EVIDENCE FOR THE RESURRECTION

For centuries many of the world's distinguished

philosophers have assaulted Christianity as being  

irrational, superstitious and absurd Many have chosen simply to ignore the central issue of the  resurrection.  Others have tried to explain it away through
various theories. But the historical evidence just can't be |discounted. Why? Because we are not able to explain away an event in history--the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

How can we explain the empty tomb? Can it possibly be
accounted for by any natural cause?

A QUESTION OF HISTORY
After more than 700 hours of studying this subject, I have come to the conclusion that the
 resurrection of Jesus Christ is either one of the most wicked, vicious,
heartless hoaxes ever foisted on the minds of human beings--
or it is the most remarkable |fact of history.  Here are some of
the facts relevant to the resurrection:
Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish prophet who claimed to be
   the Christ prophesied in the Jewish
Scriptures, was arrested, was judged a political criminal,
and was crucified. Three days after His
death and women who went to His tomb found
the body gone. In subsequent weeks,
His disciples claimed that God had raised Him from
the dead and that He appeared to them various
times before ascending into heaven.

From that foundation, Christianity spread throughout
the Roman Empire and has continued to exert great
influence down through the centuries.

LIVING WITNESSES

The New Testament accounts of the resurrection were
being circulated within the lifetimes of men and women
alive at me of the  resurrection. Those people could
certainly have confirmed or denied the accuracy of
such accounts.

The writers of the four Gospels either had themselves
been witnesses or else were relating the accounts of
eyewitnesses of the actual events. In advocating
their case for the gospel, a word that means "good news,"
the apostles appealed (even when confronting their most
severe opponents) to common knowledge concerning
the facts of the resurrection.

  IS THE NEW TESTAMENT RELIABLE ?
Because the New Testament provides the primary
historical source for information on the
resurrection,many critics during the 19th century
 attacked the reliability of these biblical documents.
By the end of the 19th century, however, archaeological
discoveries had confirmed the accuracy of the New
Testament manuscripts. Discoveries of early
papyri bridged the gap between the time of Christ and
existing manuscripts from a later date.

Those findings increased scholarly confidence in the
reliability of the Bible. William F. Albright, who
in his day was the world's  foremost biblical
archaeologist, said: "We can already say emphatically
that there is no longer any solid basis for dating any
book of the New Testament after about A.D. 80, two
full generations before the date between 130 and 150
given by the more radical New Testament critics of
today."

Coinciding with the papyri discoveries, an abundance of
other manuscripts came to light (over 24,000 copies of
early New Testament manuscripts are known to be in
existence today).
The historian Luke wrote of "authentic evidence"
concerning the resurrection.
Sir William Ramsay, who spent 15 years attempting to
undermine Luke credentials as a historian, and to refute
the reliability of the New Testament, finally concluded: "Luke is a historian of the first rank . . . This author should be placed along with the very
greatest of historians. "

 BACKGROUND
The New Testament witnesses were fully aware of the
background against which the resurrection took place.

The body of Jesus, in accordance with Jewish burial
custom, was wrapped in a linen cloth. About 100
pounds of aromatic spices, mixed together to form a
gummy substance, were applied to the wrappings of
cloth about the body. After the body was placed in a
solid rock tomb,an extremely large stone was rolled
against the entrance of the tomb. Large stones
weighing approximately two tons were normally
rolled (by means of levers) against a tomb entrance.
A Roman guard of strictly discipned fighting men was
stationed to guard the tomb. This guard affixed on the
tomb the Roman seal, which was meant to "prevent
any attempt at vandalizing the sepulcher. Anyone
trying to move the stonefrom the tomb's entrance
would have broken the seal and thus incurred the
wrath of Roman law.

But three days later the tomb was empty. The followers 
 of Jesus said He had risen from the dead. They
reported that He appeared to them during a period of 40
days, showing Himself to them by many "infallible
proofs." Paul the apostle recounted that Jesus
appeared to more than 500 of His followers at one time,
the majority of whom were still alive and who could
confirm what Paul wrote. So many security precautions
were taken with the trial, crucifixion, burial,
entombment, sealing, and guarding of Christ's tomb
that it becomes very difficult for critics to defend their
position that Christ did not rise from the dead.
Consider these facts:

FACT #1: BROKEN ROMAN SEAL
As we have said, the first obvious fact was the breaking
of the seal that stood for the power and authority of the
Roman Empire.
The consequences of breaking the seal were extremely
severe. The FBI and CIA of the Roman Empire were
called into action to find the man or men who were
responsible.
If they were apprehended, it meant automatic execution
by crucifixion upside down. People feared the breaking
of the seal. Jesus' disciples displayed signs of cowardice
when they hid themselves. Peter, one of these disciples,
went out and denied Christ three times.

FACT #2: EMPTY TOMB
As we have already discussed, another obvious fact after
the resurrection was the empty tomb. The disciples of
Christ did not go off to Athens or Rome to preach that
Christ was raised from the dead. Rather, they went
right back to the city of Jerusalem, where, if what they
were teaching was false, the falsity would be evident.
The empty tomb was "too notorious to be denied.
" Paul Althaus states that the resurrection "could
have not been maintained in Jerusalem for a single
day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb
had not been established as a fact for all concerned."

Both Jewish and Roman sources and traditions admit an
empty tomb. Those resources range from Josephus to a
compilation of fifth-century Jewish writings called the
"Toledoth Jeshu." Dr. Paul Maier calls this "positive
evidence from a hostile source, which is the strongest
kind of historical evidence. In essence, this means that
if a source admits a fact decidedly not in its favor, then
that fact is genuine."

Gamaliel, who was a member of the Jewish high court,
the Sanhedrin, put forth the suggestion that the rise of
the Christian movement was God's doing; he could not
have done that if the tomb were still occupied, or if the
Sanhedrin knew the whereabouts of Christ's body.

FACT #3: LARGE STONE MOVED
On that Sunday morning the first thing that impressed
the people who approached the tomb was the unusual
position of the one and a half to two ton stone that had
been lodged in front of the doorway. All the Gospel
writers mention it. Those who observed the stone after
the resurrection describe its position as having been
rolled up a slope away not just from the entrance of the
tomb, but from the entire massive sepulcher. It was in
such a position that it looked as if it had been picked
up and carried away. Now, I ask you, if the disciples
had wanted to come in, tiptoe around the sleeping
guards, and then roll the stone over and steal Jesus'
body, how could they have |done that without the

guards' awareness?

FACT #4: ROMAN GUARD GOES AWOL
The Roman guards fled. They left their place of
responsibility. How can their attrition he explained,|
when Roman military discipline was so exceptional?
Justin, in Digest #49, mentions all the offenses
that required the death penalty. The fear of their
superiors' wrath and the possibility of death meant
that they paid close attention to the minutest details
of their jobs. One way a guard was put to death was by
being stripped of his clothes and then burned alive in a
fire started with his garments. If it was not apparent
which soldier had failed in his duty, then lots were
drawn to see which one wand be punished with death
for the guard unit's failure. Certainly the entire unit
would not have fallen asleep with that kind of threat
over their heads. Dr. George Currie, a student of
Roman military discipline, wrote that fear of
punishment "produced flawless attention to duty,
especially in the night watches."

FACT #5: GRAVECLOTHES TELL A TALE
In a literal sense, against all statements to the contrary,
the tomb was not totally empty--because of an amazing
phenomenon. John, a disciple of Jesus, looked over to
the place where the body of Jesus had lain, and there
were the grave clothes, in the form of the body, slightly
caved in and empty--like the empty chrysalis of a
caterpillar's cocoon. That's enough to make a believer
out of anybody. John never did get over it. The first
thing that stuck in the minds of the disciples was not
the empty tomb, but rather the empty grave
clothes--undisturbed in form and position.

FACT #6: JESUS' APPEARANCES CONFIRMED
Christ appeared alive on several occasions after the
cataclysmic events of that first Easter . When studying
an event in history, it is important to know whether
enough people who were participants or eyewitnesses
to the event were alive hen the facts about the event
were published. To know this is obviously helpful in
ascertaining the accuracy of the published report. If
the number of eyewitnesses is substantial, the event
can he regarded as fairly well established. For instance,
if we all witness a murder, and a later police report
turns out to he a fabrication of lies, we as eyewitnesses
can refute it.

OVER 500 WITNESSES
Several very important factors arc often overlooked
when considering Christ's post-resurrection
appearances to individuals.
The first is the large number of witnesses of Christ
after that resurrection morning. One of the earliest
records of Christ's appearing after the resurrection is
by Paul. The apostle appealed to his audience's
knowledge of the fact that Christ had been seen by
more than 500 people at one time. Paul reminded them
that the majority of those people were still alive and
could be questioned. Dr. Edwin M. Yamauchi, associate
professor of history at Miami University in
Oxford, Ohio, emphasizes: "What gives a special
authority to the list (of witnesses) as historical evidence
is the reference to most of the five hundred brethren
being still alive. St. Paul says in effect, 'If you do not
believe me, you can ask them.' Such a statement in an
admittedly genuine letter written within thirty years of
the event is almost as strong evidence as one could hope to get for something that happened nearly two thousand years ago." Let's take the more
than 500 witnesses who saw Jesus alive after His death
and burial, and place them in a courtroom. Do you
realize that if each of those 500 people were to testify
for only six minutes,including cross-examination, you
would have an amazing 50 hours of firsthand
testimony? Add to this the testimony of many other
eyewitnesses and you would well have the largest and
most lopsided trial in history.

HOSTILE WITNESSES
Another factor crucial to interpreting Christ's
appearances is that He also appeared to those who were
hostile or unconvinced.
Over and over again, I have read or heard people
comment that Jesus was seen alive after His death and
burial only by His friends and followers. Using that
argument, they attempt to water down the
overwhelming impact of the multiple eyewitness
accounts. But that line of reasoning is so pathetic it
hardly deserves comment. No author or informed
individual would regard Saul of Tarsus as being a
follower of Christ. The facts show the exact opposite.
Saul despised Christ and persecuted Christ's followers.
It was a life-shattering experience when Christ
appeared to him. Although he was at the time not
a disciple, he later became the apostle Paul, one of
the greatest witnesses for the truth of the resurrection.   The argument that Christ's appearances were only to followers is an argument
for the most part from silence, and arguments from
silence can be dangerous. It is equally possible that
all to whom Jesus appeared became followers. No
one acquainted with the facts can accurately say that
Jesus appeared to just "an insignificant few."

Christians believe that Jesus was bodily resurrected
in time and space by the supernatural power of God.
The difficulties of belief may be great, but the problems
inherent in unbelief present even greater difficulties.
The theories advanced to explain the resurrection by
"natural causes" are weak; they actually help to build
confidence in the truth of the resurrection.

THE WRONG TOMB ?
A theory propounded by Kirsopp Lake assumes that
the women who reported that the body was missing
had mistakenly gone to the wrong tomb. If so, then
the disciples who went to check up on the women's
statement must have also gone to the wrong tomb.
We may be certain, however, that Jewish authorities,
who asked for a Roman guard to be stationed at the
tomb to prevent Jesus' body from being stolen, would
not have been mistaken about the location. Nor would
tthe Roman guards, for they were there! If the resurrection-claim was merely because of a geographical mistake, the Jewish authorities would have lost no time in producing the body from the proper tomb, thus effectively quenching for all time any rumor resurrection.

HALLUCINATIONS?
Another attempted explanation claims that the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection were either illusions or hallucinations. Unsupported by the psychological principles governing the appearances of hallucinations, this theory also does not coincide with the historical situation. Again, where was the actual body, and why wasn't it produced?

DID JESUS SWOON?
Another theory, popularized by Venturini several centuries ago, is often quoted today. This is the swoon theory, which says that Jesus didn't die; he merely fainted from exhaustion and loss of blood. Everyone thought Him dead, but later He resuscitated and the disciples thought it to be a resurrection. Skeptic David Friedrich Strauss--certainly no believer in the resurrection--gave the deathblow to any thought that Jesus revived from a swoon: "It is impossible that a being who had stolen half-dead out of the sepulchre, who crept about weak and ill, wanting medical treatment, who required bandaging, strengthening and indulgence, and who still at last yielded to His sufferings, could have given to the disciples the impression that He was a Conqueror over death and the grave, the Prince of Life, an impression which lay at the bottom of their future ministry. Such a resuscitation could only have weakened the impression which He had made upon them in life and in death, at the most could only have given it an elegiac voice, but could by no possibility have changed their sorrow into enthusiasm, have elevated their reverence into worship."

THE BODY STOLEN?
Then consider the theory that the body was stolen by the disciples while the guards slept. The depression and cowardice of the disciples provide a hard-hitting argument against their suddenly becoming so brave and daring as to face a detachment of soldiers at the tomb and steal the body. They were in no mood to attempt anything like that. The theory that the Jewish or Roman authorities moved Christ's body is no more reasonable an explanation for the empty tomb than theft by the disciples. If the authorities had the body in their possession or knew where it was, why, when the disciples were preaching the resurrection in Jerusalem, didn't they explain: "Wait! We moved the body, see, He didn't rise from the grave"? And if such a rebuttal failed, why didn't they explain exactly where Jesus' body lay? If this failed, why didn't they recover the corpse, put it on a cart, and wheel it through the center of Jerusalem? Such an action would have destroyed Christianity--not in the cradle, but in the womb!

THE RESURRECTION IS A FACT
Professor Thomas Arnold, for 14 years a headmaster of Rugby, author of the famous, History of Rome, and appointed to the chair of modern history at Oxford, was well acquainted with the value of evidence in determining historical facts. This great scholar said: "I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God bath given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead." Brooke Foss Westcott, an English scholar, said: "raking all the evidence together, it is not too much to say that there is no historic incident better or more variously supported than the resurrection of Christ. Nothing but the antecedent assumption that it must be false could have suggested the idea of deficiency in the proof of it."

REAL PROOF: THE DISCIPLES' LIVES
But the most telling testimony of all must be the lives of those early Christians. We must ask ourselves: What caused them to go everywhere telling the message of the risen Christ? Had there been any visible benefits accrued to them from their efforts--prestige, wealth, increased social status or material benefits--we might logically attempt to account for their actions, for their whole-hearted and total allegiance to this "risen Christ ."

As a reward for their efforts, however, those early Christians were beaten, stoned to death, thrown to the lions, tortured and crucified. Every conceivable method was used to stop them from talking. Yet, they laid down their lives as the ultimate proof of their complete confidence in the truth of their message.

WHERE DO YOU STAND?
How do you evaluate this overwhelming historical evidence? What is your decision about the fact of Christ's empty tomb? What do you think of Christ?

When confronted with the overwhelming evidence for Christ's resurrection, one must ask the logical question: "What difference does all this evidence make to me? What difference does it make whether or not I believe Christ rose again and died on the cross for my sins!' The answer is put best by something Jesus said to a man who doubted--Thomas. Jesus told him: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6).

On the basis of all the evidence for Christ's resurrection, and considering the fact that Jesus offers forgiveness of sin and an eternal relationship with God, who would be so foolhardy as to reject Him? Christ is alive! He is living today.

How HHow to Insure The Presence of God in Your Life God has created us to be more than conquerors in this world. Yet Satan continues to defeat us through fear and doubt. For Believers to win every battle, we must be fearless and know that the presence of God is always with us. Many times when a person doubts that God is with them it is because they have a sin consciousness. Instead, we must be righteousness conscious. Through Christ, we have been made righteous (to be in right standing with God). As Believers, we must know that God is with us no matter what. That knowledge will cause us to be victorious in every battle.   A. Even when you sin, God is still with you. 1.  After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they hid from God (Genesis 3:4-10). a.  Sin brings fear; Adam had no fear until he sinned. 2.  When you doubt God's presence, it often means that you have an un-confessed sin. a.  fear.Sin will cause you to hide from the presence of God. b.  When you are out of the presence of God, you are in the presence of darkness-the enemy c.   The best remedy is to repent, receive God's forgiveness and move forward. 3.  God knew that Adam and Eve sinned, but He still showed up and continued speaking to them. a.  When you sin, gossip, are offended or going through difficult times, God is still with you. b.  Remind yourself by saying, "I know that God is with me." 4.  Sin doesn't cause you to be out of the presence of God; it causes you to have trouble hearing His voice. 5.  Having confidence and assurance of God's ever-abiding presence will drive away fear. B. God has assured us that He is always with us. 1.  God promised that He would never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5, AMP ). a.  The Amplified Version of the Bible says that God will not let you down, give you up, leave you without support (when Jesus left, the Holy Spirit came), leave you helpless, forsake you, let you down or relax His hold on you. b.  As He was with Moses, God promised to be with Joshua (Joshua 1:8). Since He is no respecter of persons, you can be sure that He is also with you. 2l Believe that God is with you, not because you are perfect or anointed, but because He said He would be. 3.  Jesus said that God is with us always, even until the end of the earth (Matthew 28:18-20). 4.  You are greater than those in the world because God is in you (1 John 4:4). 5.  The conqueror's slogan is, "I will not fear any evil for  God is with me" (Psalm 23:4; Romans 8:31; Psalm 118:6). 66.  Jesus knew that God was with Him and that He couldn't do anything without being in His Father's presence (John 8:28-29). The same is true for you. C. Ensure God's presence through praise. 1.  David lived a life of praise, and God was with Him even when he "messed up." a.  David said that he would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to be comfortable in the tent of wickedness (Psalm 84:10). b.  David was excited and happy when someone said, "Let us go into the house of the Lord" (Psalm 122:1). c.   He declared that he would dwell in the house (presence) of God (Psalm 23:6, AMP ).     D.  David praised God seven times a day (Psalm 119:164).                                                                              1.            Praise God throughout the day, in everything that you do. 2.  Praise ushers in the presence of God in any given situation (Psalm 22:3). 3.  Praise is the cure for fear. 4.  Praise God in the toughest of situations. a.  Purpose to praise Him for every promise He has made to you in His Word.