Eleventh Hour Evidence

The Resurrection Of Jesus Christ: Fact Of Fiction?

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: David Asscherick

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Series Code: EHE

Program Code: EHE000004


00:17 Good evening, friends and welcome to Battle
00:19 Creek for yet another edition of Eleventh Hour
00:22 evidence. My name's Pastor Jason Seiber.
00:24 I'm so glad you can join us. This evening,
00:27 we're going to be raising one of the great
00:29 questions of all time and answering it.
00:32 What happens after this life? I for one hope
00:37 that we'll have a role that would be called up
00:39 yonder, really soon. And our friend Dan
00:42 Grentz is here with Lloyd Callum to ask us
00:44 that question. Will we be there when
00:46 the role is called up yonder."
00:55 O, we see the gleams of the golden morning
01:02 Piercing through this night of gloom!
01:09 O, we see the gleams of the golden morning
01:18 That will burst the tomb.
01:25 When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound,
01:28 and time shall be no more,
01:31 And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and
01:34 fair; When the saved of
01:37 earth shall gather over on the other shore,
01:42 And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
01:48 When the roll is called up yonder,
01:53 When the roll is called up yonder,
01:59 When the roll is called up yonder,
02:07 When the roll is called up yonder,
02:10 I'll be there. On that bright and
02:15 cloudless morning when the dead
02:17 in Christ shall rise,
02:19 And the glory of his resurrection share;
02:25 When his chosen ones shall gather
02:28 to their home beyond the skies,
02:30 And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
02:36 Let us labor for the Master from the
02:40 dawn till setting sun,
02:42 Let us talk of all his wondrous love and care;
02:47 Then when all of life is over,
02:50 and our work on earth is done,
02:53 And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
02:59 When the roll is called up yonder,
03:04 When the roll is called up yonder,
03:10 When the roll is called up yonder,
03:18 When the roll is called up yonder,
03:21 I'll be there.
03:27 O, we see the gleams of the golden morning
03:37 That will burst the tomb. Amen.
03:52 Thanks Dan, isn't that a wonderful promise,
03:55 the gleams of the golden morning. And a role
03:57 that is going to be called yonder just on the
03:59 other side. I'll forget the night that my family
04:02 received a call from my older sister,
04:05 her voice broken, a little bit of crying in
04:08 the background and she said, I've cancer.
04:12 I don't think, I'm going to make it.
04:14 Sure enough ten days later Kelly was no
04:16 longer with us, that was 1996. And,
04:19 I wondered whether I would see her again,
04:22 my father-in-law came and was visiting our
04:24 family, trying to bring some comfort and I
04:27 remember him saying Jason is there anything
04:29 I can do for you. And, I said absolutely,
04:33 you could bring Kelly back. He said,
04:35 you know I can't do that, but I know,
04:37 somebody who can. My friend I don't know,
04:39 where you're tonight in that experience of
04:41 life and death perhaps somebody in your
04:43 family has passed away. Maybe there
04:44 someone that you just long to see, will you see
04:47 them again? Will I see my, my sister Kelly
04:50 again? The question comes down to a simple
04:53 premises. Did Jesus rise from the grave?
04:57 If Jesus rose then we've hope, if he didn't,
05:01 there is none. Tonight to answer that question,
05:03 did Jesus rise from the grave,
05:06 pastor David Asscherick.
05:08 Amen. Thank you, Jason. Good evening everyone.
05:11 Good evening. How was your day
05:12 today? I said how was your day today?
05:16 Great. Good, I'm looking for
05:18 enthusiasm, amen. Amen.
05:21 So, good to be alive, it's, it's better than
05:23 the alternative, isn't it? Yes.
05:26 You know, that's what we're going to be
05:27 speaking about this evening. Our message is
05:28 entitled, 'The Resurrection of Jesus
05:31 Christ, Fact or Fiction'. 'The Resurrection of
05:34 Jesus Christ, Fact or Fiction.' And before we
05:37 get into our message proper, what are we
05:39 going to do first, everyone? Pray.
05:41 Going to pray, that's exactly right. So, why
05:43 don't we begin with a word of prayer and then
05:44 I'll sort of explain the, the goal of tonight's
05:47 message, it will be a little different, actually it
05:49 will be a lot different then the messages that
05:51 we've had up to this point and we're going to
05:53 do something interesting. We're going to take
05:55 a different approach. And I will be very
05:57 interested to explain that to you, but first
05:59 let's begin by coming to the Lord and asking
06:02 him to bless us as we study his word tonight.
06:09 Oh! Father in heaven, what a great privilege it
06:12 is to be here this evening to study your word.
06:16 And Father in heaven, we're gathered here and
06:18 we're praying for all of those, who are
06:20 gathered out there. The globe over, the world
06:23 over, looking at their television sets or maybe
06:25 a computer monitor and they are, they are
06:27 listening in, Father. Not for the word of a man,
06:31 but for the word of God. Lord tonight as we
06:34 study, we're praying and asking that your
06:36 spirit will speak directly to our hearts and to
06:40 our minds. Father, this is one of the greatest
06:44 subjects in all of the universe, the question of
06:47 death and the resurrection.
06:50 Father tonight as we seek to understand this
06:52 better and, and still more fully. We pray that
06:54 your spirit will be with us in a marked way.
06:58 Please, come now and be our teacher for
07:00 you've promised to do that. And we ask it in
07:03 Jesus name, everyone can say, amen. Amen.
07:08 Alright, our message tonight is entitled
07:10 'The Resurrection of Jesus Christ,
07:12 Fact or Fiction.' And, what we're going to do
07:15 tonight as I've said it's just a little different.
07:17 Did you bring your Bibles this evening?
07:19 Did you bring them? Yes.
07:20 Good, you're going to need them. What we're
07:22 going to do tonight is we're going to try as
07:24 much as is possible to disassociate ourselves
07:28 from our commitment to the Bible as the
07:31 inspired word of God. You say, what does that
07:34 mean, Pastor Asscherick? It only means this;
07:37 tonight we're going to approach the Bible not
07:39 as committed Christians, but as a historian.
07:42 An historian might approach the Bible.
07:44 We're going to take our convictions that the
07:46 Bible is the inspired word of God. We'll talk
07:48 more about that in a future night. We're going
07:49 to put those on a shelf for just a moment.
07:51 And we're going to try to access, how would a
07:54 historian, a secular historian come to this
07:57 word. How would a secular historian try to
08:01 collaborate or to prove or to evince the
08:04 authenticity of the resurrection of Jesus.
08:07 The reason we're going to do this, is friends
08:09 we're going to discover that the resurrection of
08:12 Jesus Christ is one of he best attested two facts
08:16 in the history of mankind. It is firmly
08:20 anchored in antiquity and for me just to say to
08:23 you well you know, Jesus raised from the dead
08:25 because the Bible says so, that doesn't really
08:28 solve the problem, that's like saying Jesus rose
08:31 from the dead because Jesus rose from the
08:33 dead, if we assume right up front that the
08:35 Bible is the inspired word of God then we've
08:37 not proved our case. For the skeptic,
08:40 this is not convincing, for the infidel,
08:42 this is not convincing, for the atheist,
08:44 this is un-convincing, for you and I it maybe,
08:48 but what I'm going to claim tonight is that
08:50 simply based on an honest, candid survey of
08:54 history, of what word did is say?
08:56 History. History and the
08:57 historical evidences we can prove beyond a
09:01 shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ friends did
09:04 die, but more importantly that he was raised
09:07 from the dead on resurrection morning.
09:09 Amen. Now, last evening
09:11 I gave a quotation to you, I just want to
09:12 recite it and review it very, very, quickly,
09:14 it was G.B. Hardy and he was writing in his
09:16 book Countdown and he said this, he said
09:18 there are only two essential requirements.
09:21 Two essential requirements, number one,
09:23 has anyone ever cheated death and number
09:26 two, is it available to me. Mr. Hardy said,
09:30 let us survey the record, Confucius Tomb
09:32 occupied, Buddha's Tomb occupied,
09:35 Muhammad's Tomb occupied, then he said,
09:39 Jesus Tomb what was is it everyone?
09:41 Empty and Mr. Hardy concluded with this
09:44 salient conclusion, he said argue as you may,
09:47 but for me and my purposes there is no
09:49 purpose in following a loser. Friends, this is
09:53 not speaking about a loser in the pejorative
09:55 sense. It is simply saying this, if Jesus
09:59 Christ did in fact rise bodily from the death.
10:02 If death is not the end and there is in fact an
10:05 after life, if that was available to him then it
10:08 can be available to you and I. Can you say, amen?
10:11 Amen. So, friends tonight
10:13 our message is entitled, 'The Resurrection of
10:14 Jesus Christ, Fact or Fiction.' Let's begin
10:18 with some very foundational points.
10:21 A very foundational understanding, first of
10:22 all Christianity stands or falls on the historical
10:27 reliability of the resurrection of Jesus
10:29 Christ of Nazareth. If you believe that,
10:30 say amen. Amen.
10:32 There is no Christianity apart from the
10:34 historical resurrection of Jesus Christ,
10:36 now notice this, without the resurrection there
10:38 is no Christianity, for the vindication of the
10:42 claims of Jesus Christ hinge on the
10:44 resurrection having actually happened.
10:47 Did Jesus make some incredible claims about
10:49 himself, his mission and his ministry,
10:51 yes or no? Yes.
10:52 Friends, those were some far reaching claims
10:54 as we discussed last night, but if those
10:56 claims cannot be vindicated by Jesus
10:59 rising physically and bodily from the death
11:01 then those claims of Jesus fall flat to the
11:04 ground. Now, let us continue, note here.
11:08 Jesus affirmed this, that is to say Jesus
11:11 affirmed that his resurrection was a
11:15 cornerstone to his claims to messianic and
11:19 divine identity. Go with me to Mark,
11:21 chapter 8. The Gospel of Mark, Mark chapter
11:24 8. Let's begin by noting from Jesus own words
11:28 just how important the resurrection would be,
11:30 Mark chapter 8. Mark, what chapter are we
11:34 going to everyone? Eight.
11:35 Mark chapter 8 and verse 31. Mark chapter 8
11:39 and verse 31. Jesus speaking and he says
11:41 these words. And he then began to teach them
11:44 that the Son of Man must suffer many things
11:47 and be rejected by the elders and the chief
11:49 priests and the scribes. And, be killed and
11:52 after three days, what would he do everyone?
11:55 Rise again. Rise again. Now,
11:57 did Jesus affirm that he would rise again?
12:01 Yes, he did. Now, notice also in John chapter
12:03 two in verse 19. Go from the Gospel of Mark to
12:06 the Gospel of John. John chapter 2 and verse
12:09 19. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Chapter 2
12:13 and I'm noting verse 19 again. Notice this,
12:15 verse 19. Jesus answered and said to them,
12:19 "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will,
12:24 what everyone? Raise it up.
12:25 Raise it up. And notice verse 20 the Jews said,
12:27 it has been 46 years to build this temple and
12:30 will you raise it up in three days and notice
12:32 this commentary by, by the Gospel writer
12:35 John in verse 21. But he was speaking of the
12:39 temple of his, what? Body.
12:41 Of his body and he adds this note here in verse
12:43 22. Therefore when he had risen from the,
12:45 his disciples remembered that he had said this
12:48 to them and they believed the scripture and the
12:50 word which Jesus had said. Now, notice here
12:54 on two occasions one in Mark and one in
12:55 John, Jesus actually communicates, he affirms
12:59 that he will be betrayed, that he will be
13:01 rejected, that he will die, but that he would
13:03 rise again. Amen. Now, that's a pretty amazing
13:07 claim, isn't it? Amen. Because friends how
13:09 many people die? All! All, everybody dies
13:13 with a few exceptions. We've people like
13:15 Elijah, he didn't die. Enoch walked with God
13:17 and he didn't die but the vast majority of
13:19 mankind die. Jesus here now makes the
13:22 remarkable claim, I will die, that's not so
13:26 remarkable is it, but then what does he say?
13:28 I will rise again. Now, friends if Jesus doesn't
13:32 rise again then we would have no compelling
13:34 reason to believe anything else he said,
13:36 amen. Amen.
13:38 Now, notice what also the Apostle Paul says,
13:40 Jesus affirmed this and Paul also affirmed it in
13:43 First Corinthians chapter 15. First Corinthians
13:47 chapter 15, just after the Gospels, Matthew,
13:51 Mark, Luke, John, then you have Acts,
13:53 Romans and then First Corinthians, chapter 15
13:56 Now, I'm going to begin in verse one.
13:57 First Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 1.
13:59 The Apostle writing and notice what he says,
14:02 moreover brethren, I declare to you the Gospel
14:04 which I preach to you, which also you
14:06 received, and in which you stand. Verse 2,
14:10 by which also you are saved, he saying you're
14:12 saved by the Gospel. If you hold that which,
14:15 that word which we preached to you, unless
14:17 you've believed in vain. Now, notice verse 3,
14:20 for I deliver to you first of all that which I also
14:22 received, that Christ died for our sins
14:25 according to the scriptures, can you
14:27 amen to that? Amen.
14:28 And that he was buried and that he rose again
14:32 the third day according to the scriptures and
14:34 that he was seen by Cephas and then by the
14:36 twelve. After that he was seen by over 500
14:39 brethren at once of whom the greater part
14:41 remain to the present, that is to say they
14:43 remain alive, but some have fallen asleep.
14:45 After that he was seen by James, then by all
14:47 the Apostles, then last of all, he was seen by
14:50 me also as one born out of due time.
14:53 Now, go back to verse 3 there and I want to,
14:54 I want to show you something, I want to
14:56 introduce you to something that is not
14:57 well-known here. Notice verse three,
14:59 the Apostle says right in the middle of that
15:01 verse that that Christ died for our sins
15:03 according to the scriptures. Then verse 4,
15:05 that he was buried, that he was rose again the
15:07 third day according to the scriptures.
15:09 Most scholars recognized that what Paul is
15:12 doing here. In First Corinthians verses 3 and
15:14 4. Is residing an ancient Creedal tradition.
15:19 Ancient is probably not the right word I'm
15:21 looking here, but a former Creedal tradition
15:23 that is to say, something that all of the
15:25 churches affirm, it was almost like the
15:28 equivalent of the Nicene Creed or the
15:30 Apostolic Creed. These kinds of things.
15:32 Notice, how nicely it reads and how nicely it
15:35 rolls off the tongue. It would have been
15:36 meant for memorization. Remember that you
15:39 and I today, we have the Bibles in printed
15:41 form, but in the days of Paul that would not have
15:43 been as easily to posses. And, so they would,
15:45 they would communicate many of the great
15:47 truths of scripture in oral form.
15:49 In what kind of form everyone? Oral
15:51 And, so they would have these,
15:52 these synopses, these affirmations of the
15:55 basics of faith. And, so let's read it again
15:58 with that in mind. Notice verse 3, for I declare
16:00 to you first of all that which I also receive that
16:03 Christ died for our sins according to the
16:04 scriptures and that he was buried and that he
16:07 rose again the third day according to the
16:08 scriptures. This was an early Christian
16:11 affirmation of the essence of the Gospel.
16:14 Paul is simply quoting it. Are you
16:17 understanding that, yes or no?
16:18 Yes. To put it in a very
16:19 simple language, this is not original with Paul.
16:22 He is quoting it from an earlier Christian
16:26 source. Now, we will comeback to the
16:28 importance of that in just a moment,
16:29 but before we do notice with me in the same
16:31 chapter, beginning in verse 12.
16:33 First Corinthians chapter 15, now notice verse
16:35 12. Notice how far the Apostle Paul takes the
16:39 importance of the resurrection. He says,
16:41 "Now if Christ is preached that he has been
16:43 raised from the dead, how do some among you
16:45 say there is no resurrection of the dead?
16:49 then Christ is not risen. And, if Christ is not
16:52 risen, then out preaching is empty and your
16:55 faith is also", what's the next word?
16:57 Empty. Empty, now if you're
16:58 reading in the King James version, it says
16:59 what, vain. Now, notice what the Apostle Paul
17:03 just said, he said if Christ isn't risen your
17:06 faith is vain. Now, let me ask you a very
17:10 simple question, is the resurrection of Jesus
17:13 essential to the basis truths of Christianity,
17:15 yes or no? Yes.
17:16 According to the Apostle Paul without the
17:18 resurrection faith is vain, we've gather
17:20 tonight for no reason, if Jesus didn't rise
17:23 bodily from the death, amen. Amen.
17:26 That's Paul's whole point. Now, notice he
17:28 goes on here, picking it up in verse 15.
17:31 Yes and we're found false witnesses of God
17:33 because we've testified of God that he raised
17:35 up Christ, whom he did not raise up if in fact
17:38 the death do not rise. For if the death do not
17:40 rise, then Christ is not risen and if Christ is
17:42 not risen, your faith is my, version says, futile.
17:47 Amen. Now, friends what
17:49 does the word futile mean. It means worthless,
17:53 non meaningful, groundless, even silly.
17:57 Notice that, if Christ is not risen your faith is
18:00 silly. Your faith is futile, groundless,
18:04 even ludicrous. You're still in your
18:07 sins, then also those who have fallen asleep in
18:10 Christ, that is a metaphor for having died.
18:13 In Christ have perish, if in this life only
18:16 we've hope in Christ, we're of all men,
18:18 the most pitiable. Do you understand from
18:22 both Jesus perspective and Paul's perspective
18:25 that apart from the actual historical,
18:28 physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus,
18:30 the Christianity dissolves and dissipates into
18:33 nothing else, does that make sense,
18:34 yes or no? Amen. Yes.
18:37 What we're going to try and do this evening
18:38 then is to establish the actual historical
18:42 validity of the resurrection. And we're
18:44 going to do that by noting three firmly
18:47 established historical facts. What kind of facts
18:51 did I say everyone? Historical facts,
18:53 notice I didn't say scriptural facts.
18:55 See that's too easy, for a Christian to say,
18:57 well of course Jesus rose from the death
18:58 because the Bible says so. Friends, we're
19:01 actually asserting what we're trying to prove.
19:05 How do we speak to a skeptic, how do we
19:07 speak to somebody who is not predisposed to
19:09 believe what you and I believe tonight.
19:11 We can't say, well the Bible says, that might
19:13 not be convincing, in fact it won't be
19:15 convincing to the hardened infidel.
19:18 What we want to do tonight is look at three
19:20 historical facts that firmly anchor the
19:23 resurrection of Jesus Christ in history.
19:26 What are those three facts, number one the
19:28 fact of the empty tomb, the historical fact of
19:31 the empty tomb. Number two,
19:33 the historical fact of post-resurrection
19:36 appearances of Jesus of Nazareth, we're going
19:39 to go into each of these in more detail.
19:40 And, number three, the historical fact of
19:41 the origin and rise of the Christian religion.
19:45 Do you understand where we're headed,
19:46 yes or no? Yes.
19:47 The fact of the empty tomb, the fact of the
19:49 post-resurrection appearances and the fact
19:51 of the origin and rise of the Christian religion.
19:53 Let's begin by going to the empty tomb.
19:56 First of all note that the burial of Jesus
19:58 supports the empty tomb. The burial of Jesus
20:01 supports the empty tomb. Why would that be?
20:04 Friends the tomb location was known by both
20:07 Jews and gentiles, is that true, yes or no?
20:10 Yes. Absolutely,
20:12 we'll comeback to that in a moment.
20:13 The disciples could not have preached the
20:15 resurrection without the empty tomb,
20:18 is that true? To have gone into Jerusalem and
20:20 began to preach Jesus has risen from the dead;
20:23 Jesus has risen from the dead without the
20:25 tomb being empty would have been a
20:26 non-meaningful statement. All that the
20:28 religious rulers of that day would have to do
20:30 would go to exhume the body, to remove the
20:33 body from the tomb, hold up the body,
20:35 the cadaver of Jesus and say if he's risen
20:37 from the dead, then why do we have his dead
20:39 corpse here. Do you understand that the, the,
20:43 the ability of the disciples to preach the
20:45 resurrection, necessitates that the
20:47 tomb was empty? Are you understanding that,
20:49 yes or no? Yes.
20:50 Notice also our, our final point here.
20:52 Scholars agree that the burial is one of the best
20:55 attested two facts of Jesus life. That is to say
20:59 when historical scholars, what kind of scholars?
21:02 Historical. I didn't say necessarily
21:04 Bible scholars or theological scholars,
21:06 but historical scholars. When they go and
21:09 evaluate the evidence for the life of Jesus
21:12 that is to say the historical evidence.
21:14 Sometimes the internal Biblical evidence and
21:16 sometimes the extra Biblical evidence.
21:18 They're try to say, how much do we about the
21:20 historical Jesus, what do we really know about
21:23 the historical Jesus and many times they want
21:25 to ask questions like this. How much do we
21:27 know about historical Jesus that's not found
21:30 in the Bible? Because they would say,
21:32 if they're predisposed to disbelief. Well, of
21:34 course the Bible has searched these about the
21:36 Jesus because the Bible claims that he was the
21:38 son of God. So, they go looking for extra
21:40 Biblical evidence, what kind of evidence?
21:43 Extra Biblical. That means not,
21:45 not evidence that's found in the Bible but
21:47 evidence outside of the Bible. And, even these
21:50 scholars' secular historians, secular
21:52 scholars affirm that one of the best attested
21:55 two facts of Jesus life is the fact that he
21:57 actually died and he actually was buried in a
22:00 tomb. You with me so far. So, that's point
22:03 number one. The burial supports the empty
22:05 tomb. Now, notice this, point number two.
22:08 Paul confirms the empty tomb, we just read
22:11 that in the First Corinthians chapter 5,
22:12 verse 1 to 8. Remember I told you that were
22:14 the Gospel formula, it was not original with
22:18 Paul. He is quoting from an earlier source that
22:21 can be dated to within five years of the
22:25 crucifixion event. Okay, what year was Jesus
22:28 crucified in, do you know? A.D. 31, when Paul
22:32 here was quoting what we read in First
22:33 Corinthians chapter 15, he did not write those
22:36 words original with himself. Most scholars
22:38 agree he was quoting and existing Creedal
22:41 statements by Christians that can be dated to
22:44 within five years of the crucifixion.
22:47 In other words, right up until about 36 A.D.
22:50 Now, any historian will tell you that one of
22:53 the, the chiefest criteria by which you
22:56 determine if something is historically valid or
22:58 invalid is how close can you get
23:00 documentation to the actual events that are
23:03 being documented. Do you understand that,
23:05 yes or no? Amen.
23:06 Now, if you've documentation that the
23:09 was empty within 6 years, five years of
23:13 Jesus actual burial, the actual crucifixion
23:16 event for a historian. This is remarkably quick
23:19 information. Are you understanding that?
23:22 Yeah. Okay, great.
23:23 Now, notice also Paul could confirms the
23:25 empty tomb, the resurrection then,
23:28 this is the importance was not a later
23:31 legendary development, but something that
23:33 was rooted in early Christianity. One of the
23:37 main charges that is raised against the
23:40 resurrection of Jesus. Is that it was a later
23:43 invention by the church and maybe the third,
23:46 fourth, fifth, or even sixth century. That is to
23:49 say, maybe the disciples stole the body.
23:52 And, we'll talk more about that in just a
23:53 moment or maybe they've the wrong tomb and
23:55 in order to save face, so they didn't look like a
23:58 bunch of fools preaching the resurrection later
24:01 in the Christian tradition, later in the
24:03 history of the church, they invented the
24:06 resurrection. It was a later legendary
24:08 development. But friends, that cannot be
24:11 if we've the fact of the empty tomb utterly
24:14 attested to within five years of the crucifixion
24:18 event. There is no time for a later legendary
24:21 development to have transpired within five
24:23 years. By the way, think about this.
24:26 Many of the very people who had seen Jesus,
24:28 who had walked with him, and talked with
24:30 him and seen him, go about the hills of Galilee
24:32 and ancient Judea. They would have been able
24:34 to call the bluff of the disciples, they would
24:36 have said, no he didn't rise from the dead,
24:38 here is his tomb. Are you understanding,
24:40 yes or no? Very powerful and notice also
24:44 number three. The empty tomb story is from
24:47 pre-Markan source material. Now, let me
24:50 kind of unpack that for you. Most scholars
24:52 agree the Gospel of Mark was based on an
24:56 earlier document. On a what kind of
24:58 document. An earlier document.
24:59 An earlier document, that sort of means a
25:01 pre-Markan document. This source can be
25:04 dated again to within five years of the
25:07 crucifixion. Therefore the resurrection is not a
25:10 later development. Now, the importance of
25:12 this simply cannot be overstated, what we've
25:15 here is, is historical attestation, historical
25:19 verification of the empty tomb within five
25:22 years of the actual crucifixion of it.
25:24 We're not talking hundreds of years of
25:25 later or a thousand years later, we've got
25:28 this attestation right up next to the actual event
25:31 that is being described. Are you with me now,
25:33 yes or no? Yes.
25:34 We'll continue go impact the importance of
25:36 this. Notice also, number four, Mark's
25:39 account, if you read the account of Mark,
25:42 in fact we'll do that in just a moment.
25:43 His resurrection account is simple and lacks
25:46 legendary development. Lets go read Mark's
25:48 account in Mark chapter 15 in verse 42.
25:52 Mark chapter 15 and what verse are
25:55 we going to everyone? 42.
25:57 Verse 42. Now, again let's read this, let's try
26:01 and read this in the same way that a secular
26:03 historian might read this story. Mark chapter
26:05 15 and verse 42. Let, let's see how it's
26:08 sounds, how does it roll off the tongue,
26:10 is it replete with legendary embellishments.
26:14 Let's see, beginning in verse 42. Now, when
26:17 evening had come because it was the
26:19 Preparation Day, that is the day before the
26:21 Sabbath. Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent
26:24 Council member, who was himself waiting for
26:25 the kingdom of God, coming and taking
26:27 courage went into Pilate and asked for the
26:29 body of Jesus. What was the name of the man
26:31 that went and asked the body?
26:32 Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph of Arimathea,
26:34 verse 44, Pilate marveled that he was already
26:36 dead. And summoning the centurion, he asked
26:38 him if he had been dead for sometime.
26:40 Verse 45, so when he found out from the
26:42 centurion, he granted the body of Joseph,
26:44 then he bought fine linen, took him down and
26:47 wrapped him in the linen and laid him in a
26:49 tomb which had been hewn out of rock.
26:50 And rolled a stone against the door of the
26:52 tomb and Mary Magdalene and Mary the
26:54 mother of Jesus observed where he was laid.
26:58 That's a very simple account of the burial
27:00 isn't it? There is not a lot of legendary kinds of
27:04 details there. Mark's account of the
27:07 resurrection is almost austere. It, it, it lacks
27:10 any kind of embellishment and bells and whistles.
27:15 Now, consider what we just read and let me
27:17 contrast that for you with a later forged
27:22 account of the resurrection of Jesus.
27:24 This was taken from the so called Gospel of
27:27 Peter, a forgery from 125 A.D, listen carefully,
27:31 the Markan account is straight forward and
27:34 shows no sign of legendary embellishment,
27:37 to appreciate this fact all you've to do as
27:39 compare Mark's account of the empty tomb
27:41 with the account found in the so called Gospel
27:44 of Peter, a forgery dated from around 125 AD.
27:48 In this account the tomb is not only
27:50 surrounded by Roman guards, but also all the
27:53 Jewish Pharisees and elders as well as the
27:55 great multitude from the surrounding country
27:57 side have come to watch the resurrection.
28:01 Suddenly in the night there rings out a loud
28:03 voice in heaven and two men descend from
28:06 heaven to the tomb. The stone over the door
28:08 rolls back by itself and they go into the tomb
28:11 then three men come out of the tomb, two of
28:13 them holding up the third man. The heads of
28:16 two of them reach up into the clouds,
28:18 but the head of the third man reaches beyond
28:20 the clouds, then a cross comes out of the tomb
28:23 and a voice from heaven asks the cross,
28:26 have you preach to them that sleep and the
28:28 cross answers, yes. Does that sound like a
28:32 legend to you? Yes.
28:34 Sound like maybe somebody threw in a few
28:35 theological details that suited their fancy to
28:37 you. It sure does, it, it, it reeks of legendary
28:41 development. Listen to this one, in another
28:43 forgery called the ascension of Isaiah.
28:45 Jesus comes out of the tomb sitting on the
28:47 shoulders of Michael and Gabriel.
28:51 Are you understanding, yes or no?
28:52 Yes. Friends, listen what
28:54 happens when you have significant amounts
28:56 of time between the actual events described
28:59 and when the events are recorded, you've
29:02 centuries or decades sometimes even Millennia
29:06 for legends to develop. Yet when Mark gives
29:10 us his account, when Mark tells us how the
29:13 burial took place, you don't have these kinds
29:15 of legendary embellishments. He simply
29:17 says, a man by the name of Joseph of
29:18 Arimathea, he want to Pilate, and say can I
29:20 have the body, they put him in there,
29:21 Mary was there, Mary the mother of Jesus,
29:23 end of story. When he's raised, he comes out,
29:26 it's, it's you know, it's not sitting on the,
29:28 the shoulders of Gabriel and Michael and no
29:31 cross comes walking out of the tomb and no
29:33 great voices from heaven friends, it's just
29:35 a simple accurate historical account.
29:39 Friends, this is one of the ways that historians
29:41 try to determine historical authenticity.
29:43 If there looks to be a lot of legendary
29:46 additions, a lot of legendary embellishment,
29:48 they say well, well, well we need to find the
29:50 truth, we need to, we need to peel back these
29:53 layers of embellishment to find out what the
29:54 real colonel of truth is, but when we go to
29:57 Mark's account it's plain, it's stark,
29:59 it's simple in it's recorded details.
30:02 Do you understand yes or no? Amen.
30:04 Very powerful. Now, notice this number five.
30:07 It is doubtful to Joseph of Arimathea,
30:10 a member of the Sanhedrin and the man who
30:12 supplied the tomb, would be invented by
30:14 early Christian tradition. Why is that?
30:17 The Sanhedrin and its 70 members were
30:19 well-known. The Sanhedrin was the very
30:21 Council responsible for unjustly sentencing
30:23 Jesus. His invention then is highly unlikely
30:27 and this further supports the empty tomb
30:28 story. In other words why would the disciples
30:31 invent somebody named Joseph of Arimathea,
30:34 if, if the, the members of the Sanhedrin
30:37 Council were very well-known in their day.
30:40 It would be like inventing a cabinet
30:42 member for Joseph or George Bush.
30:44 It would be like saying George Bush's cabinet
30:46 member, John Johnson. Anybody that lived
30:49 during that time, we could say Umm! Umm!
30:51 Umm! George Bush doesn't have a cabinet
30:53 member named John Johnson. For the
30:55 disciples to have just invented to just who pull
30:59 out of thin air, this Joseph of Arimathea is
31:01 highly unlikely. In fact the, the, this would
31:04 have been even a point of embarrassment for
31:06 the disciples because it was the Sanhedrin that
31:08 actually condemned Jesus and why would
31:10 they make up somebody who is part of the
31:11 actual condemnation party to go and give the
31:14 tomb. Are you understanding now?
31:16 Amen. Very powerful.
31:18 So, a historian looks at that, he says well,
31:19 well why would Joseph of Arimathea have
31:21 been invented, if it's unlikely that he was
31:24 invented then it becomes increasingly likeful,
31:26 likely that he actually was a person,
31:28 an individual that donated the tomb.
31:31 Notice also now, number six, the tomb was
31:33 discovered empty by, what is that word there?
31:36 Women. By women, ladies,
31:37 you're going to have to forgive me for this.
31:41 Women could not serve as legal witnesses in
31:44 first century, in the first century Jewish
31:46 economy. Do you understand the
31:48 significance of that? In fact I actually have,
31:50 have references that I can show you that if a
31:53 man had murdered somebody in plain day
31:55 light, and it was witness by say six women.
31:59 This is in first century Judaism; the man could
32:02 not be taken to court because the testimony of
32:04 women was so totally unreliable.
32:06 Amen. I try to tell my wife
32:07 about this, but she doesn't quite buy into it.
32:09 Amen. She says, you know,
32:11 sweetie I saw you do that and so. She says,
32:12 no, no, your testimony is unreliable
32:14 sweetheart. Now, the point here is just this.
32:17 Number two; women occupied a low rung on
32:20 the social ladder. You say well I don't
32:21 understand, what's the big deal? Why does it
32:23 matter that women couldn't service legal
32:24 witnesses in first century Palestine?
32:27 And, why does it matter that in those times,
32:28 they occupied a low rung on the social
32:30 ladder. By the way, just a word here,
32:32 if you go to read the Gospel accounts,
32:33 you find Jesus dignifying and ennobling
32:36 women and restoring them to their rightful
32:39 place. Not as sub-ordinance,
32:40 not as inferior, but its actual participants
32:44 in his ministry, amen. Amen.
32:46 In fact many scholars have remark that,
32:48 that is one of the, the hallmarks of Jesus
32:50 ministry. The egalitarian spirit with which he
32:53 treated both men and women. He treated them
32:55 equally. Can you say amen to that? Amen.
32:58 Now, notice this. A later legendary
33:01 development of the empty tomb accounts
33:04 surely would have had men, probably the
33:07 disciples, discover the tomb. Do you
33:10 understand the significance of that,
33:11 yes or no? Maybe this is the best way to put it.
33:14 If the disciples made the story up, if the
33:17 whole thing was, was a later legendary
33:19 development and embellishment then surely
33:22 they would have had a man discover the tomb.
33:24 After all, it was almost the point of
33:26 embarrassment for the early church that the
33:29 women were the ones, who discover the tomb.
33:31 They would have nicely, neatly erased that out
33:34 of history and they would have said it was
33:36 Peter who discovered the tomb. Some man
33:38 probably the disciples. The fact that it comes
33:41 down to you and I 2000 years later and its
33:43 stands firm that it was the women who
33:45 discover the tomb. This is a point of
33:47 potential embarrassment for the early church and
33:50 the secular historian looks at that and says,
33:51 well Umm! If they made the whole thing up,
33:53 they wouldn't have made it that way.
33:57 Do you understand the point, yes or no?
33:58 Amen. Very powerful.
33:59 Remember brothers and sisters, we're not
34:01 just going through the word of God and I'm
34:02 saying, well Jesus was raised from the death
34:04 because the Bible says so. What we're trying
34:06 to look at tonight is, is there other evidence,
34:09 how would a secular non-committed historian
34:13 evaluate the evidence for the historicity of
34:15 Jesus resurrection and we're beginning to find
34:17 that it's very potent and powerful, amen.
34:20 Amen. Now, notice also
34:22 number seven. We're gonna look at eight
34:23 points here and this is number seven.
34:25 The disciples could not have preached the
34:27 resurrection had the tomb not been empty.
34:30 Notice this, that the Christian belief about
34:32 the resurrection of Jesus began, not in some
34:35 distant city far off in Asia minor, but in
34:39 Jerusalem, the very city where he had been
34:41 crucified and buried as significant.
34:44 This is where the empty tomb would have
34:45 been easiest to disprove were the story untrue.
34:49 Do you understand the significance of this,
34:50 yes or no. Amen.
34:52 Friends, think about that for just a moment.
34:53 It's not that the story of the resurrection began
34:56 at all. One of the chiefest significance
34:58 of this, is that it began right in Jerusalem,
35:01 the very place where it would have been
35:02 easiest to disprove that he hadn't in fact raised
35:05 from the dead. Again, all the religious leaders
35:07 had to do, to scorch the enthusiasm of the
35:10 early church would be go and exhume the body.
35:11 Amen. Just pull the body out
35:13 of the tomb, parade it before everybody in
35:14 Jerusalem. And Peter's Pentecost sermon
35:16 would have looked like a whole bunch of
35:17 foolishness and silliness because there is the
35:19 body. Are you understanding, yes or no?
35:22 It would have been so much easier to say,
35:24 he, he is back, he raised in Corinth.
35:28 He is back, he raise in Galicia. No, no, no
35:31 friends it happen right in the very heart of the
35:34 place where Jesus ministry centered,
35:36 right in Jerusalem. And, point number eight
35:38 is the most potent of all. The earliest Jewish
35:42 propaganda, follow this very carefully.
35:45 The earliest Jewish propaganda against the
35:48 disciples pre-supposes the empty tomb.
35:52 Go with me to Matthew chapter 28 in verse
35:54 11. Matthew chapter 28, and what verse are
35:57 we going to everyone? 11.
35:59 Matthew 28 in verse 11. And notice this,
36:04 Gospel of Matthew written shortly before or
36:06 shortly after 70 A.D. And notice what it says
36:09 here. In Matthew chapter 28 beginning in
36:11 verse 11 it says, now while they were going
36:14 behold some of the guards came into the city
36:16 and reported to the chief priests all the
36:18 things that had happened. What was it that had
36:19 happened? The resurrection of Jesus had
36:21 happened. Verse 2, when they had assembled
36:23 with the elders and consulted together,
36:25 they gave a large sum of money to the
36:27 soldiers. Verse 13, saying telling them,
36:30 his disciples came at night and stole him away
36:33 while we slept. What do they want them to
36:35 say, who took the body? Disciples.
36:38 The disciples took the body and now notice
36:39 verse 14, And if this comes to the governor's
36:42 ears, we will appease him and make you
36:44 secure. Verse 15, so they took the money and
36:47 did as they were instructed. And the last
36:49 part of verse 15 is the most important part,
36:52 please hold in on that, it says, and this is
36:54 saying is commonly reported among the Jews
36:56 until this day. Now, now when was Jesus
36:59 crucified tell me again. 31 A.D..
37:01 31 A.D and let's just pretend that Matthew
37:04 wrote his Gospel just before 70 A.D.
37:06 Let say, he wrote in 68 A.D, that's 37 years
37:10 later and when Matthew sits down to write his
37:12 Gospel. He says, the same thing that they're
37:14 still saying about why the tomb is empty,
37:16 is that the disciples stole the body.
37:20 Now, think about that, think about that for just
37:22 a second. The earliest Jewish propaganda
37:25 against the resurrection was not that the
37:28 disciples were drunk with new wine.
37:30 It wasn't that the disciples were,
37:32 were crazy or that they lost their minds.
37:34 The, the earliest propaganda and polemic
37:37 against the disciples preaching at the
37:38 resurrection was that they had stolen the body.
37:42 Amen. The very fact that
37:44 they said, the body had been stolen
37:45 pre-supposes that the tomb was empty.
37:51 Do you understand the significance of that,
37:52 yes or no? Amen, yes.
37:53 Friends think about that. Now, one of the,
37:57 I mean this is not the disciples saying the tomb
37:59 is empty that's easy. If the disciples had made
38:01 the whole thing up you would expect them to
38:03 say that the tomb was empty, but here the
38:05 enemies of Jesus. They obviously had gone to
38:07 the tomb and said, it's empty we've to come up
38:10 with a way to explain the empty tomb.
38:15 Friends, even up to 40 years after the event.
38:18 Even up to 40 years and actually beyond that
38:20 because this is still commonly reported among
38:21 the Jewish authorities today, it must have been
38:23 the disciples that stole the body, but this
38:25 pre-supposes that the tomb was empty.
38:29 Amen. So, number one,
38:31 the historical fact of the empty tomb.
38:35 The historical fact of the empty tomb.
38:36 These eight lines of evidence establish
38:38 solidly the historical fact of the empty tomb,
38:41 amen. Amen. And, that's only one
38:43 out of three. But as a secular historian we've
38:46 to ask ourselves a question. Is the tomb
38:48 empty? Now, if that tomb is empty, we've got
38:51 to explain it. And, there have been four
38:54 explanations that have been advanced as to
38:56 why that tomb was empty. The conspiracy
38:58 theory, that is to say the disciples stole the
39:01 body. Well, the conspiracy theory is,
39:04 is unacceptable because it's morally
39:05 implausible. First of all, it does not take into
39:08 account that the disciples were many
39:10 things but they were not deceivers and
39:12 charlatans, amen. Amen.
39:15 Number two, it's not psychologically plausible
39:17 either, think about the condition of the
39:19 disciples after Jesus had been crucified,
39:22 were they keen minded, were they ready to go
39:24 and invent some large scheme and hide bodies
39:27 and cover their tracks. What kind of condition
39:29 where they in after the crucifixion?
39:30 They were broken men, weren't they?
39:33 Read Luke chapter 24, they're so broken,
39:35 they don't even recognize Jesus.
39:37 So, it's not psychologically plausible
39:38 that in the midst of their sadness and
39:40 depression they invent this concocted scheme.
39:43 First of all and last of all, it cannot account
39:45 for the sincerity of the disciples, if the
39:48 disciples knew that they had taken and hidden
39:50 the body, think about this, ten of the 12
39:52 disciples died a martyrs' death. What kind of a
39:55 death? Martyrs death.
39:56 Oh! Imagine that, here you're one of the
39:58 disciples. You know that you hid the body.
40:00 You know, the whole thing is a farce,
40:02 you hid the body and here you are somewhere
40:05 in Asia minor, maybe in Jerusalem or Rome
40:07 and your head is on the block, you know the
40:09 whole the thing is a farce. And your head is
40:10 on the block and there goes the executioner
40:12 and all you've to say is, we made it up,
40:16 whole thing's a joke. And you would have
40:17 been instantaneously released. Friends, you
40:19 couldn't even get one person to die for what he
40:21 or she knew was a lie. Much less ten of them,
40:25 amen. Amen.
40:26 Powerful brothers and sisters. Now, what
40:28 about this idea of the apparent death theory.
40:30 This is unacceptable because first of all it's
40:32 not physically plausible. Just go read the Gospel
40:34 accounts, look at the, the, the whipping that
40:37 Jesus endured. He hadn't eaten; he had been
40:39 up all night. The crucifixion, it is
40:41 implausible that Jesus went into the tomb and
40:44 suddenly revived. This is one of the,
40:46 the explanations. He only appeared to have
40:48 died. In fact, this is what some of our friends
40:50 in the Muslim world say, oh! He only
40:52 appeared to have died. It's not physically
40:54 plausible. In fact, the journal of the American
40:55 Medical Association published an article
40:58 about 12 years ago, in which they, they went
41:00 through and they point-by-point they
41:01 delineated the sufferings and the, and the,
41:04 the violence that Jesus would have undergone
41:06 and they said there is no question that he
41:08 would have died even in the very early
41:11 moments of the crucifixion and that's
41:12 why he was taken down and he didn't have his
41:14 legs broken. He was already dead, amen.
41:17 Amen. So, it's not plausible.
41:19 Also it's not religiously ]plausible, think about
41:21 this. If Jesus really had after all of those
41:25 whippings, after the crucifixion, after the
41:27 spear piercing his side. If he had gone into the
41:30 tomb and some of these liberal scholars say,
41:32 oh! The coolness of the tomb would have
41:34 resuscitated his body. Now, think about this.
41:36 This is the picture you have in your mind.
41:37 Not of a glorified, beautiful, resurrected
41:40 glorious body of Jesus. That's not what you
41:43 would have friends, you would have a Jesus,
41:44 who is bloodied and beaten and hurt, I have
41:47 risen from the dead disciples. Would that have
41:49 elicited worship, yes or no? No.
41:52 Hardly friends, hardly it's, it's totally
41:55 unacceptable to say that he had apparently
41:58 died. Also it's not biographically plausible;
42:00 Jesus was not a deceiver, amen. Amen.
42:05 I mean historically the things that we know
42:07 about Jesus indicate many things, but most
42:09 people even as we discussed last night,
42:11 even skeptics affirm that Jesus was of the
42:13 highest moral character of the highest moral
42:16 rectitude. So, to say that he would have
42:18 deceived the disciples about this most
42:20 important element is ridicules. It does not
42:22 take into account, the evidence of the
42:24 character of Jesus. Number three, the wrong
42:26 tomb theory, this thing is totally unacceptable
42:28 because it's says, when the ladies went,
42:30 they went to the wrong tomb. And, lo and
42:32 behold they went to an empty tomb, when
42:34 they went back and said to the disciples
42:35 Jesus is risen. Well all they would have to do
42:37 is go, hey, Joseph of Arimathea the tomb is
42:40 empty, and he was the owner of the tomb.
42:42 You think, he knew where it was.
42:43 Yeah. Amen. Amen. So, later inspection
42:46 would have revealed. No, no, no you ladies
42:47 said wrong, you went to tomb A it's really
42:49 tomb B. And, last but not least the mass
42:52 hallucination theory. And, this has been the
42:54 concoction of many you know, more recent
42:56 liberal scholars because friends they cannot
42:59 allow the resurrection to be true. Because if
43:02 the resurrection is true Jesus is who he claim
43:04 to be, the divine son of God and so they say.
43:06 Well, you know, the disciples mass
43:08 hallucinated the resurrection, but this is
43:10 unacceptable for several reasons. First of all,
43:12 is there any medical documentation of, of such
43:14 a thing as a mass hallucination that has
43:16 this kind of explanatory scope, the answer is
43:19 no. Second of all, Jesus didn't appear just once
43:22 remember what Paul said, he appeared to
43:24 Peter and he appeared to James and he
43:25 appeared to the twelve, and he appeared to all
43:26 the Apostles and to the 500. You not only
43:29 have-to-have mass hallucinations, you've to
43:31 have multiple mass hallucinations, but here is
43:33 the kicker. Even they had hallucinated that he
43:36 was risen from the death when you went to the
43:38 actual tomb, what would have been in there?
43:41 The body of Jesus. So, friends what happens is
43:43 these secular historian, they look at this and say
43:45 umm! We've to try and explain the empty
43:48 tomb and so they put forth these theories that
43:50 lack explanatory scope. Notice this incredible
43:52 quotation form J.P Moreland. The disciples
43:55 had nothing to gain by lying and starting a
43:57 new religion. They faced hardship, ridicule,
44:00 hostility, and martyr's deaths. In light of this,
44:03 they could have never sustained such an
44:04 wavering motivation. If they knew what they
44:07 were preaching was a lie. The disciples were
44:09 not fools and Paul was a cool-headed
44:11 intellectual of the first rank. There would have
44:14 been several opportunities over three
44:17 to four decades of ministry to reconsider
44:19 and renounce the lie. Do you see what he is
44:21 saying? They would have had adequate
44:23 opportunity to have decided well you know
44:25 we made the whole thing up and to have gone
44:27 back and have to recant it. So, we've looked at
44:29 the fact of the empty tomb, none of these
44:32 other explanations. Now, let's look at the
44:34 resurrection appearances. Let's note Paul's
44:36 testimony. We already read it in First
44:38 Corinthians chapter 15 in verses 1-8.
44:41 Paul says, that he appear to Peter, to who
44:43 everyone? Peter.
44:45 Peter was a contemporary of Paul's. Could
44:47 Paul have asked Peter if Jesus had appeared to
44:50 him, yes or no? Yes.
44:51 Absolutely, it says he also appeared to the
44:53 twelve and to the 500. And, do you remember
44:55 that important point that Paul made when he
44:57 said, he appeared to the 500, what did he say?
45:00 He said the majority of whom are what?
45:02 Still alive. Still a live.
45:06 Now, why would Paul say, that the majority of
45:08 whom are what still alive. If he wasn't actually
45:10 saying, if you don't believe in the
45:12 resurrection, go ask to the people who would
45:14 seen it. Yup.
45:16 Now, think if there was nobody who had seen
45:17 and this would be a ridicules thing for Paul
45:19 say. Because somebody could have gone
45:20 around like Luke did. Luke says, in the
45:22 opening part of his Gospel, he went to talk to
45:24 the eyewitnesses, if they were no eyewitnesses
45:26 then Paul's claim that there we're eyewitnesses
45:28 would have been a silly claim. Are you with
45:30 me, yes or no? Yes.
45:32 So, also he appeared to all the Apostles and
45:33 Paul says last of all he appeared to himself,
45:36 that is to say is one born out of due time.
45:39 Number two, the Gospel accounts are reliable.
45:41 First of all because there is no time for
45:43 legendary development. Even the latest
45:45 Gospel, most scholars agree that John was the
45:47 last of the gospels written that's not a,
45:49 a perfect consensus, it's, but it's a large
45:52 consensus. Even that was written in probably
45:54 the late 80s or the early 90s. So, you're dealing
45:57 with at the very most in the Gospel of John,
46:00 60 years, 70 years to invent all of these great
46:03 stories, but in the case of the Gospel of Mark,
46:05 some of that material can be dated within five
46:07 years. There is just no time for legends to
46:10 develop. In fact many historians indicate that
46:12 it takes a hundred or two hundred years for
46:15 legends to really get rolling and there is just
46:18 no time for it. Also, we will talk more about
46:21 the, the powerful evidence of the Bible
46:25 tomorrow. And, this idea of dissimilarity,
46:28 rules out collusion. What do you mean by
46:30 that? Have you ever heard somebody say that
46:33 the gospels are contradictory, have you
46:35 ever heard anybody ask you that question.
46:36 They says, well why does, why does Matthew
46:38 say this and Mark say this? Why does John
46:40 say this and Luke says this. Have you ever
46:42 heard anybody say that, yes or no?
46:43 Yes. Friends listen very
46:44 carefully. The fact that the gospels are in some
46:48 points dissimilar does not prove that they're
46:50 contradictory, it actually proves that
46:52 they're complementary and what it proves
46:54 beyond that is that the disciples didn't get
46:56 together and make the whole thing up.
46:57 Amen. Think about it at this
46:59 way, lets say there is, somebody is stationed in
47:00 that corner, and somebody on that corner and
47:02 somebody in this corner. And, we all watch a
47:04 car accident. Now, you write down your
47:07 account of the car accident. Are you going
47:09 to see things from a different perspective if
47:10 you're standing on that corner then the person
47:11 who is sitting on this corner, yes or no?
47:13 Amen. Absolutely,
47:14 now if you've all written down what is true,
47:17 will your accounts to be perfectly identical?
47:20 Will they will be complementary?
47:22 Yes. Yes, and friends the
47:24 Gospel accounts show that there is enough
47:26 dissimilarity to say, hey they weren't all
47:29 getting together and saying let's make
47:30 something up, but there is enough sameness to
47:32 show that they were writing about the same
47:34 Jesus, doing the same things, speaking the
47:36 same words. Friends, this is one of the most
47:38 powerful evidences that the Bible is inspired.
47:42 Amen. Somebody should has said amen.
47:44 Amen. Amen. Okay,
47:47 number three, the physical bodily
47:48 appearances that was Paul's whole point in
47:50 First Corinthians 15, that we rise bodily from
47:53 the death. All of the Gospel appearance of
47:55 Jesus, the resurrection appearances are bodily
47:57 appearances. This undermines the
47:59 hallucination theory because one Doubting
48:01 Thomas is actually put his hands into the side.
48:04 How you're gonna put your hands into the side
48:06 and touch a hallucination, amen. Amen.
48:09 One of the Gospel accounts has Jesus eating
48:10 fish. Friends, hallucinations don't
48:13 eat fish. And, this establishes continuity.
48:18 So, then the origin of Christianity, we've
48:19 looked to point number one and number two.
48:21 Point number one is the fact of the empty
48:23 tomb. The fact of what everybody?
48:25 The empty tomb. The empty tomb.
48:27 Number two is the fact of the post resurrection
48:29 appearances. It cannot be doubted that the
48:31 disciples believed they had seen the
48:33 resurrected Jesus. By the way that's the
48:35 whole reason the liberal scholars invent
48:37 the hallucination hypothesis because they
48:39 can't say. Well, the disciples didn't believe
48:42 they saw Jesus, of course they believe they
48:44 saw Jesus. And, so the only way the scholars
48:46 can explain this without admitting there is a
48:47 resurrection is to say, well they must have
48:49 dreamed it up. And, number three and this is
48:51 the nail in the coffin friends, for liberal
48:53 scholarship. This is the nail in the coffin for
48:55 those who choose to not believe the
48:57 historical evidences for the resurrection of
49:00 Jesus and that is the origin and rise of the
49:03 Christian church. The origin of Christianity
49:05 hinges on the resurrection. Number one,
49:08 you cannot account for the rise of the
49:11 Christian church apart from the resurrection.
49:14 That is to say, think about this, you have just
49:17 a few disciples there in, in the, in the later part
49:21 of Jesus ministry. Twelve disciples,
49:23 one betrayed him and then Jesus dies.
49:26 Now, after Jesus died they went and preached
49:28 the resurrection in Jerusalem, amen. Amen.
49:31 Within three centuries friends, the Christian
49:33 religion was the prevailing religion in
49:36 entire Greco-Roman World. Thousands of
49:39 converts. Now, a historian does the
49:42 same thing that a scientist does,
49:44 if a scientist notes that the book was here and
49:47 then the book is over there. The scientist
49:49 says, Umm! Books don't just move from here
49:51 to there. Something caused it.
49:55 Something, what everybody? Caused it.
49:56 Caused it, so they look at this explosion of
49:59 Christianity in the first, second, and third
50:01 century and they're going to ask a question.
50:03 What do you think, they're going to ask.
50:05 What caused it? What caused it?
50:06 And friends listen very carefully the only way
50:09 to account to the sincerity and the
50:11 enthusiasm and the power and the explosion,
50:14 the meteoric rise of Christianity is to posit a
50:18 supernatural event. In fact, the story
50:21 understand there are secular, they've to
50:24 scratch their head to try and explain. How can
50:26 you have the rise of, of modern Christianity
50:28 apart from a supernatural event? And notice
50:32 also, point number two here. Not only that it is
50:35 difficult to account for Christianity apart from
50:37 the resurrection, but the disciples had no
50:39 pre-disposition to believe in the
50:40 resurrection. A pre-last day resurrection was
50:43 not a Jewish idea. Friends, there was no
50:46 anticipation in Jewish end time events,
50:49 in Jewish eschatology that there would be a
50:52 pre-last day resurrection. If you go
50:54 read in the Old Testament,
50:55 the resurrection took place in the last days.
50:59 Took place when everybody?
51:00 In the last days. Now, if the disciples
51:02 could have imagined for example, if the
51:04 disciples are going to hallucinate something or
51:06 make something up, they wouldn't have made
51:07 up that he is raised from the death. They had
51:09 no pre-disposition to believe that he would
51:11 rise from the dead. In fact, Jesus told them
51:13 that on numerous occasions and they would
51:14 say, we don't get it, if they were going to
51:16 imagine something, they would have imagined
51:18 that maybe he didn't die. Or they could have
51:20 imagined that maybe he came down off the
51:21 across, but they would have invented the
51:24 resurrection because they had no disposition,
51:26 pre-disposition to invent that particular
51:29 explanation. Does that make sense, yes or no?
51:32 Powerful to understand that friends,
51:34 very powerful. Notice this incredible
51:37 quotation. I love this quotation, it says
51:39 "If the coming into existence of the
51:41 Nazarenes, a phenomenon undeniably attested
51:44 to by the New Testament, rips a great hole in
51:46 history. I love this, a hole the size and shape
51:49 of the resurrection," what does the secular
51:51 historian propose to stop it up with?
51:54 You see, the question is asking. Okay, you've
51:56 this great bit hole and history that looks just
51:58 like the resurrection. What's the secular
51:59 historian going to stop it up with? The birth
52:02 and rapid rise of the Christian church remain
52:04 an unsolved enigma for any historian who
52:07 refuses to take seriously the only explanation
52:10 offered by the church itself. C.F.D. Moule,
52:13 Cambridge University. Do you see, what he's
52:15 saying? You've got to account for the
52:17 resurrection; you've got to account for the rise
52:19 of the church somehow, and he says that great
52:22 big hole in history, where you find the rise
52:25 and the origin and the staying part of the
52:26 Christian church, is shaped exactly like a
52:29 resurrection. Shaped like a what everybody?
52:32 Resurrection. Resurrection, final
52:33 quotation here on the screen, I've been use for
52:36 many years to study the histories of other
52:38 times, and to examine and weigh the evidence
52:40 of those who have written about them, and I
52:42 know of no one fact in the history of mankind,
52:46 which is proved by better and fuller
52:48 evidence of every sort, to the understanding of
52:50 a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God
52:53 hath given us that Christ died and rose again
52:57 from the dead. Can you say, amen?
52:59 Amen. Thomas Arnold from Oxford
53:01 University. Brothers and sisters, tonight we've
53:03 done our very best to present to you a
53:05 compelling case. What kind of a case?
53:08 Compelling case. A compelling case,
53:09 think about those three facts. These are not
53:13 just scriptural facts, these are not just the,
53:15 the rantings or ravings or beliefs of a religious
53:19 person. It is a historical fact that the tomb was
53:23 found empty. Now, you have to account for
53:26 that empty tomb. There are numerous ways to
53:28 account for you could say the disciples made
53:29 it up, you could say they hallucinated,
53:31 you could come up with some explanation,
53:32 but the best explanation is the one that Jesus
53:35 Christ himself gave, that he is risen, he is alive.
53:39 Amen, amen. Now, friends, that's
53:40 that's fact number one. The fact of the empty
53:42 tomb. Fact number two is, the, the post
53:44 resurrection appearances, what are we going
53:46 to do? People saw Jesus walking and talking
53:48 after his crucifixion, amen. Amen.
53:52 And, and the incredible point about this
53:54 friends, is that Paul said, that many of those
53:56 were still alive in his day. He is saying, he is
53:58 basically saying, go prove it. Go ask him.
54:03 And, number three, how do you account for
54:05 the rise and staying power of the Christian
54:06 church without the resurrection. The secular
54:08 historian has to scratch his head, how can the
54:11 secular historian account for these three facts.
54:13 The fact of the empty tomb, the fact of the
54:14 resurrection appearances and the fact of the
54:16 origin and rise of the Christian church.
54:18 The answer is friends, in plain language,
54:20 they can't. Amen.
54:24 And, so tonight I want you to consider
54:27 something. It's not just that somebody was
54:31 raised from the death, that's not the point.
54:34 If somebody has been raised from the dead,
54:36 well that might be interesting. The point
54:37 though is that Jesus of Nazareth was raised
54:41 from the death. Amen, amen.
54:43 What, what's so special about Jesus of Nazareth.
54:45 Well, he said things like this. "For God so
54:47 loved the world that he gave his only begotten
54:50 son that whosoever believeth in him should
54:52 not perish, but have everlasting life."
54:55 Jesus of Nazareth said things like this and not
54:57 only that I'll be lifted up from the earth,
54:58 I will draw all men unto me. Friends, it's not
55:01 just that somebody was raised, but that Jesus
55:04 of Nazareth was raised. What's the
55:06 significance of that Pastor Asscherick?
55:07 The significance of this, the resurrection of
55:10 Jesus Christ vindicates the claims that he
55:13 made about himself, about his identity,
55:16 and about his purposes and intentions to save
55:19 you and I. Amen.
55:21 Amen. Amen.
55:22 Friends, I want you to think soberly about this.
55:26 The religion of Christianity is an
55:27 intelligent religion, what kind of a religion did
55:29 I say? Intelligent religion.
55:30 The Bible as an intelligent book that
55:31 speaks to intelligent people, you don't have to
55:33 put your mind on the shelf, when you become
55:35 a Christian, amen. Amen, amen.
55:36 Jesus came to liberate men's minds, not to
55:39 enslave men's minds. And, tonight as we
55:42 close, I have two questions for you.
55:43 Question number one, was tonight's message
55:46 clear, yes or no, raise your heaven high to
55:47 heaven, the message make sense, amen.
55:50 Question number two, how many of you
55:52 believe in the historical reliability of the
55:55 resurrection of Jesus, why don't you raise that,
55:57 amen. And, now question number three,
56:00 how many of you want Jesus to be your
56:03 savior, your risen, resurrected savior.
56:08 Why don't you raise your hands? Brothers and
56:10 sisters, this is the greatest most important
56:12 decision you can ever make. Remember,
56:14 how I began. There are only two essential
56:16 points. Number one, has anybody ever cheated
56:18 death and number two, is it available to me.
56:21 I have good news for you tonight, Jesus is
56:23 alive, Jesus is alive. Amen.
56:27 Jesus friends, is alive.
56:30 Jesus is risen from the dead.


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Revised 2014-12-17