THE RESURRECTION GOSPEL
By
Shelby G.
Floyd
We are now to rivet our attention upon one of the most important facts
in the Christian religion—the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Before the
resurrection of Christ, his followers were sad, despondent and defeated. After
the resurrection, they were as bold as a lion. They went throughout the
Just about everyone will admit that Jesus Christ lived and died, but only Christians will affirm that he was raised from the dead and lives forevermore. Why? It is simply because only Christian people accept the evidence upon which that fact is based. They believe it. They are willing to affirm it and preach it throughout the land. But skeptics, Jews and infidels reject the great-accumulated evidence and therefore deny that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead.
Either Christ was or he was not raised from the dead. If Jesus lived and died, but has not been raised from the dead, then he was only a great man, and nothing more could be affirmed of him. But if he was raised from the dead, then it proved beyond a shadow of doubt that he was the divine Son of God and that he is worthy to be our Savior, our Leader and our King.
The resurrection of Christ then is like a keystone in a great arch. If it is removed, the whole arch will crumble. But, if we can confidently prove the resurrection of Christ, then we have that which will uphold the whole system of Christianity—the divinity of Christ.
THE
PROOF OF WITNESSES
In order to prove this stupendous fact I shall first point out the evidence from credible witnesses. In any court of law, the testimony of witnesses must be based upon certain criteria. They must be honest, they must have been in a position where they can observe that of which they are going to testify. They must not have anything to gain in a material way from the testimony, which they offer. And also, the testimony of a foe is often worth more than that of a friend.
In fact, one of the chief criticisms brought against the evidence for the resurrection of Christ is that this evidence is ex parte—that is, it is one sided. Infidels, skeptics and Jews charge that our evidence is only from the friends of Christianity. They ask for evidence from a Jew, skeptic, or infidel who will talk like a Christian, but who will remain in unbelief. Friends, this is impossible. If a Jew, skeptic or infidel would talk like a Christian, he would be a Christian! What they ask for is the evidence of a Jew, skeptic or infidel in favor of Christianity but who will still remain in skepticism. This is not reasonable.
All of the Jews, infidels and skeptics who were converted to Christianity were in a position to examine the evidence and they saw that it was true. Therefore, they spoke in behalf of Christianity and their lives conformed to the Christian faith. And so every infidel, skeptic and Jew who was converted to Christianity in the early days of the church is the testimony of a foe turned friend--and this testimony is strong in our court of inquiry concerning the resurrection of Christ.
The
Testimony of Judas
Let us notice the testimony of a few foes of Christianity. There is no better testimony than that of Judas Iscariot. Judas was a confidante of Jesus Christ for three and one-half years, as were the other apostles. Jesus showed no favoritism to the other apostles, even up to the time that Judas left the company of the apostles and went out to betray the Lord for thirty pieces of silver. If Christ had shown the slightest favoritism to the other apostles, if he had stood aloof from Judas, even in the slightest way, then on the night of his betrayal when Jesus said, “one of you shall betray me,” they would not have said, “Is it I?” They would have rather pointed the accusing finger at Judas and said, “He is the one.” But they didn’t do that, which shows that our Lord was kind to Judas even though he knew he would betray him.
However, after Judas had betrayed our Lord for a few pieces of silver, he brought back that blood money and confessed to his cohorts in the crime that he had betrayed innocent blood. This is the testimony of a friend of Christ turned foe. The testimony of Judas in favor of Christ is very strong evidence, is it not?
The
Testimony of the Four Biographers of Christ
But let us inquire concerning the testimony of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John--the four biographers of Christ. Each one of them as independent witnesses affirmed that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead on the third day, that he was seen by many witnesses and finally that he was taken up into heaven.
Were these four writers honest? We have no evidence to the contrary that they were liars or deceivers. In fact, everything speaks in favor of their testimony. They were willing to die and sacrifice their property. They were willing to endure the most ignominious crimes simply to affirm the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, they were honest and sincere men.
Were these men in a position to testify of that which they claimed to observe? Yes, for they were the closest associates of Jesus for three and one-half years. They ate with him, they talked with him, they heard him preach, they traveled with him, and they knew him very well.
Could these men have been deceived when they saw Christ alive the third day after he died upon the cross? Could they have been deceived in thinking that this person they saw was Jesus, but who was really somebody else? If they had been absent from his company for a long time this might have been possible, but they had only been away from their familiar friend for three days. They could not have possibly mistaken his identity. Especially when he appeared unto them on so many different occasions and presented such infallible proofs that he was alive and that he was the same person that they had known to die upon the cross just a few days previously.
Did these men have anything to gain by offering this testimony in behalf of Christ? No, for all the apostles except John were martyred. Some were beheaded; others were crucified, while still others were shot through with darts. In Fox’s Book Of Martyrs there is an account of how each apostle died for the testimony of Christ All died a martyr’s death except John, and he was banished in exile to the lonely isle of Patmos.
Would these men have willingly died for something that they did not believe to be the truth? Obviously, they would not. No one will knowingly die for a falsehood. So we may confidently affirm that these men did not have anything to gain personally by preaching the resurrection of Jesus Christ. These men, therefore, meet all the criteria of faithful witnesses and creditable testimony. The resurrection of Christ is, therefore, verified by the testimony of these faithful witnesses.
The
Proof of Prophecy
I believe in the resurrection of Christ because of the prophecies, which were fulfilled by that event. Hosea said, “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt” (Hosea 11:1). That verse was applied to Jesus Christ whose parents took him into Egypt shortly after his birth because of Herod’s threatening. But, shortly after the death of the cruel monarch, God called Christ out of Egypt (Matthew 2:12-15). That is the force of the prophecy found in Hosea.
In David’s second Psalm, he uttered these great and remarkable words, “Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee” (Psalms 2:7). But Psalms the second chapter was not applied to the birth of Christ when David said, “Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee” (Psalms 2:7). There are prophecies that apply to the birth of Christ, but Psalms two is not one of them.
In Acts chapter thirteen we have the record of Paul’s first evangelistic journey in which he preached at Antioch of Pisidia. The sermon, in content, is much like that of Stephen’s as recorded in Acts seven. We do know that Saul heard that sermon because he was present on that occasion and held the garments of them who stoned Stephen to death. In Paul’s sermon at Antioch of Pisidia, he quoted Psalms two and verse seven and applied it to the resurrection of Christ (Psalms 2:7; Acts 13:30-37). We cannot fail in our interpretation of Psalms two because we have an inspired interpretation that says it was fulfilled in the resurrection of Christ (Acts 13:33).
Psalms two then is a prophecy concerning the resurrection of Christ. He was God’s only begotten son in the sense that he was delivered forth from death by his resurrection. In this sense, Paul declares that Christ is the first born from the dead (Colossians1:18).
In Psalms the sixteenth chapter, we have another prophecy of David that points to the resurrection. “I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” (Psalms 16:8-10).
David was not talking about himself for on the day of Pentecost, the
apostle Peter preached the first full gospel sermon and quoted Psalms sixteen
and applied it to the resurrection of Christ. He said, “Men and brethren, let me freely speak to you of the patriarch David,
that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.
Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him,
that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up
Christ to set on his throne; He seeing this before spoke of the resurrection of
Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see
corruption” (Acts 2:29-31).
The body of Christ did not see corruption because it was resurrected and brought back to life the third day. God did not leave the soul of Christ in the hadean world because he brought his spirit out of hades and re-united it with his body. Christ was alive for evermore, and by his resurrection fulfilled Psalms 16.
Recently, it was brought to my attention that a prophecy in Hosea 6:1-3 may also apply to the resurrection. The prophet said, “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord; his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth” (Hosea 6:1-3). This prophecy seems to refer not only to the resurrection of Christ but even to the fact that this would occur on the third day.
When was Israel revived and received up? On the day of Pentecost three thousand Jews obeyed the gospel and were raised up with Christ. Paul declares that this is done in baptism. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism unto death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4). Baptism takes its value and meaning from the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Hosea chapter six then seems to find fulfillment in Christ’s glorious resurrection.
These three prophetic declarations alone are sufficient to prove that the resurrection of our Lord fulfilled detailed statements made hundreds of years before they actually took place. Belief in Christ’s resurrection is based on solid evidence, but still there is more.
The
Proof of Appearances
I believe in the resurrection of Christ because of the appearances he made to his friends after his death upon the cross. In Matthew chapter twenty-eight we find he first appeared to Mary Magdalene and the other women as they came to the tomb early upon the first day of the week with their spices to further embalm the body of Christ. They didn’t expect the resurrection of Christ. They only expected to further embalm Christ’s body. That process had been interrupted because of the Jewish Sabbath day. When these women saw the Lord they knew he was alive for evermore.
He appeared to Peter and John. He appeared also to Cleopus and the other disciples as they were walking on the road to Emmaus. He appeared to the ten apostles with Thomas being absent, upon the first day of the week. He appeared one week later upon the first day of the week to all eleven apostles. And on this occasion doubting Thomas said, “Unless I see the nail prints in his hand and unless I thrust my hand into his side I will not believe.” Jesus challenged Thomas to see the nail prints in his hands and to thrust his hand into his side being not faithless but believing. Thomas simply exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.” He believed in the resurrected Lord. Jesus also appeared to James and up to five hundred brethren at one time. Then last of all, he appeared to all the apostles on Mount Olivet and gave them the worldwide commission and charged them to preach the gospel to every creature (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24: 46-49). What a truly stupendous task, which he gave to the apostles. Only eleven men were there but they are charged to preach the gospel throughout the whole world. They were bold, they were courageous, and they went forth to conquer the world for Jesus Christ. What made the difference? The resurrection of Christ was the great fact, which motivated them and impelled them to carry out this responsibility.
This is way that Paul reasoned on behalf of the resurrection to the Corinthians. He was dealing with Sadducee dogmatists or materialists who did not believe in angels, spirits or the resurrection of the body. How did he reason with them? He said, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Now those three facts are what Paul called the gospel. The preachers of the New Testament period preached facts. Facts are stubborn—they do not change. Facts represent something that is, has been or will be. Facts correspond to reality. So first there is the reality, then the facts which are based upon the reality, then the evidence produced by those who observed the reality and proclaimed the facts, and then the criteria or the signs which confirm the testimony, and finally, the preaching or writing of that testimony in a book for permanence. And last of all, comes faith to those who believe and obey the testimony received in the Bible. It might be that angels can live on opinions but when Christian people try to live on opinions they become very lean spiritually. The Christians of the New Testament era lived on facts and not opinions. We need to preach facts and not opinions! Paul preached the facts of the gospel and men believed those facts because of the testimony that was confirmed by miracles, signs and wonders. How did Paul prove those facts? He proved the resurrection of Christ by stating that Christ appeared after his resurrection to Peter, to the twelve, to above five hundred brethren at one time, the greater part who were still living, to James, to all the apostles and last of all, to Paul himself (Cf. 1 Cor. 15:5-8). Could all of these people have been deceived, could they all have hallucinated, could they all have just seen a vision, or a dream? Would that many people have been deceived into thinking they had seen Christ alive when in reality he was still dead? That would be impossible. Therefore, the Bible argues for the resurrection upon the basis of witnesses who saw him alive after he had died upon the cross. They had the most irrefragable arguments in favor of his resurrection. So reasons the apostle Paul.
But to those who did not believe in the resurrection of their loved ones who had died Paul reasons in a different manner. If Christ has been raised then our bodies are also going to be raised and shall be immortal bodies. But if we do not believe in the resurrection of all who have died in Christ then we must deny the resurrection of Christ for they stand or fall together. Paul said, “If the dead be not raised then Christ be not raised.” But they believed in the resurrection of Christ and had been baptized based upon that fact. Therefore, they should believe in the resurrection of those who had died in Christ.
Secondly he says, “But if Christ be not raised, then your faith is vain, because you have believed the testimony that the apostles have preached that Christ has been raised.” And he also affirms that they are still in their sins if they deny the resurrection of Christ because he had preached the resurrection of Christ as the basis of forgiveness of sins.
And if Christ had not been raised then the preaching of the apostles was not true, and they were found to be false witnesses because they had preached that he had been raised. But the Corinthians had received Paul and the other apostles as truthful and honest witnesses of the resurrection. So do you see what would be the consequences of denying the resurrection of the faithful dead in Christ? It meant that their faith was in vain; it meant that they were still in their sins; it meant that Paul and the other apostles were false witnesses. All of this would result if they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Everywhere the apostles went they preached this great fact of Christ’s resurrection. In Peter’s sermon recorded in Acts chapter two, he declared that God had raised up Christ and seated him on the right hand of his throne. In Acts chapter four, the apostles were put in prison because they would dare to declare that God had raised up the Holy One of Israel. In Paul’s sermon on Mar’s Hill before the Athenian philosophers, he affirmed that God would judge the world by that man whom he had ordained in a day appointed whereof he gave assurance in that he had raised Christ from the dead (Acts 17:30-31). Wherever they went they preached the resurrection of Christ.
The
Proof of Commemorative Institutions
Next I want us to notice three commemorative institutions, which are unimpeachable evidence for the resurrection of Christ.
Could the Fourth of July have ever been established and perpetuated without ceasing to this present day, if there had not been the reality behind that commemorative institution? Without the facts of the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence there could be no commemorative institution on the fourth day of July. So it is with the Lord’s Day. There is a type in nature for the year, the month and the day. But there is no type in nature for the week or the first day of the week. God’s people had been taught for fifteen hundred years to worship on the Sabbath or seventh day of the week. It is very difficult for anyone to change the day of observing a commemorative institution.
For instance, our politicians are changing some of our national holidays to Monday, so everyone can have a longer period off work. But it would be very difficult for even them to change the fourth day of July. So it is with the Lord’s Day. Can you imagine how hard it would be for a Jew to stop worshipping on Saturday and start worshipping on Sunday, the first day of the week? And yet, on the day of Pentecost three thousand Jews obeyed the gospel and from then to now there have been Christian people who have worshipped on the first day of the week. This will continue until time will be no more. Now why would God’s people change their holy day from Saturday to Sunday if there were no reality behind the change? What is the reality? The resurrection of Jesus Christ! Sunday was the day on which he appeared to his apostles at least on two occasions. It was the day on which the church was established. Pentecost always occurred fifty days after the Passover and always on the first day of the week. It was the day on which the apostles and early Christians always met to break bread, or to take the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7). Therefore, since we are still observing the first day of the week, there had to be the resurrection behind it—this is certain.
The second commemorative is the Lord’ Supper. If Christ has not been raised from the dead and is not alive for evermore, would it not be folly to meet on the first day of the week to eat the bread and drink the fruit of the vine? The Lord’s Supper is a commemorative institution which not only points back retrospectively to the death of Christ but also prospectively to the second coming of Christ.
In the Lord’s Supper we remember our Lord until he comes again. Now if he is still dead and has never been raised what is the meaning of the Lord’s Supper? There would be no meaning. Therefore, the continued observance of the Lord’s Supper argues for the resurrection of Christ just as the Passover Feast of the Jews argues for the deliverance of the first-born Jews in Egypt.
In the third place, water baptism for the remission of sins argues for the resurrection of Christ. The Bible pictures baptism as a likeness to the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. He died, he was buried and out of view for three days. He was raised the first fruits of them that sleep in the bosom of earth. So we die to sin, we are buried in the water of baptism and we are raised a new creature in Christ Jesus. Do you believe in the resurrection of Christ? In the book of Romans it is said that Christ was the seed of David according to the flesh but was declared to be the divine Son of God by the power of the resurrection (Romans 1:4). Do you believe that great fundamental fact? Are you willing to obey the commands of the gospel, which correspond to the gospel facts? Our Lord lived, he died, he was buried, but he was raised for our justification. Why not obey the gospel and be raised with your Lord and be a Christian?
A sermon delivered by Shelby G. Floyd at the Garfield Heights Church of Christ, 2842 Shelby Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, Sunday morning, March 28, 1976. Copyright © 2011 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved