The resurrection is vital to the faith of a believer in Jesus Christ.

Why is the Resurrection important?

Resurrection is the crux of the Christian faith.

Romans 10:9- “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”

I Corinthians 15:12-19- “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain; your faith also is vain.”

1. Resurrection substantiates Jesus’ claims to deity. Romans 1:4
2. Resurrection validates Jesus’ authority to forgive sins. Romans 4:25
3. Resurrection verifies truthfulness of Jesus’ statements. Matthew 20:18-19
4. Resurrection verifies the Old Testament by fulfilling prophecy. Psalm 16:10-11
5. Resurrection gives us confidence that we also will be raised. John 14:19
6. Resurrection gives proof that believers can lead holy lives. Romans 6:4
7. Resurrection gives us assurance that Jesus is now in heaven praying for us. Romans 8:34
8. Resurrection shows that God will one day judge the world through Jesus.
Acts 17:31
9. Resurrection demonstrates that Jesus is Lord of all.
Romans 14:9, “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”
I Corinthians 15:1-28

Did Jesus bodily rise from the dead?

The resurrection of Christ is a verifiable event in history. His physical body, not just His spirit or a form of Him rose from the dead. His resurrection is not an analogy or myth, but a true occurrence. He bodily, visibly, literally, physically rose from the dead. (Acts 1) Skeptics have created different theories for the resurrection, such as:

1. Disciples stole the body of Jesus from the tomb while the soldiers (who were guarding the tomb) were sleeping.
Problems:
   · Roman guards would have lost their lives if it was discovered they “slept” on the job. Instead, the Pharisees paid the soldiers to be quiet and promised to keep them out of trouble if their commanders learned the truth. Matthew 28:11-15
   · Disciples were cowardly after Jesus’ death. To steal the body, they would need to be united and bold. They were in hiding for fear of their lives.
   · Disciples were martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ. Men don’t die for something that is a lie or untrue.

2. The women coming to anoint Jesus’ body at tomb went to wrong tomb.
   · Easy to remedy—go and check the “correct” tomb.

3. Swoon Theory—Jesus actually didn’t die on the cross, but was only unconscious.
Problems:
   · The spear that pierced Jesus’ side actually pierced his heart (pericardium). Clear fluid and blood flowed together from the piercing. John 19:34
   · Medically impossible to survive a crucifixion. The Romans were skilled crucifiers and knew well how to determine if a man was dead.

4. Jesus bodily appeared to numerous individuals after His resurrection. Critics say that all of His appearances were hallucinations.
Problems:
   · To hallucinate, an individual wants to see the image. The disciples were discouraged because they believed Jesus truly was dead. They doubted that His words regarding His resurrection would indeed come to pass.
   · All the hallucinations were different. Each appearance was different from the others.
   · Hallucinations continue indefinitely. All appearances stopped after 40 days (when He ascended into heaven).

5. Jesus had a body after His resurrection.
   · If only Jesus’ spirit or a different body/form rose, then He would not have been recognized as a person, or been able to be touched, nor eat or drink. Matthew 28:9; Mark 16:14; Luke 24:30, 34, 41-43; John 20:20, 25-29, 21:5-14

Appearances of Christ after Resurrection:

1. Mary Magdalene-John 20:11-18; Mark 16:9
2. Other women- Matthew 28:8-10
3. Peter- Luke 24:34; I Corinthians 15:5
4. Emmaus Road- Luke 24:13-35; Mark 16:12
5. Ten disciples- Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-24
6. Eleven disciples- John 20:24-29
7. Seven disciples by sea- John 21:1-23
8. Five hundred people- I Corinthians 15:6
9. James- I Corinthians 15:7
10. Eleven disciples- Matthew 28:16-20
11. At ascension- Acts 1:3-12
12. Stephen- Acts 7:55
13. Paul- Acts 9:3-6, 22:17-21, 23:11; I Corinthians 15:8

Summary of Resurrection:

· Faith in Jesus is useless if Jesus did not rise from the dead.
· Faith is vital if Jesus rose from the dead.
· Christ died, was buried and rose again on the third day.

I Corinthians 15:1-32, Verse 3-4, 17 “For I [Paul] delivered to you as first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain (worthless); you are still in your sins.
 

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