THE EVIDENCE FOR AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESURRECTION

The women were at the tomb, having come to prepare Jesus’ body so it would be preserved for long. As they went to the tomb, one of their fears had been taken away; that is, the rolling away of the stone.

In Matthew 28:5-6, the angel told the women not to be afraid. Yes, they had come to see Jesus but he had already risen. The angel was pointing the women to the empty tomb as evidence that Jesus had risen. So, this morning, I will focus on two of the evidences and I will end with the significance of the resurrection.

Evidence 1: The empty tomb
The angel bid them to come see the empty tomb. One writer has said, if ever a fact of ancient history may count as indisputable, it must be the empty tomb. From Easter Sunday on, there must have been a tomb clearly known as the tomb of Jesus and that tomb did not contain his body. For the apostles to preach confidently about the resurrection of Christ, there must have been a tomb that was clearly marked and where he was buried, but where he wasn’t present.

Another writer has said, when the disciples began to preach the gospel in Jerusalem and the people responded and the religious authorities stood helplessly by, the tomb must have been empty. The simple fact that the Christian movement came into existence and flourished in the very city in which Jesus had been executed means that the empty tomb was empty, and this is powerful evidence of the veracity of the disciples’ claim.

The people who killed Jesus were not stupid. They knew that he had been buried so the empty tomb was a problem. It had to be explained. All the gospels mention the empty tomb but the rest of the books of the New Testament never make direct reference to that but spoke copiously of the resurrection. The reason must have been that by the time of the writing of those books, the empty tomb was no longer an issue because everybody in Jerusalem knew there was an empty tomb.

Why was the tomb empty?
This was why the religious authorities were so concerned that they had to pay bribes to the soldiers who guarded the tomb to lie that the disciples came to steal the body of Jesus while they the soldiers slept on duty. Those who called our Lord the deceiver were the ones bribing others to deceive the people.

Read Matthew 28:11-15.

We cannot deny the fact of the empty tomb but we must find a reason for it. Is it empty because the body had been stolen? No! It was because he had risen. The empty tomb shows he was not there but risen. He was not stolen.

Evidence 2: Post-resurrection appearances
Jesus revealed himself to Paul (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

Mary Magdalene saw the empty tomb and went to tell the disciples that her Lord’s body had been taken away. So, Jesus had to show himself to Mary (John 20:16).

In Luke 24:13-32, Jesus appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

He revealed himself to the disciples on the sea.

Read John 21:1-7.

Jesus appeared to the disciples at least 11 (some say 13) times.

When you come face to face with the resurrected Lord, you must dress properly. Peter hid himself because he wasn’t adequately dressed.

Finally, he is not here–not because he has been stolen or has gone missing but because he has risen

Significance of the resurrection
It is the seal of acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus by the Father. It is also a guarantee of our own resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). It assures us that our faith is authentic (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17, 20).

It ushers us into newness of life.

Read Romans 6:1-11–because of the resurrection, we are dead to sin

It gives us victory over principalities and powers–they are under our feet.

Read Ephesians 1:19-21.

Jesus is seated far above all principalities and powers and any authority and all things have been placed under his feet for the church.

He is risen. He has lifted himself up. So, it is not enough to say we are not where we used to be. We must leave behind weaknesses and any bondage. We must also rise above them for we have risen with Christ. May the Spirit of God raise us up and position us to know our place in Christ and to know we are risen with him.

Walk in the power of this word and it shall be well.