January 2, 2000
"I Believe in
Jesus Christ:
Who Rose Again from the Dead"
(Mark 15:42-16:8)
Dr. Peter Barnes
Senior Pastor
First Presbyterian Church
1820 15th Street, Boulder, Colorado 80302
Introduction.
Yesterday we celebrated January 1, 2000. On Friday night our family stayed up like
many of you and watched the news coverage of the various celebrations, which ushered in
the New Year, the new century, and the new millennium from around the world. I thought the
most impressive fireworks display took place at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was amazing!
When the ball in Times Square came down in all its glory at midnight EST, our family
hooted and hollered as the brightly lighted sign beamed out 2000. At the stroke of
midnight here in Colorado, we hooted and hollered again and drank a toast to the new
millennium.
I find it fascinating that all the world over people were celebrating the dawn of
a new millennium. By whose reckoning? Yesterday was January 1, 2000 AD; it was the dawn of
the 3rd millennium AD. The letters AD stand for the Latin anno Domini, which means
"the year of our Lord," and it refers to 2000 years since the birth of Jesus
Christ, 2000 of the years of our Lord. The designation AD was invented in the 6th century
by Dionysius Exiguus in order to calculate the correct date of Easter. He got the dates
mixed up a little, and most scholars believe that the birth of Christ actually took place
four to seven years before Dionysius figured it did, but the use of the designation has
been in common practice since the 8th century AD. (There it is again).
Did you ever stop to think that every time we refer to a particular date, we are
giving testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, for the designation AD from BC
(before Christ) would never have come into practice if it were not for the resurrection.
The birth of Jesus would have been insignificant if it were not for His resurrection, and
it is the resurrection of our Lord which turned the world as well as our calendars upside
down.
This morning we return to our study of the Apostles’ Creed we look at the
affirmation, "I believe in Jesus Christ, who rose again from the dead." As we do
so, there are three matters that I want you to consider with me: 1) the importance of the
resurrection; 2) the evidence for the resurrection; and 3) the effect of the resurrection.
I. The Importance of the Resurrection.
On the cover of the bulletin this morning is a quote by Paul Little, in which he states
the importance of the resurrection. He says that if Christ did rise from the dead, it is
the most sensational event in human history, and it answers the profound questions of our
existence: where have we come from, why are we here, and where are we going? If Christ did
not rise from the dead, then Christianity is just an interesting museum piece, and we are
poor deluded fools.
Another Paul, the apostle, put it this way in 1 Cor. 15:12-20. His conclusion was that
if Christ did not rise from the dead then:
our preaching is useless;
we are false witnesses of God;
our faith is futile;
we are still in our sins;
we are lost;
and we should be pitied!
The importance of the resurrection is this; it is the foundation and cornerstone
of the Christian faith. Disprove the resurrection and Christianity comes tumbling down
like a house of cards. If Christ had not risen from the dead, then death would have had
the last word, and our victory over sin would have been a mere hope or wish.
The resurrection of Christ is unique in the entire world. Billy Graham has written:
"There are far more pretentious burial places than the grave where the lifeless
body of the Savior was laid 2,000 years ago. In Egypt may be found the resting-places of
the great pharaohs, buried in lavish wealth in tombs of artistic design. The Taj Mahal in
India is probably the most dazzling of all tombs. The grave of the prophet Mohammed is
guarded in Medina and visited by devout Muslims.... But the exact site of the grave of
Jesus Christ is not definitely known and cannot be authenticated. While other tombs are
evidence of death and decay, Christ’s tomb alone is the evidence of life. Today we
hear again the challenge of the angel in the garden, "Why do you seek the living
among the dead?"1
The importance of the resurrection cannot be overstated. It is the cornerstone
of Christian belief.
II. The Evidence for the Resurrection.
To determine the veracity or truth of something, there are two different methods one
can use. One is the scientific method, and the other is the historical-legal method. The
scientific method utilizes the following procedure. There is a controlled experiment that
is repeatable. Observations are made, data are drawn, and the results are empirically
verifiable.
When one comes to an event in history, one cannot apply the scientific method of
inquiry. A few years ago the movie, Schindler's List, came out, and it resurfaced
the debate with some about whether or not the Holocaust actually took place. I know a man
in Dallas who actually believes that it was all just a hoax cooked up by a
Jewish-controlled press. To prove that, in fact the holocaust did happen, you cannot use
the scientific method of inquiry. You have to use the historical-legal method of inquiry.
In this approach, you secure oral and written testimony from eyewitnesses. In addition,
you study the physical evidence available, whether it has to do with photographs,
clothing, written documents, and the like, as well as oral or written testimony concerning
the physical evidence. We use this method in checking out the truth of statements about
events in history, such as the Holocaust, and in courts of law. We can use this same
method in considering the truth of the resurrection.
A. The Pre-Resurrection Scene. It is clear from the written testimony that Jesus
was dead. The executioners examined Him before Joseph of Arimathea took His body (Mk.
15:44; Jn. 19:31-37). Pilate even questioned the centurion on this matter (15:44,45).
Jesus’ body was placed in a new tomb that was hewn out of rock, and a large stone was
rolled in front of it after Jesus was placed there. In our study of the Apostles’
Creed we have previously considered the statement that Jesus Christ was crucified, dead,
and buried, which specifically addressed the reality that Christ was really dead, and His
body was buried in a tomb.
Also, we learn from our reading of the Gospels, that a Roman seal was placed upon the
tomb after Christ’s burial (Mt. 27:66). To break a Roman seal was to break Roman law,
which was a punishable offense. Roman soldiers were also stationed to guard the tomb, for
the Jewish leaders were afraid that Jesus’ followers might try to steal the body (Mt.
27:62-66). If a Roman soldier fell asleep or left his post while on guard, the resulting
penalty was death. After the death of Jesus, all the disciples fled and went their own
way. This was the pre-resurrection scene.
B. The Post-Resurrection Scene. On the first day of the week, that first Easter
Sunday, our text tells us that very early in the morning just after sunrise, Mary
Magdelene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb to anoint the body of
Jesus with spices and to complete the task of burial, according to Jewish custom. They
wondered together who would roll the stone away because it was so heavy. However, when
they arrived at the tomb, they discovered that the stone had already been rolled away, and
the tomb was empty. We learn from Luke’s gospel that the linen grave clothes were
still there. Matthew tells us that the Roman soldiers fled at the resurrection, and the
chief priest and members of the Sanhedrin bribed them to tell a different story.
All told in the New Testament, there are 11 appearances of Jesus, which were made to
the disciples after the resurrection. Our Lord appeared to:
Mary Magdelene;
the women returning from the tomb;
the apostle Peter;
the two disciples on the road to Emmaus;
the apostles with Thomas absent;
the apostles with Thomas present;
the seven by the Lake of Tiberias;
a multitude of 500 on a Galiliean Mountain;
James, the Lord’s half-brother;
the 11 disciples when Christ gave
the Great Commission in Mt.28;
and at His ascension in Acts 1.
Further, the Lord appeared to Stephen when he was stoned to death, the apostle Paul on
the road to Damascus, and the apostle John when he was in exile on the island of Patmos.
If one applies the historical-legal method of inquiry, the resurrection is one of the
best-attested events of ancient history. Even the enemies of Christ gave no refutation of
the resurrection. Just present the body of Jesus, and the case is closed, that never
happened because the body was resurrected.
Dr. Paul Maier, professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, has
written, "If all the evidence is weighed carefully and fairly, it is indeed
justifiable, according to the canons of historical research, to conclude that the tomb in
which Jesus was buried was actually empty on the morning of the first Easter. No shred of
evidence has yet been discovered in literary sources, epigraphy or archaeology that would
disprove this statement." 2
There was a British lawyer by the name of Frank Morrison who had been brought up in a
rationalistic environment. He had come to the opinion that the resurrection was nothing
but a fairy-tale with a happy ending. He felt that he owed it to himself and others to
write a book that would present the truth about Jesus and dispel the mythical story of the
resurrection. Upon studying the facts, he, too, came to a different conclusion. The sheer
weight of the evidence compelled him to conclude that Jesus actually did rise from the
dead. Morrison did write his book, but not the one he had planned. It is entitled, Who
Moved the Stone? The first chapter is called, "The Book That Refused To Be
Written."
III. The Effects of the Resurrection.
There are three effects in particular, which were brought about by the resurrection. First,
there was the creation of the Christian Sabbath as Sunday. The Jews observed Saturday as
the Sabbath, but very early in the life of the Church, Christians began to observe Sunday
as the Sabbath in honor of the day when Christ rose from the dead.
The second effect was the creation of the Church. William Barclay has written,
"One thing is certain -- if Jesus had not risen from the dead, we would never have
heard of Him. The attitude of the women was that they had come to pay the last tribute to
a dead body. The attitude of the disciples was that everything had finished in tragedy.
But the best proof of the resurrection is the existence of the Christian Church."3
And the third effect is related to the second. It was the changed lives of the
disciples. All of the disciples abandoned Jesus and fled at His arrest. Those who followed
the events of the crucifixion did so at a distance, but just 40 days later, these same
disciples were in the streets of Jerusalem boldly proclaiming the resurrection of Christ.
Peter, who denied Christ three times, once to a servant girl, stood before the
Sanhedrin to be examined about the authority by which he and John had healed a crippled
beggar, the same Sanhedrin that sentenced Christ to death. There he stated unequivocally, "Rulers
and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness
shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and everyone else
in Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God
raised from the dead, that this man stands before you completely healed" (Acts
4:8-10).
The only thing that can explain the radical turnaround on the part of the disciples is
the resurrection of Christ. It is the verification point of Christianity. Nothing else
could have changed sad and despairing men and women into people radiant with joy and
flaming with courage, willing to die for this claim! The resurrection is the
central fact of the whole Christian faith.
Chuck Colson was special counsel to President Nixon, and he participated in the
conspiracy after Watergate. In reflecting on the way in which the conspiracy quickly came
unraveled as it was every man for himself trying save his own skin, Colson once said in a
speech, "Now, what has that got to do with the resurrection? Well, imagine it. The 12
senior aides to the President of the United States sitting around the Oval Office, with
all the power in the world and all this influence available to us, and we couldn't keep a
lie for even three weeks! And you’re going to tell me that 11 outcasts - the
apostles, Jews who were maligned by their people, living in a conquered empire, who had no
army, no power, no influence - could do it? They were beaten, stoned, thrown into prison,
and all but one eventually died a martyr’s death without ever having renounced
Christ. No, it’s humanly impossible, unless they had seen the risen God Himself in
the person of Jesus Christ!" 4
Conclusion.
"I believe in the Jesus Christ, who rose again from the
dead." This is perhaps the most critical statement in the entire Apostles’
Creed, for on this affirmation Christianity rises or falls. Disprove the resurrection, and
Christianity tumbles down like a house of cards. On this doctrine our faith as Christians
rests.
Yet, how many of us live in the light of the resurrection? How many of us allow the
power of this truth to penetrate our daily lives? Sadly, most of us lead defeated lives
and don’t enjoy the power of our Lord’s resurrection. We live as though Jesus
were still in the grave, as though He had not conquered death, as though there were no
miracle available to us. I am convinced that the real implications of this affirmation in
the Apostles’ Creed should impact the way you and I live. We need to realize that
God's resurrection power is available to us, and we need to live in the light of that
power. If we do, it can make all the difference in the world in how we look at things and
how we live our lives.
Consider this: many of us watched the Rose Bowl last night when the University of
Wisconsin played Stanford. Well, on an October afternoon in 1982, Camp Randall Field in
Madison, Wisconsin was packed with more than 60,000 die-hard University of Wisconsin
football fans, who were watching their team take on the Michigan State Spartans. Michigan
State had the better team, and Wisconsin was taking a beating. What seemed odd, though,
was that as the score became more and more lopsided, there were bursts of applause and
shouts of joy from the Wisconsin fans. It was crazy! How could they cheer when their team
was losing?
As it turned out, not 70 miles away, the Milwaukee Brewers were beating the St.
Louis Cardinals in game three of the 1982 World Series. Many of the Wisconsin fans in the
stands had portable radios and were listening to the baseball game. So their joy was in
response to something other than what was seen. The baseball game was very real, just not
visible. They were fixed upon an unseen victory, and that made all the difference.5
My friends, there is an unseen victory upon which we need to fix our attention,
and that victory is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostles’ Creed
reminds us that our hope as Christians is built upon the conviction that nearly 2000 years
ago, in the year of our Lord, there was an empty tomb on the first Easter, and we should
live in the light of that miracle every single day of our lives. Amen.
1Billy Graham, cited in Christ
in Easter, A Family Celebration of Holy Week.
2Paul L. Maier, Independent Press-Telegram, Long Beach, CA, April 21, 1973,
p. A-10.
3William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, p.368.
4 Taken from a transcript of a speech,
date and place unknown.
5 Source: Jim Singleton in a sermon preached April 12, 1998 - "It Seemed
to Them an Idle Tale". |
