Transcript Session 4 – Foundations for the resurrection pt.2

Session 4 - Foundations for the
resurrection Pt.2
In this session we will continue looking at
evidence that is best explained by the
resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is either
one of the most wicked, vicious, heartless
hoaxes ever foisted on the minds of
human beings--or it is the most
remarkable fact of history.
*Jesus Burial Story is trustworthy*
New Testament scholars agree that he
burial story is one of the best established
facts about Jesus.
One reason for this is because
of the inclusion of Joseph of
Arimethea as the one who
buried Christ.
Joseph was a member of the Jewish
Sanhedrein, basically the Jewish Supreme
Court. People on this ruling class were too
well known for fictitious stories about
them to be pulled off.
I the disciples were lying about the burial
story, they wouldn’t use a popular figure
to do so… he would hear about it and
easy correct it
*Broken Roman Seal*
The tomb of Jesus had the Roman seal over
it, which stood for the power and authority
of the Roman Empire
Matthew 27:66: “So they went and made
the tomb secure, sealing the stone and
setting the guard.”
It was unusual though for someone
crucified to be buried like Jesus
Most crucified victims in ancient Rome
were left on the cross even after they were
dead, and the elements and the animals
took care of the mess that was left.
It was not unusual, however, for Roman
authorities to grant the body of a crucified
person to his friends or family, provided he
was not guilty of high treason.
The fact that Joseph of Arimathaea was
allowed the body of Jesus shows us that
he was a man who was well known
and respected
Everyone would know who he is, where his
tomb is, and how to find it if they needed to
Back to the Roman seal though and the
implications it has on the resurrection
The consequences of breaking the seal
were extremely severe. The FBI and CIA of
the Roman Empire were called into action
to find the man or men who were
responsible. If they were apprehended, it
meant automatic execution by crucifixion
upside down.
People feared the breaking of the seal
*Roman Guards go Awol*
Not only is the Roman seal on the tomb,
there are soldiers posted to make sure no
one touches it
Matthew 27:62-66: “On the next day, which
followed the Day of Preparation, the chief
priests and Pharisees gathered together to
Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember, while He
was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After
three days I will rise…
Therefore command that the tomb be
made secure until the third day, lest His
disciples come by night and steal
Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has
risen from the dead.’ So the last deception
will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to
them, “You have a guard; go your way,
make it as secure as you know how.” So they
went and made the tomb secure, sealing the
stone and setting the guard.”
How many roman guards?
We are not told for sure, but it very likely
could have been four soldiers
Acts 12:4: “So when he had arrested him,
he put him in prison, and delivered him to
four squads of soldiers to keep him,
intending to bring him before the people
after Passover.”
While we don’t know the exact number, we
do know that the authorities were aware
that Jesus had a large following, and they
put enough guards there to be confident
nothing would happen
The Romans were not ammeters about
what they did, they were smart, especially
when it came to war and military
That being said, the Roman guards fled.
They left their place of responsibility.
How can their abandonment be explained
when Roman military discipline
was so exceptional?
Justin, in Digest #49, mentions the offenses
that required the death penalty. The fear of
their superiors' wrath and the possibility of
death meant that they paid close attention to
the minutest details of their jobs.
One way a guard could be put to death
was by being stripped of his clothes
and then burned alive in a fire started
with his garments.
If the authorities didn’t know which soldier
had failed in his duties, the would cast lots
to see which one would be punished with
death for the unit’s failure.
Certainly the entire unit would not have
fallen asleep with that kind of threat over
their heads. Dr. George Currie, a student of
Roman military discipline, wrote that fear of
punishment "produced flawless attention to
duty, especially in the night watches."
*Large Stone Removed*
Matthew 27:60: “And laid it in his new
tomb which he had hewn out of the rock;
and he rolled a large stone against the door
of the tomb, and departed.”
When the women and disciples arrive at the
tomb on the third day, the stone has been
rolled away… How?
This stone is no small rock
Generally speaking, the
rolling stone was set
inside a groove in front of
the entrance, and secured
from falling over by a
stone wall that stood in
front of tomb opening
Often, the groove was not
level, but slightly sloped.
To close the tomb, the stone would be rolled
down the groove at a decline and come to
rest in front of the entrance. To open the
tomb, the stone would have to be rolled up
the groove at an incline.
2000-4000 pounds was the weight of a
smaller sized tomb stone, Joseph of
Arimathaea was a wealthy individual
though, and probably had a nice tomb with
a large rock (6-7,000 pounds)
The idea was that once the stone was
rolled into it’s place, it couldn’t be
removed by anyone
One reason was to prevent grave robbers
from going in and taking what you buried
with the individual
Historically, we know the stone was
removed, because we know the tomb
was empty
*Grave clothes left*
In a literal sense,
against all
statements
to the contrary, the
tomb was not
totally empty-because of an
amazing
phenomenon.
John, a disciple of Jesus, looked over to the
place where the body of Jesus had lain, and
there were the grave clothes, in the form of
the body, slightly caved in and empty--like an
empty cocoon of a caterpillar
John 20:7: “And the handkerchief that had
been around His head, not lying with the
linen cloths, but folded together in a place
by itself.”
That's enough to make a believer out of
anybody. John never did get over it. The first
thing that stuck in the minds of the disciples
was not the empty tomb, but rather
the empty grave clothes--undisturbed
in form and position.
This brings us to a topic we will address
on the last week, the Shroud of Turin
*OVER 500 WITNESSES*
Not only do you have to explain Paul and
James like we mentioned last week, you
have to explain the hundreds of other
eyewitnesses to the resurrection
1 Corinthians 15:3-8: “For I delivered to
you first of all that which I also received:
that Christ died for our sins according to
the Scriptures…
and that He was buried, and that He rose
again the third day according to the
Scriptures, and that He was seen by
Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He
was seen by over five hundred brethren at
once, of whom the greater part remain to
the present, but some have fallen
asleep. After that He was seen by James,
then by all the apostles. Then last of all He
was seen by me also, as by one born out of
due time.”
Many of them went on to be martyred for
their faith in the resurrection
How do you explain the eyewitnesses? The
Disciples, and the 500, and more?
You only have about three options:
They were lying
They hallucinated
They really saw the risen Christ
*Jesus' tomb wasn’t venerated as a shrine*
This is striking because it was the 1st century
custom to set up a shrine at the site of a holy
man's bones. There were at least 50 such
cites in Jesus' day. Since there was no such
shrine for Jesus, it suggests that his bones
weren't there.
Many other religions have done this
Buddhist worship remains of their
founder, the buddha
The temple
holds what
Buddhist
believe to be
a tooth of
Buddha, and
they worship
it
*No signs of legendary development*
Mark's account of the empty tomb is
simple and shows no signs of
legendary development.
Mark 16:1-7: “Now when the Sabbath was
past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of
James, and Salome bought spices, that
they might come and anoint Him….
Very early in the morning, on the
first day of the week, they came to the
tomb when the sun had risen.3 And they
said among themselves, “Who will roll away
the stone from the door of the tomb for
us?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw
that the stone had been rolled away—for it
was very large. 5 And entering the tomb,
they saw a young man clothed in a long
white robe sitting on the right side; and
they were alarmed…
But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed.
You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was
crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the
place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His
disciples—and Peter—that He is going
before you into Galilee; there you will see
Him, as He said to you.”
When we look at the resurrection story
we don’t see embellishment
This is very apparent when we compare it
with the gospel of Peter, a forgery from
about 125.
This legend has all of the Jewish leaders,
Roman guards, and many people from
the countryside gathered to watch
the resurrection.
Then three men come out of the tomb, with
their heads reaching up to the clouds.
Then a talking cross comes out of the
tomb! This is what legend looks like, and
we see none of that in Mark's account of
the empty tomb--or anywhere else in the
gospels for that matter!
This is an actual example of what making
the story up would look like! It’s clear the
disciples did not
What can we know from history when we
put all the facts together that we have
looked at over the past two sessions?
1. Jesus died by crucifixion
2. Jesus Burial Story is trustworthy
3. The empty tomb
4. Grave clothes left
5. Broken Roman Seal
6. Roman Guards go Awol
7. Large Stone Removed
8. The Disciples Sincerely Believed He Rose
from the Dead and Appeared to Them
9. The Conversion of the Skeptic James
10. OVER 500 WITNESSES
11. The conversion of Paul
12. Jesus' tomb wasn’t venerated as a shrine
13. No signs of legendary development
Any naturalistic theory that tries to explain
away Christianity has to be able to account
for all of these facts about history
Memory Verse
Matthew 27:66: “So they went and made
the tomb secure, sealing the stone and
setting the guard.”