Why We Believe 2.3
Why we Believe 2.3-The Resurrection
We are continuing this new class that started two weeks ago about why we believe. The way I started the discussion two weeks ago is by playing a video by a guy named J Warner Wallace a cold case detective who was a solid atheist, but after using his cold case techniques of investigation concluded that Christianity is true and became a believer some 15 years ago. He wrote a very popular book called Cold Case Christianity. Since then, he has been visiting churches all over the country speaking. And he would always ask the same question everywhere he went. Why do you believe? He always got the three same answers. 1. I was born into Christianity and always believed. 2. I had an experience with God and now believe, and 3. I used to be a jerk and God has changed me into a better person. Same three answers in that order everywhere he went when talking to Christian churches. His stepmother and step-siblings are Mormons, so he asked them the question. Same answers, he asked Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. Same answers. So his point is those answers aren’t terrible, they are legitimate answers. But these are completely different worldviews. They can’t all be correct. So, if we think our worldview is correct, then why do our answers sound like everyone else’s? His point is we have better answers to give.
We have talked about evidence and that’s really why we believe in anything. Our belief, our trust our faith is not just given blindly its valuable and there needs to be sufficient evidence to make the object of our faith worthy of it. So is there evidence for the man, Jesus of Nazareth to be resurrected from the dead 3 days after being crucified on a cross by The Romans? So, if there is evidence in our world that God has created should we search for it and discover it? Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. The greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart all of our soul and all of our mind. How do we love God with our mind do you think? I think this is one way to do that. Study the evidence he has provided for our faith in him. What's interesting is when you read the Gospels Jesus doesn’t ask people to believe him because he's a good guy or teacher, or to just take his word for it. What did he do? What gave him credibility as a prophet or God himself? Miracles. God understands that human faith requires a certain amount of evidence to be believed. Two weeks ago we also talked about how everyone whether they are a Christian or not only put faith or trust in everyday things based on evidence.
Do we use faith when we decide to get on an airplane for travel? Yes. Why then do we put our trust and our very lives at risk by getting on an airplane that’s going to go 6 miles up in the air and bring us back safely? Or in a car or in an elevator and go up 100 stories in a building? Why do we trust these machines with our lives or a pilot with our lives every day? The evidence.
The point is, that the same way we determine if something is worth trusting or believing in our everyday lives, it should be the same process and standards we use for our faith in God. But many people don’t do that. For some reason, when it comes to their faith in God and Jesus, The most important thing in their lives that will have eternal consequences, some don’t take the time to determine if there is sufficient evidence to put their faith. They may even have a blind faith in God. Now why would we do that? Why do you think some Christians or any faith for that matter, why do they believe in something that they’re not sure of the evidence other than maybe a personal experience? So, I mentioned this verse two weeks ago. 1 Peter 3:15 says,
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
Peter is saying for us to be prepared, because you may be asked why you believe. And I would argue we should want to know all of the evidence that supports our faith in God. Mark mentioned last week how Lee Stroble’s The Case for The Creator really affected him. His first book The Case for Christ had a similar effect on me. I had no idea how much evidence there was to support what I believed in. It was almost a relief. That really started me on my journey to discover everything I could find that supports our faith.
So now we come to today's topic. A little event called The Resurrection of Jesus. Of course, this is the central event of the Christian Faith. If this doesn’t happen, we are all wasting our time. In 1 Corinthians 15:17 Paul writes that if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins. So, this is kind of a big deal. We could sleep in on Sunday mornings if The resurrection didn’t happen. You might think how can there be much evidence for an event that occurred 2000 years ago, where a man, died and rose from the dead?
And that is a good question to ask. So, does God require us to have a blind faith that the resurrection actually happened? What do you think? Do you think there is evidence for the resurrection? Of course, there’s the topic of this class. And surprisingly there is a lot of evidence to support it. I’m only going to mention four events from history that virtually all scholars and historians, both liberal and conservative, believers and non-believers agree on. I want to talk about the evidence behind Why Christians Believe. So I decided I wanted to give you something each class to take to remind you of what we talked about so you could refer to it and maybe help you if you ever are asked or the subject comes up in conversation. There is an Acronym I use to remember the facts that support the resurrection of Jesus. It is FEAT. This is not something I came up with but a guy named Hank Hannegraraaf from his book Resurrection. He uses the word FEAT because it was the greatest feat in human history.
The first letter “F” stands for Fatal Torment. How many have seen Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ? That movie's depiction of the passion week follows very closely to scripture. What did you think of that movie? It's hard to watch some parts but I think it's very realistic. So It started Thursday night in The Garden of Gethsemane after an emotional Last Supper. In the garden, Jesus knew what was coming. In fact he even asks God to take this cup from me. Meaning if there is any other way let me not have to endure this, but then He says your will Father not mine. The bible says he suffered from a real medical condition known as Hematidrosis. In Luke 22:44 it says,
And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.
Under extreme stress, a person's sweat can become like blood to this day when the small capillaries in the sweat glands rupture and mix sweat with blood.
He then went before the Jewish High Priest who had been plotting to kill him for some time. There he was mocked, beaten and spat upon and held overnight. The next morning he was led into the Praetorium where he was stripped and received a Roman flogging where they use a whip with bones and lead tied to the ends of several strands of leather leaving his body as quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. After this, they threw a robe onto him and pushed a crown of thorns into his scalp and placed a scepter in his hand. After they mocked him as king of the Jewish people they took the scepter out of his hand and struck him on the head repeatedly.
Jesus was likely in critical condition at this point. He then had to carry a heavy wooden cross beam to a place called Golgotha where he would be crucified. Romans had been fine-tuning tortuous death for maximum pain and humiliation for many years. They knew how to do it. Let’s face it. They were professional killers. But they intentionally made it painful, humiliating, public, and slow. In fact the word excruciating literally means “out of the cross” taken from the word crucifixion. Then the soldiers drove thick iron spikes through Christ’s wrists and heel bones. Nearly all who are crucified die of asphyxiation because in order to breathe you have to push yourself up to take in a breath.
Then he says his final words “ It is finished” and gave up his spirit. Then to make sure, a Roman soldier drove his spear between his ribs into his heart. The Bible says both blood and water rushed down his body. Which makes sense because there is a sac around the heart that contains water. So I don’t think there is any doubt that Jesus died on the cross. Nearly all New Testament scholars agree that Jesus died by crucifixion. Josephus a Jewish historian writes about his death as does Roman historians who record that Jesus was crucified by Pontius Pilot. So, you have both biblical and non-biblical sources that document it. Remember people didn’t have coroners and funeral homes to take care of their dead. They did it themselves. I have seen a couple of dead bodies up close, but there is no question when someone is dead. They are cold to the touch. They are stiff. There are some other characteristics I won’t go into. Ordinary people knew when someone was dead.
The next letter is “E” for Empty Tomb. I want to read Mark 15:42-16:8, “It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid. When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”
No matter what the skeptics say, “it was a made-up story, it wasn’t true,” or whatever they try to say, they still can’t get around the fact that the tomb was empty. The Romans had posted a guard to keep his followers of Jesus from stealing the body and proclaiming he had been resurrected. They had prepared for that. What’s interesting about the discovery of the empty tomb, is that it was women who discovered the tomb being empty. You might say so what, but in first-century Jewish Society women were not highly regarded. In fact, a woman’s testimony could not even be given in court. A man could not be convicted of a crime on a woman’s testimony alone. So you still might say so what? Well if the disciples were making up this story do you think they would have a woman discover the empty tomb and that Jesus had been resurrected? No, of course not. I’m sure one of the Disciples would have wanted to be the one to discover it and receive the credit. The skeptics who don’t believe can’t get around the fact that the tomb was empty and his body was never found. That’s hard evidence.
The Jewish leaders and Romans would have liked nothing more than to produce a body after the tomb was found empty to disprove all of the speculation. But that was impossible because he was alive.
So “F” for Fatal Torment, “E” for Empty Tomb. The next letter is “A” which stands for Appearances. In the Book of Acts Luke writes that Jesus gave the disciples many convincing proofs that he was alive and appeared to them over the course of 40 days. Now Luke did not see these things but spoke to eyewitnesses. Peter at Pentecost said this in Acts 2:29-32: “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. So Many of the people saw Jesus. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:6,
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
It would be one thing to say that Jesus appeared to 500 people all of whom are now dead and could not testify to it. But there were still people alive who could be questioned on whether it was true or not Whatever claim anyone makes with witnesses still alive can be verified and the truth can be found out quickly. Not so much when the witness is dead. So, Paul was saying look, he has been seen by many people including myself. Go talk to these people and see for yourself. Think about Paul, a persecutor of Christians, whose life mission was to destroy the lives of the early Christians and the church, then suddenly he changed and became Christ’s biggest supporter and evangelist to the Gentiles.
Something happened, he had an encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. Only the appearance of Christ could account for a change like that. Why did Paul suffer and eventually die for Jesus as he did? Here in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28
Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
Why would he go through all of this for something he knew was a lie. No man would. He gave his life as a martyr for his savior. This is the same guy who stood by and watched the stoning of Stephen an early follower of Christ, then Paul would die a martyr's death himself for the same Jesus. Only the appearance of Christ would be an explanation of Paul’s life change. Not to mention the other disciples. Think about how these men acted after Jesus was taken by the authorities and then crucified. What did they do? They ran away. But then after they stated he appeared to them, what happened to them?
The final letter of the acronym FEAT is “T” for Transformation. What and/or who was transformed after the resurrection? A small group of uneducated men and followers turned an entire empire upside down.
Many of them suffered for their faith, were tortured and most gave up their life for their faith for what they clearly believed to be true. But it is inconceivable that they would be willing to die for what they knew to be a lie. Think about it. Are you going to risk your life for something you don’t believe in? Now something that is honorable, something that is right and true I’m sure all of us would agree to that. Something that we believe to be true. Like standing up for a family member who is being attacked, or fighting a just war. These men with one voice preached that Jesus had risen from the dead and that only through repentance from sin and faith in that same Jesus could men have hope for salvation. Think about how each man was changed. Peter who was once afraid to be exposed as a follower of Christ and even denied him 3 times became a courageous lion and suffered a martyr’s death. Think about James, he was the half-brother of Jesus. He grew up in the same house as Jesus. He was not a follower of Jesus until the resurrection. And you got to give him a little break, I mean he had to live with someone who never sinned! There had to be some friction there. Can’t you hear Mary, James, why can’t you be more like Jesus? You can understand how he would be slow to understand and worship Jesus as God. But he did. In James 1:1 he calls himself a bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Which is basically a slave. A servant of Jesus. But he did. And He eventually was stoned to death for his faith in Christ. That’s transformation. The rest of the disciples equally preached Jesus as God and that he died and was resurrected on the third day. This fact literally changed the world and does to this day. They sincerely believed they encountered Jesus who had died a few days before. The scholars obviously don’t agree that Jesus was raised but they do agree his followers believed that he did to the point of death.
So, when someone asks you if you believe in the resurrection. Think about FEAT, Fatal Torment, Empty Tomb, Appearances, and Transformation.
Now these facts don’t prove that the resurrection happened. Very few things in life can be proved 100%. I guess math has proofs but that’s about it. But these facts really aren’t in dispute with all sides of scholarship. So, if these are true as they appear to be, the question is what is the most reasonable explanation for them? That Jesus rose from the dead.
If you believe the resurrection of Jesus happened what does that mean to you and me? It means that Jesus is who he says he is. He is God. You know when you watch a TV show on Jesus or a book is written about him in our culture, how do they describe him? What do they say or write? You hear that he is a good guy, moral teacher, and philosopher, but you never hear them say that he claimed to be God. But he did. Many times in scripture. So, we all have to answer this question. Who is Jesus? There are only two answers. 1) He is God, he came to earth, lived a sinless life, willingly died for our sins, and was resurrected, if we realize we are a sinner, repent of our sins and receive his gift of salvation we can live with him, and for him now on earth, and forever in heaven. Or 2) He was just a man who thought he was God. Those are our choices. How people answer that question and what you do with that information has eternal consequences. So why doesn’t our culture consider the evidence about God and Jesus? What do you think? Why do they dismiss Faith? They don’t want it to be true. Why? Because of what it would mean to them. If they consider the facts and see that Jesus is God, then they would have to answer to someone. They would be responsible for how they live, how they treat others, for the work that God would have for them. That’s a lot to give up. They would have to give up their entire worldview. What does that mean? A worldview is just that. How you view the world. Chuck Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship talked a lot about worldview. A worldview answers the 3 big questions everyone has to deal with. Who am I? Where did I come from? And where am I going? And you can throw in there what is the purpose of life? A Christian worldview answers these questions, I would argue better than any other worldview.