Christianity: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Lesson Three: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

The Importance of the Resurrection

• The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a key area that authenticates and makes Christianity unique among all other religions.
• Jesus' tomb is empty, unlike other religious founders.
• The resurrection must be distinguished from ten alternative explanations.

The Facts of the Resurrection

• Jesus predicted His resurrection before His death (Matthew 16:21, 17:9, 20:18-19, 26:32, Mark 9:10, Luke 9:22-27, John 2:18-22).
• The testimony of the Gospel writers (Matthew 28:1-8, 11-15, Mark 16:1-11, Luke 24:1-10, John 20:1-10, 18).
• The New Testament records the resurrection as a historical event in a definite time-space dimension.
• The empty tomb (Luke 24:12, John 20:3-8).
• The burial clothes (Luke 24:12, John 20:3-8).
• Paul's testimonies (1 Corinthians 15, Romans 1:4, 4:24-27, 6:3ff, 10-11, Galatians 1:1, Ephesians 1:19-20).

The Resurrection Appearances

• To Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-17, Mark 16:9-11).
• To the women (Matthew 28:9-10).
• To Peter (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5).
• To the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Mark 16:12-13, Luke 24:13-35).
• To the disciples in Jerusalem (Mark 16:14, Luke 24:36-43, John 20:19-23).
• To Thomas (John 20:26-29).
• To the disciples by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-23).
• To over 500 believers at once (1 Corinthians 15:6-7).
• To Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 7:55-56, 9:3-6).

The Transformed Life of the Disciples and Millions of People Throughout History

• The resurrection of Jesus transformed the lives of His disciples and millions of people throughout history.

Alternative (Inadequate) Views

• The Fraud Theory: That the whole story is a hoax.
• The Swoon Theory: That Jesus only fainted and later revived in the tomb.
• The Hallucination Theory: That the disciples imagined seeing Jesus.
• The Ghost Theory: That the disciples only saw Jesus' ghost.
• The Myth Theory: That the resurrection story was invented without any basis in truth.

Lesson Four: Faith Verses Reason

Introduction

• The relationship between faith and reason is important in apologetics.
• There are three schools of thought:
  1. Faith is the only means to understand truth.
  2. Reason alone is the means to understand truth.
  3. Both reason and faith are necessary to discover truth.

Reasons for Rationality of Reason and Faith

• The Christian faith affirms an objective source and foundation for knowledge, reason, and rationality, which is God.
• Christian truth claims do not violate the basic laws or principles of reason.
• Faith and reason function in a complementary fashion.

Lesson Five: The Reliability and Authority of the Bible

Introduction

• Discussions about faith lead to questions about the Bible.
• The Bible is the foundation of what Christians believe and lays down truths.

The Uniqueness of the Bible

• Written over 1500 years by more than 40 authors with very different backgrounds.
• Written in very different places and situations.
• More than one billion copies sold worldwide, with over 10 million copies sold every year.
• Translated into more than 2200 languages and dialects.
• Survived time, persecution, and criticism.

The Bible is Both Human and Divine

• The Bible is a human book, written in languages spoken by people for the purpose of communicating ideas.
• The Bible is a divine book, inspired by God, with unity, mystery, and authority.

The Nature of the Bible

• Each biblical writing was written by someone to specific hearers or readers in a specific historical and geographical situation for a specific purpose.
• The Bible was affected and influenced by the cultural environment from which each human writer wrote.
• Each biblical writing was accepted or understood in the light of its context.
• Each biblical writing took on the nature of a specific literary form.
• Each biblical writing was understood by its initial readers in accordance with the basic principles of logic and communication.

The Inspiration of the Bible

• Revelation is the communication of truth which would not otherwise be known.
• Inspiration is the act whereby God put the revealed truths into infallible written form.
• The Bible is both a divine revelation and the inspired word of God.

The Authority of the Bible

• The Bible is inerrant, without error in its original writings.
• The Bible is authoritative, with unity and mystery.
• The Bible has survived persecution and criticism.