What if he had been resurrected and nobody knew about
it?
After the brutal beating and scourging and crucifixion of
Jesus Christ, he was laid in the grave on the Passover just prior to sunset at
the beginning of the First Day of Unleavened Bread. His disciples had hoped He
would lead them to victory and overthrow the Roman occupation as the
long-awaited conquering Messiah.
Instead, they felt disheartened, discouraged, and afraid.
They did not really believe He would be resurrected though He had told them on
several occasions that He would be. (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34)
They hid from the Jews; fearful they would be next.
Christ had to be sacrificed as that one perfect Lamb to
reconcile us to God. We were justified by His blood. We were reconciled to God
by His death. We are saved by His life, His resurrection. Whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Rom 5:8-10 KJV
(8) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
(9) Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
(10) For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to the Christian
faith. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is our example, the way to
eternal life, our hope of glory.
We sing, “We are bought with a price. We are saved by His
life. By His grace we’re at peace and at one”. (Hymn 163 – At One With God)
But, if Jesus wasn't resurrected, then there is no Christian
faith.
There would have been no victory over death. And if Christ
had not conquered death there would be no hope of glory for the rest of us.
If Jesus was not resurrected, where would that leave us?
The
Roman soldiers who had been guarding Jesus’ tomb knew full well what happened.
They saw the angel of the Lord descend from heaven. They saw the bright light.
They felt the earthquake. They saw the angel roll the stone away from the door
and were in shock and fell down as dead men.
So,
the elders and the Chief Priests paid the Roman soldiers who had been guarding
Jesus’ tomb large sums of money to lie, to say Jesus wasn’t resurrected but that
Jesus' body was stolen by his disciples during the night while they slept.
(Matt 28:12)
They tried to cover up the entire event and obfuscate it
with such a fog of doubt and confusion that it would be dismissed without anyone
ever giving it serious further consideration.
But our God had a plan to counter their
feeble efforts through a series of eyewitness accounts.
Jesus’ resurrection has been disputed from the very
beginning. If Jesus really was resurrected from the dead as He said, it would
have turned the world upside down. Well, guess what. It did!
Act 17:6 KJV And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; [to Thessalonica]
God is not the
author of confusion (1Cor 14:33) but guess who is.
Jesus had been
killed and his followers scattered.
At first, Satan
thought he had triumphed…
Until the stone
was rolled.
If the stone had not been rolled revealing that Christ was
not there, his body could very well still be lying dead in there. The stone had
to be rolled!
Act 1:1-4, 8 KJV
(1) The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
(2) Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
(3) To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
The Amplified version says it this way,
“by
[a series of] many convincing demonstrations [unquestionable evidences and
infallible proofs]”
(4) And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
(8) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Witnesses of what? Another dead prophet?
Christ’s resurrection is absolutely foundational to our
faith!
Paul tells us that without the resurrection, forget about it.
Forget about it all!
Without the resurrection of Christ, we have no faith. We
have no hope. We might as well eat, drink, and be merry and do the best we can
in this life for there is no other. On the bedrock of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ is built the entire gospel message, the message we’re commissioned to
carry to the ends of the earth.
The Kingdom of God is predicated on it. If there is no
resurrection, there is no eternal life. There is no hope of glory.
1Co 15:12-20, 30-32 NKJV
(12) Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
(13) But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.
(14) And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
(15) 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.
(16) For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.
(17) And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; [in vain] you are still [dead] in your sins!
(18) Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
(19) If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
(20) But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
(30) And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?
(31) I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
(32) If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, "LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE!"
What Paul’s saying here is, what would be the point of putting ourselves in danger, to be persecuted, to be beaten, to be tortured, to be killed for Jesus’ sake and the gospel’s if there is no resurrection? (Mar 10:29)
If Christ was not
resurrected, then how could we have any hope of being
resurrected?
But Christ was resurrected and in this we rejoice and
offer ourselves daily as a living sacrifice. (Rom 12:1)
So, is proof of the resurrection important? You bet it is!
You’ve pledged your life based on it!
God had a plan to counter the naysayers. Through God’s
divine plan, He brought about so great a cloud of witnesses that the
resurrection cannot be refuted though they continue to try even to this day.
What does the Bible tell us about how
to go about proving a matter?
... at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three
witnesses, shall the matter be established. (Deu 19:15)
... that in the mouth of two or
three witnesses every word may be established. (Mat 18:16)
What if I told you, there were not
merely 2 or 3 witnesses but that Christ, resurrected in the flesh, was
witnessed on 10 separate occasions to a total of over 500 people? Wouldn’t that
be conclusive evidence that He was risen from the dead? Wouldn’t that be
unquestionable evidences and infallible proofs?
Today we’re going to look at those ten separate appearances
of Jesus AFTER His resurrection and establish the matter, firmly fixed in our
minds.
The first witnesses were the women who
arrived early Sunday morning at the tomb to continue wrapping Jesus’ body in
spices bought on the Friday between the first Day of Unleavened Bread and the
weekly Sabbath.
1 - To Mary Magdalene
Mar 16:9 KJV
(9) Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
Mary knew exactly which tomb it was. She and Mary, the mother of Jesus,
were there the evening before when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus laid him
in the tomb. (Mar 15:47; Joh 19:39)
They
had prepared spices purchased on Friday in order to anoint Him. They came to
the tomb early on Sunday morning while it was yet dark, not sure how they would
be able to get in the tomb. The stone that covered the entrance weighed more
than a ton and had been sealed by the Roman guard.
When
they arrived the stone had been rolled away from the sepulchre by an angel. The
body was gone! The angel informed them, “He is not here: for he is risen, as he
said.” (Matt 28:5)
Continuing
the story of Mary Magalene –
Joh 20:1-18 KJV
(1) The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
(2) Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
(3) Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
(4) So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
(5) And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
(6) Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
(7) And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
(8) Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
(9) For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
(10) Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
They
witnessed that the tomb was empty but did not see Jesus at that time.
The
burial shroud was still in its place as if He had risen right out of it.
The
face cloth had been folded or rolled and placed neatly to the side.
What
thief would take the time to remove the burial shroud smeared with myrhh and
other compounds applied by Joseph? What thief would take the time to remove the
face covering and neatly fold it and lay it aside?
(11) But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
(12) And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
(13) And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
(14) And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
(15) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
(16) Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
(17) Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
(18) Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
Don’t touch me. I have not yet ascended to my Father as the wave sheaf offering.
2 - To Mary, mother of James, Joanna, and the "other women"
Luk 24:10-11 KJV
(10) It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
(11) And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
This
was Mary, the mother of Jesus, James
(the Less), and Joses, Jesus’ half-brothers, Salome, believed to be the wife of Zebedee, and the mother of James
(the Great) and John, the “sons of thunder”, and Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward. These are the same women
we’re told in Luke 8:1-3 that help support the cause out of their own
substance. We’re not told who the “other women” are exactly.
Mat 28:9 KJV And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
Notice
they were allowed to touch Jesus and held him by the feet. So, He had to have
ascended to Heaven to present Himself to the Father as the wave sheaf offering
between His appearance to Mary and this appearance to the women along the road.
In
the first century, women were considered second-class citizens with rights
barely above that of slaves. They were not allowed even to testify in court.
So, if you were going to make up a story about Jesus' resurrection, you
wouldn't have people whose testimony was of no account lead the way. You
probably wouldn't even mention it. By having all four gospels tell the story of
women seeing Jesus alive first, the story rings true.
Number
three was an encounter with two men on the road headed out of Jerusalem.
3 - To Cleopas and one other on the road to Emmaus
Luk 24:13-16; 21-31 KJV
(13) And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. [7 ½ miles].
(14) And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
(15) And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
(16) But their eyes were holden [restrained] that they should not know him.
(21) But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
(22) Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
(23) And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
(24) And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, [Peter and John] and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
(25) Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
(26) Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
(27) And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
(30) And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
(31) And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
4 - To Simon Peter
Luk 24:34-35 KJV
(34) Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
(35) And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
How did they know this? Christ had to have told
them.
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: (1Co 15:5 KJV)
We’re
not told when this happened exactly but somewhere along the way He appeared to
Simon Peter (Cephas). (Joh 1:42)
Next,
Christ appeared to the disciples on three separate occasions.
5 - To the disciples without Thomas
Joh 20:19-24 KJV
(19) Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
(20) And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
(21) Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
(22) And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy [Spirit]:
(23) Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
(24) But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, [the twin] was not with them when Jesus came.
The
other disciples told Thomas they had seen Jesus but “Doubting Thomas” refused
to believe until he personally saw him and stuck his finger in the holes in his
hands and in his side.
6 - To the disciples with Thomas
Joh 20:26-29 KJV
(26) And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
(27) Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
(28) And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
(29) Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
We
are among those that have not seen, yet believe.
7 - To 7 of the disciples at the Sea of Tiberius
Joh 21:1-14 KJV
(1) After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.
(2) There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, [James and John] and two other of his disciples.
(3) Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
(4) But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
(7) Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
(8) And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) [100 yards] dragging the net with [153] fishes.
(12) Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
(13) Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.
(14) This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.
Some
disparaging theories claim that the disciples concocted the whole resurrection
story so as not to discredit Jesus. They made it up! If the resurrection was a big
fat lie, they had to have known it. Would they have then risked their lives,
suffered persecution, and allowed themselves be tortured and killed for a lie
they just made up? Not a chance!
They
knew deep in their hearts that the resurrection was true.
Appearance
number eight was to a large crowd. It appears this may have been at the same
time he gave the Great Commission to the eleven disciples to go ye therefore
into all nations, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you, as
this was also in Galilee after His resurrection about the same time. (Mat
28:16; Mar 16:15)
8 - To over 500 in Galilee
1Co 15:6 KJV After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
Jesus
was seen alive after the resurrection by over 500 people! Some had died but most
of them were still alive when Paul wrote to the Church at Corinth over 20 years
later in 54-55 AD.
They’re
still alive. Go ask them! How could you possibly argue with that many eye
witnesses? They know what they saw!
9 - To James the Lord's brother
1Co 15:7 KJV After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
Anybody here have a brother? Anyone think they could
convince their brother that they’re the Messiah? Neither could Jesus. (John
7:5) It was only AFTER the resurrection and Jesus appeared to James that James believed.
(1Cor 15:7)
What would it take for one to die a violent death for
believing one’s brother was the resurrected Messiah? James was martyred in 62
AD.
10 - To 11 disciples on the Mount of Olives
Act 1:6-11 KJV
(6) When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
(7) And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
(8) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
(9) And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
(10) And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
(11) Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
They witnessed his ascension into
heaven. Stephen even saw Christ there standing at the right hand of the
Father before he died, a further witness! (Act 7:55)
As
He departed from the Mount of Olives, He will return the same way to the same
place. (Zec 14:4)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conclusion of the Matter – the Stone WAS Rolled!
These 10 appearances of Jesus AFTER He was resurrected offer
many infallible proofs, eyewitness accounts that Jesus was indeed resurrected
from the dead. They even watched Him ascend into heaven to be with the Father.
God
the Father loves us and has made exceeding great and precious promises to us.
He wants us to rest assured that if He raised Jesus from the dead, most
assuredly He will raise us also.
Act 17:30-31 NKJV
(30) Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
(31) because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."
And
He has provided us with innumerable witnesses that Christ was resurrected
therefore we too will be resurrected at Jesus’ return.
And our faith is not in vain.
1Co 15:51-58 KJV
(51) Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
(52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
(53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
(54) So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
(55) O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
(56) The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
(57) But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(58) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
1Pe 1:3-4 NKJV
(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
(4) to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
Joh 14:19 KJV Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
Until the stone was rolled, we were all dead men, dead in
our sins.
Until the stone was rolled, no one would have believed He
had been resurrected.
Until the stone was rolled, there would be no gospel of the
Kingdom preached in all the world and we would not be here today.
But
the stone was rolled!
Remember,
Christ’s resurrection matters! He staked
His life on it.
And
so can you!
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