Session 4 - Foundations for the resurrection Pt.2

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.

In this session we will continue looking at evidence that is best explained by the

resurrection

New Testament scholars agree that he burial story is one of the best established

facts about Jesus.

*Jesus Burial Story is trustworthy*

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*

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…

Not only is the Roman seal on the tomb, there are soldiers posted to make sure no

one touches it

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?

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.”

We are not told for sure, but it very likely could have been four soldiers

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.

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."

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.

*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.”

They were lyingThey hallucinated

They really saw the risen Christ

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:

*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

Mark's account of the empty tomb is simple and shows no signs of

legendary development.

*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

3. The empty tomb

2. Jesus Burial Story is trustworthy

5. Broken Roman Seal

4. Grave clothes left

6. Roman Guards go Awol

7. Large Stone Removed

10. OVER 500 WITNESSES

8. The Disciples Sincerely Believed He Rose from the Dead and Appeared to Them

9. The Conversion of the Skeptic James

12. Jesus' tomb wasn’t venerated as a shrine

13. No signs of legendary development

11. The conversion of Paul

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.”