Key Verse
"For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: 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..." 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Lesson Objective
“…[Jesus] arose from
the dead according to the Scriptures. He is now at the right hand of
Majesty on high as our great High Priest.” - C&MA statement of faith
Resources
Resurrection: God Saves (Video, Audio) (Mark Driscoll)
Why the Resurrection changes everything (Matthew Barrett, TGC)
Resurrection Resources from Ligonier (A wealth of Articles, Videos and more about the topic!)
Where is Jesus? (Jonathan Parnell, Desiring God)
Important matters
Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-34
How important does Paul think the Resurrection is to the
Christian Faith?
That Christ died, was
buried and rose from the dead was of FIRST importance. It is not just some
side-issue. It has immense implications for our faith.
Why is the Resurrection so important to Christianity? (Find
the reasons from vs 1-34)
15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
19 If in Christ we have hope[b] in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
In verses 3 to 8, what does Paul give as evidence for Jesus’
resurrection?
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
Knowing the difference
Some sceptics claim that Jesus only fainted at the cross,
and did not really die. What evidence points against that? (eg. John 19:1, 34,
40-42)
-
John 19:1
– Roman flogging was no light thing! People often died in the flogging before
they even made it to the cross!
-
John 19:34
– These Roman soldiers are professional executioners. Their job is to kill.
They know a dead man when they see one; that’s why they didn’t break Jesus’
bones. For added measure they pierced his side to test if He was dead. Anyway,
even if He wasn’t dead from the crucifixion, he would have died from the wound
at his side!
-
John 19:40-42
– A person who is mortally wounded, then suffocated with burial wrappings and
spices, kept in a cold tomb, would be in no position to recover (not to mention
pushing open the rock blocking the entrance of the grave!)
Some sceptics (eg. The Pharisees) claim that the disciples
stole the body and faked the whole thing, calling the disciples liars. What evidence points against
that? (eg. Matt 27:62-66; Acts 8:1-3)
-
Matt
27:62-66 – Roman seal; Roman guards. Not something easily by-passable.
-
Acts 8:1-3
– Disciples died for their faith. Apart from John, all the Apostles died
martyr’s deaths (and even John was tortured). People do not die for lies.
People might die if they have been deceived, but dying for a lie is
meaningless. When they were faced with the choice to die or to recant, they
would rather die.
Some sceptics claim that the disciples forgot where the tomb was, and had went to the wrong tomb. What
evidence points against that? (eg. Matt 27:57-61; 1 Cor 15:3-8)
-
Matt
27:57-61 – Joseph of Arimathea was a well-known easily identified rich man. If
they did forget, it would have been easily verifiable with Joseph where his
tomb was. Also, there were other witnesses as well (the two Marys)
-
1 Cor
15:3-8 – This argument doesn’t actually deal with the fact that Jesus APPEARED
to His disciples! Whether they got the right tomb or not is irrelevant; Jesus
was still alive afterwards!
Some sceptics claim that the disciples were hallucinating.
What evidence points against that? (eg. 1 Cor 15:3-8; Luke 24:36-43; Acts
1:1-10)
-
Hallucinations
tend to be individual matters; collective hallucinations are rare. Collective
hallucinations require 1) An expectation of the event; 2) Emotional excitement;
3) the participants need to be informed about what was going to happen.
Although Jesus repeatedly stated that he had to die and rise again, the Bible
clearly states that the disciples did NOT expect or understand the
Resurrection. It wasn’t until AFTER the fact and by the Holy Spirit that the
disciples understood what Jesus had been saying previously. Also, they were
intensely grieving what they perceived to be a certain loss. None of them
conceived that it was even possible that Jesus could rise back from the dead.
In fact, they called it “nonsense”! (Luke 28:11)
-
Hallucinations
do not eat fish, and are generally not palpable.
-
Hallucinations
also generally don’t keep reappearing for a set amount of time (which nobody
had anticipated beforehand), and then stop! (Acts 1:1-10)
Some sceptics claim that the disciples were talking about
just a “spiritual” resurrection rather than an actual physical resurrection.
What evidence points against that? (eg. Luke 24:36-43; John 20:26-27)
-
“Spirits”
don’t eat and can’t be physically felt.
-
The whole
Resurrection account is about very physical, tangible, historically verifiable
events. They’re not just some vague myths, but exact descriptions of who did
what when.
What is illogical about asking for non-Christian evidence
for the Resurrection?
-
Any
non-Christian that saw the risen Jesus BELIEVED! (eg. Paul). Therefore there is
no such thing as a non-Christian that saw Jesus alive from the dead.
Implications and Applications
Why is the
Resurrection important in an Apologetic
sense (ie proving that the Bible is true)?
If the Resurrection did
not happen, then the Bible is a lie, and the whole of Christianity is a lie.
Why is the
Resurrection important in the Prophetic sense
(ie proving that Jesus fulfils the OT prophecies)? (eg. Hos 6)
If the Resurrection
did not happen, then Jesus is NOT the prophesied Messiah, and He would not be
the one we were told to wait for.
Why is the
Resurrection important in the Soteriological
sense (ie assuring us that Salvation is ours)? (1 Cor 15:12-19)
If the Resurrection
did not happen, then it would have meant that His sacrifice was insufficient to
pay for our sins. The Resurrection was given to us as a sign that the price has
been paid sufficiently.
Looking at 1
Cor 15:19, who is the fool if the Resurrection is false? Who is the fool if the
Resurrection is true? Why?
Discuss.
Why is the
Resurrection important in a Practical
sense (ie day-to-day application of the Resurrection life)? (Col 3:1-3; Romans
6:1-14)
We died and are raised
with Christ. We have new spiritual bodies. We are therefore, called to live entirely
different lives, not lives based on human rules and regulations, but lives
filled with the love of God. We can’t live this transformed life without Him
and His power at work within us.
Why is the
Resurrection important in a Heavenly sense
(ie showing us what we have to look forward to)? (Phil 3:20-21; 1 Thess
4:13-18; Romans 8:18-25) What did you think heaven is like?
Explore what they had
thought Heaven is like first. It’s not about chubby angels in diapers playing
harps!! It shows us that we will be resurrected into glorified physical bodies
at the End of Time. It also teaches us to anticipate the glorious return of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Where is Jesus now?
Read Acts 1:1-11; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 1:3; Ephesians 1:20-23;
2:3-7
Where is Jesus now? Why is that significant?
He is now at the right
hand of Majesty on high as our great High Priest
“Paul tells us that
the Father powerfully raised Jesus and seated him at his right hand. The
raising and seating are fundamentally one work. When Paul tells us in Romans
that the Father declared Jesus to be the Son of God by his resurrection (Romans
1:4), he doesn’t mean this vindication comes by merely being brought back to
life. The resurrection is one part of this great vindicating act — an act that
also involved being highly exalted and bestowed a name that is above every
name, which is the route Paul takes in Philippians 2:10 and mentions in
Ephesians 1:21.
“Jesus is seated above
all rule and authority and power and dominion because that’s what it means to
be the king of everything. That’s what it means to be the true Son of Man that
Daniel speaks of in Daniel 7:13–14. And that’s the only reason someone can say:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).
Jesus is raised and seated to have all things put under his feet, which is the
vision of the Messianic king in Psalm 110:1. Jesus is ascended! Ascended!
“And here’s the part
that’s literally out of this world: we are ascended with him. Just a few verses
later, in Ephesians 2:6, Paul tells us that when God saved us in Christ he
actually raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places.
Right now, united to Jesus by faith, we are spiritually seated with him at the
Father’s right hand. That’s why we seek the things that are above (Colossians
3:1). Spiritually, it’s our home. This new creation dimension of reality where
Jesus is, this is where we’re from (Philippians 3:20).”
Comments
Post a Comment