Did It Really Happen?

Connection Fellowship
Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009
Did It Really Happen?
Matthew 28:1-15

Two weeks ago, I attended a funeral. A friend of mine was presiding over the casket of his mother. As he read the passage of comfort from John 14, I thought to myself, “This is the time when you find out if you really believe what you say you believe.”
Today, I want you to know that I do not consider myself an apologist. I no longer thrive on making an argument to convince people of anything. But this morning we come to a critical text and we will deal with the question:
“Did It [The Resurrection] Really Happen?”

TEXT: [Matthew 28:1-15]
1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. 2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. 3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” 8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.” 11 Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,13 and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ 14 “And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.”15 And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.
It is a story recorded in all four (4) of the New Testament Gospels. It is proclaimed multiple times in the Book of Acts and in 1st Corinthians chapter 15. In verse 14, the Apostle Paul, in one of the most pointed statements says, “…if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.” He goes on to say, (v. 17-19), “and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished…we are of all men most to be pitied.”

It’s been argued that Jesus did not really die on the cross. It has been argued that Jesus was not really buried in the borrowed tomb of Joseph of Arimethea (John 19). It has been argued that Jesus’ body was stolen or that the women came to wrong tomb. It has also been argued that the appearances of Jesus Christ were really hallucinations.

Honestly, I have heard all of these arguments made and refuted by atheists and theologians for quite a few years. I could even make the arguments. But for the first time, in preparation for today, I researched the evidence for myself. And if you want to read it in a concise place, I would suggest: Lee Strobel’s – “The Case for Christ”

For today, I want to focus on just one argument that is pervasive in our culture as I did some personal searching. As we just read the account here in Matthew’s Gospel, you can read the accounts of the other 3 and they are not exactly the same. Let’s look at the text.

One key example is found in verse 1. It says that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. Mark 16:1 says that Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome came to anoint the body of Jesus. Luke records the name of Joanna as well. John’s Gospel only records Mary Magdalene. So who was right?
Some argue that the accounts of angel, or angels, or the ‘young man’ are inconsistent. So who was right? Some argue that some accounts say the women were silent because of fear and others say that they ran to tell the disciples. So who is right?
Some argue why Matthew is the only writing of the Guards’ interaction with the priests and the false story. Why do the others leave it out? Is the Bible really true?

You may be thinking, as I did on many Easter Sunday mornings, “I don’t really care about all of that. Let’s sing ‘Victory in Jesus’ and go have some dinner.” But I want to challenge you with 2 thoughts: First, when you are standing over the casket of someone you love dearly or in bed with an incurable disease or in an overturned car that’s on fire…you will care if it’s true.
So who is right?

The answer is, “All of them”. What would be questionable is if all of them were identical. Watch a major news story on all four of our local networks and they will each cover it from a different perspective. This week, a small plane crashed in Spartanburg Co. Each network included different details, but all included the two most important facts: (1) a plane crashed and (2) the pilot died. In case you still doubt it, I personally saw the wreckage on Wednesday.

In the most memorable moments of history, the best, most credible sources commonly recorded different details. In our case all of the key factors are unanimously reported: (1) Jesus was crucified and died; (2) He was buried in a tomb; (3) He was raised from the dead; and (4) Many people actually saw Him.

We looked at 1 Cor. 15. Paul is commonly accepted as the writer and it has been dated only a few years after the events.

3. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4. and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5. and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7. then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8. and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. [though I had even persecuted the church of God].

Paul is not focusing on the reported surrounding details, but on key facts. He says plenty of people could verify the story. The details are important in helping us understand the dynamic of the story and to helping us understand how people responded to the events. But remember that the key to the Gospel message is found in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Savior.

Finally, there are people all around us - here and all around this globe – asking legitimate questions like this that we need to answer so that they may believe. There are a lot of ‘theological’ or ‘church’ or ‘behavior’ types of questions that may or may not be worth spending time to answer. But this one is most critical.

I read a true story this week that helped me understand this point:

In 1990, a brilliant man - Mike Bryan [who considers himself an atheist] was led by his curiosity to Dallas, TX and Criswell College for the purpose of living within an evangelical community and writing about his experience. His book was entitled, Chapter and Verse: A Skeptic Revisits Christianity.
After almost 6 months of going to classes, conferences, and going on a mission trip, it was time for Mike to return to his home in New York City. At dinner before he left, a professor asked Mike this question: “Thinking about all you have studied and experienced, what is the bottom line as you see it?”
With no hesitation at all Mike responded, “That’s easy. It’s the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.” Mike then proceeded with his logic:

“If Jesus rose from the dead then: 1) there is a God and 2) He is that God. Furthermore, 3) the Bible is true because He said it was true and believed it was true. And, 4) that means there is a heaven and a hell, and 5) one’s relationship with Jesus is the deciding factor as to which way you go.” [Daniel Akin – “The Centrality of the Resurrection of Christ”]

I have often thought that there is no greater witness for God in our culture than that of a changed life. I still believe that is true. But as I read this week about a believer – a newspaper writer who covered the religion page for several years – who became an atheist as a result…I realized that our lives may have both positive and negative impacts on whether others believe.
I am not, nor will I ever minimize the importance of living our lives so they are a walking billboard for the love and grace of God. However, when it comes down to the most important, critical times of our lives…the circumstances and choices of life and death, there is only one fact that actually matters:

The resurrection of Jesus Christ really did happen.

It is true. You can base your life, now and for eternity, on it. But it is only engaged to change your life and your eternal destiny if you believe it. It really did happen. Jesus has, and is [presently] risen. Others had been raised from the dead...but all eventually died. But not Jesus. This had never happened before. He did not die again. HE IS RISEN. The question is: Have you believed?