From Fear to Faith (Part 1 of 2)

The resurrection of Jesus is absolutely central to our faith, but is there evidence that confirms it actually happened today on Truth for Life Alastair big teaches that we can find compelling proof and the disciples themselves and their remarkable transition from fear to faith. This study comes from John chapter 20 beginning at verse one. There lay on the first day of the week when it was still dark. Mitty Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

Running to Simon Peter and the other disciple said they've taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him by any standards. The disciples when in a complete shambles. One of them.

The betrayer Judas Iscariot by name was already dead. Suicide the unofficial spokesman of the group Simon Peter, the one who had declared to Jesus that, although everybody may run away and hide. Although everyone may desire Christ that he never would.

He had crumbled before the questionings of a young girl just hours before, so to go and look for them is to discover the dejected end panelized company.

They had enough players left for a soccer team, but they would have been an easy team to beat.

There was no heart in them at all. If they had ever taken to the field. They were huddled together for fear that the opponents of Christ may come now to get them highly unlikely given the fact that they were such as this bigoted and sorely bunch the wind was out of their sales they were going absolutely nowhere at all on the way up to Jerusalem. Jesus had made it clear to them that he needed to suffer and die in Jerusalem that on the third day he would be raised from the dead, but he just didn't get whatever their hopes and dreams. They might have shared had been dashed and broken by the events that had so recently taken place. And when they had finally removed themselves from the scene. They looked at one another and said well it was fun while it lasted but it's over now and in the Palestinian tomb this great story of salvation had apparently come to a grinding conclusion you see these men had no concept of a Messiah who would die, nor do they have a concept of a Messiah who would rise from the dead their Jewish background was such that the story that they had understood was one in which the Messiah when he appeared would remain forever. So how could it possibly be then that Jesus was the Messiah when he so clearly wasn't remaining forever.

He was gone and they said to one another. We had our hopes that he was the one to redeem the people of Israel but apparently not. They still had no way of grabbing the fight from the Bible that this empty tomb was significant in relationship to the identity of Jesus of Nazareth, and then you allow the clock to take the pages in the diary to turn you go out approximately seven weeks.

Just 49 days and everything is changed. These same men. This panelized crew this dejected buttons are now back out on the streets of Jerusalem, I would be one thing if they had covered up there shaman. They were now back in their work back to tax collecting and back to the business of the zealots of Simon and his cronies are back to the fishing with Peter but it wasn't that at all.

They were actually out on the Jerusalem streets and they were declaiming to the people all who would listen to them that God had raised this Jesus to life, and says Peter what all witnesses of the fact you can ask anyone of us and will be able to tell you that this Jesus whom you crucified. God has made both Lord and Christ. The question is obvious to any thinking person.

What was it the turn these men from fear to faith. What was it that transformed their paralysis to such an emboldened expression of power.

What was it that took what was apparently a Friday evening catastrophe and turn it into a Sunday morning victory.

Know what I want to do in the time that I have before me is not work exegetical. He threw a text I don't want to work expounding a passage of Scripture. I don't even want to work as much topically concerning the resurrection as I want to work apologetically. The Greek word Apple again with Cindy needs to give a defense I want.

I think quite unashamedly to speak first to those who are agnostic who do not believe that it may create a crisis in your own view of the world and perhaps become for you a link in a chain that will lead you to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ because you really do need to know also that in the same time that it would be a source of encouragement to those who do believe enabling us. Hopefully in the following days of this week to have an opportunity still to speak to our friends and neighbors about the fact that there is more to our Christian expression and simply devoted statement you asked me how I know he lives, he lives within my heart because if you think about it. Some of our friends of not being particularly impressed with because they had a number of things living in their heart to and they had made a number of people who also another figures of religious influence who are living in their heart and so they said you know the fact that you will have a Jesus in your heart.

It doesn't really help me get off the blocks year. Is there anything more to it than just your subjective experience. Of course, what we discovered is that our experience of Christ within us is on the basis of his work for us, which is grounded in the very historicity of that which we discover in the gospel records and what I want to suggest to you is that when you examine the circumstances number of your here this morning as attorneys far more than we really want to welcome no sorry dad next to go to a stereotype, I decide disdain that I'm sorry I didn't do that. I'm sorry I did that.

I don't mean that.

But there are a little more than we need. So you can perhaps help those around you to think in terms of the evidence that is contained here and perhaps enable us to the conclusion that the only reasonable explanation is that the transformation all the disciples it can only be traced to the resurrection of Jesus himself that the resurrection then meant that Jesus could be proclaimed as Messiah. After all, remember the believe that a Messiah would remain forever. He's gone there free candy.

He's back there, for he may be under the resurrection would allow them to look at the scene of humiliation on the cross, the shameful death of this Jesus, and to realize in light of the fight that he is now risen from the dead, that this explains why Jesus was making the point that forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name. What possible forgiveness could there be in a dead Messiah but in a risen Messiah.

Suddenly the picture is dramatically changed without the resurrection. The disciples may have continued to remember Jesus as their beloved teacher, but he would have no basis for believing him to be there Messiah third-grader got together and had little conversations about the wonderful things that Jesus taught them and then a month later have another little coffee meeting and then discussed the wonderful places that Jesus took the but we would never have found them discussing the marvelous reality of the risen Christ and his continued presence with without the fact of the resurrection of her son who today may be wondering about Christianity and asking themselves what evidence is there, if any, for the resurrection of Jesus. You will find that if you go to the source texts you can gather the evidence under three separate headings.

I don't have time to extrapolate from all of them but I just want to give them to you. First of all, as I suggested part of the evidence is to be found in the origin of the disciples, belief in the resurrection and say in the disciples, belief in the resurrection I said in the origin of the disciples, belief in the resurrection.

What brought about the change. Any serious investigator is going to ask how do these people hidden for fear suddenly arrived 49 days later declaring that Jesus is alive and even the most skeptical critic who denies the historical event of the resurrection is still left with having to come up with some mysterious X factor that got the movement going.

Summary W come this morning so I don't believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ to place so that can possibly be the explanation of the change will then the onus is now on you and we will call you to the stand to explain to us why it is that these disciples were so radically different and so completely different in such a short period of time you want to investigate. You need to go there to the origin of the disciples, belief in the resurrection.

If you want to investigate.

You also have to consider the postmortem appearances of Jesus. The postmortem appearances of Jesus, the evidence shows that the disciples witnessed physical bodily appearances of Jesus after his death, the claim is offered up of these appearances were merely hallucinations or they were subjective visions that these disciples found that the visions and merits as a result of their faith, that it was not that these encounters with Jesus were reality, but they were actually products of a hallucinating mind and that the reason that they were hallucinating in this direction is because they were so full of faith while so full of what they were full of faith. They thought it was over, one of them committed suicide. One of them royally tripped up 10 of them were sitting around in the darkness of the night saying if you come back to this door.

Make sure that you do the because we just don't want anybody opening the door. We never know when someone will reach and grab us. It will be the next one up on the so what was it that produced the hallucination that produced the subjective vision of theirs risen Christ as Jews.

They would never have imagined a risen Christ who ate fish with the mean because the Jewish mind, believed in the resurrection, not the Sadducees, the Pharisees, other members of the Jewish sects believed in the resurrection, but he believed in the resurrection would take place at the end of the world and apparently wasn't the end of the world and believe in the resurrection would be general in its impact involving all people, rather than that, it would be specific, involving an individual so therefore if you want to argue for the fact that the disciples imagine this created this that they subjectively and materialized it in their psyche and we have to say is that what they would've materialized in their psyche is something akin to what happened to Enoch who walked with God and he was taken to God. He was translated they may have imagined a translated Christ, who had now gone up into the glory but he would not imagine a Christ who made breakfast for them on the water. Who said you can put your hands in here you can touch me here and walked on the Jerusalem streets and who encounter them in such a variety of manners not if you're honest in your investigation, you will be well repaid by further research year. Time does not allow me to pursue this, incidentally, and impressing and talking about doing research and seeking the best historical explanation of the evidence concerning the resurrection of Jesus. We affirm for you that we do not operate in this respect any differently than we would do in any other discipline same kind of inductive reasoning that you use in the round of science are in mathematics and anthropology are in determining the nature of history the same inductive reasoning is to be applied to the facts that you find just here and that incidentally is one of the reasons that some people have never given any serious consideration to the claims of Jesus Christ, partly because of the way that questions and certifies style fashion, communicate their faith or attempt to the average thinking fellow says I want to get involved with those weird people. They don't seem to have any historical basis for what they say and are always talking about that experience, but it doesn't seem to be billed on any facts. It doesn't seem to have any foundations there seems to be no reason at all why would give it any consideration and, indeed, if I were to get a consideration apparently what you have to do.

First of all, is not a frontal lobotomy.

Once you've had your brain put on the pew. Then you can get about the matter of Christianity, but until you have that don't even touch.

Now let me get back here to my biomedical research now let me get back here to my air traffic control Melanie get back into my mathematics let me get back here to my task is a CPA for April 15 and I'm going to use influence from the best explanation because that's what I do and there's discipline. That's the exact same thing you need to do with this evidence you need to take all of the options and lay them out. Sift through them select the best of the competing explanations to explain why the evidence is as it is not otherwise as well. You need to do. Christianity invites it is prepared to stand up to rigorous investigation and the reason that some do not believe today is not because you didn't think the rigorous investigation and you found it wanting, because you never to the rigorous investigation and Easter comes in Eastern those who walk in your walkout you pay scant attention to what's going on and you look in the eggs and you look at the bunnies and you look at your wife. Are you looking your father, and he sat on the why these people are involved in this at all matters related last too long. I'm sure were going to have a wonderful lunch. Let's get on with life.

That's the kind of thinking. Do you realize in your eternal destiny hinges on this study events that we are considering other pivotal events in world history.

Better never has been or will be in the wall of tying a more significant event than this, that the question and the answer to the question of the empty two is absolutely fundamental to living life and facing death that this is not some esoteric interest for religious professionals that this is not a matter for which we are interested simply by the end of the pipe that we like a certain kind of singing for the scientist, the chosen explanation is his theory which he then tests by performing various experiments.

He takes the inference from the best explanation. He says of all the options here would seem this.

That's my feeling. Now let me test the historian does the exact same thing constructs history on the basis of all that he sees and that he takes that construction and he sees how well it elucidates the evidence done well.

If you do then you go to go to the evidence for the origin of the belief in the resurrection on the part of the disciples going to go and do something with the postmortem appearances of Christ and you've got ago finally and do something with this empty tomb, and when you look at the evidence concerning the empty tomb.

The evidence that supports the fact of the empty tomb is it is best far more than I can give to just now while in your sensible person, you must look at the evidence, you must read it and you know what you'll discover you'll discover that not only is this a book which is capable of your investigation of it, but you will discover as you read it that this book actually investigates you and that this is actually a handbook that explains your existence. The five you've had it in the glove box for so long and have driven for 40 years of your life, without reference to it is only an indication of God's gracious provision, but it will be a wonderful day when you take it out of the glove box in your sake. I wonder why it is that I am Uzziah.

I wonder if there is an answer to that. I wonder if there is an explanation of life.

I wonder what this matter of the empty tomb is if there was a body in the tomb. It would've been impossible for the resurrection story to survive for five. How can Nathan go out and say Jesus is alive. If they're giving tours between two and four in the afternoon, down through the catacomb area and saying here is the coffin and here is the body and here is the also it is underpinned by the fact that the empty tomb, and his discovery is recorded as being encountered.

First of all by women. Women of all things.

In that context, they didn't have a vote. They couldn't give testimony in a court of law. Shepherds couldn't either. And the women were regarded as the lowest when it came to these mentors and yet you read the story and what is it say airily in the morning, while it was still dark Malay mandoline went to the tomb. Let's imagine for a moment there were putting together mythology and were sitting in the room I decide let's say that airily in the morning Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. Any sensible person in the room is going signal policy nearly negatively went to the Civil War by the mother of Claude by such noted bones say a woman went to the tomb.

Sandman went to the tomb because nobody will believe the testimony of a woman I'm ever going to make a fiction.

Let's make a good section. So the fact that it is the women go to the two substantiates the fact of his historicity.

The earliest Jewish argument presupposes the empty tomb doesn't when they discovered that the tomb was empty. What are they saying not the tomb is not empty. They said the disciples of, and stolen the body. They substantiate the fact that the tomb was empty by the argument of the present if they could have shown that the tomb was not empty.

That would've been far easier than coming up with this notion of the disciples going out to steal the body and the fact of the tomb was not venerated as a shrine indicates of the tomb was empty fully to become a shrine needed a body needed bones. Nobody, no bones, no shrine is actually very, very difficult to object to the empty tomb on historical grounds. Those who object to it, do so for other reasons. I want to ask you do you really want to do that you say. The reason the tomb was empty, is not because Jesus had risen from the dead, but because the disciples stole the body. First of all, why would they steal the body.

Secondly, where would they put it. And thirdly, having put it there.

Why would they hit the streets with ally and get themselves killed for.

I'll gladly take that one in a court of law. I'd be glad to to to deal with gnosis on the actually don't believe that the women were at the wrong tomb take that one as well nicer seminars that only it was that idea was a Jesus were not really dead. Once he got in the cold tomb he revived had a bowl of cereal and then when hit the Jerusalem streets.

I say to you as I draw this to a close, that those kind of alternative explanations are more incredible than the idea the resurrection itself. They demand more from a man or a woman than faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The reason you do not believe is because you will not believe presenting convincing evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Listening to Alistair Begg this is Truth for Life.

Today's message is titled from fear to faith were hearing that as part of our annual tradition called encore where we revisit the most popular messages of the past 12 months. If you missed any part of this series work you'd like to share today's message with someone you know you can find all of Alister's teaching online that Truth for Life.org sharing these messages and listen to them are completely free. We are grateful to provide these studies to you without cost.

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