11th and 12th Grade DGroup Recap

In last night’s class we reviewed some of the same material that was presented in last week’s “The Case for Easter” simulcast. We reiterated that if Christ did not rise from the dead, then our study of all this material is in vain because it makes no difference. The resurrection of Christ is the linchpin of our faith. (I Cor. 15:12-18).

We took a look at Dr. Gary Habermas’s work—a world renowned scholar on the resurrection. In reviewing 1,400+ works on the resurrection written from 1975 to 2003, he shows that virtually all scholars from across the ideological spectrum agree that the following points are historical facts:

1)      Jesus died by Roman crucifixion.

2)      He was buried, most likely in a private tomb.

3)      Soon afterwards the disciples were discouraged, bereaved, and despondent, having lost hope.

4)      Jesus’ empty tomb was found empty very soon after his interment.

5)      The disciples had experiences that they believed were actual appearances of the risen Jesus.

6)      Due to these experiences, the disciples’ lives were thoroughly transformed. They were even willing to die for their belief.

7)      The proclamation of the Resurrection took pace very early, from the beginning of church history.

8)      The disciples’ public testimony and preaching of the Resurrection took place in the city of Jerusalem, where Jesus had been crucified and buried shortly before.

9)      The gospel message centered on the preaching of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

10)   Sunday was the primary day for gathering and worshipping.

11)   James, the brother of Jesus and a skeptic before this time, was converted when he believed he also saw the risen Jesus.

12)   Just a few years later, Saul of Tarsus (Paul) became a Christian believer, due to an experience that he also believed was an appearance of the risen Jesus.

You can be confident in your belief! And you can share this with others.

All the theories posited against the resurrection have been convincingly refuted.

1)      Hallucination Theory—hallucinations aren’t experienced by groups, he appeared on 12 separate occasions, in a variety of settings to different people over 40 days, empty tomb

2)      Wrong Tomb Theory—Roman authorities would have gone to the right one to produce the body; the tomb would have been known by both the Jews and Romans, doesn’t explain appearances

3)      Swoon or Apparent Death Theory—enemies and friends believed he was dead, modern doctors believe he actually died, he was embalmed in 75 pounds of bandages and spices, how could someone as injured and bleeding as him stayed alive an additional 36 hours and he would have appeared to them in that manner, how could Jesus have gotten out of the tomb in that shape, doesn’t explain Paul’s Damascus road experience, non-Christian writers affirmed his death by crucifixion.

4)      Stolen Body Theory—why would the disciples have stolen the body in order to get themselves beaten, tortured and martyred?, no motive or ability to steal it, how would sleeping guards have known or admitted to sleeping because of the punishment they would have received.

5)      Substitute Body Theory—(offered by many Muslims), no evidence, assertion occurs 600 years after Jesus’ life

6)      Disciples faith led them to believe in resurrection—no proof

7)      NT writers copied pagan resurrection myths—NT is not mythological, doesn’t explain empty tomb/martyrdom/extrabiblical evidence, no Greek or Roman myths spoke of a resurrection of a monotheistic God, first real parallel does not appear until 100 years after origin of Christianity.

Remember this: Christian need to put the burden of proof on skeptics for their alternative theories. A theory is not evidence. Many of the theories come from a philosophy of anti-supernaturalism. So why don’t all scholars believe the evidence? A philosophical bias against miracles.

I hope this puts Easter in a new light for you this year.

Here’s your challenge for this week:

Go to this link and play the Resurrection game until you can make it through all eight levels, recording what you get wrong at each stage. Let me know how many rounds it takes. Easter Candy for those who give it a try. Least attempts to get it all right wins. See you in two weeks!