The Resurrection - Fact or Fiction

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>The Resurrection - Fact or Fiction</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id613.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jesus Mere Mortal Man or God in the Fle"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="21"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"The Da Vinci Discussion: The Resurrection – Fact or Fiction?"</B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, June 4, 2006</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.stanbaker.org/audio/Sermon-2006-06-04-Stan_Baker.mp3" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.stanbaker.org/audio/Sermon-20"><U><B>audio</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div>      CALEDONIA, Mich.  — A couple sat by their daughter's hospital bedside for weeks after an auto accident until she came out of a coma and they realized she was not their daughter after all, but another blond-haired young woman injured in the wreck. Their own daughter, it turned out, was dead and buried. In a tragic mix-up, one family had been incorrectly told their daughter had died in the April 26 crash in Indiana, and another was erroneously informed their daughter was in a coma. The two young women — both students at Indiana's Taylor University — looked remarkably alike, and the one in a coma suffered facial swelling, broken bones and cuts and bruises, and was in a neck brace. The family of Laura VanRyn, 22, disclosed the mix-up Wednesday on a Web log that they had used to record detailed updates on the young woman's recovery. "Our hearts are aching as we have learned that the young woman we have been taking care of over the past five weeks has not been our dear Laura, but instead a fellow Taylor student of hers, Whitney Cerak," the VanRyns said on the blog. </div> <div>      Cerak's grandfather, Emil Frank, said news of his granddaughter's survival was a shock. "I still can't get over it. It's like a fairy tale," he said. (Foxnews.com, May 31, 2006).</div> <div>      It is difficult to imagine the heartache for one family and the great joy for the other family. Whitney's family thought she was dead and buried, only to discover weeks later that she was alive. I can't help but wonder what it was like for the followers of Jesus to have buried their lord Jesus, only to discover three days later that he was alive.</div> <div>      We have been discussing the claims made in <I>The Da Vinci Code</I>. The author strongly suggests these claims are historical fact, even though they are woven into a fictional novel. The character Teabing said, “At this gathering [the Council of Nicea in AD325], many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon – the date of Easter, the role of bishops, the administration of sacraments, and of course, the <I>divinity</I> of Jesus.” He goes on: “Until <I>that</I> moment in history, Jesus was viewed by his followers as a mortal prophet ... a great and powerful man, but a <I>man</I> nonetheless. A mortal.” Sophie asks, “Not the Son of God?” Teabing said, “Right. Jesus' establishment as 'the Son of God' was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea.” Sophie asked, “You're saying Jesus' divinity was the result of a <I>vote</I>?” Teabing added, “A relatively close vote at that.” Later, Teabing said, “... almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is <I>false</I>.” (pp. 253, 255; ch. 55).</div> <div>      We have been showing that these claims are historically and biblically <I>false</I>, without evidence or support. And if the resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact, it demonstrates beyond a shadow of doubt that everything Jesus said about himself and his divinity was true, and that he can be trusted and believed, and that he alone can provide the way of salvation. Paul argued the implications from the other side: if the resurrection is <I>not</I> a historical fact, he said our faith is futile, we are lost in our sins, those who have died are gone forever, and we are to be pitied more than everyone else (1 Corinthians 15:17-18). But he goes on to declare, “Christ <I>has indeed</I> been raised from the dead” (vs. 20).</div> <div>      How do we know the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is a historical fact? Please read <A HREF="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch.php?passage_request=1Cor 15:1-8&tniv=yes" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch"><U>1 Corinthians 15:1-8</U></A>.</div> <div>      Paul said the message which he received, he passed on to the Corinthians (vs. 3). Virtually all skeptics accept the historicity of 1 Corinthians, that it was written by Paul, on or around 55AD. The crucifixion of Jesus was around AD30. Paul's accounts are very early; he may have received this material (the gospel) in AD35, and James and Peter and John had this material before him. Historically, this material, this teaching about Christ, goes back to 30AD, on top of the events they describe; we have the record of eyewitnesses (Gary Habermas, on <A HREF="http://www.leestrobel.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.leestrobel.com"><U>LeeStrobel.com</U></A>). This is not a story made up centuries later.</div> <div>      Paul outlines the necessary confession of anyone who is “Christian” (vss. 1-2). The content of the message Paul believed and passed on was this (vss. 3-8):</div> <div> I. Jesus died; and was buried in a tomb (which is evidence that he really died).</div> <div> II. Jesus rose from the dead; and was seen by many witnesses – the evidence that he really rose (which anyone reading the letter in those days could go and check out; what happened in 1981, 25 years ago? Both President Reagen and Pope John Paul II were shot in assassination attempts – you can check it out in history).</div> <bR> <div>      We can know the resurrection is true, based on the following progression of ideas (this list was compiled from video clips at <A HREF="http://www.leestrobel.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.leestrobel.com"><U>LeeStrobel.com</U></A>):</div> <div>      1. It is an accepted historical fact that <B>Jesus was executed</B> by the Roman authorities on the eve of Passover (Craig), in or around 30AD.</div> <div>      2. Jesus' dead <B>body was laid in a tomb</B> by Joseph of Arimeathea, one of the Jewish Sanhedrin who opposed Jesus (Craig). This tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers to keep the disciples of Jesus from coming to steal his body and saying that he rose from the dead (Matthew 27:63-66; after the resurrection, those guards were paid off to say that the disciples came and stole the body (Matt 28:11-15), in short, that these Roman guards had failed in their mission!) Note that the disciples lacked motive and opportunity to steal Jesus' body (Strobel).</div> <div>      3. It is an accepted historical fact that <B>the tomb was empty</B> on the third day (Strobel). The question is, what accounted for the empty tomb?</div> <div>      4. More than <B>515 people were eyewitnesses</B> <B>of Jesus alive</B> after the crucifixion, including hard-core <I>skeptics</I> who became believers (including James and Saul of Tarsus). Michael Green, a British theologian, said, “The appearances of Jesus are as well-authenticated as anything in antiquity. There can be no rational doubt that they occurred” (Strobel). That the gospels list the earliest witnesses as <I>women</I> is so culturally unusual, the gospels could not have made that part up (women were not qualified to give testimony in a court of law).</div> <div>      5. There are very <B>early accounts</B> (such as 1 Corinthians 15 and the four gospels) that describe the resurrection and subsequent appearances of Jesus, and they are so early that they cannot be the product of legendary development. (Strobel).</div> <div>      6. The disciples were <B>willing to die</B> for their conviction that Jesus came back to life (something they would know first hand). (Strobel). People will die for things they believe, even if they are wrong. But they will not die for something they <I>know</I> to be a lie. The church did not start with a cover-up, it started in great power because their message was true, and verifiable right from the very beginning. And if the early opponents of the Christians could, they would have produced the dead body of Jesus to shut them up and keep them from saying Jesus was alive. But they didn't have the body  - he was and is alive!</div> <div> (Visit leestrobel.com for more information.)</div> <bR> <div>      What was the significance of Mary Magdalene? If she is not the wife of Jesus, who was she? Look with me at <A HREF="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch.php?passage_request=John 20:11-18&tniv=yes" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch"><U>John 20:11-18</U></A>. As Lee Strobel said, she called him “Rabboni,” not “honey.” She was not his wife, she was his devoted follower who was one of the very first witnesses of the Risen Lord; she was “an apostle to the apostles” in the sense that she went and told them about the Risen Christ. What a place of honor!</div> <div>      When we gather around the elements of the Lord's Table, we are declaring that this is our confession, “that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, [and] that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures.” As we celebrate the Lord's Table, Paul said “we declare his death until he comes again” (a statement that he is now alive).</div> <div>      <I>Believe</I> this message; accept that Jesus died <I>for your sins</I>, in your place, to satisfy on your behalf the just demands of God. Then <I>follow</I> Jesus, and <I>share his message</I> with people around you. That is what it means to be Christian.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2006, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>