DID JESUS RISE FROM THE DEAD?

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundational event of the Christian faith.  1 Corinthians 15:14 says, “if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” and verse 17 tells us, “if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!”  The paramount question of all eternity is this, did Jesus rise from the dead?  The great historian Luke reports that Jesus “presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3).  I will present these infallible proofs in three categories that can only be rightly answered by affirming the historical resurrection of Jesus.  First, the origin of the Christian faith.  Second, the many physical appearances of Jesus after His death.  Third, the empty tomb of Jesus after His burial.

The Origin of the Christian Faith

There is no other plausible answer for the transformation that took place in the lives of the disciples of Jesus than to accept their testimony that Jesus rose from the dead.  How else could a group of men who were cowardly absent during the crucifixion of Jesus become such courageous proclaimers of the Christian faith just a few days after their abandonment?  A great change had occurred in their lives that could only be attributed to one event, namely Christ’s resurrection.  They were no longer hiding nor denying their association with Jesus, but after they witnessed Jesus alive they began praying fervently and preaching passionately that Jesus was risen from the dead.  These men had nothing to gain by preaching this message, unless you count suffering and death as gain.  Their sincerity was verified by their deaths, in that every one of the apostles died a martyr’s death (with the possible exception of John).  Would you die for a lie?  

Extraordinarily Ordinary Men - One must also remember that this group of disciples were common men.  They consisted primarily of fishermen, but were all just average men.  They were not particularly crafty nor were they especially prominent in any way.  Their message of Jesus rising from the dead was also completely opposite of the expectations in the Jewish mind of their day.  While many of the Jews did expect a general resurrection at the end of time, no one expected a singular person to rise from the dead, especially not Jesus, who was the antithesis of the expectations they had for their Messiah.  So how did such a small group of common everyday fellows gain such a large following of people with a message that was inconsistent with Jewish expectations?  The only acceptable answer is that Jesus really had risen from the dead.

A Self-Refuting Response - The Jewish opposition did have two responses that attempted to conceal the truth of Christ’s resurrection.  The first was silence through persecution.  Just as they had persecuted Jesus so did they persecute His followers.  The second attempt is found in Matthew 28:11-15.  The chief priests bribed the soldiers who kept guard of Jesus’ tomb and said, “tell them, His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.”  The responsive question should be obvious to all.  If you were asleep, how do you know that it was the disciples who stole His body?  

The apostles of Jesus went out preaching that Christ had been risen from the dead.  No matter how much it cost them they were willing to testify to this truth with their blood.  They wrote down historical accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus at a time and place of such close proximity that it would be almost impossible to fabricate a lie.  The origin of the Christian faith would have been easily dismantled if these accounts were false because those living nearby would have come forward and disputed the apostle’s claims.  But they didn’t.  

The only proper explanation for what caused these 12 men from an obscure corner of the Roman world to transform the world from that moment to today, is the actual resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Physical Appearances

After Jesus was crucified, they took His body down from the cross and wrapped it in linen graveclothes.  He was then placed in a tomb which was borrowed from Joseph of Arimathea.  The tomb was securely guarded by Roman soldiers, sealed with a large stone, and wrapped with the authoritative seal of the Roman government.  In spite of the highest measures of security, on the third day from His burial the stone was rolled away, the clothes were left in the tomb, and Jesus was risen from the dead.

Multiple Appearances - Jesus then began appearing to various people during the 40 days between His resurrection and ascension.  He appeared to Mary Magdalene and then again to the women as they were returning from His tomb (Mark 16:9; Matthew 28:9,10).  He physically met with two disciples who were walking on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-33).  Christ revealed His resurrected body to the apostles while Thomas was absent and again while Thomas was present, even inviting Thomas to place his finger in the scars from His crucifixion (John 20).  Jesus met with Peter and also with a group of seven at the Lake of Tiberias (John 21).  He miraculously appeared to a group of over 500 (1 Corinthians 15:6).  Morevover, He met with James (1 Corinthians 15:7) and then began meeting with the apostles for a summation of His instructions (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:33-52; Acts 1:3-12).

Even after the heavenly ascension of Christ other resurrected appearances are well documented.  He met with Paul on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:3-6) and He appeared alive to Stephen in Acts 7:55.  The apostle John witnessed the unveiling of Christ in glory while he was in exile on the isle of Patmos (Revelation 1:10-19).

Reliable Reports - Some may object at this point by saying that I am using the Bible to prove the historicity of the physical appearances of Jesus.  It is true that I am referencing parts of the Bible as historically accurate presentations, and although I know of no sufficient reason to reject any of the rest of the Bible as historically accurate, here I am simply offering to you portions of the Bible.  Please consider the historical reliability of these texts as sufficient to at least establish that Jesus did indeed physically appear to many people.

Independently Agreeing Testimonies - The Resurrection became (and has become) such a widely held belief that it demands an explanation.  There are multiple, independent testimonies from ancient literature, which have never been proven false, declaring that Jesus physically appeared to multiplied hundreds of witnesses after His death (as cited above).  Their testimonies are dependable corroborative evidence but they are not collaborative.  The independent testimonies of these multitudinous witnesses complements each other but they did not work together to create such reports.  Any historian seeking to discover an event would be thrilled to discover such evidence!

Transformed Lives - Consider the exchanged lives of the early followers of Christ.  Paul had been very successful in Jewish life.  He was a leader among his people and had great authority, even having studied under the great Gamaliel.  Why would he exchange such a life of prominence for a life of suffering and persecution?  James was the half-brother of Jesus.  He did not believe Jesus to be the Messiah before the resurrection (Mark 3:21; 31-35; John 7:1-10).  However, we see that James became one of the pillars of the early church as he served on the council of elders in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9; Acts 21:18).  The Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that James was later stoned to death illegally by the Sanhedrin for his faith in Christ around 60 A.D..  Why would these men and hundreds of others exchange lives of prominence and comfort for lives of persecution and martyrdom?  The only sufficient explanatory reason to account for such consistent belief is that they must have really seen Jesus physically resurrected.

What other reasonable conclusion could there be?  An honest seeker of truth must confess the evidence is mounted in favor of affirming that Jesus physically appeared after His death and is therefore risen from the dead.  The late New Testament critical scholar of the University of Chicago, Norman Perrin, stated, “The more we study the tradition with regard to the appearances, the firmer the rock begins to appear upon which they are based.”  

The Empty Tomb

It would not have been plausible for the disciples of Jesus to believe in His resurrection if His body still laid in the tomb.  Moreover, no one would have believed their widespread testimony that Jesus was risen from the dead if the tomb had not been left empty.  The empty tomb of Jesus after His resurrection is recorded by no less than six independent sources of historical importance.  The gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all present the tomb in which Jesus was buried to be left empty.  The book of Acts contains multiplied attestations to the message that Jesus left His grave vacant.  1 Corinthians 15:3-7 records an early Christian creed which reveals early acceptance by many that the tomb in which Jesus was buried was empty.  

New and Widely Used Phrases - There were significant changes in practice and terminology among those in the first century that reveal clear belief in the empty tomb of Jesus.  A new phrase developed in first century lingo that found widespread acceptance among multiplied thousands of people.  It was the phrase, “on the third day”.  Christians began referring to events and eternal salvation according to the “third day”, with that day being recognized as the third day after Jesus’ crucifixion and the day that He rose from the dead.  Another significant adjustment occurred in the appointment of Sunday as the official day of Christian worship and celebration.  Their choosing of the first day of the week as the day for corporate gathering flowed from the cherished belief that Jesus left the tomb empty on that day.  

Agreement Regarding Burial - Liberal and conservative scholars both agree with the gospel writers that the body of Jesus was buried in a tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea.  Joseph was an affluent man who was also a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin.  The Sandhedrin was the group of men who appealed for the death of Jesus and strategized His arrest.  It is thoroughly unlikely that out of all the people that could have buried the body of Jesus, it would have been this Joseph.  However, that is exactly who the gospel writers claim buried Jesus.  Although it is inexplicable for a man who was part of the committee who condemned Jesus to be the very one compassionate enough to bury Jesus, this is exactly what the disciples reported.  This type of irony could not have been fabricated by the disciples for it would have made no sense to do so.  Why would the disciples report that a man who had been a part of the council that condemned Jesus be the one who mercifully buried him unless it was indeed the truth?  Also, there is no other story offered by ancient opponents to contradict this burial account, which also leads to the conclusion that Jesus left the tomb empty.  

Unlikely Witnesses - Women were not extended proper amounts of respect in the ancient world.  Women were not even allowed to serve as witnesses in matters of legal dispute.  Their testimony was not considered worthy to be reported.  However, this is who God chose to be the first witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus.  Although it would have been embarrassing in the ancient world, it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, and other women who first testified that they had seen Jesus alive and the grave empty.  This helps prove that Jesus rose from the dead because this report would not at all have been the kind of testimony the disciples would have chosen if they had been trying to convince people of something miraculous.  The embarrassment involved with having women as primary eyewitnesses in the ancient world for something as miraculous as the resurrection of Jesus would have caused the disciples to produce a different story, but they did not.  They did not create a different story because this was the truth, and although it may have been an embarrassment to some, women were the first to witness Jesus risen from the dead.

Conspiracy Without Denial - The opponents of Jesus did not offer a denial of the empty tomb.  Matthew 28:11-15 records the Jewish priests bribing the soldiers so they might tell others that the disciples of Jesus had come at night and stolen the body of Jesus while they were sleeping.  As previously mentioned, if they were asleep, how would they know it was the disciples who stole the body?  Moreover, notice that the priests did not deny the empty tomb, they only came up with an alternative explanation for why it was empty.  The historical fact still remains, the tomb of Jesus was empty because He had been indubitably risen from the dead.  

Conclusion - The only plausible explanation for the information available regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ is that He did in fact rise from the dead.  Other reports of historical figures from the ancient world do not contain 1/1000th of the information that is reported to us concerning the resurrection of Jesus.  When one considers the Origin of the Christian Faith, the Physical Appearances of Jesus after His death, and the Empty Tomb left after Jesus rose from the dead, there is only one reasonable conclusion - Jesus is risen!

Trusting God In Suffering

      

       Job is most likely the oldest book in the Bible.  It’s subject is one of the deepest questions of mankind.  “Where is God in my suffering?”  Job suffered as much as anyone ever has suffered, having seen all of his property taken away or destroyed and then “suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness” which killed all of his children.  Initially, Job responded with great faith, but there came a time in which he began to question God.  God finally responds to Job with divine declaration in the form of questions, like, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” (Job 38:4)  One could paraphrase the series of questions by saying God revealed to Job that man is small and has little understanding, but God is grand and His purposes can be trusted.  Job did get there.  And so can we.  Job finally says, “I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” (Job 42:3)

  God has His purposes, and we do not know them.  Job said, “I uttered...which I did not know”.  There are so many things that happen in the world which are beyond my understanding.  I hold hands and pray with the dying, of all ages.  I cry with people who hurt.  Funerals are a regular part of my life.  I cannot answer every question, but this I know, God is beyond us and His ways are not our ways.  This I also know, God’s ways are good, even when we do not understand them.

God has His purposes, and they are wonderful.  Job said, “things too wonderful for me.”  If we could ever just trust past ourselves.  If we would realize that no suffering will be wasted in the lives of those who trust God.  He is working all things together for good to those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).  One day soon all of those who truly love God will see how wonderful His purposes actually have been, and we will be filled with wonder.  Until then, may we trust God as sovereign Ruler over all that is, and may we do all we can to help one another.

Bungoma Kenya 2013

Dear Friends in Christ, 

God continues to bless us through the richness of His infinite grace.  The church family here in Stephenville, TX has been very gracious and supportive in their response to God’s Word.  We continue to see several people come to know Christ and I am glad to report that God has entrusted to us the great responsibility of discipling many others who have been searching for sound biblical teaching.  The demands of pastoral ministry have been great but God’s grace has continued to be sufficient for me.  I am preparing to return to eastern Africa in July of 2013 in order to preach the gospel in Bungoma, Kenya.  We will be working in the western portion of Kenya, near Mt. Elgon, to start 4-6 new churches in that area as well as training 20 pastors.  There will be 13 brothers and sisters working on this trip from 3 different churches in Texas. 

In July 2012 God used us greatly in the Mpigi region of Uganda to lead many to Christ and provide training for many pastors.  A partnering group just returned from Kenya, where they enjoyed immense blessing with many professions of faith and 7 new church starts.  The time spent in East Africa is a great investment in the growth of the kingdom of Christ.  God continues to use us in the work in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi through the national leaders who continue to grow in the faith by the power of the Holy Spirit.  

We know that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  May we continue to pray that God will send many workers into the harvest.  Please pray for the laborers and the harvest on this important trip.  If you would like to partner with us in any way please let me know.

Until He Comes, 

Pastor Richmond Goolsby

Harvey Baptist Church 

P.O. Box 981

Stephenville, TX 76401

rgoolsby@harveybaptist.org

254-965-4368

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses,  commit these things to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”    2 Timothy 2:2

Who We Value The Most

       In a world where humans are allowed freedom of choice, we all choose what we value the most.  I might choose steak for dinner because at the time I value it more than beans and rice.  I chose to marry my wife because I was so enraptured with her beauty and kindness that I wanted nothing more than for her to be my bride.  In a sense I chose to be a pastor, but only because the call of God upon my life to do so was more important than any other vocational desire.  We are motivated to decide according to what we consider most valuable.  What do you value the most?
The Bible invites us all to come and discover that Jesus Christ is to be valued the most and that there is abundant fulfillment for those who come to Him.  Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”  Psalm 36:8 promises those who trust the Lord that they will be “abundantly satisfied with fullness”.  Unfortunately, most people love their possessions, and ultimately themselves, more than they love Christ.  Therefore, people are caught in a perpetual self-entrapment that breeds only discontent and misery.  
Our greatest needs are met only when we first value Jesus more than ourselves.  Hope, joy, love, and peace are found only in the One from whom these benefits emanate.  Hope is possible because God owns tomorrow.  Joy is a reality because God is in control and can be trusted.  Love is real because He first loved us.  Peace is available because God removes enmity.  Moreover, we will only find these beautiful gifts when we value the One who owns them.  We will only experience what we need the most when we embrace that Jesus is worthy to be valued the most.  May our lives really matter, and may we know true satisfaction as we see “that in all things Christ may have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18)  May we value Him the most.

Divine Vindication Through the Resurrection

     Jesus of Nazareth was condemned to die by the religious leaders of His day.  The charge offered against Him was blasphemy, because He claimed to be the Messiah and the Son of God.  There was no evidence contrary to His claims, but the hatred that spewed out of the overly zealous self-righteous persecutors refused to see the truth.  Herod could find nothing wrong with Him.  Pilate could not find any fault in Him.  So the legal charge trumped up against Jesus was blasphemy, or speaking against God.  If His claims of deity were false then certainly He would have been blasphemous.  

     As He was suffering intense beatings, many assumed He was merely human.  While He was dying upon the cross, the crowd primarily agreed that He was a blasphemer.  After Jesus took His last breath and was buried in that borrowed tomb, it seemed as though He had been defeated.  However, something unprecedented occurred on the third day after His crucifixion.  Jesus was resurrected!  

     In the resurrection of Christ, one can see that His condemnation is divinely vindicated.  Romans 1:4 says that Jesus is “declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.”  Acts 13:33 is linked with Psalm 2:7 in heralding that God has raised up Jesus from the dead in order to proclaim that Christ is the divine Son of God.  Wolfhart Pannenberg wrote, “If this man was raised from the dead, then that plainly means that the God whom he had supposedly blasphemed has committed himself to him...The resurrection can only be understood as the divine vindication of the man whom the Jews had rejected as a blasphemer.”  

     In spite of the accusations offered against Jesus then, and the excuses for not following Jesus today, this fact remains:  Jesus is the living Lord.  He has been divinely vindicated by God the Father through the resurrection.  He demands our attention and He deserves our worship. 

A Ministry Worth Living

Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:14-16 with words of challenging encouragement.  He says, "Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.  Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.  Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine.  Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you."

These words of holy scripture cause me to consider whether I am faithful in a ministry worth living.  I don't just mean as a pastor, but as a follower of Christ, the question must be asked.  Am I fully giving my life in service to God and others in the way that fulfills the high calling of the name "Christian"?  Here are some introspective questions that I believe the Holy Spirit is challengingly encouraging me to ponder:

1.  Am I fully utilizing that which God has imparted to me?  The Bible says "do not neglect the gift that is in you".  The concern is not just that I do not abuse or misuse the gift, but that I do not neglect the gift.  Too many wasted moments and opportunities in my life confirm that I need God's help to empower me to fully utilize the gift entrusted to me.
2.  Am I thoughtfully stirring up the giftedness God has imparted to me?  Meditate, meditate, meditate.  Most often as a teacher I am thinking about the scripture and life's events regarding how I can communicate God's truths to others.  First, before all else, I must commune (with God) before I can rightly communicate (to others).  So many times we don't find the "right" words because we have not first meditated upon THE right WORD.
3.  Am I giving myself entirely to the expression of these gifts?  Vs. 15 says, "give yourself entirely to them".  Entirely?  Really?  Yes!  In every aspect of my life, it is to be a ministry worth living.  Pray without ceasing, make disciples as you are going.  Every moment is a sacred opportunity to commune with Christ and help others do the same.
4.  Is my progress in Christian growth and service evident to others?  No need to be showy, actually there is no room for show-offs in the kingdom of God, only humble servants.  However, my "progress should be evident to all."  There was obvious evidence when I first began to follow Christ, but over the years it sometimes feels that my personal growth is not so evident.  Dear Lord, please help me to continue in Your sanctifying grace, to be more like you each day, to abide in Your holy presence.  Please let it be that others will see You magnified through me.
5.  Is my salvation steadfastly persevering?  "Continue in them".  What a noble calling!  Too many people think only of their beginning and fail to properly work toward finishing well.  We must continue if we will endure to the end.  We must fight the good fight and finish the race.  Discouragement (especially with my own failures) threatens to sideline me, but continue I must, by the power of Christ in me!
6.  Are others being saved because they are seeing and hearing God's grace alive in me?  In a ministry worth living we find salvation.  The saving of ourselves and others through the faithful work of Christ.  The truth expressed in Christian doctrine and the grace imparted through God's gracious gifts provide safeguards to keep us in salvation.  To depart from either one is to enter into the imponderable mystery of apostasy.  However, you understand that word, let us at least agree that it must be avoided at all costs.  The question is, does my life lead me and others to Christ?

God, help me to live a ministry worth living.  To make each moment count for the good of others and for Your glory.  May my light so shine that others will see my good works, and will also come to glorify my Father in heaven.

How Not To Grow A Church

R.G. Lee spoke with clear prophetic utterance when he addressed this question, "How did Southern Baptists not grow?"  These words were spoken regarding the pinnacle of growth that had been experienced among Southern Baptist churches.  I believe it would serve us well to blow the dust off these ideas and reimplement them in our practices today.  Lee offered these 9 points in avoiding mediocrity in the churches.  We should not:

1.   Practice open church membership - this will devaluate our Baptist position.
2.  Disregard the Scriptural meaning of, and invitation to, the Lord's Supper - this will cheapen communion.
3.  Play down the importance of baptism - this will stifle our testimony.
4.  Emphasize ecumenicity - this will erase our distinctives.
5.  Be apologetic regarding the use of the name "Baptist" - this will weaken our prestige.
6.  Deny direct kinship with the New Testament Christians - this will cut the root of Biblical and doctrinal strength.
7.  Minimize the importance of training - this will close the churches on Sunday evenings.
8.  Take the side track of fanatical conservatism or radical liberalism - this will produce a series of splinter groups.
9.  Solicit financial support from non-Baptists - this will make beggars of the churches.

As I read this list, I realize that most of our churches have erred on most of these points.  My desire is not to beat up on the churches that Jesus loves, but to call us to reform.  That we might once again return to the faith that was once delivered unto us.  Each of these points are rooted either in biblical imperatives or in profound historical significance.  Hopefully, we have not become so ignorant of both that we cannot even see our departure from these truths.

I would like to invert these 9 points and offer them as good counsel to anyone planting or seeking reform in a church.

1.  Practice biblical church membership - regenerate people seeking to follow Christ in a covenant with God and one another for the sake of mutual responsibility and the propagation of the gospel.
2.  Fence the Table - Communion is to be holy, for baptized believers only, and should symbolize sacrifice not convenience.  "For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself." 1 Cor. 11:29
3.  Elevate the importance of Baptism - this is your profession of faith in Christ and inauguration into membership of a church, by ignoring it you are living without the most foundational commitment of Christianity.
4.  Get together in God's Word - all disciples of Jesus should be united by His atoning work, which is perfectly revealed in the Bible.  If someone will not unite on the Scriptures, they have moved away, not us.
5.  Don't apologize for being "Baptist" - negative connotations abound, but so do they with the name "Christian" and so did they in the 1st century.  The historic prestige of the free-church movement and the freedom we now enjoy owes gratitude to the Baptist forefathers that were killed because they believed we should be free.  Explain it, don't erase it.
6.  Be Biblical - there should never be a time when being Baptist means anything other than being Biblical.  Enough said.
7.  Offer more Bible training - biblical illiteracy is killing us.  The level of acceptance for what is now considered, "biblically knowledgeable" needs much help.  Sunday night is a good time, after all it is the Lord's Day...all day.  Many may not attend, but its better to have 10 people praying and studying than it is to have 0.  Preach expositionally.
8.  Be knowledgeable - the key to avoiding counterfeits is to know the truth.  To be theologically naive or ignorant is to contribute to fanatical conservatism and/or radical liberalism.
9.  Be a joyful giver - God's finance plan was initiated thousands of years ago.  Tithing is good but its only the beginning.  If everyone in our churches gave joyfully there would be more than enough.

May Christ be exalted and may His churches be faithful!