Reasons for the Resurrection

There are a hundred, yea a thousand reasons, to believe in the resurrection. This morning I want to look at four good reasons for the resurrection: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John! That these four genuine, independent witnesses corroborate the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ substantiates this miracle beyond any doubt. Matthew left behind a lucrative tax collecting business to become a fisher of men. Mark wrote from the perspective of Peter. Luke was a doctor who understood that Jesus truly died and rose again. John was an inner circle disciple who could not be deceived into believing something he was not sure was the truth.
The Guarded Tomb, Matthew 27:62-66
Political decisions of Pilate would prevent anyone from stealing the body of the Lord Jesus. There was a stone, a seal and a watch of soldiers.
Notice that the enemies of the Lord remembered His word better than the disciples. They refrained from even using the name of Jesus, rather calling him a “deceiver.”
Every possible human way to keep Jesus in the tomb was tried, but nothing man could do could keep Jesus in the grave!
First, notice the STONE. The large stone was rolled down a small incline and lodged into place across the entrance. A smaller stone was then used to secure the disk. It would take at least several men to reopen the tomb.
Second, notice the SEAL. Pilate had the stone sealed with either his own signet or else allowed the Sanhedrin to seal it with their authority in order to keep anyone from, especially the disciples, from removing the body. The seal could have been a cord stretched across the stone and sealed at each end. Perhaps it was a seal of wax covering around the seam of the stone and the cave entrance upon which the official imprint of Pilate was pressed. If anyone dare break that seal their life would be taken.
Third, see the SOLDIERS. The soldiers, either the Roman soldiers or Temple soldiers under Pilate’s authority, guarded that stone and their life was on the line as well. We get our English word “custodian” or “custody” from the Greek word, “koustodia.”
Could a thief have stolen the body?
Could the disciples have removed the body? They were in no condition to play “Navy Seal” and storm the tomb to steal the body!
Could Roman or Jewish authorities have taken the body? There is no question that if they had stolen the body they would have produced the body and published a statement that they body of Jesus was in their possession. Rather, when the disciples preached the resurrection, they were silent to the whereabouts of the body and they resorted to violence against the apostles. The question must be asked: what happened to Jesus’ body? He was seen alive, He was seen dead, and then He was seen alive from the dead!
The Undisturbed Graveclothes, John 20:5-9
Whereas the Gospels tell us that His body was gone, they also tell us that His graveclothes had not gone!
Matthew 28:6, He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Mark 16:6, Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen: he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
We are called to behold and look upon the place where the Lord lay. Three times we see that the disciples saw the place where the Lord lay and they saw the linen clothes which sparked their faith in the resurrection.
When John ran to the tomb and reached the tomb before Peter he looked in and saw two things that made him believe. First, John did not see the body of Christ. Second, he saw the graveclothes. The presence of the graveclothes caused faith to spring in John’s heart, and I pray in our heart also.
The body clothes, stripes of linen cloth weighing about 100 pounds, were lying collapsed like an empty cocoon. They retained the shape of a body, but I can imagine them sunken.
The head napkin was not with the linen cloths but was separated from the body clothes, still in the wrapped condition they were in when they were about his face. This shows that Jesus did not unwrap himself when he arose, but rather he literally “passed through the graveclothes” just as he would later pass through closed doors.
“It is not hard to imagine the sight which greeted the eyes of the apostles when they reached the tomb: the stone slab, the collapsed graveclothes, the shell of the head-cloth and the gap between the two. No wonder they ‘saw and believed.’
The grave clothes were not folded or manipulated by any human being. They were like the discarded chrysalis from which a butterfly emerges. No grave robber would take the time to carefully unwrap 100 pounds of linen clothes and neatly re-wrap them.
In John 20:5-8 there are three different Greek words for seeing. In John 20:5 the word (blepo) means to perceive or take heed. In John 20:6 the word (theoreo) means to look carefully and to observe with interest for a purpose, to carefully observe the details. In John 20:8 seeing (ide) it means to perceive with comprehension, to see and personally experience.
Christianity thrives when people study the evidence carefully with great interest. When people especially study the Word of God, taking heed, looking with interest, and then personally experiencing the wonder of Scripture, they believe!
This was no vision. They SAW that the grave clothes were there and Jesus was not. Amazingly, some who hate the doctrine of the Lord’s resurrection say that the disciples only saw a vision!
Jesus was not resuscitated but he was resurrected. That is, he did not start to move within the graveclothes, stretch, yawn and begin to get up as if from a nap. He was dead and in resurrection, he had life planted within him. A miracle was taking place.
The graveclothes prove that he did not “swoon.” He did not merely faint, but He died. He did not merely revive, but He arose!
The so called swoon theory has popped up throughout history. The story goes that Jesus only fainted from exhaustion on the cross and then revived in the cool, damp air of the tomb. Various books, The Passover Plot (1965), The Jesus Scroll (1972), and Jesus and the Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1992) all seek to spread the revive the lie that Jesus only fainted.
There is no doubt from the Biblical evidence that Jesus died. The torturous beating, the massive loss of blood, and the cessation of his breath all prove without doubt that He died.
Here they had the physical evidence of the resurrection but their faith was just beginning to dawn. Why? Because “they knew not the Scripture, that he must rise again from the dead” (John 20:9). Faith based on evidence is not as great as faith in the WORD OF GOD. Faith based upon what is written is what ultimately changes the life. Not personal experiences but a more sure word of prophecy changes our life!
The Divine Promises, Luke 24:6-8
Luke 24:6, He is not here: but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee.
Here the disciples are called to remember and reflect upon the promises Jesus gave them of his resurrection. To believe in Jesus does not mean that we put our minds into neutral. We are called to mindfully seek out His promises and see how God’s Word has come to pass.
One of the greatest reasons to believe in the resurrection is the promises of God. Jesus predicted that He would be crucified and that he would rise again.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus promised His resurrection. Initially He did so in allegorical ways:
John 2:19, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.
Matthew 12:40 He compared himself to the prophet Jonah.
After Peter’s confession he clearly predicted His resurrection, Matthew 16:21. Then, just before entering the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus told His disciples he would rise again and meet them in Galilee (Matthew 26:32).
Not only did Jesus predict His death and resurrection, but the prophets throughout the Old Testament predicted His resurrection as well. Jesus fulfilled all the things written. There were astronomicaol odds with nearly a 0 probability one person fulfilling all the prophecies concerning him. Some have said that it is 1 in 13 Trillion for someone to fulfill all the promises. How could His crucifixion have been staged? How could Jesus have manipulated that moment to be crucified and then to rise again? His was something that was predicted hundreds of years before Jesus was born and He predicted it throughout His life. It is now up to us to believe the promises and prophecies related to Christ that He fulfilled so wonderfully.
The Disciples Transformation, Mark 16
Jesus made at least ten different appearances after his resurrection to as many as 500 people at once. His resurrection appearances caused a radical and miraculous transformation in the lives of the apostles. No doubt the radical transformation of the depressed disciples into dynamic missionaries is a great reason we can believe the resurrection.
The resurrection changed them from fearful people to people of peace. After Jesus died, His followers had given up. His movement was dead. Some were returning home. These are not men who were going to DIE for a LIE.
The resurrection changed them from being depressed to being dynamic and full of joy.
The resurrection changed them from sitting and sulking to serving with a heart that was willing to even die for their faith and to have joy in the process. This band of men was beyond despondent. They had given up. Look at that group of weeping disciples. Were they going to storm the tomb and steal the body of Jesus and then go out and preach that he was alive? Come now!
Notice that the disciples did not expect the resurrection. There is no way they were preparing to either steal his body and preach a lie or else be persuaded that Jesus merely swooned and preach a lie.
How different these disciples who were willing to die for their faith from the suicidal Islamic bombers who in a perverse and murderous way are willing to die for their faith. First of all, the disciples were not suicidal martyrs for their faith. They were loving witnesses of the grace of God through Jesus Christ. They only were martyrs because others hated them, not because they hated others. The present day Islamic martyrs are men and women full of hate. Another huge distinction is the disciples only were willing to die for their beliefs when they were persuaded that Jesus had really died and then bodily rose again. No one in the Islamic faith has ever believed this mighty and powerful truth. Muslims merely believe that Allah revealed himself to Mohammed. They are willing to die for a lie because they have nothing to live for. We are willing to live in the power of the resurrection because of Jesus Christ and if others take our life for this, then we know that we will be with the Lord in glory.
Jesus appears to them and they become convinced that Jesus is alive; they then willingly hazard their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and turn the world upside down.
They witnessed at great personal sacrifice. What was the payoff for them to be witnesses of the resurrection? They had nothing to gain personally: either fame, wealth, or comfort. They only won persecution, prison, shipwreck, stones, swords.
The Denying one, Peter, becomes a flaming witness of the resurrection on the Day of Pentecost.
The Doubting one, Thomas, becomes a mighty witness of the resurrection carrying the Gospel into India. Thomas shows us that the disciples were slow to believe. They were not blindly following one another. Thomas was not just taking every word of Peter and believing it. The disciples were independent and rugged individuals.
The Destroying one, Paul, writes thirteen books in the New Testament.
Believing the resurrection from the heart saves the soul and transforms a life. Let the resurrection of Jesus Christ grip your soul and become a living reality to you! Christianity is Christ IN YOU, the hope of glory.
Romans 10:9,10, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
I read the story of a young boy who began stealing at the age of ten from his father who was a tax collector. When his father caught him, he resolved not to get caught again. He became increasingly clever. When he was fourteen his mother died, and he was half drunk. Her death made no spiritual impression upon him, and he grew worse and worse spiritually. At the age of 16 he vacationed in two expensive hotels, ran up the charges, and then walked off without paying. He was caught and thrown into prison, but his father bailed him out. This young man, did not care about God and loved his sin. His name was George Muller. One night at a Bible study the resurrection of Jesus Christ began to make an impression upon his heart, and God began a work of grace in him. The Lord led him to England and he opened up orphanage homes for the multitude of children without parents because of the cholera epidemic. One of the principles that he lived by was to never ask anyone-except God, for money. In his earlier years the love of money had been the root of all kinds of evil in his life. He therefore resolved to trust God alone for the provision of his needs. God not only saved him from sin and gave his life, but God changed him from the inside out to a new man!
One morning the orphans were seated around the table and there was no food anywhere and no money to buy any food, either. George asked God’s blessing for the food, and a knock came to at the door. It was the baker. “Mr. Muller, I could not sleep last night. Somehow I felt you didn’t have bread for breakfast, and the Lord wanted me to send you some. So I got up at 2:00 am and baked some bread for you.”
Hardly had the children got their hands on the bread with a second knock was heard at the door. This time it was the milkman. He said he was sorry to disturb them , but his milk cart had broken down in front of the orphanage and since it would take a while to fix the card, and the milk would turn sour, would Mr. Muller do a favor and take the cans of milk for his orphans! This is one of the thousands of answered prayers the risen and living Lord Jesus Christ gave to George Muller! Yes, we serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today!
1. The Guarded Tomb
2. The Undisturbed Graveclothes
3. The Divine Promises