"THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE"
The Testimony For Jesus' Resurrection - Part 2
In our last lesson we looked at some alternative views or theories to the actual resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the lack of sound logic in them. Other theories have been offered, but like these three (the body was stolen, the swoon hypothesis, and the vision hypothesis) they fail in the face of perhaps the greatest evidence for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the witness evidence.
Mary Magdalene was the first person to the empty tomb - Jn 20:1 "On Sunday morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance." She at first thought someone took the body - Jn 20:2 "She ran to Simon Peter and to Jesus' favorite disciple and said, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb! We don't know where they have put him."", 11-15 "Mary Magdalene stood crying outside the tomb. She was still weeping, when she stooped down and saw two angels inside. They were dressed in white and were sitting where Jesus' body had been. One was at the head and the other was at the foot. The angels asked Mary, "Why are you crying?" She answered, "They have taken away my Lord's body! I don't know where they have put him." As soon as Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not know who he was. Jesus asked her, "Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?" She thought he was the gardener and said, "Sir, if you have taken his body away, please tell me, so I can go and get him."" But then believed when Jesus appeared to her - Jn 20:16-18 "Then Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him, "Rabboni." The Aramaic word "Rabboni" means "Teacher." Jesus told her, "Don't hold on to me! I have not yet gone to the Father. But tell my disciples that I am going to the one who is my Father and my God, as well as your Father and your God." Mary Magdalene then went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord. She also told them what he had said to her."
The disciples on the first day who were hiding for fear of the Jews - Jn 20:19a "The disciples were afraid of the Jewish leaders, and on the evening of that same Sunday they locked themselves in a room." Then Jesus appeared to them, showing His hands and His side - Jn 20:19b-20 "Suddenly, Jesus appeared in the middle of the group. He greeted them and showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they became very happy."
The disciples including Thomas whom had not been with the disciples previously - Jn 20:24 "Although Thomas the Twin was one of the twelve disciples, he wasn't with the others when Jesus appeared to them." Thomas doubted their testimony, refusing to believe - Jn 20:25 "So they told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But Thomas said, "First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. I won't believe unless I do this!"" When Jesus appeared eight days later, Thomas was convinced - Jn 20:26-28 "A week later the disciples were together again. This time, Thomas was with them. Jesus came in while the doors were still locked and stood in the middle of the group. He greeted his disciples and said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and look at my hands! Put your hand into my side. Stop doubting and have faith!" Thomas replied, "You are my Lord and my God!""
The disciples were in Galilee by the Sea of Tiberias (Galilee) - Jn 21:1 "Jesus later appeared to his disciples along the shore of Lake Tiberias." Jesus showed Himself to Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, John, and two others - Jn 21:2-14
John in particular who bore witness to the death of Jesus - Jn 19:35 "We know this is true, because it was told by someone who saw it happen. Now you can have faith too." and who bore witness to the resurrection of Jesus - Jn 21:24 "This disciple is the one who told all of this. He wrote it, and we know he is telling the truth."
There are only two alternatives here. The witnesses were credible, honest, and truthful and their testimony is enhanced by the number of the witnesses. These witnesses are not just a few, isolated individuals, but many, including hundreds at a time. The testimony is enhanced by the character of the witnesses, not being gullible, but requiring proof (e.g., Thomas) - Jn 20:25 At first they were fearful, but something made them fearless - Jn 20:19; Ac 4:13 "The officials were amazed to see how brave Peter and John were, and they knew that these two apostles were only ordinary men and not well educated. The officials were certain that these men had been with Jesus.", 19-20 "Peter and John answered, "Do you think God wants us to obey you or to obey him? We cannot keep quiet about what we have seen and heard."" The disciples became men who spent their lives dedicated to truth, holiness, and love - 1 Jn 1:5 "Jesus told us that God is light and doesn't have any darkness in him. Now we are telling you.", 6 "If we say that we share in life with God and keep on living in the dark, we are lying and are not living by the truth."; 2:15-17 "Don't love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the oftlineworld, you cannot love the Father. Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father. The world and the desires it causes are disappearing. But if we obey God, we will live forever."; 4:11 "Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other." The testimony is enhanced by the suffering of the witnesses. They gladly suffered for their testimony - Ac 5:41 "The apostles left the council and were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer for the sake of Jesus." Even after losing loved ones, like John who lost his brother James - Ac 12:1-2 "At that time King Herod caused terrible suffering for some members of the church. He ordered soldiers to cut off the head of James, the brother of John."
The other alternative is to declare these witnesses liars, frauds and deceivers. This is the only alternative if the resurrection did not occur - cf. 1 Co 15:14-15 "And if Christ wasn't raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. If the dead won't be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying that he raised Christ to life, when he really did not." The nature of their testimony does not permit being mistaken or misled. They claimed to have heard, seen, and touched Jesus following His resurrection. 1 Jn 1:1-4 "The Word that gives life was from the beginning, and this is the one our message is about. Our ears have heard, our own eyes have seen, and our hands touched this Word. The one who gives life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are witnesses to what we have seen. Now we are telling you about this eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to us. We are telling you what we have seen and heard, so that you may share in this life with us. And we share in it with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing to tell you these things, because this makes us truly happy."; Ac 10:39-41 "We all saw what Jesus did both in Israel and in the city of Jerusalem. Jesus was put to death on a cross. But three days later, God raised him to life and let him be seen. Not everyone saw him. He was seen only by us, who ate and drank with him after he was raised from death. We were the ones God chose to tell others about him." You cannot say that they were simply mistaken, or misled; you must proclaim them liars if Jesus was not risen from the dead! Are you willing to believe that those who wrote the New Testament were so corrupt?
The testimony for Jesus' resurrection is strong, enhanced by the evidence of the crucifixion, the evidence of the empty tomb, and the evidence of the witnesses. Alternative theories simply do not hold up in the face of such evidence. What is the significance of this evidence and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead? Jesus is everything that John and Jesus Himself claimed to be! He is the Son of God! He is the bread of life! He is the light of the world! He is the Good Shepherd! He is the resurrection and the life! Believe in Jesus, and you can have the right to become a child of God - Jn 1:12 "Yet some people accepted him and put their faith in him. So he gave them the right to be the children of God." Have life in His name! - Jn 20:31 "But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life." Sadly, many people do not believe in Jesus. In our final lesson, we shall consider why such is the case, even as it was in John's day. But if you believe in Jesus as the Son of God, don't hesitate to obey the gospel of Christ.
If you have not responded to the gospel message as we have just examined, by all means please contact me directly at jnlnewsted@nts-online.net
This study is from The Executable Outlines Series, a collection of sermon outlines and Bible study lessons by Mark A. Copeland . These outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel. Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To God be the glory!
The Executable Outlines Series, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2001
