INTRODUCTION
• What a wonderful day! Today we celebrate the fact that Jesus is alive!
• Over the last three weeks we have looked at the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is the only way to God; and that He died for you.
• If we let the story end right there, we would then fit in with all the other religions in the world that are based on a personality, our leader would be dead. In his book, “The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict” author Josh McDowell states the following: “All but four of the major world religions are based on mere philosophical propositions. Of the four that are based on personalities, rather that on a philosophical system, only Christianity claims an empty tomb for its founder. Abraham, the father of Judaism, died about 1900 B.C., but no resurrection was ever claimed for him.”
• Further we know that Mohammed died on June 8, 632 A.D. at the age of 61 in Medina. His tomb is visited by thousands of his faithful followers each year.
• If we have a tomb with a dead savior in it, what use would he be to us?
• The foundation of Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus. Critics of the faith will try to discredit the resurrection because they too understand that Christianity rises and falls with it.
• Listen to what the apostle Paul writes concerning the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. READ
• Is Jesus alive? Are there any other credible theories concerning what happened on that wonderful Sunday morning after the crucifixion? There have been people throughout time who have set out to prove the resurrection did not happen, only to give their lives to Jesus after they studied the evidence. One was Frank Morison who was an English lawyer. He wrote a book called, “Who Moved The Stone.” As he did the research for the book, he was convinced enough about the evidence of the resurrection that he became a follower of Jesus.
• I want us to look at five explanations that could answer the question, ‘Why was the empty tomb.”
• I hope as we answer these questions, that you will walk away from here convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, who is the only way to heaven who died for you and rose on the third day for you.
SERMON
I. THE STOLEN BODY THEORY ( JOHN 20:1-2, 12-15; MATTHEW 28:11-15)
• One conceivable theory concerning why the tomb was empty is that someone stole the body of Jesus.
• Let’s read John 20:1-2 and verses 12-15. READ
• Mary’s initial thought was someone took the body. She did not expect a resurrection.
• Let’s look at Matthew 28:11-15 also. When the guards reported to the chief priests what happened, the priest paid the guards off to lie and say the disciples stole the body from them.
• It is interesting that the priests did not dispute the testimony of the Roman soldiers. Plus if you remember the religious leaders had the guard posted to keep the disciples from taking the body and saying Jesus was alive.
• The problem here is that the religious leaders had more faith that Jesus was be resurrected than His own disciples did. Listen to John 20:3-9. READ
• Jesus closest disciples did not expect a resurrection to happen.
• Could the body have been stolen? Possibly. But listen to this. Who took it?
• Within a few weeks of the empty tomb the church was gaining all kinds of momentum. If the Jewish leaders took Him they would have paraded His body around Jerusalem to stop the church in its tracks.
• The disciples as I said did not expect Him to be raised, plus they had too many obstacles in the way of stealing Him. Professional soldiers, the rock, the seal, plus their own fear.
• The disciples were also honest men who most likely would not do something so dishonest. These men left Jesus in fear for their lives when He was arrested. (Matthew 26:56)
• The Romans had nothing to gain by stealing the body; the last thing they wanted was an uprising to occur.
• One other thing to consider concerning the disciples. If they stole the body, how do we account for there transformation from cowards to bolding proclaiming Jesus in the streets of Jerusalem with no fear of losing their life?
• If they stole the body, do you think that a lie would embolden them to do what they did?
• People will die for something they believe in, but not for a lie.
• The last point. How does a stolen dead body make over 15 recorded appearances to people, one of the appearances was to over 500 at one time. (1 Corinthians 15)
II. THE WRONG TOMB THEORY (LUKE 24:1-12)
• This is another theory that could explain the empty tomb. The ladies went to the wrong tomb. Then they reported Jesus being gone.
• I believe based on the evidence this is a very weak explanation. First of all, if you remember the account in John 20 we read, not only did the women go to the tomb, but Peter and John went also. So did they go to the wrong tomb?
• Plus would not the owner of the tomb, Joseph of Arimathea know where the tomb was?
• Wouldn’t the disciples looked pretty stupid if they ALL went to the wrong tomb, then proclaim that Jesus was alive, then only to have the Roman and Jewish authorities who knew where the tomb was produce a body?
• How does this theory fit with the testimony of the guards? Did they not know where the tomb they were guarding was?
• Lastly, how does this explain the fact that a dead body make over 15 recorded appearances to people, one of the appearances was to over 500 at one time.
• This one does not fly.
III. THE SWOON THEORY (LUKE 24:13-16)
• This is the one I really like, especially after seeing the movie, “The Passion of The Christ.”
• This one says that Jesus did not die on the cross, but that He was merely passed out. They say the coolness of the tomb revived Him. They said the folks then were not sophisticated enough to know when a person was dead. This theory was promoted about 2 centuries ago by a man named Venturini according to bible scholar J.N.D. Anderson.
• READ JOHN 20:31-34.
• Remember, the Romans were professionals. They knew how to kill people. Blood and water flowing from the wound inflicted with the spear suggests the outer wall of the heart and the lung was pierced.
• If you saw the Passion movie, you got a pretty good idea of what happened to a person before they even got on the cross. The Romans knew how to beat a person until they were about to pass out, then they would stop and start again.
• Now think about this.
• Jesus was beat half to death, hung on a cross for hours, hand spikes driven through His wrists and feet, then He was wrapped in 75 pounds of burial spices and cloth, then He was put in a tomb that was blocked by a stone that some say would take 10 men to move. Then He woke up, moved the stone, over powered the guards and ran off.
• Plus that day, He joined a couple of people on the road to Emmaus. READ LUKE 24:13-16.
• Now for your information, Emmaus was a 7 MILE walk from Jerusalem. I would say Jesus had quiet a revival to have the energy to do that. Remember also He was hungry and lacked sleep from the trials also.
• Lastly, how does this explain the fact that a dead body make over 15 recorded appearances to people, one of the appearances was to over 500 at one time.
• This one does not fly.
IV. THE HALLUCINATION THEORY (JOHN 20:24-29)
• I am only going to touch on this one. It says that all the appearances of Jesus were hallucinations. Let’s look at John 20:24-29.
• Pretty good hallucination. Usually hallucinations do not occur in groups, much less groups of 500 at one time. You usually cannot touch a hallucination either. Usually there is a sense of anticipation that goes with hallucinations; the disciples had none concerning Jesus and His resurrection.
• This one does not seem to fly either.
V. THE JESUS IS ALIVE THEORY (1 COR 15:3-8)
• Now this last theory as to why the tomb is empty is the only one that not only makes sense, but also fits the evidence.
• As a side note, critics will say you cannot use the evidence in the bible? Why not? Luke is writing eye-witness testimony, Matthew and John were eyewitnesses.
• The fact that Jesus is alive is the only logical answer to the empty tomb.
• READ 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
• This explains why people saw Jesus after the crucifixion, it fits with the evidence we have also.
• This makes sense because Jesus told us He would die and be resurrected on SEVERAL occasions we have recorded in the gospels. (Matt 16:21; 17:22-23; 26:32; Mark 8:31-9:1, 9:31, John 12:34, etc)
• It also fits with the response of His enemies. READ Matthew 27:62-64.
• It fits what the eyewitnesses saw and history supports it. Even the few remarks about Jesus outside the bible with Josephus and Tacitus do not contradict what we read.
• If Jesus was dead, why were His enemies so silent? Believe me the last thing they wanted was for Jesus to be resurrected because that would mean they killed the actual Son of God!
• I can say with FULL FAITH based on logic and evidence that Jesus is indeed alive and is with the Father in heaven today! Jesus is the only person for whom we celebrate their resurrection!
CONCLUSION
• There it is. The case has been laid out before you. If you believe that Jesus is alive, what are you going to do about it? There is only one intellectually honest thing to do that is to surrender your life to Jesus.
• The great thing about God is that He leaves the choice up to you. The love of God is what led Jesus to allow Himself to take the punishment and to suffer the cruel death He was subjected to.
• Easter is the day we celebrate the empty tomb, today could be a new day for you also.
• If you have not accepted Jesus, I hope that if nothing else today begins your journey down that path. What a shame it would be to waste the gift that has been given to you!
• Christianity rises and falls with the resurrection. Since Jesus is the risen Son of God, what does difference is that fact making in your life right now?
• Today is the day of salvation!
• During His trial, Jesus’ chief accuser was the Jewish high priest Caiaphas, who served in that position from 18 to 37 A.D. It was Caiaphas who accused Jesus of blasphemy for claiming to be God and handed Him over to Pilate to be killed. Just six years ago, archaeologists were digging in Jerusalem, and they managed to uncover the burial grounds of Caiaphas and his family. But though His accuser’s grave has been found, nobody to this day has ever uncovered the body of Jesus Himself. (Lee Strobel- Sermon, Jesus is Alive. True or False. www.sermoncentral.com)
