Ironside
09-03-2007, 06:50 PM
I would like to share with you a treatise I wrote months ago about the events sorrounding the greatest historical event that transpired about two thousand years ago concerning the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hope it will bless your soul.
The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ
Its paramount importance
The whole Christian faith stands or falls on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. If the Lord did not resurrect from the dead then all that He had been preaching and teaching previous to His death on the cross would be put into question. His solid claims about Himself would all crumble to the ground.
If the Lord did not rise from the dead then a) we would still be in our sins for it would mean that the Lord Jesus is not the Savior that He claimed to be b) Paul and the other apostles would be proven as false witnesses. For they were preaching that Christ rose from the dead when in fact the contrary is true c) What are we doing here in Bible seminary wasting our time studying about Christ if the Lord Jesus did not resurrect from the dead? If the Lord did not resurrect from the dead, we Christians would the most pitiable of all people. We have given up so much for Christ [the Christ whom we believed to have risen] only to find out that He did not resurrect after all.
BUT if Christ did indeed resurrect from the dead then that changes everything. It would mean that what He has been saying about Himself prior to the cross were all true. That He was the Messiah, the Savior of sinners, the Son of God worthy of all our trust, confidence, worship and adoration. The resurrection would authenticate everything He taught and claimed about Himself. The resurrection is the hub of Christianity. It’s no wonder why Satan has so attacked this truth all throughout the centuries. Take away this fact and we are left with a dead system. The resurrection is the life of Christianity. Put in other terms, the living resurrected Christ is the vitality and the essence of Christianity.
1Cor. 15:14-19 states:
“And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
Its credibility
If the fact of the resurrection would be put on trial, all the evidences that are needed for a good case is present. We have a) testimonial evidences [EYEWITNESS accounts] b) circumstantial evidences [the empty tomb that can only be reasonably explained by the resurrection c) and historical evidence [the historicity of the gospel records. In this report however, we shall consider the eyewitness accounts of the resurrection-the testimonial evidence.
Note: There are amazing stories in other religions about their respective deities but none of these claimed to be an eyewitness of the event they are trying to promulgate unlike the gospel records. In the courts of law, all of these claims are tantamount to hearsay and inadmissible. Courts need eyewitnesses. And such is the nature of the gospels—they are eyewitness accounts.
Any sane and objective judge in any sane and objective court of law would not just dismiss the testimonies of eyewitnesses. What they do is try to weigh the veracity of the testimonies. Intelligent and experienced skeptics who try to discredit the resurrection do not write off the resurrection as just concocted myths and fables of some religious fanatic like they can do with the fanciful stories of other religions. They can’t do it just like that. They know it is a weak argument. They know they have to contend with the eyewitnesses. What they try to do is attack the reliability and probity of the gospel accounts. They attack the credibility of the eyewitnesses.
“[I]Frank Morrison, who was an agnostic journalist, attempted to write a book refuting the resurrection of Christ. After much investigation, his opinion changed and he became a believer in Jesus Christ. This is how Morrison described what happened to him:
‘This study is in some ways so unusual and provocative that the writer thinks it desirable to state here very briefly how the book came to take its present form. In one sense it could have taken no other, for it is essentially a confession, the inner story of a man who originally set out to write one kind of book and found himself compelled by the sheer force of circumstances to write another. “It is not that the facts altered, for they are recorded imperishably in the monuments and in the pages of human history. But the interpretation to be put on the facts underwent a change’”
( from Answers to Tough Questions Josh McDowell and Don Stewart)
A Summary of the eyewitness account
We have the eyewitness accounts [the affidavits of the testimonies] in the four gospels. Here is a brief harmonization of the four testimonies about the resurrection:
The visit of the women. [Matt. 28:5-8, Mark 16:2-8, Lu. 24: 1-8 and Jo 20:1]
After the Sabbath had passed after the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ the disciples began to move toward the tomb. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb carrying spices with which they prepared to anoint the body of the Lord Jesus. At the same time [or prior to this, we cannot know for certain] an angel rolled away the large stone that blocked the entrance. The women arrived and noticed that the stone had been rolled away. Inside the tomb they were accosted by two heavenly beings [angels] and revealed to them that the Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. They were told to go and announce to the disciples AND TO PETER that the Lord Jesus Christ had resurrected and would meet them at Galilee.
Note: Mr 16:7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
Notice the sensitivity and tenderness of grace that the Lord exhibited to Peter through His angels. Obviously after Peter denied the Lord 3 times in a row publicly, he would have been engulfed with despair, utter discouragement and hopelessness. Peter may have said to himself: “It’s over for me now. I blew it. I have sinned grievously against the Lord. That was it. I am definitely out now.”
And of course during such opportune moments the Slanderer and Accuser of our souls would have aggravated the situation by whispering into Peter’s ears: “Yes you are definitely out. Do you really think He will forgive you now? Your sin is too great. Imagine denying the Lord after all these three and half years of seeing and witnessing all that He had done. What about His words: “Lu 12:8 "Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. 9 "But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God?”
Imagine the feeling of Peter when the women arrived: “Guys the Lord has risen and He told us through His angels to meet Him in Galilee. And Peter you are to meet Him in Galilee too.”
Hope springs eternal for Peter with the kind of God we have. The God of all grace. When we fall into sin let us remember that where “sin abound grace abounded much more.” His grace is bigger than our sin.
The report to the Disciples [Luke 24:9-12, John 20:2-10]
In a state of bewilderment the women came to the apostles. Mary Magdalene, the spokesman for the group, “came running to Simon Peter and John saying: ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!!’ [John 20:2]. At this announcement Peter and John started for the tomb. When they arrived there they saw for themselves the empty tomb and believed.
The disciples were men of like passions as us. They were also saddled by unbelief like we often are plagued. Prior to the cross, the Lord Jesus proclaimed unequivocally in easy to understand language that He would be put to death and resurrect on the third day. The words are plain, unbelief in the heart made it vague to understand. Do we believe in the resurrection? Really? If yes, then let’s asked ourselves: “Are our lives marked by victory and triumph over sin?” You see, the great truth “Christ died FOR our sins” when believed justifies us. But the great truth ‘We died WITH Christ and resurrected with Him into newness of life’ when believed sanctifies us. We died with Christ and resurrected with Him. Have we lived the resurrection life?
The appearance to Mary Magdalene [Mark 16:9-11, John 20:11-18]
After announcing the empty tomb to Peter and John, Mary Magdalene returned to the tomb. By the time she arrived, the two disciples had returned home. Crying she peered into the tomb, she saw two angels in white. In the light of the previous announcement of the angels that the Lord had risen, the angels asked: “Woman, why are you crying?” To which she replied: “they have taken away my Lord…and I don’t know where they have put him.”
When she turned, she saw a figure standing before her whom she did not recognize as our Lord. She supposed that He was the gardener. [It maybe that she weeped so much that the tears in her eyes dimmed her vision]. The Lord asked her: “Why are you crying?” She replied by asking where the dead body had been placed. Then the Lord called her by name. At this she recognized the Lord and blurted out: “Teacher”. The Lord instructed Mary to go to His brothers and tell them that He has risen and that He was returning to the Father. With this she returned with the news to the other disciples that the Lord had risen.
Sometimes we need to tell ourselves and our brethren that the Lord has risen, because sometimes when difficult times come and distress us, when we are carried away by the enormity of our problems, when we seem to crumble under the situation, we act as if the Lord has not risen from the dead. We do the last thing that we should be doing first: pray to Him about our situation. We sulk and sorrow as if the Lord is still in the grave. Notice the long faces we wear during Sundays. It’s as if it’s not Lord’s Day.
The appearance to the women [Matthew 28:9-10]
The women who were with Mary Magdalene returned to the tomb, on their way the Lord met them and greeted them. Unlike Mary Magdalene they immediately recognized the Lord when they saw and heard His voice. The Lord then commissioned them as He had Mary to tell others that they should go to Galilee.
The Emmaus Road [Mark 16:12-13, Luke 24:13-32]
Sometime during the afternoon two disciples were going from Jerusalem to Emmaus. This happened after Peter and John, Mary Magdalene and the other women have informed the other disciples about the resurrection. As they were going along they were discussing about the events that have transpired in Jerusalem. The Lord joined them and eventually opened up the Scriptures to them. When the Lord broke the bread at the meal their eyes were opened as to the identity of this stranger that joined them. They recognized Him and suddenly He disappeared from their sight. They started for Jerusalem at once to tell the others about the Lord. When they got their they confirmed the testimony of Peter and the women.
Appearances to the rest of the disciples [Mark 16:14, Luke 24: 36-43, John 20:19-25, John 20:26-31, John 21:1-25]
After the Emmaus episode the Lord also appeared in three different occasions to the disciples. First, He appeared when the disciples were gathered minus Thomas. Second, He appeared when the disciples were gathered again [this time with Thomas]. Third, He appeared to them on the shores of Galilee when the disciples were fishing. In this event we have Peter’s restoration. We see here the Lord Jesus asking Peter three times if he loved the Lord. Here the Lord told Peter to feed and tend His sheep.
It is the Lord who appoints shepherds of His sheep. Not us, not other men.
The Great Commission [ Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-18, Luke 24:44-49]
On an appointed meeting place in Galilee the disciples then gathered for the final instructions. In this event they were given our marching orders for this dispensation. They are to make disciples of all nations.
The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ
Its paramount importance
The whole Christian faith stands or falls on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. If the Lord did not resurrect from the dead then all that He had been preaching and teaching previous to His death on the cross would be put into question. His solid claims about Himself would all crumble to the ground.
If the Lord did not rise from the dead then a) we would still be in our sins for it would mean that the Lord Jesus is not the Savior that He claimed to be b) Paul and the other apostles would be proven as false witnesses. For they were preaching that Christ rose from the dead when in fact the contrary is true c) What are we doing here in Bible seminary wasting our time studying about Christ if the Lord Jesus did not resurrect from the dead? If the Lord did not resurrect from the dead, we Christians would the most pitiable of all people. We have given up so much for Christ [the Christ whom we believed to have risen] only to find out that He did not resurrect after all.
BUT if Christ did indeed resurrect from the dead then that changes everything. It would mean that what He has been saying about Himself prior to the cross were all true. That He was the Messiah, the Savior of sinners, the Son of God worthy of all our trust, confidence, worship and adoration. The resurrection would authenticate everything He taught and claimed about Himself. The resurrection is the hub of Christianity. It’s no wonder why Satan has so attacked this truth all throughout the centuries. Take away this fact and we are left with a dead system. The resurrection is the life of Christianity. Put in other terms, the living resurrected Christ is the vitality and the essence of Christianity.
1Cor. 15:14-19 states:
“And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
Its credibility
If the fact of the resurrection would be put on trial, all the evidences that are needed for a good case is present. We have a) testimonial evidences [EYEWITNESS accounts] b) circumstantial evidences [the empty tomb that can only be reasonably explained by the resurrection c) and historical evidence [the historicity of the gospel records. In this report however, we shall consider the eyewitness accounts of the resurrection-the testimonial evidence.
Note: There are amazing stories in other religions about their respective deities but none of these claimed to be an eyewitness of the event they are trying to promulgate unlike the gospel records. In the courts of law, all of these claims are tantamount to hearsay and inadmissible. Courts need eyewitnesses. And such is the nature of the gospels—they are eyewitness accounts.
Any sane and objective judge in any sane and objective court of law would not just dismiss the testimonies of eyewitnesses. What they do is try to weigh the veracity of the testimonies. Intelligent and experienced skeptics who try to discredit the resurrection do not write off the resurrection as just concocted myths and fables of some religious fanatic like they can do with the fanciful stories of other religions. They can’t do it just like that. They know it is a weak argument. They know they have to contend with the eyewitnesses. What they try to do is attack the reliability and probity of the gospel accounts. They attack the credibility of the eyewitnesses.
“[I]Frank Morrison, who was an agnostic journalist, attempted to write a book refuting the resurrection of Christ. After much investigation, his opinion changed and he became a believer in Jesus Christ. This is how Morrison described what happened to him:
‘This study is in some ways so unusual and provocative that the writer thinks it desirable to state here very briefly how the book came to take its present form. In one sense it could have taken no other, for it is essentially a confession, the inner story of a man who originally set out to write one kind of book and found himself compelled by the sheer force of circumstances to write another. “It is not that the facts altered, for they are recorded imperishably in the monuments and in the pages of human history. But the interpretation to be put on the facts underwent a change’”
( from Answers to Tough Questions Josh McDowell and Don Stewart)
A Summary of the eyewitness account
We have the eyewitness accounts [the affidavits of the testimonies] in the four gospels. Here is a brief harmonization of the four testimonies about the resurrection:
The visit of the women. [Matt. 28:5-8, Mark 16:2-8, Lu. 24: 1-8 and Jo 20:1]
After the Sabbath had passed after the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ the disciples began to move toward the tomb. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb carrying spices with which they prepared to anoint the body of the Lord Jesus. At the same time [or prior to this, we cannot know for certain] an angel rolled away the large stone that blocked the entrance. The women arrived and noticed that the stone had been rolled away. Inside the tomb they were accosted by two heavenly beings [angels] and revealed to them that the Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. They were told to go and announce to the disciples AND TO PETER that the Lord Jesus Christ had resurrected and would meet them at Galilee.
Note: Mr 16:7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
Notice the sensitivity and tenderness of grace that the Lord exhibited to Peter through His angels. Obviously after Peter denied the Lord 3 times in a row publicly, he would have been engulfed with despair, utter discouragement and hopelessness. Peter may have said to himself: “It’s over for me now. I blew it. I have sinned grievously against the Lord. That was it. I am definitely out now.”
And of course during such opportune moments the Slanderer and Accuser of our souls would have aggravated the situation by whispering into Peter’s ears: “Yes you are definitely out. Do you really think He will forgive you now? Your sin is too great. Imagine denying the Lord after all these three and half years of seeing and witnessing all that He had done. What about His words: “Lu 12:8 "Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. 9 "But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God?”
Imagine the feeling of Peter when the women arrived: “Guys the Lord has risen and He told us through His angels to meet Him in Galilee. And Peter you are to meet Him in Galilee too.”
Hope springs eternal for Peter with the kind of God we have. The God of all grace. When we fall into sin let us remember that where “sin abound grace abounded much more.” His grace is bigger than our sin.
The report to the Disciples [Luke 24:9-12, John 20:2-10]
In a state of bewilderment the women came to the apostles. Mary Magdalene, the spokesman for the group, “came running to Simon Peter and John saying: ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!!’ [John 20:2]. At this announcement Peter and John started for the tomb. When they arrived there they saw for themselves the empty tomb and believed.
The disciples were men of like passions as us. They were also saddled by unbelief like we often are plagued. Prior to the cross, the Lord Jesus proclaimed unequivocally in easy to understand language that He would be put to death and resurrect on the third day. The words are plain, unbelief in the heart made it vague to understand. Do we believe in the resurrection? Really? If yes, then let’s asked ourselves: “Are our lives marked by victory and triumph over sin?” You see, the great truth “Christ died FOR our sins” when believed justifies us. But the great truth ‘We died WITH Christ and resurrected with Him into newness of life’ when believed sanctifies us. We died with Christ and resurrected with Him. Have we lived the resurrection life?
The appearance to Mary Magdalene [Mark 16:9-11, John 20:11-18]
After announcing the empty tomb to Peter and John, Mary Magdalene returned to the tomb. By the time she arrived, the two disciples had returned home. Crying she peered into the tomb, she saw two angels in white. In the light of the previous announcement of the angels that the Lord had risen, the angels asked: “Woman, why are you crying?” To which she replied: “they have taken away my Lord…and I don’t know where they have put him.”
When she turned, she saw a figure standing before her whom she did not recognize as our Lord. She supposed that He was the gardener. [It maybe that she weeped so much that the tears in her eyes dimmed her vision]. The Lord asked her: “Why are you crying?” She replied by asking where the dead body had been placed. Then the Lord called her by name. At this she recognized the Lord and blurted out: “Teacher”. The Lord instructed Mary to go to His brothers and tell them that He has risen and that He was returning to the Father. With this she returned with the news to the other disciples that the Lord had risen.
Sometimes we need to tell ourselves and our brethren that the Lord has risen, because sometimes when difficult times come and distress us, when we are carried away by the enormity of our problems, when we seem to crumble under the situation, we act as if the Lord has not risen from the dead. We do the last thing that we should be doing first: pray to Him about our situation. We sulk and sorrow as if the Lord is still in the grave. Notice the long faces we wear during Sundays. It’s as if it’s not Lord’s Day.
The appearance to the women [Matthew 28:9-10]
The women who were with Mary Magdalene returned to the tomb, on their way the Lord met them and greeted them. Unlike Mary Magdalene they immediately recognized the Lord when they saw and heard His voice. The Lord then commissioned them as He had Mary to tell others that they should go to Galilee.
The Emmaus Road [Mark 16:12-13, Luke 24:13-32]
Sometime during the afternoon two disciples were going from Jerusalem to Emmaus. This happened after Peter and John, Mary Magdalene and the other women have informed the other disciples about the resurrection. As they were going along they were discussing about the events that have transpired in Jerusalem. The Lord joined them and eventually opened up the Scriptures to them. When the Lord broke the bread at the meal their eyes were opened as to the identity of this stranger that joined them. They recognized Him and suddenly He disappeared from their sight. They started for Jerusalem at once to tell the others about the Lord. When they got their they confirmed the testimony of Peter and the women.
Appearances to the rest of the disciples [Mark 16:14, Luke 24: 36-43, John 20:19-25, John 20:26-31, John 21:1-25]
After the Emmaus episode the Lord also appeared in three different occasions to the disciples. First, He appeared when the disciples were gathered minus Thomas. Second, He appeared when the disciples were gathered again [this time with Thomas]. Third, He appeared to them on the shores of Galilee when the disciples were fishing. In this event we have Peter’s restoration. We see here the Lord Jesus asking Peter three times if he loved the Lord. Here the Lord told Peter to feed and tend His sheep.
It is the Lord who appoints shepherds of His sheep. Not us, not other men.
The Great Commission [ Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-18, Luke 24:44-49]
On an appointed meeting place in Galilee the disciples then gathered for the final instructions. In this event they were given our marching orders for this dispensation. They are to make disciples of all nations.