What Evidence is there for the Empty Tomb of Jesus?

http://www.reasonablefaith.org - Dr. William Lane Craig briefly gives evidence for the empty tomb of Jesus. 

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Resurrection Myth #5: It's a Matter of Faith - Mike Licona

Is believing in the Resurrection of Jesus just a matter of blind faith? Mike Licona answers. Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...

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Resurrection Myth #4: Hallucinations - Mike Licona, PhD

Did Jesus' disciples hallucinate when they saw Jesus' post-mortem appearance? Mike Licona answers. Playlist:http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...

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Mike Licona's lectures on the resurrection of Jesus:
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Buy Mike Licona's important book the Resurrection of Jesus:
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Resurrection Myth #3: The Fraud Theory - Mike Licona, PhD

Did Jesus's disciples steal Jesus' body and lie about His appearances? Mike Licona answers this question. Playlist:http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...

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Mike Licona's lectures on the resurrection of Jesus:
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Order Mike Licona's DVDs here:
http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/case...

Buy Mike Licona's important book the Resurrection of Jesus:
http://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Je...

Resurrection Myth #2: Pagan Parallels in the Mystery Religions - Mike Licona, PhD

Is the resurrection of Jesus a pagan parallel to mystery religions? Mike Licona answers this question. Playlist:http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...

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Mike Licona's lectures on the resurrection of Jesus:
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Order Mike Licona's DVDs here:
http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/case...

Buy Mike Licona's important book the Resurrection of Jesus:
http://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Je...

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Resurrection Myth #1: Contradictions in the Gospels - Mike Licona, PhD

Don't contradictions in the Bible refute the fact that Jesus resurrected from the dead? Historian Mike Licona answers this important question. Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...

Links:

Mike Licona's lectures on the resurrection of Jesus:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...

Order Mike Licona's DVDs here:
http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/case...

Buy Mike Licona's important book the Resurrection of Jesus:
http://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Je...

What If There Is No Resurrection? Part 2 (1 Corinthians 15:12-20) John MacArthur

John MacArthur: Now I know tonight we're going to be looking at 1 Corinthians 15 as we continue through this great resurrection chapter. But to begin with, I want you to turn in your Bible to the seventeenth chapter of Acts...the seventeenth chapter of Acts because I think it gives us a good setting for what we're going to see in Paul's letter to the Corinthians.

In the seventeenth chapter of Acts, the Apostle Paul comes to the religious focal point of the ancient world of his day. He comes to Athens. And it is in Athens that there are many philosophers and many religions, and many gods. In fact, in verse 16 of Acts 17 it says that, "He observed the city of Athens and that it was full of idols." There were in Athens, along with all the idols, there were the priests and priestesses that were associated with those idols and their various religions. And on top of that, there were all kinds of philosophers, as verse 18 indicates. There were Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well as many others.

Now Paul walks into this milieu of religions and what he says to them is very, very important. Verse 18, "And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, 'What would this idol babbler which to say?' Others, 'He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities.' Why? 'Because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.' And they took him and brought him into the Areopagus saying, 'May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?'" What he was proclaiming was resurrection. For them with all their myriad religions and philosophies, this was new teaching. In fact, they go on to say, "You're bringing some strange things to our ears, so we want to know what these things mean."

Down in verse 22, "Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, 'Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects." Then in verse 23 he refers to the fact that they even have an altar identified as the altar TO THE UNKNOWN GOD, just in case in all of them they missed one. "He introduces them to the true and living God, the God who made the world and all things in it, the One who is the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is He served by human hands as though He needed anything since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him though He is not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and exist as even some of your own poets have said, for we also are His children. Being then the children of God, says Paul, we ought not to think of the divine nature, like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man, therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to all men to all people everywhere that they should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."...

What If There Is No Resurrection? Part 1 (1 Corinthians 15:12-20) John MacArthur

John MacArthur: Now I know tonight we're going to be looking at 1 Corinthians 15 as we continue through this great resurrection chapter. But to begin with, I want you to turn in your Bible to the seventeenth chapter of Acts...the seventeenth chapter of Acts because I think it gives us a good setting for what we're going to see in Paul's letter to the Corinthians.

In the seventeenth chapter of Acts, the Apostle Paul comes to the religious focal point of the ancient world of his day. He comes to Athens. And it is in Athens that there are many philosophers and many religions, and many gods. In fact, in verse 16 of Acts 17 it says that, "He observed the city of Athens and that it was full of idols." There were in Athens, along with all the idols, there were the priests and priestesses that were associated with those idols and their various religions. And on top of that, there were all kinds of philosophers, as verse 18 indicates. There were Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well as many others.

Now Paul walks into this milieu of religions and what he says to them is very, very important. Verse 18, "And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, 'What would this idol babbler which to say?' Others, 'He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities.' Why? 'Because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.' And they took him and brought him into the Areopagus saying, 'May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?'" What he was proclaiming was resurrection. For them with all their myriad religions and philosophies, this was new teaching. In fact, they go on to say, "You're bringing some strange things to our ears, so we want to know what these things mean."...

Resurrection Appearances of Jesus

Andreas Kostenberger posts a helpful chart showing the 11 recorded post-resurrection appearances of Jesus in the NT. He notes:
"As the angels told the women at the empty tomb, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee?” (Luke 24:5–6). The four New Testament Gospels record at least eleven resurrection appearances to Jesus to hundreds of individuals over a period of several weeks. None of the Gospels have all the appearances, which requires that we reconstruct the probable sequence of these appearances. The following chart will appear in my forthcoming New Testament Introduction due out with B & H sometime in the not too distant future. Click here if you want to see the chart".
(Ref. JT)

Must One Believe in the Resurrection to be a Christian?

Albert Mohler @ www.ablbertmohler.com deals with the central issue of the Christian faith. He notes:

As I said in my On Faith column [see full text here]:

The literal, historical, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the vindication of Christ's saving work on the cross. The issue is simple -- no resurrection, no Christianity. For this reason, belief in the resurrection of Christ is essential in order to be a Christian.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the central miracle of the Christian faith. As the New Testament reveals, the resurrection represents the Father's complete satisfaction in the obedience of the Son -- even unto death. Sin and death do not have the final word. Indeed, they are defeated through the saving work of Christ. . . .

As Paul well understood, Christianity stands or falls with the empty grave. If Christ is not raised, we are to be pitied, for our faith is in vain. Those who would preach a resurrectionless Christianity have substituted the truth of the gospel for a lie. But, asserted Paul, Christ is risen from the dead. Our faith is not in vain, but is in the risen Lord. He willingly faced death on a cross and defeated death from the grave. The Resurrection is the ultimate sign of God's vindication of His Son.

The great good news of the resurrection is this -- those who come to Christ by faith will share in His victory over sin and death. Belief in the resurrection of Christ is clearly essential in order for one to be a Christian. The Christian church has understood this from the beginning, and the Apostle Paul left no room for doubt when he declared that those who are saved are those who confess with their lips that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead [Romans 10:9].

Let These Results of the Resurrection of Jesus Revive Your Passion for His Supremacy Over All Things

John Piper @ www.desiring god deals with the implications of the resurrection of Christ:

Because of the resurrection of Jesus, death will never have any dominion over him again.

Romans 6:9: “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.”

Acts 13:34: “He raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption.”

Because of the resurrection, Jesus intercedes for us in heaven before God.

Romans 8:34: “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

Jesus’ resurrection was the beginning and guarantee of our resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:20: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

2 Corinthians 4:14: “He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.”

2 Corinthians 4:14: “He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.”

We were raised with Jesus so that our true life is hidden now in him.

Ephesians 2:6: “[God] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Colossians 3:1-4: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. . . . Your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we are born again to a living hope.

1 Peter 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we now enjoy his personal fellowship with us always.

Matthew 28:20: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Because of the resurrection of Jesus, he has a name above every name and every knee will bow to him.

Philippians 2:9-10: “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”

The resurrection of Jesus means that Jesus kept his word.

Matthew 17:22: “Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.’”

The resurrection of Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures and the promises of God.

1 Corinthians 15:4: “He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

Acts 13:32-33: “We bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus.”

Because Jesus was raised, he has received the promise of the Spirit and poured out the Spirit on us.

Acts 2:33: “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.”

Because Jesus is raised, he can still heal the way he did on earth.

Acts 4:10: “Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.”

Because of the resurrection, he gives repentance and forgiveness of sins.

Acts 5:31: “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

Because Jesus was raised, he is now appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.

Acts 10:42: “He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.”

Acts 17:31: “He has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

God secured our justification by raising Jesus from the dead.

Romans 4:25: “He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

The risen Christ takes the place for us that the law once had so that we can bear fruit for God.

Romans 7:4: “Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.”

Because of Jesus’ resurrection, he now has the glory for which we were made. Our ultimate destiny is to see him as he is.

1 Peter 1:21: “God . . . raised him from the dead and gave him glory.”

John 17:5, 24: “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. . . . Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

His closing plea:
"May the risen Lord Jesus himself arouse your sincere mind to new depths of worship and allegiance and joy".

Eight Reasons Why I Believe That Jesus Rose from the Dead

In this season leading up to the celebration of Christ rising from the dead, John Piper @ www.desiringgod.org lists Eight Reasons Why He Believes That Jesus Rose from the Dead

1. Jesus himself testified to his coming resurrection from the dead.

Jesus spoke openly about what would happen to him: crucifixion and then resurrection from the dead. "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31; see also Matthew 17:22; Luke 9:22). Those who consider the resurrection of Christ unbelievable will probably say that Jesus was deluded or (more likely) that the early church put these statements in his mouth to make him teach the falsehood that they themselves conceived. But those who read the Gospels and come to the considered conviction that the one who speaks so compellingly through these witnesses is not the figment of foolish imagination will be unsatisfied with this effort to explain away Jesus' own testimony to his resurrection from the dead.

This is especially true in view of the fact that the words which predict the resurrection are not only the simple straightforward words quoted above, but also the very oblique and indirect words which are far less likely to be the simple invention of deluded disciples. For example, two separate witnesses testify in two very different ways to Jesus' statement during his lifetime that if his enemies destroyed the temple (of his body), he would build it again in three days (John 2:19; Mark 14:58; cf. Matthew 26:61). He also spoke illusively of the "sign of Jonah" -- three days in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:39; 16:4). And he hinted at it again in Matthew 21:42 -- "The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner." On top of his own witness to the coming resurrection, his accusers said that this was part of Jesus' claim: "Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise'" (Matthew 27:63).

Our first evidence of the resurrection, therefore, is that Jesus himself spoke of it. The breadth and nature of the sayings make it unlikely that a deluded church made these up. And the character of Jesus himself, revealed in these witnesses, has not been judged by most people to be a lunatic or a deceiver.

2. The tomb was empty on Easter.

The earliest documents claim this: "When they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus" (Luke 24:3). And the enemies of Jesus confirmed it by claiming that the disciples had stolen the body (Matthew 28:13). The dead body of Jesus could not be found. There are four possible ways to account for this.

2.1 His foes stole the body. If they did (and they never claimed to have done so), they surely would have produced the body to stop the successful spread of the Christian faith in the very city where the crucifixion occurred. But they could not produce it.

2.2 His friends stole the body. This was an early rumor (Matthew 28:11-15). Is it probable? Could they have overcome the guards at the tomb? More important, would they have begun to preach with such authority that Jesus was raised, knowing that he was not? Would they have risked their lives and accepted beatings for something they knew was a fraud?

2.3 Jesus was not dead, but only unconscious when they laid him in the tomb. He awoke, removed the stone, overcame the soldiers, and vanished from history after a few meetings with his disciples in which he convinced them he was risen from the dead. Even the foes of Jesus did not try this line. He was obviously dead. The Romans saw to that. The stone could not be moved by one man from within who had just been stabbed in the side by a spear and spent six hours nailed to a cross.

2.4 God raised Jesus from the dead. This is what he said would happen. It is what the disciples said did happen. But as long as there is a remote possibility of explaining the resurrection naturalistically, modern people say we should not jump to a supernatural explanation. Is this reasonable? I don't think so. Of course, we don't want to be gullible. But neither do we want to reject the truth just because it's strange. We need to be aware that our commitments at this point are much affected by our preferences -- either for the state of affairs that would arise from the truth of the resurrection, or for the state of affairs that would arise from the falsehood of the resurrection. If the message of Jesus has opened you to the reality of God and the need of forgiveness, for example, then anti-supernatural dogma might lose its power over your mind. Could it be that this openness is not prejudice for the resurrection, but freedom from prejudice against it?

3. The disciples were almost immediately transformed from men who were hopeless and fearful after the crucifixion (Luke 24:21, John 20:19) into men who were confident and bold witnesses of the resurrection (Acts 2:24, 3:15, 4:2).

Their explanation of this change was that they had seen the risen Christ and had been authorized to be his witnesses (Acts 2:32). The most popular competing explanation is that their confidence was owing to hallucinations. There are numerous problems with such a notion. The disciples were not gullible, but level-headed skeptics both before and after the resurrection (Mark 9:32, Luke 24:11, John 20:8-9, 25). Moreover, is the deep and noble teaching of those who witnessed the risen Christ the stuff of which hallucinations are made? What about Paul's great letter to the Romans? I personally find it hard to think of this giant intellect and deeply transparent soul as deluded or deceptive, and he claimed to have seen the risen Christ.

4. Paul claimed that, not only had he seen the risen Christ, but that 500 others had seen him also, and many were still alive when he made this public claim.

"Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:6). What makes this so relevant is that this was written to Greeks who were skeptical of such claims when many of these witnesses were still alive. So it was a risky claim if it could be disproved by a little firsthand research.

5. The sheer existence of a thriving, empire-conquering early Christian church supports the truth of the resurrection claim.

The church spread on the power of the testimony that Jesus was raised from the dead and that God had thus made him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). The Lordship of Christ over all nations is based on his victory over death. This is the message that spread all over the world. Its power to cross cultures and create one new people of God was a strong testimony of its truth.

6. The Apostle Paul's conversion supports the truth of the resurrection.

He argues to a partially unsympathetic audience in Galatians 1:11-17 that his gospel comes from the risen Jesus Christ, not from men. His argument is that before his Damascus Road experience when he saw the risen Jesus, he was violently opposed to the Christian faith (Acts 9:1). But now, to everyone's astonishment, he is risking his life for the gospel (Acts 9:24-25). His explanation: The risen Jesus appeared to him and authorized him to spearhead the Gentile mission (Acts 26:15-18). Can we credit such a testimony? This leads to the next argument.

7. The New Testament witnesses do not bear the stamp of dupes or deceivers.

How do you credit a witness? How do you decide whether to believe a person's testimony? The decision to give credence to a person's testimony is not the same as completing a mathematical equation. The certainty is of a different kind, yet can be just as firm (I trust my wife's testimony that she is faithful). When a witness is dead, we can base our judgment of him only on the content of his writings and the testimonies of others about him. How do Peter and John and Matthew and Paul stack up?

In my judgment (and at this point we can live authentically only by our own judgment--Luke 12:57), these men's writings do not read like the works of gullible, easily deceived or deceiving men. Their insights into human nature are profound. Their personal commitment is sober and carefully stated. Their teachings are coherent and do not look like the invention of unstable men. The moral and spiritual standard is high. And the lives of these men are totally devoted to the truth and to the honor of God.

8. There is a self-authenticating glory in the gospel of Christ's death and resurrection as narrated by the biblical witnesses.

The New Testament teaches that God sent the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus said, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.... He will glorify me" (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit does not do this by telling us that Jesus rose from the dead. He does it by opening our eyes to see the self-authenticating glory of Christ in the narrative of his life and death and resurrection. He enables us to see Jesus as he really was, so that he is irresistibly true and beautiful. The apostle stated the problem of our blindness and the solution like this: "The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.... For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4, 6).

The Resurrection of Christ: A Historical Fact

by: B.B. Warfield
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