11 Apr GOOD NEWS: What the Bible says about Jesus’ Resurrection
GOOD NEWS: What the Bible says about Jesus’ Resurrection (April 12 Easter)
- Intro – oldest 5 kids, Catholic blue-collar, today 5 kids The Trinity Church
- World Bad News. Christian Church Good News “Gospel”
- Jesus Christ – 2000 yrs ago, small town, poor family, never travelled or held office. Most influential Person (books, paintings, songs, BC/AD, Xmas/Easter)
Only major religious leader to say they are God & died for saying it
Jesus Resurrection Defeats Death
- Physically alive
- Physically dead for a period
- Then physically alive in a perfected body never to die again
20 reasons to believe in Jesus’ resurrection
- Jesus’ resurrection was predicted in the Old Testament
1000 B.C. Psalm 16:10 “…you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.”
- Jesus’ predicted His resurrection in advance
Mark 8:31 [Jesus] began to teach them that [He] must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
- Jesus’ died
- cross, spear, burial clothes, rock tomb
- Jesus’ tomb location was well known
- Joseph Arimithea
- Jesus’ empty tomb was found by women
- Jesus’ disciples were transformed from cowards to courageous
- Doubter – Thomas became worshipper
- Denier – Peter later asked to be crucified upside down
- Jesus’ appeared to crowds upwards of 500 people over forty days
- Jesus’ followers remained loyal to Him
- Jesus’ tomb was not enshrined
- 50 tombs enshrined in the area at the time
- Judaism – Abraham buried @ Jerusalem
- Buddhism – Buddha buried @ India
- Islam – Mohammed buried @ Medina
- Jesus’ followers worshipped Him as God
- Jesus’ family worshipped Him as God
- Jesus’ followers changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday
- Jesus’ followers practiced communion and baptism
- Jesus’ enemy Paul was converted
- Jesus’ resurrection was recorded shortly after it occurred
- Mark 37 AD; 1 Cor 15 creed 30-36 A.D. when eyewitnesses still alive
- Jesus’ resurrection is unique in history
N.T. Wright Studied at Oxford, taught at St Andrews, and wrote “The Resurrection of the Son of God”. Greek philosophers rejected resurrection. Pagans stole idea from XN’s
- Jesus resurrection is verified by history
Josephus (A.D. 37-100) Jewish historian born a few years after Jesus died. “…there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats…He was the Christ. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men…had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared to themrestored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvelous things about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.”
- Jesus Church has stood the test of time
- Jesus is alive and changing lives to this day
- Jesus’ resurrection defies any alternate explanation
- Devout Jews of character suffered death for no earthly benefit
After surveying all the evidence, Thomas Arnold (former professor of Modern History at Oxford) says: “No one fact in the history of mankind . . . is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort” than the fact that “Christ died and rose from the dead.”
Fear – Enemy Death
- What awaits us on the other side of death?
- Who awaits us on the other side of death?
– Let Jesus fix your biggest problem (death)
– Let Jesus help you fix your other problems
Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
GRACE ENTERS
GRACE CLOSES IN PRAYER
