WHAT WE WILL COVERA brief outline of events as described in the GospelsExamine four fields of evidenceDiscuss possible explanations of evidenceDraw a conclusion from the evidence covered

A BRIEF OUTLINE OF EVENTSJesus preached for 3 yearsWas crucified on the crossJesus body laid in the tomb of Joseph of ArimatheaOn the third day the body of Jesus was discovered to be missing from the tombJesus appears to many of his followersJesus followers begin to preach the good news that Jesus had risen from the grave

FOUR FIELDS OF EXAMINATIONThat Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph of ArimatheaThat on the third day the tomb was found emptyJesus appeared to many people after the resurrectionThe changed lives and teaching of Jesus followers

1. The Tomb of Joseph of ArimatheaBurial site known to Jew and Christian1 Cor. 15:3-7 mention that he was buriedVerified by Marks GospelJoseph of Arimathea not legendaryNo competing burial stories

1. The Tomb of Joseph of ArimatheaWe know more about the burial of the Lord Jesus than we know of the burial of any single character in all of ancient historywe know the very tomb in which this body was placed, the name of the man who owned it, Joseph, of a town known as Arimathea. We know even where this tomb was located, in a garden nigh to the place where He was crucified, outside the city walls.

- Smith, Wilbur M. Therefore Stand: Christian Apologetics, pg 370,371

2. The Tomb was Found EmptyWas part of early source material for Marks Gospel dating to possibly as early as A.D. 37 Classical Historian A.N. Sherwin concluded that not even two full generations was enough time for legend to developEmpty tomb implied in 1 Cor. 15Womens testimony embarrassing if fabricationEarliest Jewish teaching taught an empty tomb

2. The Tomb was Found EmptyIn Jerusalem, the place of Jesus execution and grave, it was proclaimed not long after his death that he had been raised. The situation demands that within the circle of the first community one had a reliable testimony for the fact that the grave had been found empty. The resurrection proclamation could have not been maintained in Jerusalem for single day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb had not been established as a fact for all concerned.- Pannenburg, Wolfhart, Jesus - God and Man, pg. 100

3. Jesus Appearances After ResurrectionJesus appear to many different groupsList of eyewitnesses given in 1 Cor. 15 the teaching in 1 Cor. 15:3-7 can be dated from between 2 8 years after the resurrectionMany passages have multiple attetestations so highly likely to be credible accountsFor 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: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 1 Corinthians 15:3-7

3. Jesus Appearances After ResurrectionThis Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.Acts 2:32And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.Acts 3:15

3. Jesus Appearances After ResurrectionBut God raised him from the dead. And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto many people. Acts 13:30,31

3. Jesus Appearances After ResurrectionNote that when the disciples of Jesus proclaimed the resurrection, they did so as eyewitnesses and they did so while people were still alive who had had contact with the events they spoke of. In 56 A.D. Paul wrote that over 500 people had seen the risen Jesus and that most of them were still alive (I Cor. 15:6). It passes the bounds of credibility that the early Christians could have manufactured such a tale and then preached it among those who might easily have refuted it simply by producing the body of Jesus. - Montgomery, John Warwick, History and Christianity, pg. 78

4. The Changed Lives of Jesus FollowersThe Law of Moses said he that is hanged (on a tree) is accursed of GodJewish belief had no expectation of anyone rising from the dead before the resurrectionSuddenly disciples begin preaching that Jesus rose from the graveThe disciples were convinced that Jesus had risen from the dead

4. The Changed Lives of Jesus FollowersThink of the character of the witnesses, men and women who gave the world the highest ethical teaching it has ever known, and who even of the testimony of their enemies lived it out in their lives. Think of the psychological absurdity of picturing a little band of defeated cowards cowering in an upper room one day and a few days later transformed into a company that no persecution could silence and then attempting to attribute this dramatic change to nothing more convincing than a miserable fabrication they were trying to foist upon the world. That simply wouldnt make sense.- Anderson, J.N.D. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christianity Today, pg. 6

CONCLUDING THOUGHTSThe most logical and satisfactory explanation we have is that God did in fact raise Jesus Christ from the dead