the faster we grow.”
• And “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”
Ill:
• Amazingly, within 400 years Christianity dominated the entire Roman Empire,
• And, over the course of two millennia, the entire Western civilization.
• Christianity developed a distinct cultural and theological identity,
• From traditional Judaism in a short period of time.
• According to the New Testament, the apostles “turned the world upside down.”
• And it was the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• That did this.
One more example:
• The Jews worshiped on the Sabbath, which is the seventh day of the week,
• (Sundown Friday to sundown Saturday).
• Jews number their days they do not have names for them.
• However, the early Christian church very soon changed the day of their worship,
• They went from the seventh day of the week to the first i.e., Sunday: “the Lord’s Day,”
• (Acts chapter 20 verse 7; 1 Corinthians chapter 16 verse 2).
• For the early Christian church,
• Sunday commemorated Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
• His being raised to eternal life transformed worship,
• And distinguished the Christian faith from traditional Judaism.
• Apart from the Resurrection,
• No reason existed for early followers of Jesus to view Sunday,
• As having any enduring theological or ceremonial significance.
In Conclusion:
• Question: What are the implications of the resurrection?
• Answer: I would suggest three things – it answers life’s three great questions!
• FIRST: Is there a God?
• Answer: No other explanation to the resurrection than yes there is!
• SECOND: Why are we here? What is the point of life?
• Answer: Jesus explained that in his teaching.
• THIRD: Is there life after death?
• Yes, the resurrection shouts to us YES!
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=fLvYqkelTHQwHWRG85lcnBmcnfGsbGbx
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/sJg9jovpAIw
