THE REASON FOR THE HOPE WITHIN US

There’s no subject more important to the Christian then the Resurrection of Christ. If Jesus was resurrected then God has accepted His sacrifice for our sins. If Jesus was not resurrected then that would be a sign from God that our sins had not been paid for. That’s the point Paul argues in 1 Corinthians 15:

“If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. (1 Cor. 15:14,17-19)

Well how do we know Jesus really was resurrected? We need to have faith. But let’s define faith. Faith is a combination of three things:

1) Knowledge (We are introduced to the facts)
2) Belief (I accept the facts as true)
3) Trust (God will do what He says He will do)

With this definition in mind let’s explore the reason we have faith in the Resurrection of Christ.


KNOWLEDGE – An introduction to the facts

The death and resurrection of Jesus was part of God’s redemption plan that was formed in eternity. Jesus is the “lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8)

Sin entered into the world through Adam and Eve and separated mankind from God (Genesis 3). God promised to deal with sin (Genesis 3:15) and send the world a Savior, a Messiah that would restore the relationship between man and God (Isaiah 53:5). All throughout the Old Testament we’re given clues as to who this Messiah will be.

For example, the Messiah would come from God (Isaiah 9:6), be the Son of God (Psalm 2:7, Proverbs 30:4), be killed for the sins of the world (Isaiah 53, Daniel 9:26), resurrected (Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 26:19) ascend into heaven (Psalm 68:18), sit at the right hand of God (Psalm 110:1), and establish an everlasting kingdom (Isaiah 9:7; Daniel 7:14). The New Testament records these prophecies as being fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.


BELIEF – Accepting the facts as true

Virtually all scholars agree that Jesus lived, was crucified, and that His tomb was found empty. What they disagree on is what happened to His body.

Christians point to the fact that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies and claimed that He had been resurrected. Unbelievers countered by saying the New Testament is unreliable. But this has been proven to be untrue. Take, for example, the research of Simon Greenleaf. Greenleaf was regarded as the leading expert on legal evidence. He set out to show that the four gospels were a hoax but after examining the evidence came to the conclusion that the resurrection of Christ was history’s best supported event. He became a Christian. Then there’s Sir William Ramsey, the famous archeologist who set out to disprove Luke’s gospel. As he poured over the ancient artifacts and details, to his amazement he found that the Bible was accurate down to the tiniest detail. He too became a Christian after examining the evidence.

Other theories have been introduced to dismiss the resurrection, but they loose credibility quickly. For example, some have claimed that the more famous Messianic Prophecies (ex. Isaiah 53) were not speaking of a person, but a nation. This idea was introduced around 1100 years after Christ and has been refuted by non-believing Rabbis. Or the Swoon Theory, made popular in 1965, which argued that Jesus didn’t really die, but that after a nice rest He was back to His old self, moved the stone from in front of His grave, snuck past the guards, and went about life as usual. Again outside evidence refutes this. There is no question that Jesus had died. Those who lived at that time offered only one argument: “The body had been stolen by the disciples.”

But how could the body been stolen?” the Christians counter, “There were guards posted at the grave.” No doubt that after all the commotion Jesus had caused security would be high around the tomb. And where did the disciples, who had run off scared during the crucifixion, gain the courage to steal His body and go fearlessly before the world proclaiming that Jesus had risen? And why would they do these things in the first place when they would suffer persecution and death for what they knew was a lie? Why didn’t at least one of them come forward and admit it was all a hoax, especially when admitting this would save his life? And what about the witnesses that saw Him? Paul essentially says in 1 Corinthians 15, “There were witnesses that saw the resurrected Christ. Go ask them if you don’t believe us.” Critics say that Jesus only appeared to His followers, but we know that He appeared to at least one backslider in Peter, a skeptic in Thomas, and two unbelievers in Paul and James. If someone wants to start a legend they don’t start it by using historical facts that can be verified. Yet we discover that Christianity is rooted in historical fact.

There have been others throughout history who have claimed to be the Messiah and their lives all tell the same story. They are exalted among the people, but once they die their followers abandon them and they become nothing more than footnotes in history. But in Jesus’ case the opposite happened. After He died He was -- and to this day still still is -- accepted all throughout the world as the Messiah. What was different about Jesus? What caused the change in His followers?

Answer: They knew Jesus had risen from the grave.


TRUST - God will do what He says He will do

Finally we come to the heart of the matter – am I willing to put my trust in Christ. So far we’ve gone through an overview of the facts and evidences for the Resurrection, but accepting Christ is about more than facts and debates. If the issue was merely a matter of facts then all the intelligent people would be on one side and all the less-than-intelligent people would be on the other. But if we’re honest then we’ll admit that there are brilliant men and women on both sides of the issue. That tells us there is more involved then simply the mind. It tells us the heart is also involved. Someone says there’s no proof. The Bible counters by saying that the problem isn't the lack of evidence but the suppression of it.

There’s a story among the old Rabbis that says that a scarlet thread once hung in the temple and every year when the priest made a sacrifice for the sins of the people the thread would supernaturally turn white. This, they said, indicated that God had accepted their sacrifice. But around 30AD – right about the time Jesus was crucified – the priest made the yearly sacrifice but this time the thread remained scarlet. This shook the rabbis who didn’t know why their sacrifice were no longer being accepted.

The answer, of course, is that Jesus had been sacrificed once and for all and no other sacrifice was needed or accepted (Hebrews 7:27), but because their hearts were set against Him, they could not see this.

"Behold your King!" Pilate said to the crowd. But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!" Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away.”

What will you do with Jesus? Will you turn Him away like those who crucified Him? Or will you shout with joy like Mary when you realize that Jesus has been raised and we too shall be raised if we place our faith in Him?

It’s been said that it wasn’t nails that held Jesus to the cross, but love. Even before you were born God knew what it would cost Him to have a relationship with you. He decided you were worth the unimaginable price. His offer of forgiveness is still open to you today. Right now.

“May now be saved, whoever will;
Our Lord Christ Jesus receives sinners still”