Resurrection
John 20
Preacher: David Williams
John 20. Theme: Resurrection
Sermon by Pastor David Williams. Strathalbyn Church of Christ. 4 April 2021.
How do you decide what is true? How do you decide who to believe? We all believe in something or someone. Even atheists believe. But is your belief something that you can build your life upon? Even a life beyond this life?
I worked as a lawyer for 2 decades. Working out who to believe in court can be difficult. Weighing up the evidence of witnesses. Who is telling the truth? A court should not convict if there is a reasonable doubt. Solid evidence is needed, by reliable witnesses.
Good evidence leads to belief. Consider a murder. If someone died and I could bring witnesses who had seen the killer threatening the victim and wielding a knife, and then provided the bloodied knife with his fingerprints – that would be fairly convincing evidence wouldn’t it? You would believe that the accused had committed the murder.
In today’s report, we have a string of witnesses – honest women and men – who gave evidence. Evidence of what they had seen, heard and touched with their own hands. This is direct evidence - not hearsay, nor circumstantial evidence, but the best sort of evidence, evidence of what they themselves had seen and heard. The report we’ve just heard was written by one of those witnesses. He was there, he saw it all.
Several explanations have been given to explain away the resurrection. Let’s look at them briefly.
1. Stolen by graverobbers
2. Stolen by Jewish authorities
3. Hallucination
4. Revival
5. A fictional story
6. Resurrection
First theory: the body was stolen by graverobbers – But Emperor Claudius imposed a death penalty for robbing graves. Even assuming robbers would risk it, they would have been in a hurry. It would have taken several strong men to break the seal and shift the huge stone cover over the tomb. They wouldn’t have bothered to unwrap the corpse. And it was the graveclothes and spices that they wanted – these were valuable; the body itself was of no value. But it was the graveclothes that were left. They were left intact, like an empty chrysalis after the butterfly has flown – like a body that had simply passed through the wrappings as Jesus was later to pass through a locked door. Also, the head wrapping was neatly folded on its own. For those who have been robbed, you know robbers leave things in a great mess. But the tomb was orderly. This was no grave robbery.
Did the rulers steal the body? Jesus predicted many times that he would be crucified and rise to life three days later. His enemies knew this. So, all they would need to quash rumours of a resurrection was to produce the corpse. In the days and months after the resurrection, when the news was all across Israel, those rulers would have given anything to produce Jesus’ corpse. But this was impossible. There was no corpse. Jesus was no longer dead.
Were the followers hallucinating, or had they seen a ghost? On many occasions, over several weeks, there were numerous encounters with Jesus by those who knew him. Mary, John and Peter, the other followers, doubting Thomas, were some of them. They saw him, spoke with him, touched him. They even ate with him. He was seen by 500 of them on one occasion. These were sober practical men – fishermen, businessmen. You don’t embrace the feet of a ghost. You don’t eat with a hallucination. They encountered Jesus as a living breathing person. Yes, his resurrection body was somehow different. He bore the scars of his crucifixion but was different. As you might expect with someone who was now immortal, he was the same yet different.
Was this simply a body reviving? No, this was not a body that had fainted and revived again. The Romans were experts in killing people. Jesus had been flogged to the point of death. He had spikes driven through his hands and feet. Hanging on the cross, he had slowly suffocated as he had to push up on those spikes with every breath. The spear through his side, which probably pierced his heart, produced a flow of water and blood. This is sound medical evidence that the blood had stopped circulating and was already separating and decomposing. His body had been 3 days in a tomb with a massive stone over it. Yet here he now was strong, alive and in command.
Is this report simply a myth, a fiction? It certainly is no fiction. Consider the encounter with Mary – this is not what an ancient writer would invent. For a start, you would not put a woman as your first witness. The evidence of women unfortunately could not be used in court – it was treated as worthless. That in itself is evidence that this report is true. Also, see how Mary turned from abject grief – she couldn’t recognise Jesus through her tears. She was in total despair for Jesus was dead. She was not looking for a risen body but a corpse. Yet one word changed her life forever. That one word was her own name, “Mary!” In an instant she recognised him – “Rabboni!” – “my own dear teacher”. Again, can you imagine a male Jewish writer inventing this? This touching, so deeply personal account of Mary’s encounter. And the response is so like Jesus. We are surely reading eyewitness reporting here. This report, John’s whole account, has the ring of truth.
Atheists and doubters have another huge problem. That problem is the church. The very fact that there is a church. Immediately after Easter day, the news spread like wildfire: “Jesus is risen from the dead!” Jesus’ followers had been huddling behind a locked door for fear of the Jews. No wonder – they had just seen their master being flogged and crucified. Their necks were next. Yet they were now convinced that Jesus had conquered death. This conviction banished their fear. Their gut-wrenching fear and despair vanished like the morning mist. Now these followers boldly claimed, “Jesus is risen!” even as the rulers kept arresting and crucifying them. The more followers they executed, the more they kept claiming, “Jesus is risen!” People don’t get crucified for a myth. They were convinced by what they had seen. And it still happens today – those Libyan Christians beheaded by ISIS on the beach as they sang hymns to Jesus rather than deny him.
Logically, there remains only one conclusion from the evidence of these honest witnesses – that what they heard and saw and touched was Jesus Christ himself, risen from the dead. Faith is no leap in the dark. Rather, it is belief on solid evidence. Our problem as humans is not the lack of evidence – it is our unwillingness to accept the evidence. If you don’t believe, is it because you are so stubborn, so blind that you won’t accept the evidence – or won’t even look at it?
Our belief is not in some abstract theory but in a person – the man Jesus Christ. We believe he is the son of God. Thomas went from total disbelief to declaring him, “My Lord and My God!” Here was Jesus, a man who was at the same time God. Our God who lives today. Our God who created us and gave us life. Our God who defeated death itself. Our God who gives the gift of eternal life to whoever believes in him.
Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side. Stop doubting and believe!” If you have not taken this step, then I call on you to believe in the risen Jesus Christ. Believe in Jesus the son of God. Believe in Jesus and his gift of eternal life. Stop doubting and believe. Will you pray this prayer with me?
Jesus Christ, son of God, you died for me. You died to give me life. You rose and conquered death forever. Forgive me and accept me as your own. Amen.
What next? Read the Bible. Start with the gospels – the accounts of Jesus’ life and death. And connect with churches who believe it is true.
Sources:
Barnett, Paul. (2005). The shepherd king: reading John today. Sydney: Aquila Press.
Series: John