Jesus' Resurrection - More Proofs; Key Doctrines Series

 So, we just finished talking about Jesus’ death. There are a few ways we know He died. First, most prisoners didn’t survive the scourging before they were crucified. They’d use a cat o’nine tails to hit the person 39 times. 39x9 is a lot. A spear was thrust into his side even after he was nailed to the cross. And, the Romans didn’t break His legs like they always did to keep prisoners from having to suffer so long on the cross. They knew Jesus was dead. His disciples knew it, too. That’s why they were so stunned at His resurrection that they didn’t believe it right away, till they saw Him personally.

But, what about His resurrection? There are a few false theories. One is used by Jesus’ enemies in the Gospels, in fact.

The Romans made sure nothing could happen to the body. They had it guarded by well over a dozen trained soldiers, who would be no match for a few Galileeans. And, we see clear evidene that Jesus rose from the dead in something beside His own appearing.

His disciples all faced awful persecution and death from preaching Jesus Christ and His salvation for sins and resurrection from the dead. Peter was crucified upside-down for instance. Not only that, but Thomas didn’t even believe it till He saw the risen Christ and thrust his hands into Jesus’ wounds. And, he died a martyr like all the others. They suffered horribly because they knew they had seen Jesus alive again! Not only that, but had Jesus not risen, all the authorities had to do was uncover the body, and they never did.

Jesus rose bodily from the dead, too. He showed this in how He ate, how He let Thomas put his hands into his wounds to feel them, etc.. He was not just a spirit. He was alive in the flesh and raised up to Heaven like that, with His glorified body.

Those who trust Jesus as Saviour – and those too young to understand the need to be saved – get glorified bodies, too. People like me won’t have any handicaps. Older people will have bodies in their prime.

Remember that Lazarus was dead 4 days – one more than Jesus – when Jesus raised him from the dead. I remember one of my cousins blurting out that Lazarus didn’t have a smell – and he was right, though I hadn’t thought about it before. Jesus would surely take away any smell or any sign of decay. He loves to make all things new.