Infalliable Proofs
Acts 1:1-3, Cor. 15:1-8, and Luke 24:36-48
“In many proofs.” This spoken of the Resurrection and by a doctor. Of all the followers of Christ, Luke was the best qualified to say there was infallible proof that Jesus lived after dying on the Cross.
I: The Proof of History:
1. We know when he lived between 5 & 6 B.C, and 30-32 AD
2. We know where he was born: Bethlehem, a real town.
3. We know where he spent most of his life, in Nazareth, far north in Galilee.
4. We know his early occupation to be a Carpenter.
5. We know many of the Characters of his day from Literature apart from the Bible; Herod the great, his son Herod Agrippa, Pontius Pilate, Tiberius Caesar, Felix, Festus, etc.
6. Every history of the 1st Century is compelled to say something about Jesus, every encyclopedia of the Western World must record the fact that Jesus lived.
7. The very dates we use designated by the letter A.D., and B.C. bear testimony that Jesus lived.
8. He lived at a definite time, in a definite place among historic characters.
9. We know more about the hours preceding his death than any other man in Ancient History.
II: The Meaning of the Resurrection.
1. “A return from the dead.” The soul never dies and can’t know resurrection, only the body dies!
2. If we can’t speak of bodily resurrection we should not speak of resurrection at all.
3. Gnosticism denied that Christ rose from the dead in his own body and worked havoc in the early Churches.
III: Jesus Staked the Future of the Gospel and His Church upon His Prediction Regarding the Resurrection.
1. He amazed his Disciples with his frequent assertion that he must go to Jerusalem, died and after 3 days rise again.
“Destroy this temple…” “As Jonah was 3 day…” At Peter’s confession, at Lord’s supper.
2. If you or I should make such statements…
IV: The Place of the Resurrection was Emphasized More than Any Other Fact.
1. The Miracle of the Resurrection was emphasized more than any other fact.
a. Peter on the day of Pentecost, Peter and Paul in the book of Acts.
b. Paul: “If Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching in vain?”
2. Every witness of the early Church stressed the fact of the Resurrection.
3. The choice of a successor to Judas depended upon his witness to the Resurrection.
4. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thy heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
5. Our 1 great hope of our own Resurrection is wrapped up in his own Resurrection.
V: The Primary Cause of the Growth and Power of the Early Church:
1. This belief in the Resurrection was fundamental in the Church. Appeared in their Tombs, Catacombs, Hymns, and Writings.
2. Multitudes accepted Christianity on the pros they gave.
3. Faith in the Resurrection was fundamental in the Church. Appeared in their Tombs, Catacombs, Hymns, and Writings.
4. Their Message was not “follow this teaching and do your best,” but Jesus and the Resurrection.
VI: Infallible Proofs.
1. The empty Tomb. Never denied, never proved to have held his body. Smart, powerful men would have proven the falsehood of the Resurrection if they could.
2. Women saw him, Peter and Apostles, Paul, etc.
3. The Roman Guards believed it.
4. The Jewish Authorities paid money to get the Soldiers to lie about the empty Tomb.
5. The Disciples were in no mood to steal a body.
6. Of the 4 great Religions of the world, only Christianity claims an empty grave.
7. They saw him, they knew him, they handled him, they gave witness to him.
“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thy heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”