Resurrection
 


The Power of Christ’s Resurrection


By Pastor Dan Kennedy

© April 24, 2011

www.pastorkennedy.com


For many years Lee Strobel was an unashamed atheist.  He was a legal editor with the Chicago Tribune, checking and rechecking the viability of sources for stories in the one of the nation’s largest newspapers.  The legal editors required two credible sources, to support printed stories.  One of Mr. Strobel’s colleagues had a sign in his cubical reflecting his cynicism about people who said they were telling the truth but gave uncorroborated evidence.  The sign said, “If your mother says she loves you – check it out!”


Though Mr. Strobel always expected truth from others, he was not that pleased with the obvious conflicts of morality in his own life.   He said this about himself as he reflected about his earlier days.


“Without an overarching moral framework for my life, I made up my morality as I went.  My main value was to bring maximum pleasure to myself.  As a result – and this is difficult for me to admit – I lived a very immoral, drunken, profane, narcissistic and even self-destructive life.


I had a lot of anger inside of me.  If you had asked me back then why I was so mad, I don’t think I could have explained it.  But looking back, I can see that I was always after the perfect high and the ultimate experience of pleasure.  But in the end, everything would end in bitter disappointment.” [Lee Strobel, The Case for the Resurrection, Zondervan Press 2009. Excerpts from pgs. 9-10]


After an argument with his wife he once flew into a rage and kicked a hole through the living room wall.  His wife and little daughter were left in tears.


Sometime later his wife, after a time of spiritual searching, came home and said she had become a follower of Jesus Christ.  Lee wondered what would become of their marriage since he was an avowed atheist.  He expected the worst, but in the months that followed, he began to see surprising positive changes in her character and values.


After being invited to come with her to church, Lee decided to go and check out what kind of a church she was involved in.  That morning, the pastor spoke on Basic Christianity, which confronted Lee with evidence about Christ that he couldn’t avoid, and being the legal editor of which he so prided himself, he began a two year spiritual journey checking and rechecking the viability of Christianity.  He came to the following conclusion early in his search.


“It didn’t take long for me to conclude that the truth or falsity of all world religions – and the ultimate meaning of life itself – comes down to just one key issue:  did Jesus, or did he not, return from the dead?  The answer to that fundamental question would settle everything.” [Ibid]


Easter Sunday – The Most Profound Spiritual Revelation


The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the most profound spiritual events in the history of the world.  It is the primary foundation for our hope of eternal life.


Credible and Undeniable Facts surround Christ’s Resurrection

[The moment anyone says “undeniable” there will always be someone who will deny it…just to be obstinate – or to make a boatload of money selling fictional novels!]


When I say “undeniable” in this context, I am referring to the scholarly work done by Dr. Gary Habermas and Dr. Michael Licona, in their book, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus.  This book is just one of many researching the historical facts of Christ’s resurrection.


These scholars and theologians conclude that in the volume of independent ancient sources (not just two or three) verifying Christ’s Resurrection from the dead, the following three facts (Habermas and Licona offer a basic five facts) should be beginning points in an honest study of Christ’s resurrection. 


Fact #1:  Jesus Christ lived here on the earth


  1.   He was born in a miraculous birth.


  1.   He lived an amazing life.


•  He gave Himself to be sacrificed for the sins of the world.


•  He is called the Son of Man


This title of Christ is in fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy hundreds of years before He was born. 


Daniel 7:13–14

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.


Jesus stated Daniel’s prophecy, claiming to be “the Son of Man” before the High Priest, the evening He was betrayed.  It was this statement that condemned Him to death before the Pharisees (Matthew 26:62-64).


Matthew 26:62–64

62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”


•  He is called the Son of God


John 11:25–27

25 Jesus said to her [Martha, Lazarus’ sister, after Lazarus had died], “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”


Fact #2:  Jesus was killed by crucifixion


Have you ever watched “The Passion of the Christ”?  It doesn’t take a certified mortician to verify the death of a man who has been severely scourged to the threshold of death by ruthless and trained soldiers, who is then required to agonizingly carry his cross, only to be relieved of that requirement, because he is in such terrible physical shape, by a bystander who was forced to finish carrying His cross to the place of crucifixion.  Then, the Accused is nailed to that same cross where He was hung until He was declared to be dead by unsympathetic Roman soldiers, experienced in knowing what death looks like.  As if that is not enough, finally, a spear was thrust through His side, to certify the fact that He was clearly dead.   Only at the confirmation of His death, the highest government official gave permission for His body to be taken down, as requested, for burial.   The bitter enemies who defamed Him and deceitfully manufactured His crucifixion mockingly watched Him die (these too, would also make sure that He died).   His enemies also had planned to prevent His body being stolen (for a possible claim of “resurrection”).  Roman guards were sent to protect the tomb from the foul play of a staged resurrection.  Death is written all over the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. 


  1.   The extreme torture of Christ.


  1.   Jesus required to bear the cross.


  1.   Jesus gross inability to carry the cross and the forced use of a substitute.


  1.   The cruelty of crucifixion – the whole point of which is death by execution.


  1.   Expert hands-on observation by Roman Executioners.


  1.   Close observation of the crucifixion by those who bitterly hated Jesus and pressed for His death – who would have never given opportunity for Christ to  be taken off the cross, if He were not clearly dead.


  1.   The unnatural reaction of the elements – the great darkness and earthquake, reveals the supernatural elements of God the Father, Himself, at the death of Christ!


  1.   The spear thrust into His side as a final assurance of death.


  1.   The burial.


  1.   The sealing of the tomb and the posting of Roman soldiers to guard it from being opened.


  1.   The coming of the women the following day (who watched the crucifixion) to anoint the dead body with spices to keep down the stench of decomposition.


It all speaks of death.  The death of the Messiah; the death of God, the Son – for the sin of the world!


To say, “He swooned”, but had not died, is the statement of a fool, a liar, or the concoction of a conspiracy of deceivers desperate enough to cover the dirt of their own underhanded miscalculations.  Those hating Jesus were a political-religious powerful coalition willing to use whatever hush money needed to spread the misconceptions of their self-serving lie.


…And, think about how unappealing Jesus would have been to His followers, if He had simply swooned and had to be broken out of the tomb by friends.  Can’t you see the scenario of a few friends frantically toting Jesus’ body away on a hastily constructed gurney, running from the pursuing guards - if they could have gotten past the soldiers in the first place! 


Who in their right mind would follow such a non-dead, non-resurrected, bleeding, helpless, ashen, powerless “savior”, if he could ever be nursed back to health again – much less become a martyr for Him?  Only fools, deceivers, or those desperate enough to discredit Jesus’ resurrection, would say that Jesus “swooned”.


Drs. Habermas and Licona (along with a host of other credible authors on the subject) give statement after statement including those from agnostics and atheists; historians of that day, and other ancient sources, verifying the certainty of the first hand witnesses of the death of Christ at His crucifixion.  They need not be reiterated again here.


Fact #3:  Jesus Rose from the Dead!  His disciples believed that He actually returned from the dead and had appeared to them.


Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – disciples and Apostles of Jesus Christ, record their first-hand, personal belief and observation of Christ’s Resurrection in each of their uniquely recorded chronicles on the life of Christ – which we call “the Gospels” – the first four books of the New Testament.  These books are four accounts of Christ’s resurrection. 


The Disciples’ Sincere Belief of Christ’s Resurrection was Corroborated by Others


Dr. Licona gives three other sources assuring us of the validity of the disciples’ first-hand testimony about Christ’s resurrection.


“There are three strands of evidence [further authenticating the disciples belief in Christ’s resurrection]:  Paul’s testimony about the disciples; oral traditions passed through the early church; and the written works of the early church.” 


Paul, who personally knew Christ’s disciples first hand, who at first persecuted Christians, verified their belief and his own belief of Christ’s resurrection.  This belief was encapsulated in a resurrection creed of the early church, recorded by Paul in 1 Cor. 15:1-7 – which creed Paul identifies succinctly as “The Gospel”!


1 Corinthians 15:1–7

    Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: [an Early Church Creed] that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 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. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles….


A Hypothetical Story about Prince William


Has Prince William ever previously come to the Northwest or the Olympic Peninsula?  You are about to find that out personally!


Let’s say that a few months ago you received an official call from the British Consulate saying that they wanted you to host Prince William on one part of a “Get to know America Tour” before he got married.


The Royal Family wanted to give William the experience of knowing average Americans all across the continent since we were such close friends with the Brits.  They called to ask if you could arrange the Prince’s itinerary around some of the Northwest and the Olympic Peninsula.  Although they would give you some funds up front for expenses, any extra would need to be covered by you and you would be reimbursed later.


Prince William would be wearing a full beard and flying “under the radar” so he could get to know about the everyday Americans, not just the rich and famous.  He would arrive on a regularly scheduled British Airways flight in regular cabin seating.  Only one security guard would be traveling with him, a man close to his own age to look more like a friend than a bodyguard.


The day finally came for his arrival and you were to pick him up at the airport in your car, so you purchased a brand new SUV, even though you couldn’t afford it, for the Prince’s comfort and protection.


You had very carefully scheduled places to go and events to see.  You had gathered around you a handpicked group of trusted friends to assure that nothing would go wrong and that the few days you had been given to be with the prince would be an optimal experience for him and for those who entertained him.


Everything seemed to go perfect.  You met the prince and his bodyguard and escorted them to the new jet black SUV with tinted glass windows.  You started out by driving them around Seattle to see Pike’s place, the Space Needle and other attractions taken in by everyday Americans.  You would have taken in a Mariners’ game, if they had been playing.  You had supper on the wharf, just like you would have taken out your family, if they had flown in from Denver for the first time.


You took the ferry over and began a road trip around the Peninsula, finding the most comfortable motels and the best attractions, with great shell fishing, salmon and NW menu!  Everything was going superbly.   The Prince and his bodyguard were having a great time!  You talked of his upcoming wedding and what it was like to be in the Royal Family.  He was a great guy and it was terrific fun to share in this trip of a lifetime.


Everything was perfect until you finished your trip and took the Prince back at the airport to see him off.  You got a seat in the restaurant where you could see the planes taxi in and out clearly and you knew the exact gate from which he was leaving.  You noticed that the plane, which the Prince had boarded pulled away from the airport and took to the skies back to Britain – or so you thought… Then, out of the corner of your eye, you saw another British plane taxi toward the airport.  This plane was different from the other planes normally carrying the crest of Britain.  This plane was obviously for the “Royals”.  You watched it carefully as it stopped a short distance away from the airport on the tarmac and was surrounded by security, the press and well-wishers.  It obviously had someone very special on board.  


You were aghast, as you watched, when you saw a smooth shaven Prince William come out of the cabin door of the official “Royals” plane and wave to the crowd below.  He had just flown in from Britain.


The TV’s were blaring out the arrival of the real Prince and you were crushed.


You had purchased a new SUV, you had convinced a number of your friends that this was “for real” and this was truly Prince William – although you questioned his identity yourself at times.  You had spent money like it was water and you had not been reimbursed for anything yet.  You had been taken in… scammed… conned… hoodwinked.


You had truthfully and honestly given your best – and now this!


What would you feel like?  What would you want to do to the man who caused you to look like a fool?

_________


For three and a half years Jesus’ disciples lived with Jesus.  They saw who He was; they left all to follow him and gave themselves to His mission.  They believed in Him.


He told them that He was the Messiah, the Son of God – God, the Son.  His disciples believe that.


Then after all the struggles they had gone through, He was taken, brutally tortured and then crucified – He died and all their hopes died with Him.  The disciples locked themselves in an upper room away from all the onlookers, and suffered their shock in silent disbelief.


Can God die? 


They had talked to Jesus about being elevated to a key position on His right hand and left hand when He revealed His Kingdom.  They would endure for the glory of such a kingdom, but not for this!


Can you personally feel what turmoil they would have been in?


Can you feel the bitter remorse of having given themselves to Him and His mission for those years?  But His death had betrayed them.  They were left hopeless.


What would you feel about him now?  What would you tell people about such an impostor?


There could be only one thing that would change their remorse.  A real resurrection…not a swoon in a grave, not a quietly hidden death, not a thieving of the body after a firefight with Roman guards – only a bold, obvious, powerful, dynamic resurrection would change their mind!


The disciples were so bitterly disappointed about Jesus’ death only Peter and John were willing to go out to the tomb to check out the story of the resurrection told in excitement by the women who came back from Jesus’ empty tomb…with an angel in it telling them that Jesus had risen from the dead!


Only an amazing resurrection would change the disciples’ mind so much that they would lay down their life to defend their belief of His Resurrection!


An exposed liar does not create followers who are willing martyrs!


There would be no Christianity today, if Christ had not risen from the dead!


How Profoundly does Christ’s Resurrection affect the World?


All of us live like we will never die!  Where will our spirit live after our physical body dies? 


If Jesus Christ was raised again, then eternal life is much more than a far-off dream. 


Christ’s resurrection actually causes great joy and great dilemmas.


Christ’s resurrection boldly says that something very eternal lies beyond the grave…if this is true, then:


  1.   Resurrection is assured for everyone.


  1.   The reality of resurrection after death brings a huge dilemma for those who have no eternal hope.  Resurrection will be a disastrous surprise for those who planned all their life to conclude their life in a grand delusion of nothing at their death!


  1.   Christ’s resurrection gives great hope to those who by faith, believe in Him and the cleansing of His Blood for their salvation!


If Christ rose again from the dead, asserting the reality of life after death, then our life after death is just as assured as our moment of death


The Power of the Resurrection is Alive Today…


In Philippians 3:10 Paul writes a series of very interesting statements.  He begins by saying, “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection…”


This statement, if standing alone, would reflect a great and dynamic power, which we would expect to dominate the success of every activity and hope of the Christian. 


In our natural, self-consumed egotism, we would probably continue to write the verse as follows:

“That I may know Him and the Power of His Resurrection: enabling myself to globally reach out to the fullest extent in all of my endeavors, with the ultimate glory of seeing continuous victories and grand success in every area of our life!”


Let me say something here that may seem to be very contrary to everything we want to hear, when it comes to belief in Christ.


Take a Radical Look at the true Outcome of the Power of Christ’s Resurrection


If all that the “power of Christ’s Resurrection” did was to give those who obtained it a wildly successful ride in our life here on earth, Christians would be the main competitors to worldly aspiration – offering nothing better than the egotism and grasping for success that the world lauds as the apex of all glory.

Paul, though, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote something totally different!


“Resurrection power” is the beginning statement, but it continues and concludes in a seeming reversal of the whole dimension of its original powerful intent!!


Philippians 3:10

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death….”


What a redirection!


That I may know Jesus Christ:


  1. 1.  To know the power of His Resurrection.


  1. 2.  To participate in the fellowship of His sufferings.


3.  To be made conformable unto His death!


What an opposite direction to where we would normally go: 

  1.   Knowing Jesus Christ, from the greatest power known to mankind – resurrection…


  1.   Through the dark intimate valley of sharing in the searing pain of suffering… 


  1.   Until I participate with Christ in His ultimate suffering – death. 


One theologian, in speaking of the cross, stated: "It is only through suffering and the cross that sinners can see and come to know God."


What a reversal to the world’s logic and wisdom!


What is God’s Spirit telling us through Paul’s writings?


We live in a dying world that is racked continually with the groaning that all creation endures under the curse of sin.  Our ultimate end is not here.  The earth is the place where we live together with everyone else, enduring the pressures and pains associated with the decay and distrust so common with depravity, experiencing the trial of our faith.  Who but God would send His Son to endure all things, yet without sin, to suffer and die, “in the fullness of time”, to provide the perfect sacrifice for the cleansing of our guilty consciences.  To give us the power, through His resurrection, to have fellowship with Him in our suffering and to experience the enduring fruit of dying with Christ and Living unto God!  What hope we have of eternal life!!


Romans 8:16–23

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.


Romans 8:16-23 lets me know that the “fellowship of the sufferings of Christ” – that which we reach out for, when we begin to know Christ, are not just “spiritual sufferings” (Christian persecution or some other prime obvious spiritual reason).  Romans 8 lets us know that fellowshipping in Christ’s suffering also implies the endurance of faith obtained through the pains and groanings we experience by just living in this sin-cursed world.


The difference of this “fellowship” of suffering is that when we experience sufferings in this world, we endure, in fellowship with Christ, through the suffering – no matter what it is.


Any kind of suffering presses us to a deeper relationship with Christ, and in that deeper relationship, we experience a fuller and more profound fellowship with our Savior.  This, of course, does not mean we will not experience various dynamics of spiritual suffering, which also press us to Christ, but all suffering can deepen our spiritual fellowship with God.


The final step is death: Death to self and living unto God!


Uniquely, dying to ourselves allows us to live unto God. 

Choosing His ways, not our ways. 

When we die to ourselves, we then can experience the greatest Resurrection and life that is pleasing unto God.


Let me illustrate it like this: 


If you are married and you choose to please yourself all the time, you will ultimately not have the best marriage in the world!  You will be self consumed always wanting to heap good things on yourself, while your spouse is always taking the brunt of every selfish move.  In every good marriage there is healthy submission and devoted sacrificial love.  When we choose to die to ourselves, we enjoy the blessings of mutual love, respect and submission – and most often the best marriage.


Remember what Lee Strobel said of himself:


“Without an overarching moral framework for my life, I made up my morality as I went.  My main value was to bring maximum pleasure to myself.  As a result – and this is difficult for me to admit – I lived a very immoral, drunken, profane, narcissistic and even self-destructive life.


God wants His children to live precious and honorable lives in our relationship with Him.  We choose to die to those things that destroy our relationship with God.  Instead of living a life of carnality, we choose to submit, respect and love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength!


Look how Paul finishes those thoughts about wanting to “know Christ”:


Philippians 3:10-11

10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.


Philippians 3:20–21

20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.


Here we see “the power of the resurrection” in its final, most complete form!


  1.   We want to be like Christ.


  1.   We want to fellowship with Him in His suffering.


  1.   We want to participate with Him in His death – dying to ourselves and living unto God!


  1.   We are eagerly awaiting our Savior who rose from the dead and is coming again for us!


  1.   We look forward to the day when His resurrection power will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body!


Conclusion


The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the most profound spiritual events in the history of the world.  It is the primary foundation for our hope of eternal life.


  1. 1.  Jesus Christ lived here on the earth


  1. 2.  Jesus was killed by crucifixion


  1. 3.  Jesus Rose from the Dead!  His disciples believed that He actually returned from the dead and had appeared to them.


4.  The Power of the Resurrection is Alive Today…