Luke 24:1-12; Acts 1:1-3

Luke says that Jesus gave many infallible proofs of His resurrection during the forty days He before He ascended to Heaven.  These many proofs revolve around two main areas: the post-resurrection appearances of Christ and the empty tomb.

·        The post-resurrection appearances of Christ.  Of these appearances there are two things that make this a strong proof.  First, there were several appearances to a cumulatively large number of people.  Second, Jesus appeared to people of good character, not prone to lying, who were not expecting to see Him (who would have been expecting such an experience).  The first appearances were to woman, something that would not have been part of a conspiratorial effort to deceive people.  The primary witnesses were His Apostles who were commissioned to testify to His resurrection.  We are told of four specific appearances to them but Luke indicates Jesus spent time with His disciples teaching them (Lk. 24:27,44-49; Ac. 1:3).  On one occasion He appeared to over 500 people; and He appeared to His earthly brother James, who had not supported Him during His earthly ministry (1 Cor. 15:6f).  There are also post-ascension appearances to Stephen (Ac. 7:55), Paul (more than once; 1 Cor. 15:8; Ac. 22:17-21; 23:11) and John (Rev. 1:12-20).  If you think any or all of these people were lying, how can you account for the fact that many of them laid down their lives for the risen Lord Jesus?

·        Concerning the empty tomb there is another powerful question: why did no one ever produce the body of Jesus?  If the disciples stole the body, why did the Romans allow those men to do what they did in Acts?  The theories we considered the last two days are all downright foolish to be honest.  They do not make sense.  It was not a long time before the followers of Jesus began to stir things up in Jerusalem.  Certainly, someone would have done the easiest and most decisive thing to bring an end to what Jesus’ Apostles were doing: they would have produced a body.  There is only one scenario that fits the fact that the Jews themselves did not produce evidence that Jesus was still dead: that scenario is the one that the Bible gives!  He was alive!!

·        And if you are one of those who still things it is a grand conspiracy theory and that the Bible is a huge lie, I would challenge you to stop and think.  Really.  It is a fact: there is no book of antiquity like the Bible in terms of having been preserved with ancient manuscripts.  Even if you think (and I do not think this) that there are inconsistencies in the record of the Gospels or that there are errors in the Bible, you still must acknowledge that it is a generally well documented record, confirmed by history and archaeology and all the other tests that men have applied.  

Hear now what the Bible says.  The cross and empty tomb are watershed events in history, the weekend that changed the world as some have said.  What changed many people at the city of Corinth in the first century, changing them from terribly evil people to followers of Christ (1 Cor. 6:9-11)?  It was their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross and was raised from the dead to bring them into a right relationship with God (1 Cor. 15:1-8).  The same promise is extended to you today: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life (John 3:16).

 (Over the last 31 days in our study of the cross of Jesus we have quoted from various authors, noting this by their initials.  Below is the bibliography for those authors and books.)

Alford, Henry. (HA) The New Testament for English Readers. Moody Press, Chicago: 1950.

Del Rosario, Mikel. The Apologetics Guy web page.  (Article referenced on Day 28 was a post by Mary Jo Sharp entitled Is Jesus a Myth?)

Edersheim, Alfred. (AE) The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 3^rd edition, 1886.  Digital version, Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Grand Rapids, MI.

Farrar, Frederic W. (FWF) The Life of Christ. E.P. Dutton & Co., New York, 1893. Accessed online from Blue Letter Bible.

France, R. T. (RTF) Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Matthew.  Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., Grand Rapids, MI.: 1985.

Gesenius, Friedrich Wilhelm. (FG) Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament.  Original 1857.  Second English Edition, 1909. Accessed online from Blue Letter Bible.

Jones, Russell Bradley. (RBJ) Gold from Golgotha. Moody Press, Chicago: 1945.

Orr, James, Gen. Editor. (ISBE) International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.  The Howard-Severance Co., Chicago: 1915.

Pfeiffer, Charles. (CP) The Biblical World. 

Robertson, Archibald Thomas. (ATR) A Harmony of the Gospels, Harper and Bros. Pub, New York: 1932.

Ryrie, Charles. (RSB) The Ryrie Study Bible. 

Smith, William. Smith’s Bible Dictionary. Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Grand Rapids, MI, original date 1884, online edition 2002.