The Resurrection of Jesus – What does it Prove?
The Resurrection of Jesus What does it prove?
Have you ever been proved wrong? Maybe you really, really believed in something and then all of a sudden unequivocal evidence comes out that what you believed is completely and totally wrong. When we realize that we have been wrong and maybe even promoting a lie or an error we are embarrassed and feel like a fool. Think about if, you were one of those scientists or teachers of old who was convinced that the world was flat and if you sailed your boat out too far, you would fall off the end of the earth. Or that the earth is the center of the universe. I can’t help but think if I was one of those guys teaching that would feel pretty silly today.
Maybe you were taught or told something and you believed it true but later found out that it wasn’t ; it doesn’t make you feel very good does it. But the opposite is also just as true; when you hear about something, and believed something to be true, and then evidence is revealed that you were right in your beliefs even though others thought you were crazy for believing this, that. or the other thing. When your beliefs are confirmed, it makes you feel pretty good.
In the 1990’s a man by the name of Marshall Applewhite headed up a religious group which would come to be know as Heaven’s Gate? In their religion, they combined Christian doctrine (particularly the ideas of salvation and apocalypse) with the concept of evolutionary advancement and elements of science fiction, particularly travel to other worlds and dimensions. After claiming that a space craft was trailing the comet Hale-Bopp, Applewhite convinced 38 followers to commit mass suicide so that their souls could board the supposed craft. He believed that after their deaths, the UFO would take their souls to another “level of existence above human”, which Applewhite described as being both physical and spiritual. Thirty-eight Heaven’s Gate members, including the group leader Applewhite, were found dead in a rented mansion in the upscale San Diego-area community.
I am convinced that there are people who think we as Christians are just as misled as those who followed Mr. Applewhite. That the stories in the Bible are fiction, mere legends, and not much more than fairytales, especially when it comes to the story of Jesus and His resurrection.
And as I read about the story I cannot help but wonder about the critics that the early Christians had to deal with back then; men like Saul of Tarsus. In reality the Easter story, the story of the resurrection of Jesus is one of the most fascinating, and most important events of all time, especially for those who call themselves the disciples of Christ. But for the skeptic you have to admit it may sound like something pretty far out there.
Now if for some reason Saul did not know about Jesus prior to the Stoning of Stephen in Acts 7. I can just imagine his conversations with those early Christians that he was arresting.
“You believe that this Jesus was born of a virgin and that his father was not a man, but rather God Himself? RIGHT. And you are trying to tell me that this guy, who was arrested and then beaten and whipped by Roman soldiers, who was so weak that He could not carry His own wooden cross, this man who was nailed to that cross and was crucified and died there, …this man who the soldiers plunged a spear into to make sure he was dead bringing forth His blood mixed water, …this man who what buried and sealed in a tomb… you are saying He came back to life and is the prophesied Messiah? RIGHT! Lock this one up with the guy who said the world is round like a ball. Then Saul met Jesus on his way to Damascus, and boy did he feel like a fool
Jesus is a historical figure that came claiming to be the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior, the One whom the scriptures prophesied about.
– He told people that He was the way, the truth and the life and no one could make it to Heaven or to the Father unless they went through Him.
– He taught them about the Kingdom of God, and how He would be at His Heavenly Father right hand in glory, He told them about church and the new covenant and how one day how all people would be gathered before Him and He would separate the people of the earth just like a farmer separates sheep from the goats. And those who were the righteous would be ushered into heaven and those who were evil would be cast into hell. He told them so much more.
But then He killed before their very eyes. He is pronounced dead. His limp body is pulled down from the cross and put in a tomb, and that tomb was sealed and guarded. And then His disciples just gather together and Mourn. He was dead and I’m sure they were overcome with grief and emotions and clung together for strength. They probably could not believe what had just happened. He was so alive and they killed Him for no good reason.
But I’m sure the teachers, and the priests and Pharisees were all feeling a sense of satisfaction that they finally got rid of Him. I’m sure Satan and his demon even felt that they won a victory.
And His disciple…what were they going to do now that He was dead? Would they ever be able to show their face again in public without people laughing and making fun of them? Would they become the laughing stock of Judea? It had to be a difficult and confusing few days for them.
But then Mary comes from the tomb screaming that someone must have took his body. The tomb was empty. And you know the rest of the story. Praise God Jesus had risen! There is no evidence that they ever expecting Jesus to rise from the dead, but He did!
We also read that Jesus not only appeared to these men, but many, many others more than 500 over the following weeks. Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
What effect did these sightings have on those early disciples? After seeing His bloody and lifeless body, after losing all hope and wondering if they had been following a quack, I believe a new level of life and commitment overpower them at the sight their risen Lord.
I mean He was dead, REALLY DEAD, but then He rose and HE WAS ALIVE! At the sight of Him they could now be assured of some realities:
#1. I’m sure the very sight of Him alive proved without a shadow of doubt that He was who He said HE was; that He was the Son of God, the one that scripture said that the Holy Father would not abandon to the Grave. He really was the Savior, the Messiah, the one the scriptures talked about who would come into the world and save them. (Ps 16:9-10 & Isa 53:10-12)
#2. They must have also realized that their commitment to Him, the years that they spent following Him around and doing His will was not a big waste of time. He was who He said He was. If He stayed dead how could they believe any of His promises? He did what He said He was going to do even though they did not understand what He was talking about. Like when He talked about the temple being destroyed and then being raised again in three days – He was talking about Himself. And when He talked about being like Jonah who was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, He said that He would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
If those things were true everything else he said had to be true all well: Everything about the Kingdom of God, and reality of Heaven and hell, and if the promise that God so loved the world that He was willing to give His one and only Son so that whoever believed could inherit eternal life. (Jn 3:16)
3rd. They must have realized that all those hopes and dreams that they had because of Him were not in vain. After seeing Him alive it didn’t matter what anyone said. It didn’t matter how much anyone laughed at them. It didn’t even matter what others would do to them, because their hope was in God the Son. Even if someone threatened or even killed them they knew that their eternal being would be safe in His hands.
4th Maybe seeing Jesus there before their eyes alive helped some of them come to the realization that death is not the end, but rather a new beginning, a stepping stone into a life that’s far better and amazing even though we may not fully understand it now. Somehow Jesus was able to appear in a room before them even though the doors were locked, yet they could touch and feel Him. He was able to eat. He also was able to change His appearance, and ascend into the clouds. Maybe they realized that in our present form we are more limited than we realize, that a more glorious state is yet to come.
And Finally, #5. I’m sure their love and commitment, and hope in Him intensified like no other time in their life. Seeing Him alive probably encourage them, motivate them, and embolden them to start a work that has continued on to present day. To preach the Good New and carry on the message that our God Loves us and is offering us a most precious gift; a gift purchased with the life and blood of His one and only Son Jesus. And that gift consists of blotting out every sin, every misdeed we ever committed, and then His willingness to adopt us as one of His own children, with the promise of sharing His heavenly kingdom with us for all time.
How can we be sure that this promise is not just another spaceship in the tail of a comet? Because Jesus proved that it is all true, because He was 100 percent dead and He was raised to life, just like the prophets and Holy Scriptures said it would happen, and just as He Himself foretold.
Conclusion: I don’t know where your heart is today. Maybe you are here because you just feel like you should be. I’ll tell you why I am here; because of the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and it was witnessed by over 500 people. It is undeniable proof that scripture is true, that there is a Heavenly being that we can call Father God who was willing to step out of the dimension or reality we call heaven and do something to save our hide. He wants us to know that we are more than flesh and bones, there is part of us that is meant to live in His abode. And so I think He deserves all the honor and glory and thanks I can give Him until that day comes. And so I like to gather together and encourage others to do the same.
For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566
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