Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20060416.htm

EASTER SUNDAY INTERLUDE
A Contemporary Apologetic For The Death And Resurrection Of Christ
(Matthew 28:11-15)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

This Easter, as 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 states, for SALVATION, we believe the Bible's ACCOUNT of Christ's death for our sins, His burial and bodily resurrection from the dead. Yet, various groups deny this Biblical ACCOUNT'S accuracy, and so challenge our FAITH:

(1) Last Monday's issue of USA Today reported Dan Brown's book, The Da Vinci Code is No. 1 on its Best-Selling Books list. It claims Jesus was not believed to be God until 4th century Constantine advanced the idea, and covered it up with a secret society that included artist Leonardo Da Vinci (The Da Vinci Code, p. 233, cited in Radio Bible Class', "Been Thinking About," by Mart De Haan, 6/05, p. 2)!

Yet, 1st century Romans 1:4 of the New Testament holds Jesus was proved to be God as the Son of God by means of His resurrection!

(2) NBC's TV show, "Dateline," recently interviewed Michael Baigent, author of The Jesus Papers, who says Jesus was rescued from the cross so that the idea of His death and resurrection is "a hoax"!

(3) FOX news aired an April 6, 2006 report on yet another idea, that Jesus secretly collaborated with Judas to plot His own betrayal!

(4) Islam denies Jesus was crucified, died or buried; its Koran states: " . . . They slew him not, neither crucified him, but he was represented by one in his likeness . . . they did not really kill him; but God took him up unto himself." (SIM NOW, Jul.-Aug. 1989, p. 10)

(5) Helamen 14:20-28 in the Book of Mormon claims that all during the three days Christ was dead, all the stellar bodies stopped shining, the earth shook in darkness and huge geologic changes came with great winds, lightening and thundering, many came out of the grave and many cities were left desolate! Yet, Matthew 27:51-53 notes a few miracles occurred at Christ's death or after His rising, but that throughout the days He was in the tomb, there were no such miracles!

(6) Other influential groups like Liberal Theology, Jehovah's Witnesses and Christian Science deny that Jesus physically died and/or was physically buried and/or physically rose again from the dead (Jan Karel Van Baalen, The Chaos of the Cults, 1973, p. 340, 269 and 97).

Well, as our GOSPEL of SALVATION rests on the Bible's ACCOUNT of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, is there an EFFECTIVE, CONTEMPORARY defense of that ACCOUNT ?!

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "As some COUNTER the Bible's ACCOUNT of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, challenging our faith, how do I answer?!"
  1. Matthew 28:11-15 with 27:27-50 claims the story was told by Jesus' first century enemies that His disciples stole His body from the tomb that Roman soldiers guarded after He had died!
  2. The idea that Jesus' foes ACTUALLY PROMOTED such a story is SUPPORTED by EXTRABIBLICAL and BIBLICAL evidences:
    1. Sources outside the Bible show Jesus' enemies circulated this story:
      1. The 5th century Jewish Toledoth Jeshu and Josephus mentioned Christ's empty tomb, Josh McDowell, A Ready Defense, p. 232.
      2. Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho (c. A. D. 135), an apologetic to a Jewish foe of Christianity wrote as if it was certain to Trypho that "the Jerusalem authorities sent special representatives throughout the Mediterranean world to counteract the story of the empty tomb with the explanation that his followers stole the body." (Ibid., McDowell; F. F. Bruce, The Spreading Flame 1970, p. 77)
    2. Matthew 28:15b gave persuasive evidence that this story was told by Jesus' foes: it claimed Jesus' enemies still told it as Matthew's Gospel was being written, a claim Matthew's initial readers could CHECK!
  3. Now, IF this story by those HOSTILE to Christianity can be shown to SUPPORT it, they would supply "the strongest kind of historical evidence," cf. Paul L. Maier, "The Empty Tomb as History," Christ. Today 19 (3/28, 1975), p. 5 as cited in McDowell, Ibid.
  4. Well, we can show how this STORY by Jesus' FOES offers "THE STRONGEST KIND OF HISTORICAL EVIDENCE" in SUPPORT of the Bible's ACCOUNT of His death, burial and resurrection:
    1. The story by Jesus' foes shows He died on the cross as the Bible says:
      1. Their story was of Roman soldiers guarding Jesus' tomb: (a) when Jesus' body disappeared, the guards sought deliverance from their secular governor, Pilate (Matt. 28:13-14; 27:62-65), (b) and the N. T. Greek word, "watch" in Matt. 27:65 is the Latin, koustodia that was brought over into Greek, meaning the guard at Jesus' tomb could only have been a Roman one (Ibid., McDowell, p. 227 citing A. T. Robertson, A Gram. of the Grk. N. T., 4th ed., p. 109).
      2. Thus, the Matthew 27:27-50 record that Jesus died on a CROSS under the authority of Roman soldiers ALSO has credibility.
      3. Then the fact that the Romans executed by crucifixion in Jesus' era has been verified; N. Haas, "Anthropological Observations on the Skeletal Remains From Giv' at ha-Mivtar," Israel Expl. Jour. 20 (1970), p. 39 as cited in McDowell, Ibid., p. 223 related a skeleton was found with a seven inch nail piercing both ankles, and its shins were broken as John 19:31-32 report ed occurred to the two thieves.
      4. The fact that Roman soldiers officiated at His crucifixion meant Jesus had really died; they were known to be sure of such things, Ibid., McDowell, p. 225, citing Maier, First Easter, 1973, p. 122.
    2. This story by Jesus' foes shows He was buried as the Bible says:
      1. The story by Jesus' foes reveals that His body had been entombed.
      2. The fact that Roman soldiers guarded His tomb supports the Matt. 27:66 claim that they sealed it: that means they made sure Jesus' body was IN the tomb before its stone was rolled over the door and a string was pulled taut across the stone and glued to the rock wall on both sides by a hot wax seal, Ibid., McDowell, p. 230.
    3. This story by Jesus' foes shows arose from the dead as the Bible says:
      1. Since the story spread by Jesus' foes claimed the disciples stole His body from the sealed tomb that Roman soldiers guarded, they could not find His body! These enemies of Christ would have crushed faith in Jesus had they been able to exhibit Jesus' body, especially as their goal in sealing the tomb and setting up a guard was to squelch any rumor that He had risen, Matthew 27:60-66!
      2. Thus, this story promoted by Jesus' foes becomes self-defeating:
        1. First, sleeping soldiers would not know what occurred to Jesus' missing body, cf. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, ftn. to Matt. 28:13.
        2. Second, it is unlikely that all of the soldiers slept all at once as they would have been executed, Ibid., Ryrie; McDowell, p. 234!
        3. Third, the soldiers would not "risk incriminating themselves even for a large bribe" for the capital crime of sleeping on their watch unless their rulers knew the body was gone by a cause the soldiers could not control! (Ibid., Ryrie; Ibid., McDowell, 234)
        4. Fourth, the disciples would not have stolen the dead body of an alleged Messiah only to claim falsely that He had risen, and then brutally die as martyrs for holding to their own lie (Jn. 21:18f)!
      3. There can be only one conclusion: Jesus bodily rose from the dead!
Application: (1) Since Jesus died for our sins, may we trust in Him to receive eternal life, John 3:16; Romans 3:23-26. (2) May we hold to the Christian faith as it is presented in the Bible!

Lesson: Closely examining the story by Jesus' foes reveals He died on the cross, was buried and bodily arose from the dead just as the Bible claims!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 We now answer each errant theory and religion named in our sermon introduction by the evidence we have noted in this sermon:

(1) Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code errs in its claim that Jesus was not considered to be God until Constantine's time. By the story given by Jesus' foes, He arose from the dead, and was shown to be God as the Son of God in accord with 1st century Romans 1:4!

(2) Michael Baigent's idea that Jesus escaped death on the cross is false in light of the story circulated by Jesus' foes! That story's claim that the disciples stole His body that was guarded by efficient Roman soldiers after He was crucified means He had died on the cross!

(3) The FOX news report on the theory that Jesus plotted His betrayal with Judas does not ring true by the story by Jesus' foes! Such a plan would not have involved brutally efficient Roman executioners!

(4) Islam's claim that Jesus was not crucified, killed or buried, but "was represented by one in his likeness" is countered by the story by Jesus' foes! That His foes gained a Roman guard for the tomb and sealed it to be sure HIS dead, crucified body was there to squelch any rumor that He arose means Jesus' dead body was in that tomb!

(5) Liberal Theology that denies Jesus died and physically rose from the dead is also countered by this story by Jesus' early enemies!

(6) The Jehovah's Witness claim that Jesus rose in a spirit body while His human body was "left forever upon God's altar" (Let Your Name Be Sanctified, p. 272 as cited in Van Baalen, Ibid., p. 269)

is countered by the story by Jesus' foes; were His human body left, Christ's enemies would have displayed it to refute the Christian faith!

(7) Christian Science's claim that Jesus died and rose in an unreal, figurative way is countered by this story by Jesus' foes! (Ibid., Van Baalen, p. 97) The existence of such a story by His enemies shows Jesus actually died, was actually buried and had actually risen!

(8) Mormonism's account of constant huge geologic upheaval the three days of Jesus' death would have made impossible the sealing of His tomb with a Roman seal of a string strung taut across the stone and delicately glued with hot wax! The story of Christ's enemies that His grave was guarded by Roman soldiers along with Matthew's added report that the tomb was sealed by them denies the Mormon view!

May we trust the BIBLE'S ACCOUNT of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and so trust in Him to have eternal life!