Reality of the Resurrection

1 Cor. 15:12-20

Why do Easter Egg Hunts seem to be more exciting than news about Christ’s death and resurrection?Because many people have not grasped the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection!

“The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest feat in the annals of human history. It is the very “capstone in the arch of Christianity.” - H. Hanegraaff1 Corinthians 15:14

1 Cor. 15:14And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

• We need to come to a conclusion today that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is more than a fairy tale, more than a legend, and more than some religious symbol

• The resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact that is indisputable

“There is more evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived or that Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-three.” - Billy Graham

• Let’s look at some evidence that resurrection is real and compare it to some objections

The SWOON Theory• Some have concluded that Jesus

just passed out and revived later in His tomb“For the Resurrection to have any significance, Jesus had to be dead first.” Dr. N. Geisler

• He began his suffering at the Garden of Gethsemane where Luke 22:44 says, “his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”

• His suffering continued throughout his interrogations before Annas and Caiaphas, where He was hit in the face, spit upon and beaten

• It continued as He was taken to Pilate, where He was flogged, given a crown of thorns, spit upon & repeatedly struck on the head

• The flogging alone was so brutal that it is amazing he lasted until His crucifixion

• Then there was the crucifixion…. • “The Roman system of crucifixion

had been fine-tuned to produce maximum pain

• The word excruciating (literally “out of the cross”) had to be invented to fully codify its horror.” - H. Hanegraaf

• John 19:31-37• Mark 15:44-45

The STOLEN BODY Theory• Matt. 27:51-61 gives the account

of Jesus’ burial:• Joseph of Arimathea, a member

of the Sandhedrin, placed Jesus’ body in his tomb

• It also says that Mary Magdalene & the other Mary were sitting opposite the tomb

• The next day the Sanhedrin came up with a plan to specifically thwart any plan the disciples might have of stealing Jesus’ body and faking a resurrection by getting Pilate’s order to post guards and seal the tomb (vv.62-66)

• Some might say that the Romans or the Jews stole the body, but that makes no sense

• What motive would they have had? That would only encourage something they wanted squelched

• Instead, after Jesus had risen, and the guards had reported everything that had happened, the chief priests bribed them to circulate a false story that the disciples had stolen the body (Matthew 28:11-15)

• The tomb was discovered empty because it was empty

• Nobody got the tombs mixed up• Nobody stole the body• It was empty, period!

The SECRET RISING Theory• One of the greatest proofs of the

Resurrection of Jesus Christ was His many post-resurrection appearances

• While there were many appearances, for the sake of time, I want to look at just one of these appearances

“After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:6)

• There were surely many people that could testify to the trustworthiness of this statement

• Paul’s statement had plenty of eyewitness testimony to back it up or to disprove it if it had been false

The evidence of TRANSFORMATION• The reality is that a

transformation in Jesus’ followers took place

• This is an evidence of the reality of the resurrection

• This small band of disciples went from hiding to preaching in a very short time

• They were willing to go through horrible torture and death

• Lee Strobel writes, “Nobody willingly dies for something that they know is false.”

• “They knew Jesus had died, they knew there was an empty tomb, and they had seen Him…

• And the reality of the resurrection’s transforming power didn’t stop with the eyewitnesses…

• But within weeks of the resurrection, not just one, but an entire community of at least ten thousand Jews were willing to give up the very sociological and theological traditions that had given them their national identity.” (Case for Easter, p.88)

• Some angry Jews in Thessalonica said of Paul and his comrades that “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here.”(Acts 17:6 NIV)

• Some angry Jews in Thessalonica said of Paul and his comrades that “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.” (Acts 17:6 KJV)

• The original followers and the hearers of that 1st century were so radically transformed that they affected their culture in a big way

• And the transformation of people has been continuing for 2000 years

What does all this mean to me?• It proves Jesus is God• It provides for my salvation• It provides for my resurrection

What does all this mean to me?• It provides for the content of my

message (v. 14)• It provides the basis for my

submission to Him (vv. 25-18)• It gives me reason to endure

hardships (vv. 30-32a)

What does all this mean to me?• It provides motivation me to live

a godly life (vv. 32b-34)• It assures me of ultimate victory

when I see finally Him (vv. 51-57)• It challenges me to serve Him

faithfully (v. 58)