Three Big Questions
Class Two: “Did Jesus Rise?”
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1 Peter 3:15–16)
- Ask what they think of the resurrection of Jesus
- Ask what kind of evidence they would need in order to believe Jesus rose from the dead
- Ask if they would be open to revising their opinion if convincing evidence were presented
- Reminder: Something happened or we would not have 2,000 years of Christendom
Why this matters
Jesus: Matthew 12:38-41
Church: Acts 1.3, 22; 2.24, 31, 32; 3.15, 26; 4.2, 10, 33; 5.30; 10.40; 13.30, 34, 37; 17.18; 23.6; 24.21; 25.19
Faith: 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
- See also 1 Peter 121; Psalm 16.10; Matt 17.22-23; Rom 1.4; Acts 17.31; Rom 4.25; 6.4-5; 1 Thess 4.14; Heb 7.24-25; Matt 12.38-41
- Tomb Occupied
- Wrong Tomb: John 20:15; 4-6
- Hallucination: 1 Cor 15
- Tomb Empty
- Jesus not dead (swoon theory) John 19:34
- Jesus dead but body removed by:
- Disciples: 1 Pet 1:16; Jn 13:36-37; Jn 20:9; Mk 14:50; 1 Cor 4:9-13, 2 Cor 11:22-33; Luke 23:50-56; Matthew 26:62-66; Luke 24:1. Also, Acts 12:19, 16:27
- Romans, Matthew 28:11-15
- Jews, Matthew 28:11-15
- Robbers; Gardener; Worms; Aliens
Positive Evidence
- Emergence of the church
- Conviction
- Conversion of sceptics
- Growth of the church
- Change from Sabbath to Sunday
- Opponents of Christianity
- The unlikeliness of the doctrine
- “criterion of embarrassment”
- “evidence against interest”
- Women
- Variations
- Messianic expectations: Jews; Disciples; Women
- Numbers: 1 Cor 15
- Jerusalem
Conclusion
- Reminder why this matters: The resurrection declares Jesus as worthy in his authority to teach us about life, death and what lies beyond
Suggested questions for your friend…
- How does this evidence affect your view of Jesus?
- How does this evidence affect your view of Christianity?
- Would you like to know more?
Scripture to share:
“Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” John 7.17
Motivation for us:
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
https://www.douglasjacoby.com/
https://biologos.org/resources?query=resurrection - Simon Dinning: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155826035563183&id=689233182
- “The Evidence for Jesus” (Hodder Christian Essentials), R.T France
- “More than a carpenter”, Josh McDowell
- “The Case for Christ”, Lee Strobel
- “The Resurrection factor”: Josh McDowell
- “Easter Enigma”: John Wenham
- “The case for the Resurrection”: Lincona & Habermas
- Torrey, R. A. - “Evidence for the Resurrection” - CrossReach Publications. Kindle Edition.
- Wright, N. T. - “The Resurrection of the Son of God” - SPCK
- Morison, Frank - “Who Moved the Stone?” - Hauraki Publishing. Kindle Edition.
- Gilbert West LLD (Oxford) - “Observations on the history and evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1747)” - 486 pages, scanned copy available on Google books
- Douglas Jacoby – “True and Reasonable”, chapter 9 – Discipleship Publications International
- “Is the resurrection beyond belief?”, D. Instone-Brewer, Premier Christianity magazine, Apr 2019
- "Difference in Resurrection accounts?”, Simon Dinning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEIkpqWAW0M
- Reasonable Faith - “Did Jesus Rise From the Dead: https://www.facebook.com/reasonablefaithorg/videos/343587733010141/
Next week
- “Why would a good God allow suffering?”
Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community.
Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send me your questions or suggestions. Here’s the email:
malcolm@malcolmcox.org.
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“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11)
God bless, Malcolm
PS: You might also be interested in my book:
"An elephant's swimming pool", a devotional look at the Gospel of John
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