Date written: February 14th, 2002
Scripture ref: 1 Corinthians 15:3,4<\/p>\n
SUBJECT: Fundamentals Bible Class<\/p>\n
TITLE: The Resurrection of Christ<\/p>\n
PROPOSITION: In this lesson, I want to prove the historical fact of the resurrection of Christ.<\/p>\n
OBJECTIVES: The student should be able to understand the evidence and make the case for the resurrection of Christ.<\/p>\n
AIM: It is my aim to prove the resurrection of Christ and to help strengthen the faith of everyone.<\/p>\n
INTRODUCTION:<\/p>\n
1. Read: 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4<\/p>\n
2. About the Text:<\/p>\n
1) The book of 1 Corinthians was written around 57 A.D.<\/p>\n
2) This is some 27 years after the day of Pentecost.<\/p>\n
3) Paul writes here in 1 Corinthians that he delivered to the Corinthians some things that he received.<\/p>\n
4) Paul was in Corinth around 51 A.D. some six years earlier.<\/p>\n
5) What he received and delivered was the following facts:<\/p>\n
a. That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.<\/p>\n
b. That Christ was buried.<\/p>\n
c. That He rose again on the third day according to the scriptures.<\/p>\n
d. That He was seen of Cephas (Peter).<\/p>\n
e. That He was seen of the twelve.<\/p>\n
f. That He was seen of above 500 brethren all at one time.<\/p>\n
g. That He was seen of James<\/p>\n
h. That He was seen of all the apostles.<\/p>\n
i. That He was seen of Paul himself.<\/p>\n
6) Paul is arguing for the historical resurrection of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
3. The historical resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most essential truth to Christianity.<\/p>\n
1) We have shown that there must be a God.<\/p>\n
2) But, Who is this God?<\/p>\n
3) Jesus claimed to reveal God to us.<\/p>\n
4) The central proof of His claim is His bodily resurrection.<\/p>\n
5) If Jesus was resurrected from the dead, then His claim must be true.<\/p>\n
6) If Jesus was not resurrected from the dead, then we have nothing.<\/p>\n
4. How can we say that anything is historically true?<\/p>\n
1) Testimony of eyewitnesses increases reliability.<\/p>\n
2) The number of witnesses attesting to the information increases reliability.<\/p>\n
3) Verifiability of contemporaries increases reliability.<\/p>\n
4) The character of the witnesses increases reliability.<\/p>\n
5) Behavior of witnesses increases reliability.<\/p>\n
6) Testimony of skeptics increases reliability.<\/p>\n
7) Together all of these things can prove something to be historically true.<\/p>\n
8) Court of Law illustration.<\/p>\n
5. The argument for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
1) If we have multiple eyewitness testimony of the resurrection of Jesus and<\/p>\n
2) If we have the ability of contemporaries to verify the resurrection of Jesus and<\/p>\n
3) If the character of the witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus is credible and<\/p>\n
4) If the witnesses behave in such a way so as to be assured of the resurrection of Jesus and<\/p>\n
5) If the testimony of skeptics regarding the resurrection of Jesus is in agreement with the witnesses, then<\/p>\n
6) Jesus Christ must have risen from the dead.<\/p>\n
6. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.<\/p>\n
DISCUSSION:<\/p>\n
I. We have multiple eyewitness testimony of the resurrection of Jesus<\/p>\n
1. There is the account of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15<\/p>\n
1) The text is considered to be a quote from a source older than Paul’s letter.<\/p>\n
2) We note that Paul met with Peter and James (Galatians 1:18,19) ten years after the resurrection of Jesus (around 40 A.D.). Paul’s conversion was around 37 A.D.<\/p>\n
3) It is likely that at this meeting, Peter and James corroborated Paul’s own testimony regarding the resurrection of Jesus with this material.<\/p>\n
4) Paul delivered this material to Corinth at his first visit in 51 A.D. a mere 21 years after the fact.<\/p>\n
5) Critical scholars consider this material to be eyewitness testimony from the Apostles themselves.<\/p>\n
2. There is the account of Mark.<\/p>\n
1) Mark wrote around 64 A.D. (30 years after the resurrection)<\/p>\n
2) Mark was likely an eyewitness (Mark 14:51,52).<\/p>\n
3) Many critical scholars think that Mark was Peter’s translator.<\/p>\n
4) Based upon that assumption, there are TWO eyewitnesses writing this book.<\/p>\n
5) The testimony: Mark 16:1-14<\/p>\n
3. There is the account of Matthew<\/p>\n
1) Matthew wrote around 61 A.D. (30 years after the resurrection)<\/p>\n
2) Matthew was an apostle, an eyewitness.<\/p>\n
3) Matthew 28:1-17<\/p>\n
4. There is the account of John.<\/p>\n
1) John wrote around 90 A.D. (60 years after the resurrection)<\/p>\n
2) John was an eyewitness.<\/p>\n
3) John 20, 21<\/p>\n
II. Contemporaries were able to verify the resurrection of Jesus.<\/p>\n
1. We have testimony from contemporary historians (people who verified the evidence and wrote it down).<\/p>\n
1) Luke 24; Acts 1<\/p>\n
2) Josephus 18, 3, 3<\/p>\n
2. We have an empty tomb.<\/p>\n
1) Jesus enemies hated him enough to put him to death.<\/p>\n
2) His death was a matter of public record in a Roman court (Josephus 18, 3, 3).<\/p>\n
3) His burial place was a matter of public record–Pilate himself gave authority to have him buried.<\/p>\n
4) Soldiers were dispatched to guard his burial place (Matthew 27:62-66).<\/p>\n
5) A seal was placed upon the tomb.<\/p>\n
6) Yet it is empty. How is this accounted for?<\/p>\n
3. The apostles were available for anyone to speak with and were examined.<\/p>\n
1) They preached in the open air before those in the city of Jerusalem (Acts 2).<\/p>\n
2) They preached in the temple area before the Jews (Acts 3).<\/p>\n
3) They preached to the court of the Sanhedrim before their enemies (Acts 4).<\/p>\n
4) The opportunity for cross-examination of the eyewitnesses was available to all.<\/p>\n
5) Yet there is not one stitch of evidence to the contrary.<\/p>\n
6) Wouldn’t the Jews, who put Jesus to death, have brought forward the body if they could?<\/p>\n
7) These things were not done without knowledge of the local authorities. (Acts 26:26).<\/p>\n
III. The Character of the Witnesses is Credible<\/p>\n
1. They believed what they wrote.<\/p>\n
1) Consider John’s words. (John 21:24).<\/p>\n
2) Consider Matthew’s numerous quotations of prophecy being fulfilled. Nine times Matthew writes “that it might be fulfilled.” Matthew believed what he was writing.<\/p>\n
3) Luke believed these things were “certain.” (Luke 1:1-4)<\/p>\n
4) Mark states them as fact (Mark 1:1).<\/p>\n
2. There are no contradictions between the accounts.<\/p>\n
3. The men were not perfect, but were not common criminals. They held common trades.<\/p>\n
1) Matthew was a tax collector (Matthew 10:3).<\/p>\n
2) Peter and John were fishermen (Mark 1:16-20).<\/p>\n
3) Luke was a physician (Col. 4:14).<\/p>\n
4. They included records of their own faults–they did not hide the truth about personal sins.<\/p>\n
1) James and John’s desire to be greatest in the kingdom (Mark 10:35ff).<\/p>\n
2) Peter’s denial of Jesus (Mark 14:72ff).<\/p>\n
3) Matthew’s occupation (Matthew 10:3).<\/p>\n
4) Thomas’ skepticism (John 20:24-28).<\/p>\n
IV. The witnesses behaved in such a way so as to be sure of the resurrection.<\/p>\n
1. Before the resurrection they were timid and weak, defeated.<\/p>\n
1) Consider Peter’s denial (Matthew 26:69-75).<\/p>\n
2) Consider the abandonment of Jesus by the apostles (Matthew 26:56; Mark 14:50).<\/p>\n
3) Consider the actions of Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (Mark 16:1; John 20:1)<\/p>\n
4) Consider their unresolved questions regarding the kingdom (Acts 1:6).<\/p>\n
2. After the resurrection they were transformed, powerful, bold<\/p>\n
1) Consider Peter’s words in Acts 2.<\/p>\n
2) Consider the actions of Peter and John in the temple in Acts 3.<\/p>\n
3) Consider their defiance of the Sanhedrim in Acts 4:13.<\/p>\n
3. They were willing to endure torture and death for what they believed.<\/p>\n
1) The imprisonment and beating of the Apostles–Acts 5:17-42<\/p>\n
2) The stoning of Stephen–Acts 7.<\/p>\n
3) James the brother of John was killed with the sword by Herod (Acts 12:2).<\/p>\n
V. The testimony of known skeptics agreed with the original witnesses<\/p>\n
1. Many priests were obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7).<\/p>\n
1) These were men who had dedicated their lives to Judaism.<\/p>\n
2) They were sacrificing their livelihood to obey this message.<\/p>\n
3) They changed. Why?<\/p>\n
2. Saul of Tarsus<\/p>\n
1) He was not only a skeptic, but an enemy.<\/p>\n
2) He sought to destroy the church (Acts 8:1-3).<\/p>\n
3) He put to death Christians (Acts 22:4)<\/p>\n
4) He was “mad” against them (Acts 26:9-11).<\/p>\n
5) But he changed. Why?<\/p>\n
3. James the brother of Jesus<\/p>\n
1) Before the resurrection he was a skeptic (John 7:5)<\/p>\n
2) After the resurrection he becomes an elder in the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13; 21:18).<\/p>\n
3) He changed. Why?<\/p>\n
CONCLUSION:<\/p>\n
1. If we were in a court of law today and these five rules of evidence were used in a case of murder, no jury alive would hold the defendant innocent.<\/p>\n
1) There were multiple witnesses.<\/p>\n
2) Their testimony was verifiable.<\/p>\n
3) Their testimony was credible.<\/p>\n
4) Their behavior supports their testimony.<\/p>\n
5) Some of the strongest skeptics agreed with their testimony.<\/p>\n
2. Can there be any reasonable doubt in the historical resurrection of Jesus? No.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Date written: February 14th, 2002Scripture ref: 1 Corinthians 15:3,4 SUBJECT: Fundamentals Bible Class TITLE: The Resurrection of Christ PROPOSITION: In this lesson, I want to prove the historical fact of the resurrection of Christ. OBJECTIVES: The student should be able to understand the evidence and make the case for the resurrection of Christ. AIM: It … Continue reading “Fundamentals–The Resurrection of Christ–Lesson 3 – Bible Outlines”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43314\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}