(See also part 1)
Let’s continue with 1Cor 15:3-8:
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”
Resurrection Appearances, part 1
Now let’s look at the list of resurrection appearances. He appeared to Peter, then the Twelve, a whole mess of disciples, then James, then the apostles again … can you think of a glaring omission from this list? Who was the first to find the empty tomb and to see Jesus?
The women! The fact that the gospels record women as finding the tomb and Mary as seeing Jesus first is evidence of the truth of the story. Here’s why: In those days, the Jews had very little respect for women. They thought they were all a bunch of empty-headed gossips, and the word of a woman was considered unreliable. A modern equivalent might be having the only witness be the town drunk. If someone in that day were going to make up a story, they would not have had women finding the tomb or seeing Jesus. The men would have seen Him and brought the news to the women. Now, some have objected to this saying that a woman’s testimony was acceptable if she was in a unique position to know the truth. That’s fine. The point is that if you were making up a story you wouldn’t make it up with only women finding the tomb.
Next let’s look at the appearances to Peter and the Twelve. What do we know about the behavior of the apostles during the arrest and death of Jesus? They ran scared and hid (Mark 14:50, John 20:19). Peter denied Him. They had been taught that God would not let His Messiah die (Strobel, p246; Maclear, p124). When Jesus was arrested and executed, they thought it was over. On Sunday morning they were not expecting a risen Savior but a Roman soldier to visit them.
If you are going to make up a story like the gospels, would you spin a tale that makes you come out like a bozo – never understanding what Jesus said and then hiding in fear? No! A made up story would have had them waiting outside the tomb on Easter morning with a big cake saying, “Welcome back!” No one would have made up their role in this story.
We know something else about Peter and the apostles. Before the resurrection they ran scared. Afterwards they were bold. When someone said, “Stop preaching about Jesus or we’ll kill you,” they answered, “Do your worst!” Many people throughout history have died for what they believed was true, but no one dies for what they know is false. The apostles were part of a small group in the unique position of knowing for certain whether or not Christ really rose from the dead, and they all went to their deaths proclaiming that He did. This is very difficult to explain apart from their seeing the risen Christ.
Next time we'll look at the rest of the appearances.
---------------------------
Strobel, Lee, The Case for Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998).
Maclear, GF, A Class-Book of New Testament History (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1866).
If someone asked you why you believe Jesus rose from the dead, could you give them a coherent, well thought out answer?
In 1 Peter 3:15 that we are commanded to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” This is especially important today when there are so many people, like the Jesus Seminar, running around who are just delighted to tell people how the resurrection is just a myth, a story made up generations after the death of Jesus. But Peter tells us in his second book, “we did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2Pet 1:16). Not only was the gospel not invented, it was a story no one would have made up. Why not? Let’s look at 1Cor 15:3-8:
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”
This is a great passage to memorize; if you can’t memorize it, try to memorize the address. It makes an excellent outline for sharing the evidence for the resurrection.
Background: Bible scholars believe that this passage is from a creed of the early church. First Corinthians was written in the mid-50s AD. Paul says he gave them this creed when he was there, which was in about 51AD. That means this creed is less than 20 years from the resurrection at most – far too short for any real legendary embellishment. More than that, many scholars say that the language of this passage suggests that this is something Paul learned when he first became a Christian and was probably in use within 2-5 years after the resurrection. This is far, far too short for legendary development as this is well within the lifetime and memory of the witnesses. (Strobel, p230)
In chapter 15, Paul is arguing that there is a resurrection of the dead. He bases that argument on the fact that Christ was resurrected, and this passage is his proof. So let’s look at it in detail. Today we will examine the first section.
Died, buried and raised: The creed starts with the statement that Christ died, was buried, and then was raised from the dead. First let’s consider His death. The cross has become something of a romantic symbol for us. It held none of that romance then. Jesus’ death was the most shameful death available in that era. For a modern parallel, consider these modes of death: car accident, gun shot wound, electric chair. The first is emotionally neutral; the second may in some cases actually raise a person’s status; the third is reserved for criminals – only those convicted of vile crimes. No one would make up a story where the religious leader dies in the electric chair because such a death would taint the leader and the whole movement. Crucifixion was the same way. Unless it was true, the apostles would not have taught that Jesus died on a Roman cross. (This may relate especially to the "Jesus never existed" crowd.)
Regarding the burial, some today will claim that there was no tomb – that Jesus, like all crucified criminals, would have been buried in a mass grave if at all. This can be dismissed by the fact that history shows us that the Jewish response to “the tomb is empty” was not “what tomb?” but “the disciples stole the body" (seen in Matthew 28:11-15 and in Justin's Dialogue with Trypho).
Regarding the resurrection, no one questions that the Christian church started in Jerusalem, where Jesus was killed and buried. If there was still a body in his tomb, the Jewish leaders would have been all to happy to drag it out for all to see. The fact that they never did this as they persecuted the Church is evidence that the tomb was in fact empty. Peter's earliest sermon proclaims an empty tomb (Acts 2:29-32), something that could not have been done unless it were demonstrably true.
We can also dismiss modern claims that the resurrection the disciples claimed occurred was a spiritual or metaphorical resurrection simply because that was a nonsense in Jewish thought of that day. William Lane Craig says that the Jews had no concept of a nonphysical resurrection; they preserved their bones because they believed they would one day have life in them again (Strobel, p211).
We can see that the very nature of the claim they made – of a crucified and risen Christ – is something that they would not have made up. Next time we’ll look at some of the appearances and what they tell us about the veracity of the story.
----------------------------------
Strobel, Lee, The Case for Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998).
Our neighborhood Wal-Mart, like many grocery stores, has a Roman Catholic icon-candle section. It's in what strikes me as an odd place -- next to the trashbags, across from the paper towels -- and I'd managed to miss it for quite a while. One day when my oldest, Virginia, was with me, we noticed it and stopped to look for a moment. The next week, as we passed by, Virginia wanted to stop, but I was in a hurry and didn't want to let her, until she said this: "I want to see my Jesus!"Oh, how I loved hearing "my Jesus" come out of her little mouth. Even though I know that she doesn't have a clue what Jesus really did or what He means to me, I delight in hearing her tell me that she loves Jesus and that she wants to go to church and talk about Jesus. I think it is a taste of what it will be like when He really does become her Jesus, and more importantly, she His Virginia. After praying for that day for... how long will it be, six, eight, ten years? Hopefully no longer, I don't think I could bear it. After praying for that day for years, how sweet will it be to see my little girl at the foot of the cross and know that I will see her one day in glory?
John Piper hates the Prosperity "Gospel" (@ The Christian Mind)By now you've heard about the Roman Catholic Church's statement regarding protestant churches. I was going to write about it, but Greg Peters has said everything I wanted to say and then some @ Scriptorium Daily. Al Mohler has some insightful things to say as well (HT: Justin Taylor).
