I Wonder about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
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· 30 viewsDo you ever struggle with doubt or wonder why you believe what you believe? Today, we begin a new series exploring all sorts of questions about the Christian faith. Today's question is this: How do we know the resurrection of Jesus Christ ACTUALLY happened? And what difference does it make? Our prayer is that you will know WHY you believe what you believe and be transformed by the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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We are beginning a new series called “I Wonder...”
And I need your participation as we begin…this series is exploring some things about Christ, Christianity, the Christian life, that we may “wonder about...”, are “curious about...”, need help understanding. It can range from tough intellectual questions to practical questions.
I need everyone to come up with a question, a topic, something that you would like to see me or our church answer…now or in the future...
and I want you to come up with that RIGHT NOW…there are 2 ways yo can submit this...
1. is paper and pencil in front of you that you can write it down…and then submit it at the end of the service...
2. you can get our your phone—text the word “Wonder” to this #260-400-2991; when you do that it will send you a link to fill out a form—your name is optional.
So for instance, today we are looking at why do we believe the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually happened?
But you may have other questions about…the end times, sexuality, politics—was Jesus a republican or democrat, is Covid vaccine the mark of the beast (it’s not); isn’t Christianity harmful to people, suffering and hell, why bother with the church, or what is the point of church membership…maybe a series on a book of the Bible…(people always ask me to do the book of Revelation)
so before you submit—turn to your neighbor and come up with a question…brainstorm...
now, write it down....
either on
paper...
or your phone…there’s the #
now, I may not address it in this current series, but it will help us for the future—whether here or in a Bible study, or wherever…(if it’s on paper, submit it at the end of the series)
If I were to ask you why do you believe the resurrection of Jesus actually happened? What would you say?
We just celebrated Easter—the resurrection, by looking at an interview with our local funeral directors.
this is an important question...
the bodily, physical, historical, resurrection of Jesus Christ is electrifying—it’s what gives us hope in life after death. it’s what gives us hope that there is eternal life because Jesus just didn’t die—but rose.
Look at how Paul talks about it..and its importance...
Now, let me read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
the resurrection of Jesus matters...
I remember going through a time in my life—where I was doubting and questioning my faith—I grew up in a Christian household, grew up in this church, and was very thankful for that—but I had to own my faith—It could not just be my parents or my community’s culture—did I really believe this—did I really believe that Jesus rose bodily from the dead?
b/c in some ways—this is one of the biggest questions about the Christian faith…if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead—we are wasting our time. this is just hopeful, wishful thinking.
but if he actually, historically, bodily rose from the dead—then it makes all the difference. Christianity is true! Jesus is Lord! Our sins can be forgiven. even if I have problems with other parts of the Bible or Christianity---but if Jesus rose from the dead—that is the first and central question that gives me confidence to face other questions or doubts I have.
so how do we know? can we know?
if somebody asked you—really challenging you—why do you BELIEVE in the resurrection of Jesus Christ!! Why?
You can’t prove it—or watch a YOUTube video of it—BTW if it’s on YouTube it MUST be true!
let’s look at a couple of different categories--
some reasons of the mind
and some reasons of the heart
FIRST THE MIND. these are more good rational or intellectual reasons to believe in the R of JC.
empty tomb
witnesses
both TOGETHER are powerful evidences that Jesus bodily and physically rose from the dead. what do I mean?
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.
6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
BTW this passage in Corinthians—Biblical scholars note that Paul is quoting a gospel summary used by the earliest church. b/c some people think, “well, maybe Jesus’s resurrection is a legend that developed over time in the church...” but this passage is actually showing that this message was written pretty quickly after his death—about 15 - 20 years—too soon for legends to develop. it’s not something he wrote or made up.
it says “he was buried.” Tim Keller says “That would be redundant unless to make the point that this was not a ‘spiritual’ event, that the body was gone and the tomb empty.” and did you know the empty tomb is accepted by most scholars, including those who are not Christians.”
if the tomb was not empty—then skeptics back then could easily say to all this resurrection stuff—just go to the tomb—and see the body.
but perhaps the biggest point of evidence are witnesses. many skeptics believe that the witnesses just made up Jesus’ resurrection—they missed him so bad, they made it up. but if this letter was written about 15 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection—Paul is saying “You don’t believe me, go ask them. go talk to one of the 500 people at one time who saw Jesus.”
In addition, the Gospel writers—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — show that the first witnesses were women. Since women in that culture were not allowed to give evidence, there would be no reason the Gospel writers would have invented it. they wrote about it…only if it happened. it would be no advantage to getting the Christian message out—it would have been an embarrassing detail in that time.
take them together: “So we are left with two hard-to-refute facts: that the tomb was empty and that hundreds of people claimed to have seen the risen Christ. If we had only the empty tomb, then we could plausibly claim the body was stolen. If we only had the testimonies, we could say they had to be fantasies. Together, however, they give evidence that something extraordinary happened. N. T. Wright says that if you rule out a resurrection, you have a formidable challenge—to come up with a historically possible alternate explanation for these two facts,” (Keller, Timothy. Hope in Times of Fear (p. 11). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.)
the church began and continued...
if you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ you have a powerful reason for how and why the church actually began—this movement that turned the world upside down and spread.
for example, take the disciples. when Jesus went to the cross to die, all of his followers were running and hiding. They were afraid, sad, and disappointed. Peter the apostle denied Jesus 3x. None of them were expecting a resurrection, even though Jesus told them plainly it would happen.
but after Jesus rose from the dead and appeared bodily to them—it changed them. They become the boldest, most courageous witnesses filled with the Holy Spirit, preaching, at great cost to their lives. some of them lost their lives for Jesus’ sake.
You know some of us believe that people back then were not as smart as us—they were easily deceived into believing in a resurrection. but we read the account of Thomas—he was doubting. or read this...
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
that’s incredible—I love the Bibles’ honesty—even though the risen Jesus was right there, they still doubted!
but these disciples would give birth to the early church that would change the world.
they were not expecting a resurrection; the culture at the time—was not. even Jews were not—not yet—not until the end of time. the idea that one man would die and rise never to die again—they were not expecting that…
the transformation was so radical…and the early church breaking on the scene—the only plausible explanation would cause that is the bodily resurrection of Jesus. and if you don’t believe that then YOU have to have another explanation as to why it happened.
now objection— “Does all this prove beyond a shadow of rational doubt that the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually occurred? As Wright and others point out, no event in past history can be empirically proven the way something can be tested in a laboratory. We can’t know that William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066 in exactly the same way we know that a compound liquefies at such and such temperature. However, once we make that distinction, we can still say we know that things in HISTORY happened if there is a great deal of historical evidence that they did. (Keller, Timothy. Hope in Times of Fear (p. 14). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.)
I find these reasons helpful—b/c it doesn’t mean that faith is a just a blind leap in the dark.
while faith is more than reason; it is not less.
now, I want to go to some personal reasons...
it’s possible a person can agree with all the reasons of the mind I just gave for the bodily resurrection of Jesus and still not surrender their life to Jesus Christ.
b/c coming to faith in Christ is not just an intellectual process—it is a personal encounter with Jesus Christ.
This is why Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
Paul had to come to grips with the resurrection Lord.
The Bible tells us in Acts 9 that Paul was a very religious man, Jewish leader, believed in God but not in Jesus. and he was actually on his way to arrest and persecute Christians, when he saw a bright light, and encountered the resurrected, risen Jesus Christ who appeared to him, spoke to him. and it changed his life.
it challenged him intellectually—gave him proof that Jesus really rose from the dead. He really is the Savior!
but it challenged him personally...
3x Paul mentioned grace—that means “gift—God’s favor” showered on him. and it changed his life…what do I mean?
this is getting at personal reasons why we can believe the resurrection happened.
COMMUNAL REASONS
REASONS of the Heart
RoJC = freedom from sin, guilt and shame. the resurrected Jesus is a powerful reality that our sins are actually paid for by Jesus Christ and actually forgiven. It is proof that when the Bible says Jesus paid our sins on the cross in our place, that that actually was accomplished—b/c Jesus rose from the dead.
25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
justification is the marvelous legal image where God the judge declares us not a sinner but actually righteous and beautiful in His sight—as if we have done everything that Jesus has done. and the resurrection of JC proves that.
2 illustrations can help us (from Pastor Tim Keller) One pastor says it like this: “If you have committed a crime and the debt to society is 2 years in jail, you go to jail for 2 years. How do you know the debt is paid—when the doors that barred your way are open and you can walk out. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. but Jesus took that penalty, the curse of the law for us, and paid it fully. How do we know he actually paid it? b/c the door of death opened and Jesus went out.
A second illustration is the idea of a receipt. If you are in a large department store, you may purchase an item at a cashier’s station deep inside the store. What if you get to the exit and are stopped by a store employee who questions you about the merchandise you are carrying? You whip out your receipt and say, “This proves that the price has been paid in full.” And with that you are free to go. In the resurrection God stamped “Paid in full” across history and across your life. It is an assurance that the debt of sin has been paid. (Keller, Timothy. Hope in Times of Fear (p. 32). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.)
so when God sees you now—if you believe in Jesus—He sees His beloved Son—His treasure. to the degree that that is your identity—you are free from past guilt, past shame, regret—what others say. no more tossing in bed (sometimes I do—regret—replaying things I said or didn’t say)—and if you do—you preach Jesus died and rose for me—my sins are forgiven I am God’s beloved treasure. You pull out the resurrection receipt—there is no condemnation for those in Jesus Christ. Paul knew that grace—that gift of God, that favor. Do you? this is one powerful reason of the heart to believe in the RoJC—nothing else can do this for your heart.
RoJC = freedom from fear of death (Heb. 2)
14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—
15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
you may not think much about death—but the older you get, the more you do (unknown, or life has passed you by and regret), or if you have a loved one who died or is near death—you do. and death can be a scary reality. but a resurrection Christ—if we have hope and belief in him—death is actually not the end, but only the beginning of life of Jesus.
death can only enhance our connection to Jesus. it cannot separate us from God’s love
even though we physically die, we will be with Jesus, and one day get a resurrection body like Jesus’.
and if your loved one dies in Jesus—you have the hope that as they die, it’s more of a “see ya later...” than a final goodbye—b/c you will see them again in the new heaven and new earth. this is another powerful reason of the heart—it’s not just wishful thinking b/c we looked at reasons of the mind...
ROJC = Freedom from other masters in our lives
14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
that verse 15—disarming the powers and authorities—making a public spectacle—commentators note that this is referring to Jesus’ triumph through the resurrection.
the RoJC proves that when we come to Christ, we are no longer under any other powers and authorities—Jesus broke them, but we are under the ultimate power and authority—Jesus.
Before Christ, we were in the kingdom of darkness and its powers, under its influence--we were also enslaved to various idols and lords in our lives.
before we have a relationship with Jesus and enter his kingdom, we are under other masters. some Satanic, some false gods—idols, a mix of these. and all of look to these masters for significance, security, acceptance, and approval. we have to live for something, and whatever we live for that is our power or authority in our life.
Author rebecca pippert says--As Rebecca Pippert writes: “Whatever controls us is really our god. . . . The one who seeks power is controlled by power. The one who seeks acceptance is controlled by the people he or she wants to please. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our life.”12 some of us look to money or career or romance to fulfill us—but these are harsh masters.
the more we look to them, the more they enslave us.
but the cross of Jesus frees from these powers—the resurrection proves that we are brought into a new kingdom with a new power in our lives that we need. The resurrected Christ sends the HS in our lives to break and loose the chains of false gods in our lives.
these are incredible gifts from the resurrection--
freedom from guilt/shame; freedom from fear of death, freedom from other lords in our lives-
but not just this--
you get Jesus.
one of the greatest proofs that the RoJC happened—is for many of you—you have encountered Him. He has not just freed you from these things in abstract or theory—but you have met Jesus—just like Paul did, experienced his transforming grace, and now experience that resurrection power—the same power that raised Jesus from the dead—lives in us—now. the resurrection benefits may seem future—but they are present. the resurrection is proof that the kingdom of God has invaded this world now—it’s like the future is here now.
to be saved means not just freedom from s