J.A. Matteson
[The following excerpt is from the evangelism booklet by J.A. Matteson entitled, Happy Easter!]
This following is GOOD NEWS to you. Consider its content seriously as it may alter the course of your eternity.
Every January 1 a new year begins. Have you ever thought about the significance of the number ascribed to the new year? The number of each year is also followed by the two letters A.D., even though we typically do not write them when filling out a check. Did you know that the number of the year and the two letters correspond to a specific person in history? Who could be so influential and important as to have the world’s calendar correspond to their life? The name of that person is Jesus Christ. The New Testament was written
in Greek where the Old Testament Hebrew word Messiah (Savior) is translated Christ. Jesus is a proper name and means the Lord Saves. So Jesus Christ is both a proper name and a title.
The number of each year (example; 2010) corresponds to the number of years that have passed since the birth of Jesus Christ. The two letters A.D. which follow the number are a Latin abbreviation for Anno domino which means the year of our Lord. The familiar corresponding B.C. means before Christ. Therefore, all human history is categorized by the life of Jesus Christ, either before his birth (B.C.) or since His birth (A.D.).
What makes the life of Jesus Christ so extraordinary that the world would measure time by him? To begin with he made astonishing claims about himself. Can we know if they are true or false? Yes! Let’s briefly consider just a few of his amazing claims about himself.
• He claimed to be the Son of God making himself equal to God.
• He claimed to be the only way to God and Savior to all who come to him in faith.
• He claimed that he will return to earth for a final judgment.
• He claimed that he would be raised from the dead after three days if killed by his adversaries.
Our purpose here is merely to consider one of his claims: that after three days he would be raised from the dead. Did Jesus come back to life from the dead? Yes. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the Father’s validation that his sacrifice on behalf of sinners was accepted and it also verifies everything else that Jesus said as being trustworthy. Therefore, the teachings of Christ regarding eternal life must be taken very seriously.
The Bible describes Jesus Christ as both fully human and fully God (divine). Through the centuries some have tried to explain the historical person of Jesus Christ by denying his divinity while holding to his humanity. The typical responses to the life and claims of Jesus Christ have sounded something like this: “Jesus Christ was a great man; Jesus Christ was a wonderful moral model; Jesus Christ was an enlightened religious teacher; Jesus Christ was an esteemed prophet.” His claims are either true or false. If his claims are false then he either knew they were false, making him unspeakably evil, or he sincerely believed what he said, but was self-deceived, a deluded mad man. There is a third alternative: he is in fact who he claimed to be, the Son of God and Savior to all who call on him in faith.
Jesus Christ was executed by crucifixion at the hands of Roman authorities in Jerusalem, Israel, over 2,000 years ago. Did you know this is an historical fact and not the dogma of a religious group? Do you remember as a kid being taught that Columbus “sailed the ocean blue in 1492” in search of the New World? How do you know that Columbus was a real person or that he actually discovered America? Were you there to witness it? We know that this historic voyage took place through reliable historical witnesses who documented the event for future generations. In the same way that we are confident about the adventures of Christopher Columbus we can have equal confidence in the historical event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, for the event is found in many trusted ancient sources of literature. It is not only found in the Bible, but also by respected historians living at the time, such as the Jewish historian Josephus who, by the way, was not a follower of Jesus Christ.
Ancient Roman crucifixion remains the cruelest form of execution ever devised by man. It was preceded by beating (flogging) the condemned severely, often within an inch of their lives. The victim would be tied to a post in a public square and whipped repeatedly with long leather strands that had shards of sharp metal or bone attached at the tips. Skilled executioners prided themselves in cleaving away chunks of flesh with each blow of the whip. As a result of his flogging Christ had lost large amounts of blood. In this weakened state he was directed to carry the horizontal beam of the cross, weighing about 125 pounds, upon his shoulders over a distance of about a half mile. However, his flogging was so severe that he was physically unable to carry the cross the entire distance. So the Roman soldiers consigned an onlooker in the crowd to carry it for him.
Upon arrival at a place called Calvary—the place of his crucifixion outside the walls of Jerusalem—Jesus was laid on his back upon the cross lying on the ground. Iron spikes (about 5-7 inches long) were then driven though his out-stretched wrists and crossed feet. Next ropes were tied around the cross beam near the elbow to keep his flesh from tearing away from the cross by the weight of his body once the cross was raised into a vertical position. His nailed feet were placed upon a small block of wood to allow him to raise his body up to breath easier. The purpose of this was not merciful by his executioners, but rather to extend the time of suffering. Victims of crucifixion ultimately died from suffocation.
Jesus was dead when Roman soldiers lowered his body from the cross. His body was placed in a newly hewn stone cave or tomb. Roman authorities feared that his followers might attempt to steal his body in an effort to make it appear that he was raised from the dead after three days. Therefore, they made the tomb secure by placing Roman soldiers at its entrance around the clock. It was the custom in those days that soldiers who allowed a prisoner to escape would face the same fate as the condemned. So by the real threat of death to themselves the soldiers were well trained—and motivated—to guard the tomb with their lives to ensure the tomb was not disturbed.
It is interesting to note that historical documents—both the Bible and sources outside the Bible—in detail report that after three days the body of Jesus Christ literally disappeared from the tomb while it was guarded and sealed. The only evidence of his body having been in the tomb were his burial clothes, collapsed as if deflated in the very place were he was placed. The clothes left behind were arranged in such a way as to indicate that his body was raised through them, and once his body was raised the clothes simply collapsed upon the rock in the outline of the body which was now gone.
Early on the morning of the third day—the day of his resurrection—some woman followers of Christ came to the tomb to anoint his body with spices, a common middle-eastern burial practice at that time in history. When they arrived at the tomb they discovered to their astonishment that the large stone concealing the entrance had been rolled away, and the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb were passed out on the ground from fear. What the soldiers witnessed terrified them. Just as he had predicted Jesus Christ had indeed risen from the grave. Over the next 40 days he appeared to many people. In fact on one occasion he appeared to five hundred at the same time. And then after 40 days he was physically taken up from the site of his followers through the clouds to heaven, leaving those watching struck with utter amazement.
Over the centuries many have tried to explain away the resurrection. Some have claimed that Jesus did not really die on the cross, but swooned (passed out) from fatigue, only appearing as dead. This cannot be possible as Roman soldiers were well trained to know the difference between a person passed out from exhaustion and one who was dead. Further, even if he was merely passed out it would have been physically impossible for him in his weakened condition to remove the stone from the entrance to the tomb. And even if he had been able to pull that off then he would have had the guards to contend with.
Still others have confessed to the reality of his death but claim that his followers stole his body to give the appearance that he was resurrected from the dead. This is not plausible either because Roman soldiers were executed when prisoners escaped. They were not sleeping on the job! And they would not have taken a bribe to only be executed later and not be able to enjoy the fruit of their deception. Also, Roman authorities had a vested interest in the dead body of Jesus Christ, for after three days they would have presented it with prideful glee for all to see, discrediting his claims to the resurrection and once for all ending speculation. But history records that his body vanished from the tomb while sealed and guarded. The truth is that the tomb was miraculously opened by angelic messengers on the third day, not to let Jesus out, but to let those on the outside in to witness the disappearance of his body.
Another interesting aspect of the fact of the resurrection was the transformation of Jesus’ followers. Prior to the resurrection they behaved cowardly. In fact on the evening when guards came to arrest Jesus they scattered in fear, disavowing any relationship to him. But something radically changed their behavior after the resurrection. So convinced where they of the resurrection of Jesus—having seen and talked with him afterwards—that they were willing to die as witnesses to this amazing fact. Indeed many did die at the hands of their oppressors rather than deny the reality of what they had seen and heard.
Over the centuries stories have circulated that Jesus Christ was not resurrected and that his followers were merely propagating a lie in the hopes of respecting his memory. But that argument is irrational, for who would knowingly die for a lie? And even if it were conceivable that perhaps one mentally disturbed person might do so, it remains inconceivable that hundreds and thousands would do so. The only logical explanation for the fearless transformation of his followers is that what they testified to did in fact happen: Jesus was physically raised from the dead.
Dr. Simon Greenleaf, Royal Professor of Law at Harvard University, was an astute legal mind (1783-1853). Dr. Greenleaf was a prolific writer and one of his famous volumes was entitled, “A Treatise on the Law of Evidence.” To this day many legal minds consider it a masterpiece and one of the greatest legal volumes ever produced. Dr. Greenleaf believed that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was an elaborate hoax and he was determined to prove it once and for all. However, after he began to examine the evidence for the resurrection he came to the exact opposite conclusion! In his book entitled, “An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice” he wrote: “…it is impossible that the apostles could have persisted in affirming the truths they had narrated, had not Jesus Christ actually risen from the dead….” (p. 29). Dr. Greenleaf came to an unexpected legal conclusion based upon the undeniable evidence: that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is perhaps the most thoroughly supported historical event in all of human history. Even C.S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia series, set out to prove the resurrection as false only to become convinced of its historicity after carefully examining the evidence.
In light of this historical event we must ask the question: so what? The answer to that simple question is that the Bible and other historical documents reveal Jesus Christ to be the Son of God and that he became a man and lived among us on earth. Why? The Bible also discloses that God became a man so that he might die for the sins of his people, in order that they might be forgiven of their sin and possess eternal life.
This is the genuine significance and joy of Easter: that Jesus Christ has been resurrected from the dead! And that reality offers great hope to all who place their trust in him. Jesus Christ promises that until he returns all who die trusting in him will enjoy eternal life in heaven, and upon his return they will also experience a bodily resurrection like his with a perfect body built for eternity, one that will never experience sickness or death again. The remainder of this booklet explains why Jesus Christ had to die and how individuals may gain eternal life through his sacrifice of love. Happy Easter!
Copyright (c) 2011 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever." Isa. 40:8).