The world of Jesus
Caesar Augustus … “new breed of men come down from heaven”.
Mark 1:1 “This is the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God”
The ultimate proof
… he was raised from the dead.
Minimum accepted facts
Jesus was crucified & died,
he was placed in a tomb,
the tomb was found empty
he was seen alive by those who were friends
he was seen alive by those who were enemies
Attempted explanations of what happened
1. He Swooned
… did not die on the cross but merely fainted.
… does not explain the known facts
To believe the swoon theory it would be a miracle.
2. The Wrong Tomb
… went to the wrong tomb
… fails to account for the minimum facts
Authorities would have pointed out the real tomb.
3. The Stolen Body
Jesus’ body was stolen by either the disciples, the Romans or the Jewish leaders.
… fails to meet the accepted minimum facts
Romans or Jewish authorities unable to produce dead body
If disciples … why did for a complete fabrication and lie.
4. Just A Legend
An invented the story
… fails to account for the facts that are known to be true.
Why not produce the dead body of Jesus and expose the lie.
Why die for what they knew to be a lie?
Why did they endure what they endured for no gain at all?
Does not sound like a story made up
5. Hallucination
… they began to think they saw him even though he wasn’t really there.
… does not account for what we know to be true facts.
… never all have the same hallucination
… never expected to see Jesus alive again.
Why not produce the dead body of Jesus?
6. A Twin
… a twin brother who switched places with Jesus
… unable to produce the dead body
… twin never recorded
He really did die and really did rise
Jesus really did physically rise again from the dead.
The implications of the resurrection?
If Jesus has risen from the dead then we had better worship him with our lives.
What are your thoughts regarding the resurrection?
Finish with a question…
How does your life reflect the reality of who Jesus is?