Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “In Joseph’s Tomb,” Pages 769-778; “The Lord Is Risen,” Pages 779-787; “Why Weepest Thou?

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”, Pages 788-794; “The Walk to Emmaus,” Pages 795-801; “Peace Be Unto You,” Pages 802-808; in The Desire of Ages.

Modern sentiment doesn’t believe in something like the resurrection of Jesus. However, the historical evidence is so strong that even those who can’t accept the reality of the resurrection are forced to admit that many people believed that they had seen the resurrected Jesus. Thus, much anti-resurrection apologetics is the attempt to explain what could have caused all these different people to believe that they had seen the risen Christ.

Some have argued that all the disciples hallucinated the resurrected Jesus; others that Jesus hadn’t really died but only had swooned and then come back to life after He had been brought down from the cross, and when He had reappeared, His followers thought that He had been raised from the dead. And (believe it or not) some have argued that Jesus had a twin brother whom the disciples mistook for the risen Christ. In other words, the historical evidence is so strong for Christ’s resurrection that these are the kinds of arguments people concoct in order to try to dismiss it. With the resurrection itself so important, we should not be surprised by all the good reasons we have been given to believe it.

“The voice that cried from the cross, ‘It is finished,’ was heard among the dead. It pierced the walls of sepulchers, and summoned the sleepers to arise. Thus will it be when the voice of Christ shall be heard from heaven. That voice will penetrate the graves and unbar the tombs, and the dead in Christ shall arise. At the Saviour’s resurrection a few graves were opened, but at His second coming all the precious dead shall hear His voice, and shall come forth to glorious, immortal life. The same power that raised Christ from the dead will raise His church, and glorify it with Him, above all principalities, above all powers, above every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the world to come.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 787.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

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I don’t think anyone doubts that a man named Jesus actually existed. The question is if He was really the Messiah, and if He was really resurrected. How do we know Jesus really died, and did not just fake His own death and then made it look like He was resurrected? If He did indeed die, how do we know the disciples did not actually steal His body from the tomb to make it look like He was resurrected? Let’s take a look.

 Was Jesus Actually Dead?

Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him.  But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.  But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.  And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”  John 19:32-37 NKJV

Conspiracy theories could have started circulating, that Jesus did not really die on the cross, but merely fainted and woke up later. Remember how prisoners escaped from Alcatraz by placing phony bodies in their beds to make it look like they were still in bed, while they escaped? How do we even know it was really Christ’s body placed in the tomb, and was not just a phony body to make it look like He died?

The testimony of the Roman soldiers themselves disproves any notion of such conspiracy theories. They pierced his side causing the blood to flow out. He was already dead, but if He wasn’t, the wound would have caused His death for sure. 

Did Disciples Steal His Body?

Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. Matthew 28:11-15 NKJV

This is not logical. How can the soldiers document what happened while they were asleep? If they were asleep, how would they know that the disciples stole the body? There is no court in the world that would accept this testimony. No one can testify exactly who did what while they were not looking. You have to be looking in order to be a witness. Their own testimony, “while we were sleeping,” proves they did not see the disciples take Jesus’ body. Add to this the fact that the disciples themselves had a hard time believing that He was resurrected. If they had staged it, they would have been gloating about His resurrection at the very start, instead of being confused and amazed.

If the priests really thought the disciples stole Christ’s body, why were the disciples never charged or even accused of such a crime? They were later arrested for preaching about the resurrection, but they were never arrested for stealing a body. It is also highly unlikely the guards actually fell asleep while guarding the tomb,  because falling asleep while on such a guard was an offense punishable by death.  If the leaders truly thought the guards had fallen asleep, the guards would not have lived to tell the tale. They would have been executed. But they were not executed. Instead, they were given money. 

Would the Disciples Have Died for a Lie?

Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Acts 12:2-3 NKJV

Scripture testifies how James was martyred and the other disciples were persecuted. And Foxe’s Book of Martyrs documents how all the disciples except John were martyred for preaching Christ and Him crucified and resurrected. Poor John was thrown into boiling oil. Now, suppose the disciples made the story up about the resurrection and had stolen the body to make it look like Jesus was no longer dead. How many of those disciples would be willing to die for this made-up story? After a few of them were killed for making up the story, wouldn’t at least one of them come forward and show where they hid the body, to save his life? What are the chances of everyone in on the conspiracy dying for a lie?

I can tell you why they all died. I can tell you why none of them finally came forward and showed where they hid the body. It’s because they did not hide the body. They could not recant their story, because what they were saying was the truth. A truth worth dying for! Why do you think God allowed them all to be killed and for John to be boiled in oil? I believe it’s so that we would know, beyond the shadow of a doubt that their story was true. 

Jesus Still Lives in our Hearts

One last thought. When I was in my early twenties, I heard a song on a Christian radio station. I heard it once, and never heard it again, so I can’t tell you who sang it or wrote it, but I remember the gist of the song. In the song, a little boy was crying because his little friend told him Jesus wasn’t real. The boy pleads with his friend not to tell his daddy that Jesus isn’t real because, “I don’t want him to start living like he used to.” The song showed how Jesus changed the daddy’s heart, and this is how we know He is real. 

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11 NKJV

Like the old hymn says,

He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.-Alfred Ackley

No doubt Jesus lives. Because He lives, we are not afraid to die. 

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Read 1 Corinthians 15:20 (NRSV) in light of Deuteronomy 26:1-11. In what sense did Paul refer to the risen Christ as “the first fruits of those who have died”?

The offering of “the first fruits” was an ancient Israelite agricultural practice with deep religious significance. It was a sacred recognition of God as the gracious Provider, who had entrusted His stewards with the land where the crops grew and were ready to be harvested (see Exodus 23:19, Exodus 34:26, Leviticus 2:11-16, Deuteronomy 26:1-11). The first fruits indicated that the harvest was not only starting but also revealing the quality of its products.

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According to Wayne Grudem, “in calling Christ ‘the first fruits’ (Gr. aparchē), Paul uses a metaphor from agriculture to indicate that we will be like Christ. Just as the ‘first fruits’ or the first taste of the ripening crop show what the rest of the harvest will be like for that crop, so Christ as the ‘first fruits’ shows what our resurrection bodies will be like when, in God’s final ‘harvest,’ he raises us from the dead and brings us into his presence.” — Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994), p. 615.

It is worth remembering that Jesus came out of the grave with a glorified human body, but He was still carrying the marks of His crucifixion (John 20:20, John 20:27). Does this mean that the risen children of God will likewise bear the physical marks of their own sufferings? In the case of the apostle Paul, will he still carry in his glorified body the “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7, NKJV) and “the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Galatians 6:17, NKJV)?

Until his death, Paul “was ever to carry about with him in the body the marks of Christ’s glory, in his eyes, which had been blinded by the heavenly light [see Acts 9:1-9].” — Ellen G. White, The Story of Redemption, p. 275. But this does not mean that he or any other of the glorified redeemed will be raised with the marks of their own sufferings (compare with 1 Corinthians 15:50-54). In the case of Christ, “the marks of this cruelty He will ever bear. Every print of the nails will tell the story of man’s wonderful redemption and the dear price by which it was purchased.” — Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 179. His marks are what guarantees us that all of ours will be forever gone.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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Read John 20:11-29 and 1 Corinthians 15:5-8. How did the disciples react when they first met the risen Christ?

The two angels at the empty tomb told Mary Magdalene and some other women that Jesus had risen (Matthew 28:1, Matthew 28:5-7; Mark 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-11). But soon Jesus Himself appeared to them, and they worshiped Him (Matthew 28:1, Matthew 28:9-10; John 20:14-18).

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He appeared also to Peter (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5) and to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, whose hearts were burning while He was speaking to them (Mark 16:12, Luke 24:13-35). When Jesus came into the Upper Room, the disciples were initially terrified and frightened but then filled with joy and marveled at what happened (Luke 24:33-49, John 20:19-23). A week later Jesus came again into the same room without opening the doors, and then even Thomas believed in His resurrection (John 20:24-29).

During the forty days between His resurrection and His ascension, Jesus “was seen by over five hundred brethren at once” (1 Corinthians 15:6, NKJV) and by James (1 Corinthians 15:7). Jesus joined some disciples at the shore of the Sea of Galilee and had breakfast with them, followed by a talk with Peter (John 21:1-23). There might have been other appearances of Jesus (Acts 1:3) before His final one at His ascension (Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:1-11). Paul considered himself also an eyewitness to the risen Christ, who appeared to him on the road to Damascus (1 Corinthians 15:8; compare with Acts 9:1-9).

When the other disciples first told the absent Thomas that they had seen the risen Lord, he reacted, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25, NKJV). A week later, when Jesus reappeared to the disciples, now with Thomas among them, Jesus said to him, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing” (John 20:27, NKJV).

Then Thomas confessed, “My Lord and my God!”

And Jesus added, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29, NKJV).

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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Lesson 7, Christ’s Victory Over Death, is arguably the most critical topic of the quarter. Join the discussion to learn why. 

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