Today’s Message –> “The Case For A Resurrection”
Sunday, November 17, 2019
This series of talks are a journey through Christian Apologetics. Each message is designed to help you better understand your faith and provide you with some tools to defend it.
Did Jesus REALLY live?
THERE ARE (10) NON-CHRISTIAN SOURCES (writers like CELSUS, a strongly Anti-Christian greek philosopher, TACITUS, a roman senator and historian and the Jewish Talmud) WHO MENTION JESUS WITHIN 150 YEARS OF HIS LIFE.
POWERFUL THOUGHT —> Here’s WHY that’s a big deal: Take Tiberius Caesar for example, who was the roman emperor who lived at the time of Jesus —> he has 9 total sources who mention his life and existence. MEANING JESUS IS MENTIONED BY ONE MORE SOURCE than the ROMAN EMPEROR in a time of ROMAN RULE! If you include the Christian sources, authors mentioning Jesus OUTMUMBER CAESAR 43-9!
THERE IS NO DOUBT JESUS CHRIST LIVED ON THIS EARTH!
DID JESUS LIVE —> AGAIN?
ACCORDING TO DR. GARY HABERMAN, ALL scholars (liberals and conversatiives) AGREE the following points concerning Jesus and the claims of His resurrection:
- Jesus’ tomb WAS found empty.
- The disciples believed they encountered actual appearances of the risen Jesus
- Through this claimed experience – they were dramatically transformed to the point they were willing to die for this belief.
- Word spread of the resurrection EARLY AFTER HIS DEATH…it wasn’t an added tale to the story. The disciple’s public testimony of the resurrection took place in Jerusalem…where Jesus was crucified and buried shortly before.
- Every time we have record of the disciples preaching, it includes his death and it includes a resurrection.
- James, the brother of Jesus was extremely skeptic before this time, and was converted when he believed he also saw the risen Jesus.
THE TOP ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST:
HALLUCINATION THEORY
A theory that states the disciples were seeing HALLUCINATIONS of a Risen Christ. OUR COUNTER TO THIS THEORY —> Hallucinations are not experienced by groups, only by individuals…physicians say hallucinations are A LOT LIKE DREAMS (solely individual experiences). A total of 500 people were recorded having seen a RISEN JESUS!THE WRONG TOMB THEORY
A theory that states the disciples were at the wrong tomb. OUR COUNTER TO THIS THEORY —> If the disciples had simply gone to the wrong tomb, all Roman Authorities would need to do is go to the RIGHT TOMB, pull the body of Jesus out disproving their claims. ALSO —> the tomb where Jesus was buried was KNOWN by PPL – he was recorded as being buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, a Sanhedrin member.THE APPARENT DEATH THEORY
A theory that states Jesus never died. Is it possible that Jesus didn’t really die?
OUR COUNTER TO THIS THEORY —> Josephus’ writings & other HISTORICALLY PROVEN SOURCES THAT DESCRIBE AND DETAIL THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST.THE DISCIPLES STOLE THE BODY
A theory that states the disciples stole the body of Jesus. OUR COUNTER-ARGUMENT TO THIS THEORY —> In order for this theory to be correct, it would mean that ALL of the N/T writers and disciples would have to worked together to create this MASSIVE LIE AND FOR SOME INEXPLICABLE REASON…GET THEMSELVES BEATEN, TORTURED…AND ULTIMATELY KILLED FOR IT. A REASON-MINDED person would have to agree, there’s no reason to do this. Why would the disciples EMBARK on SUCH A SELF-DEFEATING CONSPIRACY? Most conspiracies exists to SELF-PROMOTE not SELF-DEFEAT.
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ARGUMENTS FOR THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST:
10 OF THE 12 DISCIPLES OF JESUS WERE KILLED FOR THEIR TESTIMONY OF A RESURRECTED JESUS CHRIST:
JAMES
The brother of Jesus later became the leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in a resurrected Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller’s club. AND BTW this was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.
JAMES SON OF ZEBEDEE
The martyrdom of James son of Zebedee is recorded in the New Testament of the Bible, in Acts 12:1-2. He was executed through being BEHEADED, with a sword, by order of King Herod Agrippa I in the year 44 AD. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his BELIEF at his trial. Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.
PETER
Was eventually captured and imprisoned in complete darkness at some point in the A.D. 60’s and was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross. According to some historians it was because he was recorded and telling his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.
PHILLIP
was crucified, according to Foxs’ Book of Martyrs: “He labored diligently in Upper Asia, and suffered martyrdom at Heliopolis, in Phrygia. He was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified – while being stoned – it was said to be the ultimate act of hatred, A.D. 54.”
THADDEUS
was crucified, according to Foxs’ Book of Martyrs: “The brother of James, called Thaddeus was crucified at Edessa, A.D. 72.”
SIMON THE ZEALOT
According to Foxs’ Book of Martyrs: Simon “Surnamed Zelotes, preaching the Gospel in Africa and in Britain, where history records that he was crucified…and later sawed in half, A.D. 74.”
MATTHEW
(who once collected TAXES for Rome) was killed with a spear and a halberd, according to Foxs’ Book of Martyrs: “His ministry was primarily to Parthia, and Ethiopia, and it was in Ethiopia where he suffered martyrdom, being RUN THROUGH WITH A SPEAR and slain with a halberd (show weapon – beheaded) in the city of Nadabah, A.D. 60.”
BARTHOLOMEW
According to Eusebius, Christian writer who lived during the 4th Century, Bartholomew traveled all over the place preaching and leaving behind COPIES of the Gospel of Matthew: He found himself preaching in what is now present day Turkey where Bartholomew was killed for his preaching and was flayed to death by a whip.
ANDREW
Andrew was recorded having been martyred in Patrae, Western Greece. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “It is generally agreed that he was crucified by order of the Roman Governor, Aegeas, and that he was bound, not nailed, to the cross, in order to prolong his sufferings. His martyrdom took place during the reign of Nero, on 30 November, A.D. 60); His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: “I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.” He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.
JOHN
Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote the Book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully, but not w/out his share of scars.
THOMAS
‘DOUBTING THOMAS’ was killed with a spear, according to Foxs’ Book of Martyrs: He, preached the Gospel in Parthia and India, where by “exciting the rage of the pagan priests”, he was martyred by being thrust through with a spear.” (…some records in history say he was empaled, dipped in tar and carried through the city in parade form to warn anyone else to follow his path.)
The death of the disciples provided a powerful case for a resurrected Jesus. What are your thoughts?
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