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Jesus is Alive – True or False? Matthew 28:1-15 and John 20:24-29

It was the night of October 31, 1936. Halloween night. The men and women sat at the round table with joined hands. They awaited the message - the message they had hoped for every Halloween night for the past 10 years. But the message did not come.

Finally, one woman rose from the table and announced to the others - and to a listening radio audience - "Houdini did not come through," she said. "My last hope is gone. I do not believe that Houdini can come back to me, or to anyone...The Houdini Shrine has burned for ten years. I now, reverently... turn out the light. It is finished. Good night,Harry!"

The woman was Bess Houdini, wife of the famed magician and escape artist. And this was the last séance she would participate in to try to contact her dead husband. Houdini was known as “The Man No Jail Could Hold.” But he couldn’t escape from death.(paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa103000a.htm)

Today we are finishing our series inspired by Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of TheChrist. Do you remember how the movie ends? Jesus dies. The screen fades to black.You think the credits are going to roll, but an image flashes back on the screen. It is Jesus, resurrected, flawless, and glorious. He has escaped death. He is back and alive.

Is this something we should really believe? Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Is this history or just a Hollywood ending? What is true and what is false?

There are, of course, people who don’t believe. They don’t think Jesus escaped the bonds of death so they have to develop other theories. Let’s begin by looking at three theories that are suggested to explain away the resurrection:

1. Jesus’ Body Was Stolen – True or False

The first false theory is that Jesus’ body was stolen. This theory was actually a fraud concocted up by the Jewish religious leaders and spread by the Roman guards only hours after the resurrection. Let’s read how this happened in Matthew 28, starting at verse 1.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.'Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

Read Italicized verses,

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

The guards spread the story that the disciples had stolen the body in the night and took it to an unknown location. This is still a popular claim, particularly in Jewish circles. It explains the story of an empty tomb and the inability of anyone to disprove the claim that Jesus rose from the dead.

There are some problems with this theory though.

First of all is the fact that Jesus had taught His disciples to be honest and men of integrity. Stealing Jesus’ body and then perpetuating a hoax would have gone against everything they believed.

Secondly, it is clear that at the time of Jesus death, they didn’t even understood that He was going to die, let alone that He was to be raised (John 13:36). At the grave the disciples are confused. They didn’t understand what was going on. They didn’t anticipate a resurrection (John 20:9).

The third problem to this theory is the changed lives of the disciples. At Jesus’ trial, death, and burial, they scattered and hid in fear of being caught (Mark 14:50). The disciples were cowards. But when they saw Jesus alive, they became bold and outspoken.Jesus’ resurrection was the theme of the earliest preaching by the apostles (Acts 2:30-31;3:15; and 4:10, 33). They placed belief in the resurrection at the center of their faith(Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 15:1-5, 12-19).

If they had stolen Jesus’ body, then they were killed – most of them brutally – for what they knew to be a lie. People will sometimes die for what they think is true, but they won’t die for what they know is a lie. It’s unbelievable that none of them ever denied belief in the resurrection of Christ, in spite of suffering and persecution (cf. 2 Cor. 11:22-33; Heb. 11:32-40).

2. The Women Went to the Wrong Tomb -- True or False

Another false belief is that the women mistakenly went to the wrong tomb. The tomb they visited was empty, and they jumped to the conclusion that Jesus rose from the dead.They spread this rumor to the disciples, which led to the widespread belief in the resurrection of Jesus.

There are serious problems with this creative resurrection theory also. If the women went to the wrong tomb, then the disciples, who went to check to the women’s claims, also had to go to the wrong tomb. But even if they did repeat the mistake of the women, all theJewish authorities would have had to do to stop the rumors was to just point out that they went to the wrong tomb. They would have said, “No, you have the wrong tomb. See

Jesus is in this tomb. Here is His body.” That obviously would have disproved the women’s and disciples’ claim that Jesus had risen from the dead. And again, the greatest problem is, if the body was stolen, then how did Jesus keep showing up alive?

3. Jesus’ Resurrection was a Hallucination – True or False

Some people try to answer that question with this third false theory – they claim that what appeared to be Jesus’ resurrection was actually a hallucination. They say, people thought that Jesus kept showing up alive, but they were actually hallucinating because they wanted to see Him alive, and they believed He would come back.

One problem with that theory is the fact that the disciples didn’t believe Jesus would come back. They were devastated. They thought He was dead and gone.Even after some of the disciples saw Jesus alive, not all of them believed. They toldThomas Jesus was alive, and he didn’t believe it. Let’s read this event in John 20 starting at verse 24:

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them.Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands.Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Thomas didn’t believe Jesus was coming back from the dead. He was a skeptic that wanted proof. And Jesus gave it to him. Thomas didn’t just see Jesus alive again, he actually put his fingers in Jesus’ nailed pierced hands and spear pierced side.Again, - if it were just a hallucination, then where was the actual body? Why didn’t theJewish or Roman authorities produce it? All they had to do was take Jesus’ corpse and wheel it through Jerusalem. That would have stopped all resurrection talk.

4. Jesus is Alive – True or False

Not only are the theories for alternative explanations of the resurrection flimsy and biased attempts to avoid the facts, the evidences supporting the resurrection are extremely strong. It is true that Jesus is alive, never to die again. Let’s look at three arguments that show that Jesus’ resurrection is the most amazing fact of history.

Jesus Predicted It

First, Jesus predicted He would rise from the dead.

Have you ever read the predictions of Nostradamus? I don’t know about you, but the onesI have read are so vague and confusing that they can be interpreted to mean just about anything. What about horoscopes? They are so generalized and indiscriminate that they can apply to anybody at anytime. But Jesus’ predictions were totally different. Jesus’ predictions weren’t ambiguous or generalized. They were very clear and specific. Listen to some of these predictions:

Matthew 16:21 – From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Matthew 17:22-23 – When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "TheSon of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life." And the disciples were filled with grief.

Matthew 20:18-19 – "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"

Matthew 26:32 – But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."

And immediately after His death, even His enemies quote Jesus’ prediction about His resurrection. Listen to this:

Matthew 27:62-64 - The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.

Over and over again, Jesus not only predicted that He would be mocked, flogged, and crucified, but that He would actually rise from the dead three days later. And He did!

Eye-witnesses Saw It

Not only did Jesus predict that He would rise from the dead, eyewitnesses saw it. Listen to what Paul – a former unbeliever – said about this:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: 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, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

Jesus was seen alive over a 40-day period after His crucifixion, by men, women, skeptics, believers, individuals, and simultaneously by a group of over 500 people.

History Supports It

Lastly, history supports the resurrection of Jesus. That the church ever came into existence and that you are here today at this church is a result of the resurrection of Jesus.What do you think the main message of the disciples was after Jesus rose from the dead?“Turn the other cheek.” “Give to the poor.” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” No. It was none of those things.

The main message of the disciples was “Jesus is alive!” Listen to what Peter said:

"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agonyof death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him:" 'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope,because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.'"Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. (Acts 2:22-32).

Within a generation of Jesus’ life, documents were written about His death and resurrection. If treated without prejudice the historical records are as plentiful and as reliable as any ancient event we know of. As F.F. Bruce, of Manchester University, said,“If the New Testament were a collection of secular writings, their authenticity would generally be regarded as beyond all doubt.”

There are also historical documents outside the Bible that speak of the resurrection. For example, the Toledoth Jeshu, a compilation of 5th century Jewish writings, acknowledges that the tomb was indeed empty and proceeds to try to explain it away. It confirms thatJesus was crucified and buried, and it tries to explain how His tomb was empty. Even this document – written by nonbelievers – believed that Jesus wasn’t in His tomb after three days. They just don’t want to believe how it happened.

The resurrection of Jesus couldn’t have been preached and believed for a single hour inJerusalem if it weren’t true. There would have been too many ways to discredit the claims and disprove the evidence.

So What?

But the question has to be asked. So what? Why does it matter that Jesus rose from the dead, never to die again?The consequences are enormous. Jesus’ resurrection sets Him apart from all other religious leaders and anyone else who ever lived. All other religious leaders were powerless to death, proving their humanity. Jesus had power over death, proving His divinity. The resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith. All of what Jesus said and did falls if the resurrection is false. All of what Jesus said and did stands if the resurrection is fact.

If the resurrection is true, you can put your trust in Jesus Christ. You can be forgiven of your sins. You can be given the power to live right. You can have everlasting life – being reunited with loved ones after death, and even getting to see, know and love Jesus forever.

A Muslim in Africa became a Christian and some of his friends asked him, “Why have you done such a thing?” He answered, “Well, it’s like this: Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions. You didn’t know which way to go; and there at the fork were two men—one dead, and one alive—which one would you ask to show you the way?”

Now What?

At the beginning of this message I told you about Houdini’s failed attempt to slip the shackles of death and communicate with his wife Bess. Shortly before his death, Houdini made a pact with Bess that if he could, he would return and make contact with her from the other side. They devised a coded message that only he and Bess knew; this would prove that it really was Houdini breaking through from the afterlife. But after 10 séances in 10 years, Bess had not received her beloved husband's personal message.

The message was based on word combinations that corresponded to a secret spelling code. The Houdinis' secret phrase spelled out one word – “Believe.”Jesus did more than just communicate from the grave – He rose from the grave. He gave many evidences and proofs that He was alive.

Do you remember what he said to “Doubting” Thomas?

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

You can’t see Jesus, but you have heard the evidence.
You can’t see Jesus, but you can believe.
Jesus is spelling out a one-word code for you.
Can you hear it? He is saying“Believe.”

Lou Johnson, a 1965 World Series hero for the Los Angeles Dodgers, tried for 30 years to recover the championship ring he lost to drug dealers in 1971. Drug and alcohol abuse cost him everything from that magical season, including his uniform, glove, and the bat he used to hit the winning home run in the deciding game.When Dodger president, Bob Graziano, learned that Johnson's World Series ring was about to be auctioned on the Internet, he immediately wrote a check for $3,457 and bought the ring before any bids were posted. He did for Johnson what the former Dodger outfielder had been unable to do for himself.

Johnson, 66, who has been drug-free for years and a Dodger community relations employee, wept when given the gold ring. He said, "It felt like a piece of me had been reborn."

Countless Christians can testify to a spiritual rebirth as a result of the price that Jesus paid on the cross in their place. He did for them what they could not do for themselves. Citation: Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times (2-10-01); submitted by Rick Kauffman

You don’t have to have all your questions answered and all your doubts cleared to make a thoughtful decision and claim that you believe in Jesus. Where do you stand right now?Are you ready to respond to Jesus? If so, everyone – including intellectuals – come to God the same way. Do you believe?

The resurrection has profound implications for you and me. To explain it, I'm going to end with a story made up by Alfred Hitchcock and recounted in a recent book by David Jeremiah. It’s not a true story, but it is a story with a lesson.

It's the story of a woman who murdered her husband years ago and was sentenced to life in prison. She vowed that somehow, some way, she'd escape. As her prison bus approached the penitentiary, she saw an old man, another prisoner, covering up a grave in a small cemetery outside the prison walls. Right then and there, she hatched a plot.Once inside, she befriended this prisoner. He was going blind and needed cataract surgery. "I'll give you the money for your surgery if you'll help me escape," she said. And he agreed.

Here was the plan: the next time she heard the bell toll, which indicated an inmate had died, she would sneak down to the workroom where he made the casket and slide inside with the body and pull the covering closed. He would wheel the casket out to the cemetery, lower it into the grave and cover it with dirt. But that night, when nobody was watching, he'd return and dig up the casket and set her free.

Late one night, the bell tolled. The woman sneaked down to the workroom. It was dark, but she found the casket, lifted the lid, slipped inside next to the body, pulled the cover over her -- and waited.

Sure enough, a few hours later she felt the casket being rolled toward the grave site. She smiled as the casket was lowered into the hole. She heard the clumps of dirt hitting the casket and covering her up. She had done it! She could barely contain her excitement.Silence followed as she waited in the dark. Time began to drag. Hours passed, then more hours. Finally, she began to worry. She broke out in a cold sweat. Where was that old man? What was keeping him? Can you imagine the emotions that would have coursed through her?

In a moment of panic, she reached into her pocket and took out some matches. As she lit one, she glanced at the corpse beside her -- and saw that it was the old man himself.Her only hope lay buried right next to her!

The lesson for you and me is obvious. This woman had placed her hope in another human being who she sincerely thought would be able to save her -- but he went to his grave and ended up taking her with him.

Friends, listen to me: every single religious leader in history is in his grave right now:Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, all of them -- except one, and that's Jesus Christ. His tomb is empty because He had the power of God to overcome the grave.

If you believe, pray this prayer with me:Prayer: “God, thank You for what you have done for me. I believe You sent Jesus to die for your sins instead of me. I believe Jesus rose again to give me everlasting life. Please forgive me for the wrong things I have done. Please give me a clean heart. I invite you into my life. Teach me to do everything You want me to do and to follow You all the days of my life. I pray this believing what Jesus did for me. Amen.”

Obey. Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). Jesus taught to be baptized. His commands are summarized in loving God with all you are, loving the needy like you love yourself, and loving others as Jesus loved you. The best way to begin doing this is to be part of a good church that is learning to follow Jesus together.

If you prayed that prayer with me will you take the time today to fill out the card in your worship folder? Mark it and place it in the baskets that are at the back of the sanctuary when you leave.

2004/04/11