Resurrection Doy Moyer Power of Historical Resurrection 3
- Slides: 10
Resurrection Doy Moyer
Power of Historical Resurrection 3 Establishes both existence of God and Jesus as the divine Son of God (Rom 1: 3 -4) ¨ Based on Jesus’ own claims (e. g. , Matt 16: 21) ¨ Everythinges on it, “first importance” (1 Cor 15) ¨ Get it figured out, the rest falls into place (vs. 58) ¨ The “apologetic” of the first century and focus of Gospel preaching (book of Acts) ¨ Basic issue: was the same person who died ¨
The Facts 4 1. Jesus was a real man who died by crucifixion and buried (attested to even by outside, non. Christian sources) ¨ 2. His disciples believed they saw Him alive again. ¨ ¤ ¤ ¤ They claimed it as firsthand eyewitnesses Radical transformation of their lives and willingness to die for it shows how serious they were Liars make poor martyrs – if they didn’t see Jesus, they would know they were lying about it. But why would they do that?
The Facts 5 3. Paul and James changed from skeptics to believers. Paul attributes this to seeing Jesus alive again (1 Cor 15). ¨ 4. The tomb was empty ¨ ¤ ¤ ¤ Significance of this being in Jerusalem Acknowledged by enemies Women first to testify
Easily Dismissed? 8 • Not a legendary story that would have been invented by Jewish or Gentile culture • • • Though belief in “after life” was common, belief in bodily resurrection of a man was not Need to explain how either group would have accepted one like Jesus as a Savior At least 4 independent 1 st century sources give the same basic facts: He died, was buried, and seen alive again! If they had no supernatural elements, few would ever question it
WHAT DID PAUL KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORICAL JESUS?
Importance of Paul 10 Initially opposed to Christ and the church ¨ Converted, became primary proponent of Christ and church in 1 st century ¨ Wrote epistles that pre-dated the gospel accounts ¨ E. g. , 1 Corinthians written within 25 years of death of Christ, not enough time for fully developed “legend” theories ¨ “Undisputed Epistles”: 1 Thessalonians, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Philemon ¨
What did Paul know? (A Sampling) 11 Jesus was an Israelite, of the tribe of David (Romans 1: 3; 9: 5; Galatians 3: 16) ¨ Born under the Law (Gal 4: 4) ¨ Had brother named James (Gal 1: 19) ¨ He was poor (2 Cor 8: 9) ¨ Ministered among Jews (Rom 15: 8) ¨ Had twelve chosen disciples (1 Cor 15: 5) ¨ Instituted “Lord’s Supper” – and knew the words used by Jesus (1 Cor 11: 23 -25) ¨ Was crucified, buried, and raised in a physical body (1 Cor 15, Gal 3: 1, etc. ) ¨ Killed by “own countrymen” (1 Thess 2: 14 -15) ¨
What did Paul know? 12 Jesus’ Character: ¨ Meek, gentle (2 Cor 10: 1) ¨ Humble, Obedient to God (Phil 2: 6 -8; Rom 5: 19) ¨ Grace and Love (2 Cor 8: 9; Rom 8: 35) ¨ Righteous, sinless (Rom 5: 18; 2 Cor 5: 21) ¨ Jesus teachings: ¨ Marriage and divorce (1 Cor 7) ¨ Right of preachers to meet material needs (1 Cor 9) ¨
13 How Does Paul Describe Jesus? God praised forever (Rom 9: 5) ¨ Shared God’s nature (Phil 2: 6 -11) ¨ Son of God (Rom 1: 3 -4) ¨ The Christ (multiple times) ¨ The Lord (multiple times) ¨
