Foundational Faith - The Whats and Whys / Part III - The Resurrection of Jesus

Three Crucial Truths That Support the Resurrection

1. The Tomb of Jesus was Empty.

PLACE - Preached in Jerusalem / Jesus’ tomb was never venerated as a shrine

PEOPLE The Jews believed the tomb was empty / The tomb was discovered by women

TIME - Early account of the resurrection

2. The lives of Jesus’ Disciples were radically changed after the resurrection.

The disciples and many others had real experiences with a resurrected Jesus.

The disciples before and after the resurrection

The martyrdom of the disciples

3. The Church began and grew with the resurrection of Jesus as its central message.

The genesis of the church

The continuing growth and spread of the church

The personal testimony of Christians then and now.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What does this study tell us in regards to the rather popular but poorly supported theory that the divinity of Jesus was essentially invented by the church hundreds of years after the time of Jesus?

2. It is easy to relegate the promise of eternal life and our resurrection to the unknown of the celestial future. But how, if at all, do you suppose the resurrection of Jesus applies to your daily life in the here-and-now?

3. In John 11:25-26 Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” Besides personally answering Jesus’ question, try to explore these words giving particular attention to the words “who lives and believes in Me”. It seems most people are aware of what it means to “believe” in Jesus but maybe not “live” in Jesus. Are they the same - similar - different - opposed...etc.?

CONTRIBUTORS:

I am adapting my notes from an article by John Piper - https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/historical-evidence-for-the-resurrection. This is a good article that summarizes and encapsulates much of the larger work available mainly from Habermas, William Lane Craig, J.P. Moreland, N.T. Wright, Josh McDowell, Hank Hanegraff and more.

TEXT:

Main Text: John 20:30-31

Sub Text: Romans 6:4, 1 Corinthians 6:14, 1 Corinthians 15:19

Books: 1. The Case For Easter by Lee Strobel. 2. The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, Vol. 3) by N.T. Wright. 3. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas and Michael Licona. 4. The Historical Argument for the Resurrection of Jesus during the Deist Controversy, by William Lane Craig.

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