26-0624wc Neighborly Apologetics

(0:04) I want to just open up with this from John 20 that you’re familiar with, (0:12) all of us are familiar with, when Thomas, who had doubted, (0:16) he was not at that first event when Jesus appeared to the ten. (0:23) And then a week later, Thomas was there when Jesus appeared. (0:29) And it’s a very gracious of Jesus then to say to Thomas, (0:34) put your finger here, see my hands, reach out your hand and put it into my side.

(0:41) Stop doubting, Thomas, and believe. (0:45) Thomas said to him, my Lord and my God. (0:49) Then Jesus told him, because you have seen me, you have believed.

(0:53) The blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. (1:00) And that is you, that is me, those of us who are in Christ, (1:04) we are those who have not seen, as Thomas did, but we believe. (1:10) And we believe because of the evidence.

(1:13) We believe because of the work of the Spirit in our life, (1:18) the Spirit of truth who guides us into truth. (1:22) But God has been gracious to provide these tangible evidences for us. (1:29) So when we look at the appearances of Jesus, (1:35) we need to recognize that God has given us that evidence (1:39) so that we have that faith, that it wasn’t a hoax or a sham, (1:45) it wasn’t some kind of a devious conspiracy, (1:51) it’s not a hallucination, and it wasn’t a spiritual resurrection.

(1:57) We’ll deal with a lot of those tonight. (2:00) That in reality, the physical body of Jesus was raised from the dead, (2:06) and that is what we’re going to focus on here tonight (2:09) because this represents the most significant charge in our day. (2:15) Jesus didn’t physically rise from the dead.

(2:18) That’s the charge that is in many people’s minds, (2:22) the charge that’s laid before Christians and before Christianity in our time, (2:27) and so we’re going to deal with that issue here tonight. (2:32) Let’s review a little bit of the evidence that we’ve seen so far (2:36) that leads us into our evening. (2:40) We talked about the real death of Jesus (2:42) and that he was really wrapped with the spices, with the linen.

(2:50) He was really buried in a tomb. (2:53) The tomb was sealed. (2:55) There was a contingent of soldiers that were posted at that tomb.

(3:00) There was an earthquake that occurred on the resurrection day. (3:05) The angel came to roll away the stone. (3:08) The guards were so much in terror, they froze, (3:13) and they subsequently fled their post.

(3:17) The women were then the first to see the empty tomb, (3:20) most likely after the guards. (3:24) We don’t know exactly how that happened, (3:27) but they were also given testimony by the angels (3:31) who declared that Jesus had risen from the dead. (3:36) And then, of course, we have that very special moment (3:39) when Peter and John both examined the empty tomb, (3:43) and they saw the grave wrappings there, (3:48) and it appeared, as we’ve talked about before, (3:51) that those wrappings had been vacated by the body of Jesus, (3:56) which in itself would have helped John and Peter (4:01) to understand what had happened.

(4:04) And then we talked about the soldiers then reporting (4:07) that the tomb was empty, (4:09) and then that was the rise of the polemic. (4:14) And we’ll deal with that next time, the polemic and the creed, (4:18) because they are probably one of the most critical things (4:22) that you and I need to know when we’re dealing with someone (4:26) who is questioning the resurrection of Jesus. (4:31) So we’re going to deal with four primary accusations tonight, (4:37) and we’ll deal mostly with the first three.

(4:40) The first is the appearances of Jesus were merely hallucinations. (4:46) And then the second, the appearances were a mistaken identity. (4:51) And the third is that the resurrection was a spiritual resurrection, (4:55) not a physical resurrection.

(4:57) And so therefore, all the appearances, as they’re recorded, (5:01) were merely spiritual appearances. (5:06) And the last one we will refer to, (5:08) but we’re going to leave that until our next time together, (5:11) that the appearances were all part of some sort of a myth or a legend. (5:18) So let’s look at these appearances, (5:21) and we’re going to deal with them one at a time.

(5:24) And as we do that, I want to call to your mind again (5:29) the accusations that were made. (5:31) So we’re going to refer to some of those in terms of asking the question (5:38) that this appearance, for example, (5:41) would cause someone who is saying it’s a mistaken identity (5:45) to maybe realize that it couldn’t be. (5:50) So let’s look at this first one.

(5:52) This is a very amazing one to me because Mary is Mary Magdalene, (5:59) and we call her Magdalene so that we don’t confuse with the other Marys. (6:04) Remember last time we talked about the different Marys (6:08) and we decided we would call them Mary is the mother of Jesus, (6:15) and Mary Magdalene, we called her Magdalene. (6:19) And then the other Mary listed as the other Mary is Aunt Mary.

(6:23) So we have Mary Magdalene and Aunt Mary, (6:26) and so this is Magdalene at the tomb. (6:30) But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, (6:34) and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb, (6:39) and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, (6:45) and that they had had one of the feet. (6:48) And they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? (6:52) And she said to them, They have taken away my Lord, (6:55) and I do not know where they have laid him.

(6:59) Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, (7:04) but she did not know that it was Jesus. (7:07) Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? (7:11) Whom are you seeking? (7:13) Supposing him to be the gardener. (7:15) She said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, (7:20) tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.

(7:24) Jesus said to her, Mary. (7:27) She turned and said to him in Aramaic, which means teacher. (7:32) Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, (7:34) for I have not yet ascended to the Father, (7:36) but go to my brothers and say to them, (7:38) I am ascending to my Father and your Father, (7:43) to my God and your God.

(7:45) Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, (7:49) I have seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her. (7:56) This is just a remarkable passage and testimony (7:59) that the risen Lord Jesus had, first of all, (8:04) and showed himself, revealed himself to Mary. (8:09) There is a lot of emotion in here, and again, (8:13) the Scripture very, very seldom will open up the words (8:20) that have been given to us to describe people’s emotions (8:23) and so forth, and to some extent, it’s mostly understood.

(8:27) I can’t even imagine what that would be like (8:30) for the disciples, for the women, (8:35) those who have been following Jesus all of this time, (8:39) all of these years, and seen him doing all of these amazing things, (8:44) raising Lazarus from the dead, (8:46) speaking words that had never been spoken before. (8:51) Just the presence of Jesus would have been something (8:56) that we couldn’t probably even describe or understand, (8:58) and now they had seen him crucified, scourged and crucified, (9:04) and that he was now dead and laid in a cold tomb. (9:09) And for Mary to come to the tomb and the shock (9:15) to find that the stone had been rolled away (9:20) and that Jesus' body was no longer there.

(9:23) Obviously, she was thinking that someone had taken his body away. (9:29) I don’t know what other thoughts were in her mind. (9:32) She obviously saw the linens there in a collapsed state, (9:38) so I don’t know what she was thinking, (9:41) but she was weeping, sobbing, and that’s understandable.

(9:49) But Jesus then spoke to her, (9:51) and I want to call your attention back to one of the accusations (9:58) of mistaken identity. (10:01) And one of the charges is that Mary, of course, (10:04) was very emotional at this point, (10:08) and because she was emotional, she obviously had mistaken (10:13) the gardener or someone else for Jesus. (10:15) But let me ask you this question.

(10:17) Do you think, and this is a question you could ask your neighbor, by the way. (10:21) Does it seem plausible to you that if she had mistaken the gardener for Jesus, (10:27) that Jesus would know her name? (10:31) He would say, Mary. (10:35) That he would then say, do not cling to me, (10:39) for I have not yet ascended to the Father.

(10:41) And then go to my brothers and say to them, I’m ascending to the Father. (10:46) This is way beyond reason to think that the gardener (10:53) would have somehow begun to impersonate Jesus (10:56) and that Mary was unable to discern that this was not truly her Lord and Savior. (11:04) Okay, so that was the first appearance to Magdalene.

(11:09) Jesus also appeared to other women. (11:11) We read this in Matthew 28, (11:13) and here is what the testimony says. (11:18) So they, these were these other women, (11:21) departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy (11:26) and ran to tell his disciples.

(11:28) And behold, Jesus met them and said greetings, (11:32) and they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. (11:36) And Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. (11:39) Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, (11:41) and there they will see me.

(11:45) So this is another appearance of Jesus (11:49) as he is now showing himself to these other women. (11:54) We already talked about this earlier, (11:56) that there was a large contingent of women who were following Jesus. (12:04) And I put up a little map here just to, (12:07) we’ll come back to this in a couple sessions from now (12:13) where we’re going to try and put everything together (12:16) to talk about where these sightings occurred, (12:21) how people were moving around on the resurrection morning, (12:25) to try and answer other accusations that there are contradictions within the numbers, (12:32) contradictions within the events, (12:33) a number of angels and those kinds of things.

(12:38) And so I will use this map to try and walk through that (12:43) and the harmonized way that all this does fit together. (12:48) But at this point, just to call your attention, (12:50) it’s possible that this occurred somewhere outside the gate. (12:56) And so there you’ll see that on the map.

(13:01) So let’s look at the third one because this is a very interesting appearance of Jesus (13:08) and it has been used by many people to say, (13:12) well, there are things here that just don’t make sense. (13:18) Jesus showing himself to these disciples on the road to Emmaus (13:23) and yet they don’t recognize him. (13:26) So let’s read the text first.

(13:29) And their eyes were opened and they recognized him. (13:33) So the text before this is that Jesus had appeared to them on the road (13:40) and they did not recognize him and he began to interact with them (13:45) and they told him about what had happened in the case of the crucifixion (13:54) or what they believed was a resurrection. (13:59) And so Jesus then, as we open up this passage here, (14:04) Jesus is now opening their eyes.

(14:06) That’s what the scripture tells us. (14:09) Their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he vanished. (14:12) And he vanished from their sight.

(14:15) They said to each other, did not our hearts burn with us while we talked to us on the road? (14:20) While they opened to us the scriptures. (14:23) And they rose that same hour and they returned to Jerusalem. (14:26) And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together saying, (14:30) the Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.

(14:34) And they told what had happened on the road (14:37) and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. (14:42) So here we have an appearance of Jesus to these disciples on the road (14:46) and he is explaining to them the scriptures. (14:51) And then as he broke bread with them as they were eating, (14:56) the scripture says their eyes were opened.

(14:58) Now we don’t really know exactly what this means. (15:03) Certainly it is possible that Jesus could have. (15:08) He can speak and the stars come into being.

(15:12) He can close people’s eyes. (15:16) He can open people’s eyes. (15:18) He can make the deaf hear.

(15:20) And so it is more than possible. (15:23) One reasonable explanation is that the God of the universe can keep their eyes from recognizing Jesus. (15:31) It’s also possible that Jesus may have been just a veil and a hood (15:37) and Jesus then allowed them to see him.

(15:41) We don’t know that. (15:43) But the important thing here is that they recognized him. (15:46) The scripture says they recognized him.

(15:50) And then, and we’re back again to talk a little bit about the accusation, (15:56) that well, this was just a mistaken identity that these disciples, (16:00) they were grieving, you know, they’re on this long road. (16:06) You know, maybe it was hot. (16:07) Who knows all the things that could be said.

(16:09) And so this stranger comes up and he starts talking to them (16:15) and somehow begins to act like he’s Jesus. (16:19) And they just misidentified him. (16:22) But the person who is playing Jesus at this point has to then vanish from their sight.

(16:29) He vanished from their sight. (16:32) And so this is really an incredible appearance of Jesus. (16:37) And it’s probably the longest, not probably, (16:42) it is the longest appearance that we have recorded of Jesus after his resurrection.

(16:50) All right. (16:51) Then that night we have this wonderful appearance of Jesus (16:55) and as he comes to the ten disciples, remember Thomas was not there (17:00) and of course Judas was no longer. (17:03) So Jesus appeared to them and the room was locked.

(17:07) And again, you might be thinking through some of these accusations (17:11) in terms of the mistaken identity that now we have to have someone (17:14) who is not only a mistaken identity person, (17:17) but he has to somehow magically appear in the room. (17:21) On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, (17:24) the doors were being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. (17:29) Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, (17:32) be with you.

(17:34) And then there is a longer dialogue associated with Jesus that night, (17:39) eating with them and so forth. (17:43) So this is the first appearance we have of Jesus to the ten. (17:49) And again, from the map, it’s possible, we don’t know exactly for sure, (17:53) but it’s possible that they were in the upper room (17:56) and that arrow is pointing to where we think that upper room is.

(18:03) If you can see the A on the map, that is the traditional site of Calvary. (18:08) The map does not show. (18:12) It will potentially, it will show Gordon’s tomb, (18:16) which is outside that third wall.

(18:22) Then there is this amazing appearance to Peter. (18:25) Let’s talk about this for a second, (18:27) because none of the gospel accounts tell us about this appearance to Peter. (18:36) We don’t know why.

(18:39) The Spirit of God is fully capable of telling us what we need to know (18:46) and withholding from us what He wants withheld. (18:51) But neither Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John talk about this encounter, (19:01) except for what we just read back in John, (19:06) but I’ll go back to that because I want us to read that. (19:11) And this is in the account of Jesus out as He was talking to the folks on Emmaus, (19:23) if I can get back to that.

(19:27) So when they found the eleven, this is back in Luke 24, (19:33) and they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together (19:36) and the eleven were saying to the disciples there from Emmaus, (19:44) the Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon. (19:50) But none of the gospels tell us about that appearance at all. (19:57) And then when we get to Luke’s account as he continues in Acts, (20:05) in Acts 24 we read this, (20:09) and they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together saying, (20:13) the Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.

(20:16) So Luke is now telling us again what had been said to those disciples (20:25) that Jesus had appeared to Simon. (20:28) And then in the Creed, which we will talk about next time, in 2 Corinthians 15, (20:35) For I deliver to you as of first importance what I also received, (20:40) that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (20:43) and that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, (20:48) and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the twelve. (20:53) So here we have this amazing account that Jesus had gone to Peter (21:02) and gone to Peter evidently alone.

(21:06) And you remember, the account has told us that Peter was the one who had declared that Jesus was God, (21:16) and then when Jesus said, some of you would betray me, (21:22) that Peter said adamantly he would never betray Jesus, (21:26) and of course that night he did, and he betrayed him three times. (21:32) And when the crow that said that, Peter went away, (21:38) and of course you can imagine the anguish in Peter. (21:42) And so I have a map here, and again we will be going through this eventually (21:48) when we try to harmonize all of these things together, (21:53) that because Peter didn’t appear to be with the other disciples, (22:00) it makes sense, I would think, that Peter was so ashamed of what he had done, (22:08) that I think Peter was staying somewhere else, (22:12) that Peter was not staying with the disciples.

(22:14) And so I just have him down somewhere in the lower city, (22:21) we don’t know where he was, (22:24) but it’s just my belief that Peter was so ashamed, (22:31) he was staying by himself, and yet Jesus then came and appeared to him. (22:39) And then we have a week later, (22:41) Now Jesus comes and he appears to the Lebanon locked room. (22:47) A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them.

(22:51) Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, (22:56) Peace be with you. (22:58) And he said to Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands, (23:02) reach out your hand and put it into my side. (23:04) Stop doubting and believe.

(23:08) And this, of course, is when Thomas made his great confession, (23:14) that my Lord is my God. (23:18) And so here we have this other, an amazing appearance of Jesus coming in (23:24) through the locked doors, and you may be thinking in your own mind, (23:28) for those who try to make the accusation that this was a mistaken identity, (23:35) that this account puts a lot of wrenches in that accusation. (23:44) First of all, you have to have someone who is not really Jesus appear, (23:50) magically appear in the house, even though the doors are locked.

(23:55) He has to then speak to the disciples, speaking to Thomas, (23:58) and having Thomas put his finger into his side where the spear pierced him, (24:07) and to touch his hands where the nails were. (24:10) It’s beyond reason to allow that kind of an accusation to stand in the light (24:17) of this testimony. (24:19) There’s no way that Thomas would be dealing with an imposter at this point. (24:26)

(24:28) And then this is one of my favorite appearances of Jesus. (24:33) We’re now in Galilee. (24:37) From John 21, after this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples (24:41) by the sea at Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way.

(24:46) And then, of course, the account is too long to put there, (24:50) but you recall this, and if you do not, it’s good for you to read this, (24:57) that Jesus here had them put out. (25:00) They’d been fishing all night. (25:02) He asked them to put the net out again on the other side, (25:06) and the net was so full of fish that Peter wasn’t able to even draw in the net.

(25:13) They ate fish together. (25:17) We may want at this point to talk about the accusation that all of this (25:20) was a hallucination, (25:22) and we will deal with that here pretty soon, (25:28) but it’s pretty hard for one to think that this was a hallucination (25:34) that all these men had at the same time. (25:38) And then the other accusation we remember was the accusation that Jesus (25:42) really was raised spiritually.

(25:44) Well, we have this spiritually raised Jesus eating fish with the disciples. (25:51) And then there was the appearance of the 11 on a mountain. (25:54) We read that in Matthew 28.

(25:56) Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them, (26:00) and when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. (26:04) Now Jesus came and said to them, (26:06) All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, (26:09) and then he proceeds to give what we understand, (26:15) and have called the Great Commission. (26:20) And then there is this amazing statement that we find in the Creed in 1 Corinthians 15.

(26:26) It’s also not listed as we find the others in the Gospels. (26:33) Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, (26:38) most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. (26:43) This is an amazing thing.

(26:44) We will look at this next time when we talk about the Creed. (26:47) This is part of the Creed. (26:50) The declaration that Jesus had appeared to more than 500 people at one time (26:57) makes it difficult for this to be a mistaken identity.

(27:01) It makes it very difficult for this to be a hallucination. (27:04) It makes it very difficult for this to be some spiritual resurrection. (27:09) And just to point a little bit forward here, (27:13) and you may recognize this right as you’re reading it, (27:17) that the thing that is so valuable about this statement, (27:22) as Paul is making in this Creed, (27:26) is that it can be checked out.

(27:28) And that was the fourth accusation that this was just a legend or a myth. (27:37) But here we have the declaration that, look, (27:42) there are some who have fallen asleep, but most of these people are still alive. (27:48) You can check it out.

(27:50) So myths do not arise when there are people who can give testimony (27:56) as to what really happened. (27:58) Okay? (27:59) And then finally we have this wonderful statement, also in the Creed, (28:06) it’s not listed anywhere else, that he then appeared to James (28:10) and then to all the apostles. (28:13) There is so much that is found here in these five words, (28:20) that he appeared to James.

(28:21) Because remember, the brothers of Jesus were not believers. (28:26) They were skeptical, to put it lightly. (28:31) And yet Jesus appeared to James.

(28:34) The resurrected Jesus now appears to James. (28:38) And we find later on that James then becomes one of the pillars in the church. (28:45) So James was radically, radically changed, not by an elucidation, (28:50) not by some spiritual resurrection.

(28:54) He saw Jesus with his own eyes and was radically changed as a result of that. (29:01) And then as we come to the end of the 40 days, the 50 days, (29:07) from the resurrection to Pentecost, Jesus appears to the 11. (29:15) And I put Jerusalem or Bethany there, (29:17) and you’ll read this in the account, this is from Acts.

(29:22) And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, (29:25) but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, (29:28) You heard from me, for John baptized with water, (29:31) but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. (29:35) So this is one of these appearances of Jesus to the disciples prior to his ascension (29:43) and prior to Pentecost. (29:49) And then finally, we have Jesus appearing just before his ascension on Mount Olivet.

(29:57) This is recorded for us. I have it here from Luke 24 and also from Acts. (30:02) And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them.

(30:06) While he blessed them, he departed from them and was carried up into heaven. (30:10) And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy (30:15) and were continually in the temple blessing God. (30:19) And this is from Acts.

And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, (30:23) he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. (30:26) And while they were gazing into heaven, as he went, behold, stood by them in white robes (30:31) and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? (30:35) And I love that because to me it’s like, OK, hey, what are you doing standing around here? (30:41) It’s time to act. It’s time to go.

(30:45) So we have all these appearances, and I want to go back and relist them all here again (30:52) just for you to understand the weight of these appearances to Magdalene, to the other women, (30:59) to Cleopas and the companion of the Roger Emmaus, to the 10 in a locked room, that first night, (31:07) to Peter, probably alone, to the 11 in a locked room eight days later, (31:13) to seven of the disciples of the seed of Tiberius, to the 11 on the Mount of Galilee, (31:19) to over 500 at the same time, to James, who was deeply transformed, (31:24) to the 11 in Jerusalem, to the 11 on the Mount of Oliva. (31:28) And then how many more? (31:30) Because John talks about him appearing over this 48-day period. (31:37) And of course, Paul writes, even in Corinthians, and he said, (31:43) And at the last he has appeared to me, as one untimely born.

(31:51) And so he appeared even to Saul. (31:55) So we have this overwhelming amount of testimony given to us in the record (32:02) that Jesus appeared not to just one or two, but he appeared to many, many people (32:11) at different locations and different times, different circumstances, (32:17) and so God has been gracious to that to give us this evidence (32:21) that outshores up our faith. (32:24) So let’s look back through these accusations now.

(32:27) We’ve talked about them as we’ve gone along a little bit, (32:31) but let’s address them now directly. (32:34) The first accusation is that the appearance of Jesus were merely hallucinations. (32:41) And when we talk about this, I remember my dad was having strokes (32:48) near the end of his life, and he would sit in our dining room.

(32:54) On occasions, he would look out our back windows, and he would ask, (33:00) Who is that walking around in the forest that was behind our house? (33:05) And of course, in the beginning, we would jump up and look out (33:08) and look everywhere we could, and it happened over and over again (33:14) until we began to realize that my dad was suffering from some sort of hallucination. (33:23) And let me tell you, I wanted to see somebody. (33:28) I desperately wanted to see someone out there because that would have allowed me (33:33) not to have to deal what was happening to my father.

(33:39) But I never saw anyone, never. (33:44) See, hallucinations, by their nature, they come from the individual mind. (33:50) Hallucinations, by nature, are confined to that individual.

(33:58) And by nature, they’re not perceived by others. (34:01) And you can tell me about a hallucination that you’ve had or that you’re having, (34:09) and you can describe that to me, but I wouldn’t be able to see it with you. (34:14) I wouldn’t be able to experience it with you.

(34:18) There’s no such thing as a group hallucination. (34:23) And so this accusation is causing us to say that there must be group hallucinations. (34:32) Why? Because Jesus, if the appearances were a hallucination, (34:39) you may say that Mary Magdalene was having a hallucination, (34:45) but not the 10, not the 11, not the 500, (34:52) not these numerous people who all saw Jesus at the same time.

(34:57) I remember the first time that I heard this accusation, (35:00) and I was struck by how simply irrational it was. (35:05) And yet you, it is possible you will come across someone, a neighbor, (35:11) who may raise this. (35:13) And it will probably not because they thought it through, (35:17) but they will raise it simply because they’ve heard it, (35:21) and they’re going to throw that out as a possibility.

(35:24) You then have the opportunity with gentleness and kindness, (35:28) with grace, as the Scripture calls us, (35:31) to then simply begin to ask some questions. (35:34) Let’s talk about hallucinations. (35:36) How can more than one person have the same hallucination? (35:42) So they’re personal.

(35:44) We don’t have group experience hallucinations. (35:49) There is sometimes, you know, the charges may be of a wish, (35:54) a fulfillment that, well, these disciples were just hoping (36:02) that Jesus had risen from the dead. (36:05) Well, the record, and we’ll talk again about this next time (36:09) and the time after that, the record would tell us (36:11) that these men were in fear.

(36:14) They were hiding from the Jews. (36:17) They didn’t even believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. (36:22) And there were many who were hostile.

(36:24) I mean, the soldiers themselves, (36:26) they certainly didn’t have a wish fulfillment that Jesus (36:29) was going to rise from the dead. (36:32) James was skeptical. (36:36) So anyway, these are things that you can use as you are engaging (36:41) with your neighbor to talk about the accusations (36:45) as they have been led to think were true.

(36:50) The second is the appearance of Jesus' (36:54) all-or-just mistaken identity. (36:56) We’ve talked about a number of these already (36:58) as we’ve gone through there. (37:03) Hugh Schoenfeld, in his Pots of Applause, (37:06) asserts that the disciples were simply mistaken.

(37:11) They were yearning for this to be true, (37:16) and so they had hallucinations. (37:20) But as far as we know, we’ve never had a group (37:23) hallucination anywhere, and it would have to occur (37:29) not only once, but it would have to occur multiple times, (37:34) especially with the 500 at once. (37:39) So a lot of people had to be mistaken.

(37:42) And then think about this. (37:43) They were mistaken. (37:45) The people who they were somehow misidentifying had to appear.

(37:50) They had to vanish. (37:51) They had to come into a locked room, (37:53) even though the doors were closed and locked. (37:57) And then for someone, if you come across someone (38:01) who’s struggling with this, they use this accusation (38:06) that it was all just mistaken identity.

(38:10) Read that passage that we began with of Magdalene, (38:15) and read it and ask them and yourself to think through (38:21) what that would have been like for Magdalene (38:25) and for her to somehow mistake it to be the gardener (38:30) as we spoke of earlier, (38:32) and for the gardener to speak the way he spoke (38:36) does not make sense at all. (38:40) And this leads us a little bit to the Emmaus event, (38:43) because the Emmaus event begins with…​ (38:46) It is a little bit strange that these two people (38:49) were walking with Jesus and yet did not recognize him, (38:52) but I think it’s valid for you in your conversation to say, (38:57) you know, if God can speak (39:00) and the whole world comes into existence, (39:02) if Jesus can walk on water, (39:04) if Jesus can raise people from the dead, (39:07) then to serve his purpose, (39:09) he certainly can close the eyes of these two men, (39:16) not close them, but to keep them from identifying him (39:19) while he had his early conversation with them (39:23) and to go through the scriptures with them (39:26) and to show them about how the Old Testament (39:31) talked of the Messiah and related it to Jesus, (39:35) and then when he wanted them to recognize him (39:38) to open their eyes to do so. (39:41) So that is a strange one, but it’s not inexplicable.

(39:47) And, okay, so the third one here (39:51) is the one that’s kind of personal to me (39:55) because I know people who have gotten trapped (39:58) into this notion that Jesus really did not rise (40:04) from the dead physically, but he rose spiritually, (40:08) and therefore these appearances were merely (40:12) spiritual appearances. (40:14) That leads back into some notions of hallucinations. (40:19) It also leads into someone saying, (40:21) well, Jesus didn’t physically rise, (40:24) but he spiritually arose, (40:25) and so he could manifest himself spiritually.

(40:30) You have the issue of the empty tomb (40:34) as an issue that has to be dealt with, (40:37) and so when this accusation first arose (40:40) and the problem of the empty tomb (40:43) then began to cause people to rethink, (40:46) then the accusation began to morph a little bit, (40:49) and the accusation that said, (40:50) well, Jesus rose spiritually, (40:53) and God then destroyed the body. (40:56) I don’t know, like zapped it or something (40:58) and destroyed it. (41:00) So this is the line that people (41:06) who are in the Jehovah’s Witnesses follow.

(41:09) But what it does is it leaves us then (41:11) with a Jesus who is not bodily raised from the dead. (41:20) And when you do that, (41:24) then what happens is you walk down that path (41:29) and all of a sudden Jesus, (41:31) no longer the physical resurrection, (41:35) he becomes more of a force or a higher thought. (41:39) He becomes something more metaphysical (41:42) rather than a real resurrected person.

(41:46) As the Scripture clearly describes him (41:49) all the way through the book of Revelation (41:52) and describes even his appearances (41:55) in the New Testament (41:57) when we believe that he then revealed himself (42:00) to people in that physical body. (42:05) So one of the things that would be important (42:07) to talk to with someone that said (42:09) that Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead physically (42:13) and that God just simply destroyed the body. (42:17) We have numerous times where Jesus ate with his disciples.

(42:21) He ate with them that first night. (42:23) He ate with them on the Sea of Tiberias (42:28) some of the fish that they caught. (42:31) Thomas touched him physically, (42:34) put his fingers in the holes in his hands, (42:36) put his fingers in his side (42:38) where the spear had pierced Jesus.

(42:42) The women worshipped at his feet. (42:45) All of this is impossible to do (42:47) for someone who is just raised spiritually (42:50) and not physically. (42:53) And then of course the disciples watched him ascend (42:55) into heaven with a cloud (42:57) that hid him from their sight.

(43:03) And then this final one, (43:05) we will leave as we then talk later (43:09) about the polemic and the creed (43:13) which is going to be absolutely critical for us (43:16) to know and to know well, (43:19) to be able to explain that to people. (43:23) We’re going to spend one whole time just on that. (43:27) But we mentioned this a little bit.

(43:29) The accusation is the appearances (43:31) were all part of a resurrection myth (43:34) or some legend. (43:37) And as we will talk about, (43:40) the creed arose so quickly (43:42) and many of them were still alive (43:47) when the creed arose. (43:50) And we’ll talk about the polemic.

(43:53) There was more than enough opportunity (43:56) for people to prove (43:57) that Jesus did not rise from the dead. (44:03) And yet they could not. (44:04) Okay.

(44:07) So, (44:11) Dr. Sherwin White from Oxford, (44:14) one of the famous historians, (44:16) said that even after two generations, (44:19) even after two generations, (44:21) there’s still not enough time for a legend to arise. (44:26) And that is why we’re going to spend next time (44:27) talking about the polemic and the creed (44:30) and why it is so important. (44:31) So I want to close by going back to this first appearance.

(44:37) I guess maybe this is my favorite one (44:40) because one of my favorite songs, (44:44) and I’m going to play that song for you here in a minute, (44:48) speaks about just the reality of the resurrection (44:54) and the reality of what happened (44:57) when Mary Magdalene saw Jesus, (45:02) when the disciples saw him, (45:05) when the other women saw him and they worshipped him. (45:08) Just the reality of what that must have been like. (45:14) And so I am going to play this song for you.

(45:19) And as I do, I want you to listen to those words, (45:23) not that they’re inspired, (45:24) but I think they’re great words. (45:27) And may they provoke in you just, again, (45:32) the ability to try and understand the reality (45:36) of what the text is telling us, (45:39) of what these people saw and what it did to them (45:43) that they had seen Jesus. (45:47) And because of that, (45:50) they were never going to be the same again.

(45:57) We knew he was dead. (46:01) It is dead as he’s dead. (46:04) And we walked…​ (46:29) Del, we’re not hearing it right now.

(46:31) I’m not sure why that’s the case. (46:35) Dr. Tackett? (46:42) What’s that, Mark? (46:43) We’re not hearing it. (46:45) I’m getting notes from folks that we’re not hearing it.

(46:48) I’m not either. (46:49) I’m not sure. (46:50) You’re not hearing it at all.

(46:52) Yeah, so maybe…​ (46:53) Let me try it. (46:54) Let me try it one more time. (47:12) Can you relaunch your presentation? (47:15) Yes.

(47:17) Okay, I’m going to leave the mic unmuted, (47:21) and I’m going to try it that way, okay? (47:23) Okay, sounds good. (47:28) We knew he was dead. (47:32) It’s dead as he’s dead.

(47:35) And we walked…​ (47:37) Del, we’re not hearing it right now. (47:49) I’m not sure why that’s the case. (47:57) Del, we’re not hearing it at all.

(47:57) I’m not sure why that’s the case. (47:57) We knew he was dead. (47:58) It’s dead as he’s dead.

(48:01) And we walked…​ (48:02) I’m not sure why that’s the case. (48:05) We knew he was dead. (48:05) It’s dead as he’s dead.

(48:06) It’s dead as he’s dead. (48:12) I’m not sure why that’s the case. (48:16) It’s dead as he’s dead.

(48:20) Del, we’re not hearing it at all. (48:31) Yes, it’s dead as he’s dead. (48:38) I’m not sure why…​ (49:39) I’m just being cheesy (49:45) And I’m happy in the way I’m happy (50:05) This was before she first heard (50:09) Those kind and gentle words (50:13) Asking what was the reason (50:16) She didn’t want to (50:22) Say how I knew (50:27) And how I knew (50:31) I knew she would say (50:42) And I’m happy in the way I’m happy (50:57) This was before she first heard (51:18) Those kind and gentle words (51:22) Asking what was the reason (51:28) She didn’t want to (51:30) Say how I knew (51:34) And how I knew (52:03) I’m happy in the way I’m happy (52:15) This was before she first heard (52:24) Those kind and gentle words (52:57) Asking what was the reason (53:02) She didn’t want to (53:03) Say how I knew (53:07) I’m happy in the way I’m happy (53:10) This was before she first heard (53:33) Those kind and gentle words (53:54) Asking what was the reason (54:05) She didn’t want to (54:07) Say how I knew (54:07) I’m happy in the way I’m happy (54:12) This was before she first heard (54:35) Those kind and gentle words (54:39) As well as the link to the YouTube recording (54:43) That Dr. Tackett played for us.

(54:46) But with that, I think that’s it. (54:49) Dr. Tackett, would you close our time in prayer (54:51) And then we can hit the top of the hour (54:54) As we commit to be done by then. (54:58) So thank you everyone for being here.

(55:02) Father, thank you again for the testimony (55:05) That you gave to us. (55:06) Thank you for the word that you have preserved for us (55:09) Through these many, many years. (55:12) People have attempted to destroy it.

(55:15) Father, your testimony has been preserved (55:18) And left for us to understand the reality (55:22) That the sacrifice you made on the cross (55:26) And the propitiation for our sins (55:29) And all of that confirmed (55:31) And somehow laid all together for us (55:36) In the empty tomb and your resurrected body (55:39) That we have that full assurance (55:41) That you were everything you said you were (55:43) And all of the promises that you have made (55:46) And all of the word of God is true. (55:49) We pray, Father, for each of these people (55:51) Who are here tonight (55:52) That you would encourage them (55:55) As we have looked at your word (55:57) Encourage them as your spirit guides them into truth (56:01) All for your glory, in Jesus' name, amen. (56:04) Amen.

(56:05) All right, thank you, Dr. Tucker. (56:07) Thank you everyone for being with us tonight. (56:09) If you have any questions, (56:10) Feel free to respond to the email that you’ll get (56:13) Following up here tomorrow morning.

(56:16) But again, thank you for being with us (56:19) And look forward to seeing you again (56:21) Next month, if not before that. (56:23) Blessings to you. (56:25)