If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#15) He Must Have Been Dead and Buried
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures… 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Mythicists and skeptics attempt to debunk Jesus in a number o...
In the luxury of a culture where even the lower economic classes live like kings compared to the world’s poor, we have become immensely spoiled. We are lavished with bins overflowing with fresh fruit and vegetables in the dead of winter, aisles full of choice cut-meats, acres of shelves filled with more products than anyone could possibly want, stores with racks of clothes and shoes of ev...
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#16) the Tomb Would Have Been Empty
And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. Mark 16:6
Apart from the actual appearances of Jesus, the empty tomb is probably the greatest physical evidence of the resurrection of Christ that we have. L...
I saw “Risen” last week while in Tennessee. Great movie. I had never thought about the possibility that Pilate would have a deep interest in finding the body of Jesus. For sure, the Jewish hierarchy would have been rabid to do so. They had taken measures beforehand to ensure no one stole the body and then when the tomb was found empty, they immediately bribed the guards to spread a ...
There aren’t too many people who are known simply by their first name. Ravi is one of them. He is gone now, but instead of leaving a legacy of great work, we are left with worse than nothing.
An independent investigation by the law firm, Miller and Martin, through sufficient interviews and examination of cell phone photos and messages, concluded that Ravi engaged in extended sexual mis...
(#17) The Resurrection Polemic
There are two key formal elements in the argument concerning the resurrection of Jesus. The first is the “resurrection polemic” and the second is the “early resurrection creed”. Both had been fully developed in the very early days of Christianity. And both must be understood by the Christian seeking to defend the resurrection of Christ a...
Having laid a foundation of evidence for the empty tomb, and an understanding of the resurrection polemic and creed, we are now ready to deal with the theories that have arisen against it. There are many and in some cases, highly overlapping. Here are the most prominent:
1. The disciples stole the body. From our examination of the polemic, you will recognize that this was the initial charge ...
The classic definitions of “worldview” take some form of “the lens through which one sees the world around them”. I think it is much deeper than this and much more complicated. In fact, I think there are two, yea three, different categories that we should keep in mind when we try to define “worldview” or attempt to understand what it is.
For sure, we need ...
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall crush your head, and you shall bruise His heel. Genesis 3:15
Here was the situation. God had created the most amazing place. We can’t really imagine it. There was no death. There was no evil. Everything flourished. Then Adam and Eve breached the one boundary God had set for them and everythi...
Let’s look at some more of these short truth claims that are ours because of the resurrection. And, take note that these seven are found just in 1 Corinthians 15:
1. Our faith is not in vain
… if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 1 Corinthians 15:14
This is hard for us to imagine, because we know that Jesus did rise from ...
