Jesus Christ Rose From The Dead

On Halloween night back in 1936, several men and women sat in a candle-lit room at a round table holding hands. They were participating in a seance. They sat there like that waiting for a message from “the other side.” It was the same message that they had gathered in hopes of hearing every Halloween night for the past ten years. Each year they had met, but the message had never come. And now they waited one more time. Finally, a woman rose from her seat and announced to the others-and to a listening radio audience,

“Houdini did not come through. My last hope is gone. I do not believe that Houdini CAN come back-to me, or to anyone. The Houdini Shrine has burned for ten years. I now reverently, blow out it’s light. It is finished. Good night, Harry.”

That woman was Bess Houdini, wife of the famous ESCAPE artist, Harry Houdini. And this was the LAST seance she would participate in to try and contact her dead husband. History books refer to Houdini as “The Man No Jail Could Hold” but even he could not ESCAPE the bonds of death.

Sermon:

This morning we are finishing a series of sermons inspired by Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ and as we end this SERIES let’s recall how the MOVIE ends. Jesus dies-a horrible, brutal death. His pupils dilate into lifelessness as He gazes heavenward. There’s a scene of the soldiers removing His bloody body from the cross. Then the movie screen fades to black and you THINK the credits are going to role, but an image flashes back on the screen and you realize that it is from within Jesus’ tomb. The stone is rolled away and as light fills the tomb you see His burial shroud cave in on itself like a deflating balloon. Then you see, Jesus standing there-resurrected-ALIVE! Other than the holes in His hands left by the Roman nails, the horrible wounds are all gone. His eyes are open and shining with determination as he begins to walk out of the tomb! The film ends with this brief scene proclaiming the wonderful news that, unlike Harry Houdini, Jesus has ESCAPED death!

And that brings us to the question I want us to deal with this morning: Is this final scene from Gibson’s movie fact or fiction? Did Jesus REALLY rise from the dead? Did He do what no man has ever done on his own-defeat the grim reaper? Now-there are of course people who would say right off- “NO….He didn’t.” In fact, there are several films or plays about the life of Christ that END with the crucifixion. They don’t show Jesus risen from the dead. This is because many people DON’T believe Jesus ESCAPED the bonds of death-they embrace one of several theories that have been posed to explain away our Lord’s resurrection.

1. For example: Some say Jesus’ body was STOLEN.

This first theory is actually very old because it was originally concocted by the Jewish religious leaders and spread by the Roman guards only hours after Jesus’ resurrection. Take your Bibles and turn to Matthew 28:1-15 and let’s read about it together:

1 – After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 – There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.

3 – His appearance was like lightening, and his clothes were white as snow.

4 – The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 – The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, Who was crucified.

6 – He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.

7 – Then go quickly and tell His disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ Now I have told you.”

8 – So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples.

9 – Suddenly Jesus met them, “Greetings,” He said. They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshiped Him.

10 – Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me.”

11 – While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.

12 – When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,

13 – telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’

14 – If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”

15 – So 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.

Now, two thousand years have passed and this theory that Jesus’ disciples stole His body is STILL popular-particularly in Jewish circles-but there are some problems with it. First, it is unlikely that the guards would allow themselves to fall asleep because doing so while on duty was a crime punishable by death. But even if they were asleep how could someone roll away that huge stone without waking them? And if the guards were sound asleep, then how did they KNOW it was the disciples who stole the body? So-it wasn’t a very good lie to start with. Another thing-Jesus had taught His disciples to be honest men of integrity. Stealing His body and then perpetuating a hoax would have gone against everything they had learned.

Now, some who embrace this flawed theory argue that the disciples did this to make Christ’s prophecies about His resurrection seem to come true-but there’s a problem with that rationale.

You see-even though the disciples were honest, they weren’t necessarily what you would call honor roll students. To be frank-they seem kind of dense at times. I mean in spite of the fact that Jesus had taught them over and over again about His coming death and subsequent resurrection it’s clear that they still didn’t get it. They just didn’t understand. Remember? They were SURPRISED by His arrest and crucifixion. Afterwards they acted like they had no hope He would rise again. And to me they just don’t seem clever enough to have come up with a rouse like this-much less pull it off under the noses of the Roman guards.

Another problem with this theory is the fact that the disciples lives were obviously changed. We’ve been seeing this in our study of Acts. Remember? At Jesus’ trial, death, and burial, they scattered and hid in fear, but when they saw Jesus alive they became bold and outspoken-in spite of the fact that this led to their violent deaths. As I pointed out a few sermons ago, people don’t tend to die for a lie. They lie only until it costs them too much to do so-then they come clean. This is why torture is such an effective means of gathering information. Well, in spite of the threat of torture and death these guys kept talking about Jesus’ life, death, AND resurrection right up until they were executed for doing so.

So this theory has a lot of holes in it but the BIGGEST “hole” is this: if the body was stolen then how did Jesus keep showing up alive?

2. Another theory says that the women went to the WRONG tomb.

I believe the famous liberal theologian Kirsopp Lake, originally presented this one. He suggested that the women went to the tomb early Sunday morning and asked the gardener where Jesus was laid. The gardener then responded, “He is not here…” and the women rushed off to preach the Resurrection before the gardener could finish his sentence by turning to point and say, “He is over there.” Well, according to this theory, the tomb the women visited (albeit the wrong one) was empty, and so they jumped to the conclusion that Jesus had risen from the dead. Then they told the disciples which led to the widespread belief in the resurrection of Jesus.

But, there are also serious problems with this hypothesis. First, don’t you think the disciples-male and female-would have made absolutely sure it was the right tomb before they risked their lives proclaiming Jesus’ body was gone? Plus, their friend Joseph of Arimathea knew where his own tomb was located. Surely he would have checked out the women’s story and-if the women went to the wrong tomb-then the disciples who went to check the women’s claims also had to go to the wrong tomb as well.

Now-I could believe they could do this more than I could the women because women aren’t afraid to ask for directions! But even if they DID repeat the mistake of Jesus’ female followers, all the Jewish authorities would have had to do to stop the rumors was to point out that they went to the wrong tomb. In fact, they could have offered guided tours of the right one. They could have unwrapped Jesus’ body and laid it out for all to see. That would have stopped the disciples cold. But they didn’t. No-the Jewish religious leaders DID and SAID nothing and as Patrick Fairbain said, “The silence of the Jews was as significant as the speech of the Christians.” But, again-the greatest problem with this theory is…if the body was stolen, then how did Jesus keep showing up alive?

3. Other skeptics say Jesus’ resurrection was just a mass HALLUCINATION.

This is the belief that says all the disciples-all those hundreds of people who claimed to see Jesus risen-were sharing some sort of “group day dream” that went on for 40 days. Well, psychologists say that this theory doesn’t hold water because genuine hallucinations are like dreams-they’re individual events that CAN’T be shared between people I mean, it would be like me asking you, “Did you enjoy the dream I had last night?” or “Did my nightmare scare you?” This just doesn’t happen. There’s no such thing as “mass hallucinations.” In fact, one expert said that 500 people sharing the same hallucination would be a bigger miracle than the resurrection itself! And again-if they had just imagined Jesus, then certainly the Romans or the Jewish religious leaders would have produced His body to counter their claim.

Furthermore, hallucinations are typically relegated to people with certain personality disorders and they don’t stop abruptly. But Christ appeared to all kinds of personality types and then the appearances ended after 40 days. Another thing-hallucinations can contain nothing new. Therefore, given the current Jewish beliefs about life after death, the disciples would have projected visions of Jesus in heaven or in Abraham’s bosom, where the souls of the righteous dead were believed to abide until the resurrection. They would not have imagined Him with them on earth. This was a totally new thing.

Another problem with this hallucination theory is that people hallucinate about things they believe will happen and the disciples didn’t believe Jesus would come back. Remember? They were devastated. These thick-skulled disciples forgot everything Jesus taught them about what was going to happen and honestly thought He was dead and gone. And-even after some of the disciples saw Jesus alive, not all of them believed. To show you what I mean let’s read the account of Thomas in John 20:24-29:

24 – Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

25 – So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe it.”

26 – A week later His disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

27 – Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 – Thomas said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 – Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

So-a hallucination could not have happened because at this point the disciples didn’t THINK it could happen. Their mind set was, “Sure-Jesus could raise others from the dead-but not Himself-not after the cruel scourging and crucifixion-not after was run through by a spear.” I mean, those guys would NEVER dream of this happening! Jesus didn’t die because He was sick like Lazarus-no, He was literally beaten to death….hung on a cross until His body bled out and then to top it all off, He received what would have been a fatal wound through His heart.

Okay-I think you’d agree then that those who believe either of these faulty theories are standing on shaky ground. They don’t have a very good case whereas those, like me, who believe this statement is TRUE-that Jesus DID rise from the dead-well we have a very STRONG case.

1. In fact, I’ve already alluded to our first argument supporting our Lord’s resurrection from the dead….namely, Jesus PREDICTED it.

Now, have you ever read the predictions of Nostradamus? I don’t know about you but the ones I have read are so vague and confusing that they can be interpreted to mean just about anything. Or what about horoscopes? They are so generalized and indiscriminate that they can apply to anybody at anytime. “You will sleep with your eyes closed tonight.” …things like that. But Jesus’ predictions were totally different. They weren’t ambiguous or generalized. No-they were very clear and specific.

In Matthew 16:21 it says,

“From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day, be raised to life.”

Matthew 17:22-23,

“When they came together in Galilee, He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him and on the third day He will be raised to life.’ And the disciples were filled with grief.

In Matthew 20:18-19 Jesus said,

“We are going to Jerusalem and the Son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will turn Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day He will be raised to life.”

In Matthew 26:32 He said,

“But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

And immediately after His death even His ENEMIES quoted Jesus’ prediction about His resurrection. Listen to Matthew 27:62-64,

“The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ‘Sir,” they said, ‘we remember that while He was still alive that deceiver said, “After three days I will rise again.” So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise His disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that He has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

Over and over again, Jesus not only predicted that He would be mocked, flogged, and crucified, but that He would actually rise from the dead three days later. And that’s exactly what He did. So you see, the resurrection wasn’t a myth made up AFTER His death. No, Jesus predicted BEFOREHAND that He would rise on the third day.

2. And then, a second proof of Jesus’ resurrection is that History SUPPORTS it.

I say this because very early documents about His death and resurrection were written and circulated. For example, a creed recited by the early church and preserved for us by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 clearly affirms that,

“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; He was buried; He was raised on the third day…”

This creed has been dated back to as early as two or three years after the crucifixion and the beliefs that underlie it go right back to the cross itself.

The gospel accounts themselves were written within a generation of Jesus’ life. If treated without prejudice these historical records are as plentiful and as reliable as those written about any ancient event. As F. F. Bruce of Manchester University said,

“If the New Testament were a collection of secular writings, their authenticity would generally be regarded as beyond all doubt.”

But, there are also historical documents OUTSIDE the Bible that speak of the resurrection. For example the “Toledoth Jeshu,” a compilation of 5th century Jewish writings, acknowledges that Jesus’ tomb was indeed empty and proceeds to try to explain it away. It confirms that Jesus was crucified and buried and it tries to explain away the vacant tomb. So, even this document-written by nonbelievers-says that Jesus wasn’t in His tomb after three days. They just don’t want to believe how it happened.

And, understand, all these historical documents-written by believers AND non-believers-are reliable because they were written so early-so close to the event of the resurrection itself. This completely rebuts the idea that legends about the resurrection developed in the decades after Jesus’ death. Studies have concluded there was no where near enough time for that to have occurred. You see, experts tell us it takes a minimum of two generations for mythology to corrupt a solid core of historical fact-and this leads to the third proof of Jesus’ resurrection…

3. …Eye-witnesses SAW it.

Listen to the rest of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also as to one abnormally born.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

Jesus was seen alive over a 40-day period after His crucifixion, by men, women, skeptics, believers, individuals, and simultaneously by a group of over 500 people. And let’s understand-500 witnesses is a LOT of witnesses. Think about it this way. If we were holding atrial to determine the facts concerning the resurrection, and if we were to call to the witness stand every eyewitness who personally encountered the resurrected Jesus and we cross-examined each of them for only 15 minutes and if we went around the clock without a break, starting at 12N today, how long do you think we’d be sitting here? Well, this first hand, eyewitness testimony would continue through tonight, through all day Monday and Monday night, through all day Tuesday and Tuesday night, through all day Wednesday and Wednesday night, through all day Thursday and Thursday night, through all Friday morning and afternoon-until about 5:00PM! After listening to more than 125 straight hours, who could possibly walk away unconvinced?!

PLUS-Paul reminds his readers that many of these witnesses were still around. Dr. Edwin M. Yamauchi, associate professor of history at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio emphasizes, “What gives special authority to the list of witnesses as historical evidence is the reference to most of the five hundred brethren being still alive. St. Paul says in effect, ‘If you do not believe me, you can ask them.'” That’s how confident Paul was. There were witnesses of our risen Lord still around for people to question.

You know, I’m not a golfer-but one of my best friends, Bill Ratliff, is-and so whenever we get together, I TRY to play golf with him. He’s a very patient friend! Once Bill and I were playing at a beautiful course in Panama City, Florida. We were the only ones on the course that day because it was brutally hot! Well, I did an amazing thing. I hit the ball squarely off the tee and it went all the way to the green about 175 yards away. In fact it came to rest just a few inches from the hole and I easily putted it in. Now, as long as Bill is living-my credibility can be called into question. I mean, you could call Bill and say, “Hey Bill, did Mark put the ball on the green in one stroke in Panama City that day?” And he’d say, “Yes-I know it’s hard to believe when you watch Mark play golf but I was there. I saw it happen. It was a miracle…but it did happen!” Well, likewise, Paul’s assertions regarding Jesus’ resurrection could have easily been refuted if in fact they were not true. There were tons of eyewitnesses to interview and check.

Another thing-all four gospels tell us that the first eye-witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection were WOMEN-and this lends even more credibility to these accounts.

You see, no conspirator of the first century would have invented this because, Jewish courts did not even accept the testimony of women witnesses. A DELIBERATE cover up would have put Peter and John, or better yet, Nicodemus in the spotlight, not built its case around the reports of women. Since the gospels were written decades after the events there was plenty of time to straighten out such an anomaly-unless of course they were not concocting a legend but just recording the plain FACT-that Jesus had risen from the dead.

And you know the fact is today EYE-WITNESSES are still living who make this claim.

How many of you have met the risen Jesus? How many of you have received His guidance in life? How many of you KNOW Jesus personally? This reminds me of an old poem that goes like this:

Okay-I think you’d have to admit that there is a lot of proof to show that this statement is TRUE-substantial proof and if you’re like some skeptics these days you might ask, SO WHAT?

What does the proven fact that Jesus rose from the dead 2000 years ago have to do with you and me today?

1. Well first, it means Jesus can empower us to overcome the problems of LIFE.

You see if Jesus can overcome death-He can overcome anything! Let me ask you this. Have you ever felt like your life was out of control-like you were powerless to change some situation,

whether it’s to break a bad habit or save a relationship or to get out of debt or to manage your schedule or just live right? Well, the fact is we ALL fail in these ways because we were never meant to live this life on our own power. We were meant to live life EMPOWERED by a relationship with our Creator and Redeemer. In his classic little book, Basic Christianity, John Stott said,

“It’s no good giving me a play like HAMLET or KING LEAR, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it-I can’t. And it’s no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and then telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it-I can’t. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like that. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live in me, then I could live a life like that…to have Him as our example is not enough, we need Him as our Savior.”

That’s one reason Christ came back from the dead-to empower us to live as He lived. I mean, Jesus didn’t die and then rise again just to be studied and oohhed and aahhed over. No-He died and rose to offer through His blood and His life, NEW life-transforming power to live an abundant, successful, fulfilling life. This is what Paul is talking about In Ephesians 1:18-20 when he says, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead!”

Paul is reminding us that the same power that enabled Jesus to rise from the dead is available to help you and me rise above our problems. And, no problem is too big for God to handle! No situation is hopeless if it is turned over to Him! If God can bring His Son back to life, He can cause a resurrection in any aspect of your life as well. So, what has died in your life? What dreams, what hopes, what relationship, what vision? Remember-no situation in life is beyond His resurrection power…but that’s not the only implication of the fact of JESUS’ resurrection.

2. It also means Jesus can empower us to overcome the problem of DEATH.

And this is a problem that all of us face. You know, we’ve all been talking about terrorism lately. Like many of you, I watched Condaliza Rice testify before the 9-11 commission this past week. I watch the news every day to hear how many died in Iraq and Israel due to terrorists and I will NEVER forget 9-11 and the thousands that died here on American soil that day. Well the fact is every year in the United States alone about 3.3 million people die-that’s about 6,400 every day which means that twice as many died on September 11th from “natural” causes as died in the terrorist attacks and I share these statistics to help you see that terrorism’s casualties do not increase the ULTIMATE death toll. Eventually death comes to all of us rich, poor, famed, unsung, soldiers on the front lines or people living here in the relative safety of the U.S.-Death cannot be wished out of existence.

I read this week about an article in the Chicago Tribune that reported that American Baby Boomers are whining because scientists have not developed a cure for death. Well, they can whine all they want but there is literally nothing we can do about the frightening fact that someday each of us will require the services of a good undertaker. As Paul said in Romans 5:12,”Sin entered the world through one man and death through sin and in this way death came to all men because all sinned.”

But you see, the resurrection of Jesus has changed all that. Jesus said, “Because I live, you will live also! Because I defeated death-you have no reason to fear it-in relation to Me you can overcome it as well!” For those of us who believe in Jesus, death is no longer a terrifying journey into the unknown. Instead it is the anticipation of a welcome reunion with loved ones who have died before us. It’s the grand entry point into a heavenly existence where there is no pain or sorrow or death-and we know all this because of the fact that Jesus rose from the dead on the 3rd day. He conquered death so we know if we put our faith in Him we will conquer it as well.

Alfred Hitchcock once wrote a story about a cruel woman who murdered her husband and was sentenced to life in prison. She vowed one day to escape. In prison she met an old man-another prisoner-a trustee-whose job it was to build the caskets for prisoners who died while incarcerated. Deceased prisoners would be put in a casket and it would be taken outside the prison walls to a special graveyard and interred. It was also this trustee’s job to tend the graveyard. Whenever a prisoner died a special bell was rung-and this cruel woman devised a plot. She intentionally befriended this old trustee and promised to give him money if he would help her. The next time she heard the bell toll, she would sneak down to the workshop where the man built the casket and crawl inside with the body pulling the lid back in place. Shortly after the burial he promised to come out and dig the casket up and set her free. Well, late one night, the bell tolled and she sneaked into the workshop. It was dark but she found the casket, lifted the lid, slipped inside next to the body, pulled the cover over her and waited. Sure enough, soon she felt the casket being rolled outside the prison walls and lowered into the grave. She heard the clumps of dirt hitting the casket and covering her up. She waited and waited and as hours passed she began to worry. Finally in a moment of panic she took out some matches and as she lit one she glanced at the corpse next to her and saw that it was the old trustee himself. He was the one who had died. She was trapped because she had foolishly put her hopes for escape in a mere human.

I share this to remind you that every single religious leader in history is in his grave right now-except for one: JESUS CHRIST. They were all mere humans-but He was and is the Son of God. His tomb is empty because He alone has the power to overcome death and He promises: “I am THE resurrection and THE life. He who believes in Me will live-even though he dies.”

At the beginning of this message I told you about Houdini’s failed attempt to slip the shackles of death and communicate with his wife Bess. Well, shortly before his death Houdini made a pact with Bess that he would, if he could, return and make contact with her from the other side. They devised a coded message that only he and Bess knew in order to prove that it really was Houdini breaking through from the afterlife. But after 10 annual seances Bess had not received her beloved husband’s personal message. The message was based on word combinations that corresponded to a secret spelling code and this secret coded phrase would spell out one word: BELIEVE.

Well, Jesus did more than communicate from the grave. He ROSE from the grave and provided many evidences and proofs that He did-so YOU could believe. I invite you to do so this morning. Decide to BELIEVE in Jesus-and then take it one step further and ACT on your belief by asking Him to forgive you of your sin and committing to serve Him as Lord. If you make this decision, then I invite you to come forward as we stand and sing and tell me.

I’ll pray with you and rejoice with you! If you have other commitments to make-I urge you to make them public as well. Won’t you come forward now-as we stand and sing?