THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST
By John Henry
April 8, 2000
Part One
By John Henry
April 8, 2000
Part One
SCRIPTURE TEXT
John 11:25-26: "Jesus said ..., I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"
Romans 10:8-10: "... The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
John 19:41: "Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid."
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is foundational to the Christian Faith. It is, by far, the most important doctrine that we believe.
"And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." (1 Corinthians 15:14-19)
On the other hand, if Christ Jesus did raise from the dead as He said He would then it verifies that everything He said is true: Christ's resurrection proves His claim of Deity, it proves His claim to be the only one to be able to save souls from Hell, it proves His claim to be able to raise also those who trust in Him, it proves that everything the Bible says is true.
There are only two alternatives: Either the Lord's resurrection is not true and the disciples were fools or deceivers; or the resurrection is an historical fact which backs up all the claims of God in the Bible. Christians either believe a lie or we believe the truth.
According to the Bible one's eternal destiny depends on what he believes about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In order to make an intelligent decision one must look at the facts. So let's carefully look at the evidence and make a logical decision. I want you to see 1) just exactly what Christ's resurrection was, 2) the proofs for His resurrection, 3) the necessity of the resurrection, and 4) just exactly what the Lord's resurrection accomplished.
THE NATURE OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST
Before we examine the evidences for Christ's resurrection we first need to define what the resurrection was.
The resurrection was not merely spiritual, and neither was it a resuscitation as cultists and false teachers claim. Christ's resurrection was spiritual, but it was also a literal, bodily (physical) resurrection from the dead.
Evidence That It Was Not A Resuscitation:
The Lord really died on the cross. His death was verified by:
1. The Roman Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, who ordered the death of Christ:
Mark 15:43-45: "Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph."
2. A Roman soldier who pierced His side with a spear:
John 19:31-34: "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water."
3. The testimony of two eye witnesses, Matthew and John:
Matthew 27:50: "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost."
John 19:30, 34-35: "Jesus...said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. ... But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe."
4. The testimony of Luke, a physician (Col 4:14):
Luke 23:46: "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost."
Evidence That It Was Not Just A Spiritual Resurrection:
1. The Lord Jesus had flesh and bones:
Luke 24:39: "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."
2. The resurrected Christ could be touched:
John 20:27-28: "Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God."
3. The Lord ate after His resurrection:
Luke 24:42-43: "And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them."