Lesson 5 The Resurrection Student Copy PDF

Resurrectio n of Jesus Midterm: Lesson 5  Table of Contents 1. Events going towards His Resurrection 2. Theories about the Resurrection 3. Evidence of His Resurrection 4. Significance of His Resurrection  01 Events going towards His Resurrection Symboliz...

Resurrectio n of Jesus Midterm: Lesson 5  Table of Contents 1. Events going towards His Resurrection 2. Theories about the Resurrection 3. Evidence of His Resurrection 4. Significance of His Resurrection  01 Events going towards His Resurrection Symbolized by 3 Old Testament Feasts 1. Event going towards His Resurrection A. Feast of Passover – the Crucifixion of God’s Passover Lamb a. Feast of Passover Parallels b. Abraham’s Sacrifice (Genesis 22) c. Torn temple curtains (Matthew 27:50-51) B. Feast of Unleavened Bread – the Burial a. The Commandment for the Feast (Exodus 12:14-20) b. God’s quick rescue (Exodus 12:31-36) c. Leaven as symbol of sin (1 Corinthians 5:6-8) 1. Event going towards His Resurrection “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8) 1. Event going towards His Resurrection A. Feast of Passover – the Crucifixion of God’s Passover Lamb a. Feast of Passover parallels b. Abraham’s sacrifice (Genesis 22) c. Torn temple curtains (Matthew 27:50-51) B. Feast of Unleavened Bread – the Burial a. The commandment for the feast (Exodus 12:14-20) b. God’s quick rescue (Exodus 12:31-36) c. Leaven as symbol of sin (1 Corinthians 5:6-8) C. Feast of Firstfruits – the Resurrection a) The commandment and foundation of the feast (Leviticus 23:9-14) b) Jesus as the Firstfruit (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) 1. Event going towards His Resurrection “But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)  02 Theories about the Resurrection Rationalistic explanations from critics 2. Theories about the Resurrection A. The Swoon Theory: The swoon theory is the view that Jesus never really died on the cross. He simply swooned or fainted and the soldiers assumed he was dead. He was placed in the tomb alive, perhaps in a comatose state, where the cool air revived him. He escaped from the tomb, appeared to his disciples, and subsequently died of his injuries. 2. Theories about the Resurrection B. The Wrong Tomb Theory: The wrong tomb theory is the theory that on Easter morning, the women got confused concerning where Jesus was buried and came across an empty tomb. Excited by their discovery, they began proclaiming the resurrection. 2. Theories about the Resurrection C. The Theft Theory: The theft theory, the oldest rationalistic explanation of the resurrection (dating to the first century), holds that the disciples stole the body. Matthew reports that this story was widely circulated in his day (Matt. 28:11 – 15). 2. Theories about the Resurrection D. The Visionary and Legendary Development Theory: Few modern critical scholars hold to any of the previous three views. Almost all who deny the resurrection today hold to the legendary development theory, which claims that the Gospel narratives arose as legendary developments of early visionary experiences. It is said that in the days, weeks, months, and even years after the death of Jesus, Peter and the other disciples began having visions and dreams in which they saw Jesus alive.  03 Evidence of His Resurrection Five points that represent key corroborating evidence for the resurrection 3. Evidence of His Resurrection A. Jesus was Crucified by the Romans around AD 30: No credible scholar today denies that Jesus existed or that he was crucified in Judea under orders from Pontius Pilate around AD 30. It is inconceivable, moreover, that Jesus did not die on the cross. The Romans were very good at what they did. 3. Evidence of His Resurrection B. Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea: The burial of Jesus is confirmed by the criterion of multiple attestation. It appears in independent traditions in Mark, John, Acts (2:31; 13:36 – 37), and most important, in a very early statement cited by Paul (1 Corinthians 15:3 – 8). As with the tradition of the Lord’s Supper, Paul claims he received this one from believers before him. As a first-generation Christian who personally knew Peter, James, and other believers in Jerusalem, Paul’s statement that Jesus “was buried” is confirmed beyond reasonable doubt. 3. Evidence of His Resurrection C. The tomb was discovered empty on the third day: Four striking points/evidence of the tomb being discovered as empty: a. All of the Gospels testify that women discovered the empty tomb. b. The resurrection was central to the church’s proclamation as they started preaching the gospel in Jerusalem. c. The claim that Jesus’ body was stolen presupposes an empty tomb (Matt. 28:11 – 15). d. The very early testimony that Jesus rose on “the first day of the week” (Mark 16:2) indicates that a specific historical event — like the discovery of an empty tomb — prompted belief in the resurrection 3. Evidence of His Resurrection D. Many credible witnesses saw Jesus alive: Not only was the tomb empty, but many reliable witnesses claimed to have seen Jesus alive. Two pieces of evidence are particularly important here. First is the resurrection appearances to women. As we noted, these stories are unlikely to have been fabricated by the early church, since women were not viewed as reliable witnesses. Second, the very early primary source account of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3 – 8 confirms that many people saw Jesus alive. Paul claims that Jesus appeared to Peter, to the other disciples, to James the brother of Jesus, and to more than five hundred people. He also notes that many of these were still alive, essentially challenging his critics to check out the reports for themselves. 3. Evidence of His Resurrection E. Transformed lives of the disciples: The fifth piece of verifiable evidence for the resurrection is the extraordinary change in the apostles. What else could account for the transformation of a small band of defeated disciples into a community of followers who could not be silenced by persecution or threat of martyrdom? Something happened on that Sunday morning which changed their lives, convincing them that Jesus was the risen and glorified Lord.  04 Significance of His Resurrection The Message from an Empty Tomb “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain. Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:14-17) 4. Significance of His Resurrection a. The divine confirmation of Jesus‘ claims regarding His person and work (Romans 1:4) b. Assurance of salvation (Romans 10:9) c. Power (Overcome) over sin and death (Romans 5:12, 18-19) d. Assurance of resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) That Christ has risen confirms the reality of life beyond the grave and demonstrates the truthfulness of God's promise of eternal life in Him. “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)  Without the resurrection, Jesus Christ’s death would have been a defeat.