Jesus Christ Is Risen

1. Jesus Christ Is Risen!

2. This is the day Christians all over the world celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!If there is one event in history that is important to validate, it is His-story ! Jesus lived, died, and is risen today!

3. You Can Live a Little Over 40 Days Without Food, 4 Days Without Water, 4 Minutes Without Oxygen – but Without Faith You Will Surely Die.

4. Do We REALLY Need Faith?

9. So what is faith? Heb 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Webster Greek def: “The sense of the verb, from which that of rope and binding is derived, is to strain, to draw, and thus to bind or make fast. A rope or cable is that which makes fast.” The Hebrew and the Greek suggest a trust or belief in a known truth, validated by evidence that would lead to a conviction. It is not a ‘blind leap’!

10. Heb 11:1 Now faith (the solid rope that holds something together – the belief in a known truth) is the assurance(concrete foundation) of things hoped for, the conviction(evidence, proof) of things not seen. Faith in Jesus Christ is valid and reasonable!If Christ wasn’t resurrected, our faith would be worthless – because faith is in a known truth!

16. 1Co 15:16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless.So if faith is based on solid evidence that holds a truth together, where is the evidence?

17. Let’s examine the proof & discoverwhy we celebrate the day of our Lord’s Resurrection, known today as… Daniel, written 500 years before Christ came to this earth, prophesied about the timing of His arrival!

18. Proof Positive… Daniel 9: 25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ We know when the decree was given…

23. Was this foretold? Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

24. Jesus is the Christ! Let’s examine some of the many prophecies Jesus fulfilled in His first coming.

25. a Virgin Birth Forth-Telling: Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” Fulfillment in Christ: Matthew 1:21-23 “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, 25 and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son;”

26. Born in Bethlehem Forth-Telling: Micah 5:2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” Fulfillment in Christ: Luke 2:4-6 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

27. Unto us a child Forth-Telling: Isaiah 9:6-9 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore.” Fulfillment in Christ: Luke 1:32,33 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.”

28. A ministry of miracles Forth-Telling: Isaiah 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 6 Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb will shout for joy.” Fulfillment in Christ: Matthew 11:4-6 “And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up,”

29. Betrayed by a friend Forth-Telling: Psalm 41:9 “Even my close friend, in whom I trusted,Who ate my bread,Has lifted up his heel against me.” Psalm 55:12, “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, Then I could bear it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him. 13 But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend. Fulfillment in Christ: John 13:18 “that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’ 21 “He became troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.”

30. Silent before his accusers Forth-Telling: Isaiah 53:7 “ He was oppressed and He was afflicted,Yet He did not open His mouth;Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.” Fulfillment in Christ: Matthew 27:12-14 “And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He made no answer. 13 Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so that the governor was quite amazed.”

31. The Passion

32. Spat upon Forth-Telling: Isaiah 50:6 “I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.” Fulfillment in Christ: Matt. 27:30 “And they spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.” And they plucked out His beard.

33. mocked Forth-Telling: Psalm 22:7,8 “All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, 8 “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.” Fulfillment in Christ: Matt. 27:31 “And after they had mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.” Matthew 27:39 “And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads,”

34. scourged Forth-Telling: Isaiah 53:5 “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.” Fulfillment in Christ: Matthew 27:26 “; but after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him to be crucified.” 1Pe 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

35. Pierced his hands and feet Forth-Telling: Psalm 22:16 “They pierced my hands and my feet.” Zechariah 12:10 “so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced;” Fulfillment in Christ: John 19:18 “There they crucified Him” Acts 2:23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

36. Yet, no bones were broke Forth-Telling: The Passover in Exodus 12:46 “nor are you to break any bone of it.” Psalm 34:20 “He keeps all his bones; Not one of them is broken” Fulfillment in Christ: John 19:33-35 “but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs; 34 but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. 35 And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. 36 For these things came to pass, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.”

37. Given vinegar to drink Forth-Telling: Psalm 69:21 “They also gave me gall for my food,And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Fulfillment in Christ: Matthew 27:34 “they gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.”

38. Counted a transgressor Forth-Telling: Isaiah 53:12 “Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors;” Fulfillment in Christ: Matthew 27:38 “At that time two robbers *were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.”

39. Prayed for his persecutors Forth-Telling: Isaiah 53:12 “Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors;Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.” Fulfillment in Christ: Luke 23:34 “But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

40. Divided lots for his garments Forth-Telling: Isaiah 53:12 “They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.” Fulfillment in Christ: John 19:23-25 “The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. 24 They said therefore to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” 25 Therefore the soldiers did these things.”

41. A darkness over the land Forth-Telling: Amos 8:9 ““And it will come about in that day,” declares the Lord God, “That I shall make the sun go down at noon And make the earth dark in broad daylight.” Fulfillment in Christ: Matthew 27:45 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.”

42. Forsaken by the Father Forth-Telling: Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.” Fulfillment in Christ: Luke 23:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”

43. With a Rich man at death Forth-Telling: Isaiah 53:9 “His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death,” Fulfillment in Christ: Matthew 27:57-60 “And when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given over to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb,”

44. He would not see decay Forth-Telling: Psalm 16:10 “For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay.” Fulfillment in Christ: Acts 2:31,32 “he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. 32 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.”

45. Peter Jennings did a special on Jesus and Paul. One of the Jesus Seminar ‘scholars’ said that it was not the practice for them to bury those crucified the same day. Deut. 21:22 "If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.

46. Joh 19:31 Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Joh 19:32 So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; Joh 19:33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. Joh 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

47. Ascended ….. Forth-Telling: Psalm 68:18 “Thou hast ascended on high,” Psalm 110:1 “The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.” Fulfillment in Christ: Acts 1:9 “He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” Hebrews 1:3 “When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high;”

48. External Evidence Other confirmations outside of the Bible “Is the Bible True?” U.S. News & World Report, October 25, 1999 Mary & Joseph travel to hometown for census? Recently discovered: Roman Empire-wide census was held every 14 years Pool of Bethesda with 5 pillars? (John Chapter 5) Archaeologists recently discovered this pool Crucifixion? No skeletal remains found… But in 1968, found a tomb with remains of a 24-28 year old man nailed to the cross, with leg broken

49. Archaeology validates; -Luke’s record of the Census-Crucifixion as described in the Gospel-And many other facts recorded in scripture!

50. What historians are saying… On the Crucifixion, Harvey writes: "It would be no exaggeration to say that this event is better attested, and supported by a more impressive array of evidence, than any other event of comparable importance of which we have knowledge from the ancient world." [Harv.JesC, 11] Dunn [Dunn.EvJ, 29]

51. Harvey goes on to say… “ within thirty years there had evolved such a coherent and consistent complex of traditions such as we have in the sources of the Gospels that it is established historical fact. It involves too many complex and speculative hypotheses, in contrast to the much simpler explanation that there was a Jesus who said and did more or less what the first three Gospels attribute to him.”

52. Writings outside of the Bible Josephus, Jewish historian "at this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good, and (he) was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that He was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders."  (Antiquities XVIII, 33)

53. Josephus goes on to say… Antiquities 20.9.1But the younger Ananus who, as we said, received the high priesthood, was of a bold disposition and exceptionally daring; he followed the party of the Sadducees, who are severe in judgment above all the Jews, as we have already shown. As therefore Ananus was of such a disposition, he thought he had now a good opportunity, as Festus was now dead, and Albinus was still on the road; so he assembled a council of judges, and brought before it the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, whose name was James, together with some others, and having accused them as law-breakers, he delivered them over to be stoned.

54. Josephus further states… Antiquities 18.3.3 Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.

55. The Proof… Josephus is a respected Jewish historian. He was not a Christian and always recorded provable historical facts – not myths or stories. The afore mentioned quotes are in every copy we have of his works. If Josephus did not write this, the Jews would have produced a manuscript that was earlier than the ones we have that contained the original language. We must conclude these are authentic and reliable.

56. More non-Christian historians Tacitus, Roman historian In documenting Nero’s persecution of the Christians in 64 AD; mentions Pontius Pilate as the one who handed “the extreme penalty” upon Jesus Phlegon, Greek historian “In the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad [33 AD] there was the greatest eclipse of the sun…it became night in the sixth hour of the day [noon] so that stars even appeared in the heavens. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia and many things were overturned in Nicaea.”

57. What about the sun growing dark? Luk 23:42 And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!" Luk 23:43 And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." Luk 23:44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, Luk 23:45 because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two.

58. A Roman Proconsul He wrote a letter to the emperor about killing Christians. He stated that…“ under torture, they would not deny this Jesus who was crucified under Pontious and reportedly raised from the dead. They worship this man Jesus, called the Christ.”

59. More proof… Tacitus“Nero from the infamy of being believed to have ordered the conflagration, the fire of Rome. Hence to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christ-us, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius:

60. Tacitus confirms the following… He regards "Christus" as the founder of the movement. This mitigates against ideas that Paul or some other person was the ideological head of Christianity. He confirms the execution of Jesus under Pilate, during the reign of Tiberius. He indicates that Jesus' death "checked" Christianity for a time. This would hint at the probability that Christianity was recognized to have had some status as a movement (albeit not under the name "Christianity") prior to the death of Jesus. He identifies Judaea as the "source" of the movement. This mitigates against ideas that Christianity was designed piecemeal from pagan religious ideas. He indicates that Christians in Rome in the mid-60s A.D. were dying for their faith.

61. Resurrection appearances Merely hallucinations? Many different occasions 500 people at the same time Because they so much wanted to see Jesus? But they didn’t expect Him to come back Paul saw Him later on the road to Damascus! Thomas doubted until he touched Jesus wounds!

62. Doubting Thomas Joh 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." 26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then He *said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." Joh 20:28 Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

63. Lasting impact of resurrection Dramatic transformation of the disciples: 10 of the remaining 11 disciples were martyred, 6 were crucified Because now unafraid of death Not a single disciple denied it In fact, all writings confirm the resurrection & miracles of Jesus! Easter celebrated as the biggest day of the Christian calendar Jesus life and death and resurrection are documented historic facts!

65. Knowing Jesus is everything! On judgment day, it won’t matter how ‘good’ you were. The only thing that will matter is did you make Jesus Lord and Savior of your life! If you’ve done that – you know Him, and He knows you!

67. Remember… It’s not ‘Happy Easter’We should say…Happy Resurrection Day!