The Case for Easter

In the fall of 2002, I became born again, believing the first century Jesus of Nazareth was not merely a man, but God living among us, who died for our sake, and accepting him into my life as Lord and savior. In the spring of 2004, I gave the sermon at the first Easter service I attended as a Christian. It was a sunrise service on the shore of Lake Erie. Here is that sermon, admittedly not in much of a proper paragraph or sentence structure, this is a copy of what I had in front of me that morning. Much credit is due to Lee Strobel, and his book, The Case for Christ.

Why are we celebrating today? Why is it important?

1 Cor. 5:17 - "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins"

What is faith? The original hebrew word suggested believing because of knowledge one had, not simply following something blindly.

So, did Jesus really rise from the dead? Let's find out...

The medical evidence - did Jesus die? (if he did not die, then he could not have raised from the dead)

- the Bible says Jesus sweats blood, is this possible?

Medical condition called hematidrosis - associated w/ high degrees of psychological stress. Severe anxiety causes the release of chemicals that break down the capillaries in sweat glands, causing sweat to be mixed w/ blood. This also makes the skin extremely fragile.

- Jesus went through severe flogging, which according to Dr. Alexander Metherell, would cause hypovolemic shock due to a large loss of blood. The effects of hypovolemic shock include: (1) the heart races to pump blood that isn't there, (2) blood pressure drops, causing fainting or collapse, and (3) the person becomes extremely thirsty.

- Jesus was then nailed to the cross. How do you describe the pain of crucifixation? The people of that time couldn't, which caused the invention of a new word - excruciating -- literally meaning ‘out of the cross'.

Jesus's sustained rapid heart rate would result in the collection of clear fluid in the membrane around the heart and lungs.

When the Roman soldier confirmed Jesus's death by thrusting a spear in his side, he appartently went through Jesus's lungs and his heart, so when he pulled the spear out, some of the clear fluid build-up came out along with blood, which the eye-witness John describes as ‘blood and water' in his gospel.

- according to Dr. Metherall, at this point, "there was absolutely no doubt that Jesus was dead"

Evidence of the missing body - was jesus's tomb empty?

- Jesus was buried in a rich man's tomb. The common tomb of that day was sealed by rolling a large disc-shaped stone down a slanted groove, which was then lodged into place across the door, then a smaller stone was used to secure the disk. Although the stone could easily be put in place, in would take several people to remove it.

- Do the gospels tell the same story? In criminal trials, there are many cases of two witnesses giving the same exact testimony, only to be exposed as having collaborated before the trial.

Slight difference in the gospels, from a historical standpoint, actually shows the story as being more likely to be true, as told from multiple independent accounts.

- So-called ‘discrepencies' in the gospels can be harmonized. For example, the time the women visit the tomb. On writer says it was dark, another says it was becoming light. This is like two people seeing the same glass and one calling it half-full, the other, half-empty.

After seeing the empty tomb, Mark says the women didn't tell anyone, other gospels say they did. However, reading all of Mark's gospel makes it clear he loves to emphasize awe and fright in the presence of the divine, plus he was likely referring to a temporary silence. In fact, their silence must have been temporary, or else Mark couldn't have written about it!

- Were the witnesses reliable? The women, of course, were friends of Jesus, however, in the culture of 1^st century Isreal, a women's testimony was regarded as so low, they could not serve as legal witnesses in Jewish court. Any fictional or legendary account almost certainly would have portrayed male disciples discovering the tomb. The fact that women are listed as the first witnesses of the empty tomb is most plausibly explained by the fact the women really did discover the empty tomb, and it was faithfully recorded by the gospel writers, even if they may of saw it as embarrassing.

- The empty tomb was seen as fact to non-Christians of that time. The site of jesus's tomb was known to both Christians and non-Christians. If it wasn't empty, it would have been impossible for a movement founded on the belief that it was to come into existence in the same city where Jesus was publicly executed and buried. In fact, the earliest Jewish counters of Christian belief pre-supposed the historical fact of the empty tomb. None of the Jewish leaders claimed the tomb was not empty, they questioned why it was.

Evidence of appearances - did jesus walk the earth alive after his death (an empty tomb doesn't necessarily mean Jesus rose from the dead)

- Paul's letter to the Corinthians contained what became an early Church creed, which listed Jesus's appearances.

1 Cor. 15:5-8 - "[Christ] appeared to Peter, and then to the twelve. After that, he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time, most of them whom are living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. And last of all, he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born"

Paul given the names of specific people and groups of people who saw Jesus, writing at a time when people could still check them out if they wanted confirmation.

- Many modern bibles say "the earliest manuscripts do not contain Mark 16:9-20." If the ending was added later, then Mark, the earliest gospel, records no appearances; Matthew records a few, Luke records more, and John has the most, suggesting the possibility that the appearances were legends that grew over time. However, the early church creed of 1 Cor. 15 pre-dates any of the gospels, and makes the biggest claims about the appearances, which disproves the legendary development theory, and again suggests the gospel writers just faithfully recorded what they could confirm.

- Were the appearances hallucinations? Gary Collins, a psychologist with a doctorate, who was a professor for 20 yrs., the author of dozens of books on psychological issues, and president of a national association of psychologists, says this:

"Hallucinations are individual occurrences. By their very nature only one person can see a given hallucination at a time. They certainly aren't something which can be seen by a group of people. Neither is it possible that one person could somehow induce a hallucination in somebody else. Since a hallucination exists only in this subjective, personal sense, it is obvious that others cannot witness it."

- The disciples were willing to defend what they saw to their death. In fact, john was submerged in boiling oil, and didn't die! Why would he allow himself to go through that torture for a lie? Plus, what about Paul, who was a persecutor of Christians, why would he lie about seeing Jesus?

The conclusion - where do all the facts point?

Fact - Jesus lived and died.

Fact - his tomb was found empty.

Fact - many reliable witnesses saw him alive after his death.

What are the implications?

John 1:12 says "yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of god." The formula then, is this:

Believe + receive = become

If this evidence helps you believe Jesus is the son of God (meaning, then, he is God Himself), that is great, but it is not enough. To become his child, you must receive the free gift of forgiveness that Christ purchased with his death on the cross. Please do not hesitate to receive Christ into your life. Just as the son rose on this day many years ago, the sun is rising to start our day today, but this sun will eventually set. If the claims of Jesus Christ are true, then it should be of the utmost importance to you to give your life to him today. If you are not sure, then it should be your first priority to see if they are. God is not just a god of truth. He is truth. He will bless your efforts to find truth, and he will reward you. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Use it to the fullest, for the glory of God, who lives, indeed, forever and ever. Amen and amen.