Who is the greatest defense attorney of all time? According to the Guinness Book of World Records the all time best lawyer is Sir Lionel Luckhoo who successfully defended 245 consecutive murder trials. Luckhoo is a real life Perry Mason.
How does someone win 245 consecutive murder trials? You would need an intelligent mind being able to analyze and dissect the evidence presented in even an “air tight case.” As a man with such an impressive legal record, Luckhoo would qualify as an expert on what makes reliable and persuasive evidence.
As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ today, wouldn’t it be great to have the expert opinion of a man like Luckhoo regarding the evidence of Christ’s resurrection? Wouldn’t it be good to know if the evidence supports what we believe? We’re in luck. Before his death in 1997 Luckhoo did examine the evidence of Christ’s resurrection to see if it fits the test of legal evidence. Here is what he concluded:
• . . . Evidence of the empty tomb points unmistakably to the Resurrection of Jesus. For whereas the tomb of Mohammad in Medina holds the bones of Mohammad, and the tomb in Shantung holds the bones of Confucius and the tomb in Nepal holds the bones of Buddha-there are no bones in the tomb that once held Jesus, FOR HE IS RISEN. . . I say unequivocally that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt.
What does the evidence say? Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
This morning we’re going to look at some of the evidence that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead. When Luckhoo examined the evidence he came to the only conclusion possible; JESUS IS ALIVE. Once the verdict was in Luckhoo then did what logically made sense; he committed his life to Jesus Christ, the risen savior. What will your decision be when you examine the evidence?
WHY IS THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST SO IMPORTANT?
• 1 Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. (NIV)
• And if Christ wasn’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. (MsgB)
The entire Christian faith hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then the Christian faith is no better than any other religion. Christians would be no better off than the Muslim, the Buddhist or anyone else; in fact Christians would not even be in better standing than the atheist or agnostic!
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then the atheist has a stronger case for the non-existence of God. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God; bold statement. But Jesus made an even bolder statement:
John 10:17 This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. (MsgB)
If Jesus did not have the power or authority to rise from the dead, then His claims to being the Son of God are false. The atheist could claim Jesus couldn’t rise from the dead because He could not be God’s son, because there is no God. If God existed then surely God would not let someone who claimed to be “loved by the Father” remain in the grave.
Now of course we could argue for the existence of God, but if Jesus is not raised from the dead, then the only option to overcome the atheist’s belief is to concede Jesus was not the Son of God. To do this however undermines the Christian faith. Putting it plain and simple: if Jesus is not raised from the dead, WE DON’T HAVE A LEG TO STAND ON!
Before we think about Jesus being raised from the dead, we need to answer another important question. DID JESUS REALLY DIE? Was Jesus dead and then resurrected, or did Jesus only recover from His injuries and show Himself as a resurrected Savior?
The idea Jesus did not die, but recovered from the crucifixion is called the Swoon Theory. Muslims are taught Jesus did not die, but passed out or was drugged and only appeared to be dead. Later Jesus recovered in the coolness of the tomb from His injuries and showed Himself to His disciples as the “risen Christ.” The Swoon Theory says the resurrection did not occur because Jesus never died.
A close look at the events which took place at Christ’s crucifixion will show the fallacy of the Swoon Theory. Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion of Christ” portrays the events which took place. Many things have been said about Gibson’s film.
• Columnist Cal Thomas: As one who has seen virtually every modern biblical epic – I can say “The Passion” is one of the most beautiful, profound, accurate, disturbing, realistic and bloody depictions of this well known story that has ever been filmed.”
• Ted Haggard, president of the National Evangelical Association: “The most authentic portrayal I’ve ever seen.”
• Rick Warren, author of “Purpose Driven Life”: “Brilliant, biblical—a masterpiece.”
• Pastor Jack Hayford, “The Passion is a forthright, compassionate, evenhanded presentation of the historic facts of the trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.”
Others have labeled Gibson’s film as “anti-Semitic,” “violent,” and “over-dramatized.”
How does the Bible portray Christ’s crucifixion and did Jesus really die as the result of being nailed to a cross outside the city walls of Jerusalem?
Prior to the crucifixion while the Jewish leaders were seeking the death penalty from Pontius Pilate, the Bible tells us “Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged” (John 19:1 NIV).
Dr. C. Thurmond Davis studied how Jesus was whipped and concluded this was a brutal beating leaving Jesus at the point of death.
Jesus was tied to a post and beaten at least 39 times—perhaps more—with a whip made with jagged bones and balls of lead woven into it. This whip was repeatedly brought down upon Jesus’ bare shoulders, back and legs. Each lashing cut deeper into the skin until the flesh and muscles were torn in shreds and blood ran onto the ground. A witness of one such Roman flogging wrote, “The sufferer’s veins were laid bare, and the very muscles and tendons and bowels of the victim were open to exposure.”
Jesus suffering did not end with this beating.
John 19:2-3 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe [3] and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face. (NIV)
This gives new meaning to hitting a guy when he’s down. The crown of thorns ripped into Jesus’ skull causing further blood loss. The robe Jesus was clothed in while the soldiers mocked Him would act like a bandage only to later be ripped from His back tearing the wounds open once again. Repeatedly Jesus was hit in the face.
Somehow Jesus still had the strength to again stand before Pilate and His accusers. Although Pilate found no fault in Jesus, he gave in to the demands of the angry mob and sentenced Jesus to be crucified.
John 19:17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). (NIV)
The other Gospel writers add that a man named Simon was also forced to carry Jesus cross. Is it any wonder Jesus would stumble and fall under the weight of the cross unable to physically carry it due to the beatings and loss of blood He had experienced?
John 19:18 Here they crucified him, and with him two others--one on each side and Jesus in the middle. (NIV)
Five to seven inch spikes were used nail Jesus to the cross. The median nerve would be crushed as these spikes are driven through the flesh. This is the nerve you feel tingle when ever you hit your funny bone. Medical experts say the pain caused in the crucifixion would be like squeezing your funny bone with a pair of pliers. The pain was so great a new word was coined—“excruciating” which in Latin means “out of the cross.”
Once Jesus was fastened to the cross it was raised into the air. Death from crucifixion was often from suffocation. Due to the stress on the muscles the victim could breathe in, but not out. The only way to exhale would be to push up with your legs causing the back which had been severely beaten to rub up and down against the coarse wood of the cross. Likewise the feet would sting with great pain to support your weight because of the nails driven through them. In time exhaustion would set in.
The Romans would speed death by breaking the victims shin bones to prevent them from pushing up to breathe. The victims lungs would fill with carbon dioxide and would slowly asphyxiate.
This is what the executioners did to the criminals crucified on either side of Jesus.
John 19:31-34 31. . . Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. (NIV)
No one who was ever crucified ever came off the cross alive. The Romans were experts at crucifying individuals. This was not the first time the soldiers given charge of Jesus crucifixion had executed someone in this way. These were experienced men of torture and death. When the soldiers saw Jesus was already dead they took the spear and forced it into His side to prove Jesus was indeed dead.
The Romans saw to it that the victim was dead. A article in the “Journal of the American Medical Society” stated, “Clearly the weight of historical and medical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead (even) before the wound to His side was inflicted. . . Accordingly, interpretations based on the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at odds with modern medical knowledge.”
Imagine for a moment though that the Romans were wrong and Jesus was buried alive. Would Jesus have survived the burial process being wrapped in strips of linen and covered with seventy five pounds of spices? If Jesus had somehow survived three days in the tomb is it even possible for Him to roll away the stone which held Him captive? Could He have overcome the Roman guard who stood watch outside the tomb? Would this Jesus have convinced His followers He was victorious over death, or would they have been more likely to have called for a doctor?
Any careful examination of the evidence brings only one conclusion: Jesus died as the result of being crucified. His body was taken down from the cross, prepared for burial and placed in the grave. Did Jesus die? The answer is yes.
Knowing Jesus did indeed die, we can then ask the question, DID JESUS REALLY RISE FROM THE DEAD?
Let’s consider the evidence. As we do we will organize our evidence using these three words which all start with “E”: EARLY, EYEWITNESSES, AND EMPTY.
EARLY
Historians will tell you the earlier the evidence about any event which is said to have occurred in history establishes greater confidence that the event did in fact happen. The accounts of Christ’s death and resurrection date back very early in reference to the time the events happened.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (NIV)
The Apostle Paul did not make this statement up. Rather Paul is reciting an early creed recited by early Christians; this statement of faith may have originated within the first two or three years following Christ’s death and resurrection. Paul passed on a truth that born from the cross and the empty tomb: Jesus died was buried and rose again the third day in fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures.
Soon after Jesus death and resurrection the disciples began to give testimony to the resurrection. It was not years later people started talking about a resurrection; talk about Christ’s resurrection started early on. On the day of Pentecost, only a month and a half after Christ’s death and resurrection Peter had this to say to a crowd in Jerusalem.
Acts 2:22-24 22Men 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. 23This 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. 24But 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. (NIV)
The idea that the resurrection was only a legend passed down by Jesus’ followers has no credibility. Studies have shown that not enough time had passed for a “resurrection legend” to have developed. Paul goes even further to disprove the idea that the resurrection was only a legend by listing those to whom Jesus appeared.
1 Corinthians 15:5-6 5He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. 6After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now. (NLT)
What is Paul saying? “Look, don’t take my word for it; go ask somebody who saw Jesus! Let them tell you for themselves that Jesus has really been raised from the dead.”
This brings us to the second E: EYEWITNESSES.
Over a period of forty days following the resurrection Jesus appeared to his followers.
Acts 1:3 During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time and proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. On these occasions he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. (NLT)
Some have argued the disciples did not see Jesus alive but lost touch with reality and had a hallucination. They argue the disciples were so overcome by grief and sorrow that they saw what they all wanted to believe, JESUS RESURRECTED FROM THE DEAD.
This argument has two problems. First while the disciples were overcome by their sorrow none of them expected to see Jesus alive. They had all witnessed Jesus’ terrible death and knew it was impossible for Jesus to be alive.
In Luke 24 two of Jesus’ disciples were walking to Emmaus. They had heard the rumors that Jesus was alive and were talking about the events of the last few days. Suddenly Jesus comes along to walk with these two unsuspecting men and joins in their conversation. Not until Jesus joins these two doubt-filled disciples for dinner do they finally recognize who Jesus is. The two rush back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples what had happened.
Jesus then unexpectedly enters the room to show His disciples He was alive. Listen to what Luke says happens next:
Luke 24:37-43 37They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." 40When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate it in their presence. (NIV)
Thomas, another of Jesus’ disciples, said he refused to believe such a foolish idea unless he could see and touch Jesus for Himself. Jesus showed Himself alive to this man full of doubt and questions letting Thomas see and touch His hands and feet. Thomas fell at Jesus feet saying “My Lord and my God” (See: John 20:26-29).
Secondly, and more importantly Paul told the Corinthians Jesus had appeared to the twelve and even to a group of over 500. How is it possible for a group of people to see the same thing?
Let me put it to you this way: HOW MANY OF YOU ENJOIED MY DREAM LAST NIGHT? None of you did because it was my dream. Hallucinations like dreams are made within the mind of an individual. If 500 people are together how can they all possibly imagine the same thing? Wouldn’t at least one sane person in the crowd stand up and say, “Hey everybody, what are you all talking about. I don’t see anything!”
Imagine together with me though that we were to subpoena some of these so called witnesses to cross examine them. Paul said over 500 all saw Jesus at the same time. Imagine we call only 250 of these to give sworn testimony in a court of law. As a good attorney we cross examine each of these witnesses trying to poke a whole in their story. Each witness is questioned for 15 minutes which is 3,750 minutes of testimony or 62 ½ hours. Would any of you like to question these witnesses continuously, or should we take a break from time to time? If we interrogated these witnesses for only 8 hours a day it would take over a week to cross examine each of these witnesses, and we could still call over 250 other witnesses if we failed to get one of these to slip up in their story.
The eyewitness testimony gives overwhelming evidence to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those who saw the resurrected Christ were transformed. Prior to the crucifixion they were terrified and in hiding for fear they too would be arrested and put to death. After seeing the living Christ fear melted away. Now those who had feared for their lives are willing to lay down their lives because they have seen Jesus.
This brings us to the third “E”: EMPTY
The disciples and other eyewitnesses saw Jesus because He had left the tomb. The women had gone to the tomb early in the morning, not because they expected the resurrection, but because they had prepared more spices to put on the body. When they arrived at the tomb they found the stone rolled away and the body missing. These women returned to the disciples and reported what had happened.
It’s interesting to point out the first eyewitnesses were women. If this had been a made up story, then it would have been men who found the empty tomb. Women were not respected, so a man’s testimony would be more credible. The Bible even backs this idea up reporting that the disciples had a hard time believing what the women reported because their words seemed like nonsense.
John 20:1-7 1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!" 3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. (NIV)
THE TOMB WAS EMPTY! If the women had been mistaken and gone to the wrong tomb, would the disciples have made the same mistake? If they all had been mistaken then why didn’t the authorities point out where the body was located?
The empty tomb is verified by the response of Jesus’ enemies. The Jewish authorities or Romans could have put an end to the talk of a resurrection by producing the body of Jesus, but they could not go to the tomb and produce a body because the tomb was empty.
The Jewish leaders further verified the resurrection with their response to the empty tomb.
Matthew 28:12-15 12When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13telling them, "You are to say, ’His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." 15So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. (NIV)
Because the body of Christ could not be produced, the chief priest manufactured a lie and bribed the guards to say the disciples took the body while they slept. This begs the obvious question: DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY ARE ASLEEP? Simply the idea of knowing what happened in your sleep is beyond belief.
Furthermore, what would the disciples have to gain by taking the body of Christ? Their belief in the resurrection led to arrest, torture and death. Would they be willing to die for a lie? Would at least one of the body thieves have told the truth under the persecution and abuse they endured because they claimed Jesus was alive?
What is easier to believe—the disciples were willing to die for a lie, or they were willing to die because they knew Jesus was alive and had promised they too would live with Him? The disciples had no fear of death because they knew their Lord had conquered the grave.
Did Jesus rise from the dead? Consider the evidence:
• EARLY record verifies the resurrection;
• EYEWITNESS were willing to suffer persecution and death because they had seen the risen Christ;
• An EMPTY TOMB still says, “He is not here; He is risen.”
The evidence confirms the resurrection as an historic event. Jesus is alive!
• 1 Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. (NIV)
• And if Christ wasn’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. (MsgB)
Because Christ has been raise from the dead our faith is not futile; we’re not just wandering aimlessly or bumping into things in the dark. We are no longer lost; our sins have been forgiven. God has made us alive through Christ Jesus. HE IS ALIVE!
What will your response be to the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Your faith in Christ will not be in vain; Jesus will set you free from your sins. Will you come to the risen Christ today?
