Proofs for the resurrection of Jesus Christ can be found in the following places: 1. O.T. prophecies (Psa. 16:10; Acts 13:34-37) 2. The words of Christ (Matt. 20:19; Mk. 9:9; 14:28; Jn. 2:19-22) 3. The record of the Word of God (Lk. 14:1ff; Jn. 20:1ff) 4. The empty tomb (Jn. 20:6-7) 5. The eye witness sightings (*1 Cor. 15:3-8) We will consider the eye witness sightings. The Lord was with His disciples for some 40 days before His ascension, yet according to the inspired record, He only revealed Himself some 13 times in all, and some of these instances are probably duplications. His appearances to the disciples were of short duration, but each encounter was for the purpose of revealing Himself or something of Himself and His kingdom to His followers (Acts 1:3). First Appearance The verses: Mk. 16:9; Jn. 20:11-18 The time: Sunday morning, early The person: Mary Magdalene 1. Out of whom Jesus had cast 7 devils (Lk. 11:24-26; 8:2) 2. She saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus The place: Near the sepulcher The Christ: 1. Risen 2. Communicative 3. Master teacher 4. Would ascend a. To His Father (relationship) b. To His God (deity) Christ’s ascension to the Father Second Appearance The verses: Matt. 28:9-10 The time: Sunday morning, early The persons: Mary, the mother of James & Joses, Salome, mother of James & John (Mk. 16:1) and Jo- anna, wife of Herod’s steward, Chuza. The place: Near Jerusalem The Christ: 1. Risen (a bodily resurrection) 2. Communicative 3. A Godly resurrection 4. A reassuring resurrection (be not afraid, what I said I would do has come to pass, and all that I said I would do shall also come to pass) Third Appearance The verses: 1 Cor. 15:5; Lk. 24:34 The time: Sunday morning The persons: Simon Peter Note: Morgan: “He appeared unto Simon, as though that settled it! Now there was proof positive. A man had seen Him! It was a private interview. In that interview all the sin and shame of the denial were dealt with and settled and put away forever.” The place: Near Jerusalem The Christ: 1. Risen (resurrected from death to life) a. Accepted by God in the place of men Fourth Appearance The verses: Lk. 24:13:31 The time: Sunday afternoon The persons: 2 disciples (Cleopas & an unnamed disciple, possibly his wife, Mary) The place: On the road between Jerusalem and Emmaus The Christ: 1. Risen 2. Omnipotent (v16, 31) 3. Communicative 4. Omniscient (v25) 5. The Christ (v26) and all that entails 6. Subject of the O.T. (v27) 7. Reference to His sacrifice (v30) Fifth Appearance The verses: Mk. 16:14; Lk. 24:36-43; Jn. 20:19-22; 1:Cor. 15:5 The time: Sunday evening The persons: The 11 disciples less Thomas The place: Jerusalem in a locked room The Christ: 1. Risen 2. Omnipotent (Lk. 24:36; Jn. 20:19) 3. Bringer of peace and joy (Lk. 24:36; Jn. 20:19, 20) 4. Omniscient (Mk. 16:14; Lk. 24:38) 5. Flesh and bones (Lk. 24:39, 42-43) 6. Reference to/reminder of His sacrifice (hands, feet and side) (Lk. 24:40; Jn. 20:20) 7. Sent (commissioned) by the Father (Jn. 20:21) 8. Sender (mission) of men (Jn. 20:21) 9. Giver of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 20:22) a. To declare God’s forgiveness Sixth Appearance The verses: Jn. 20:26-31 The time: 7 days after the 1st Sunday evening The persons: The 10 disciples plus Thomas The place: Jerusalem in a locked room The Christ: 1. Risen 2. Omnipotent (v26) 3. Bringer of peace (v26) 4. Flesh and bones (v27) 5. Reference to/reminder of His sacrifice (hands, and side) (v27) 6. Fulfiller/source of faith (v28, 29) 7. Lord, personal (v28) 8. God, personal (v28) 9. Giver of signs (“mark, token by which a person can be distinguished and known”) (v30) 10. The Christ (v31) 11. The Son (“same as”) of God (v31) 12. Giver of life (v31) a. Through His Name Seventh Appearance The verses: Jn. 21:1-22 The time: 3 to 4 weeks after His resurrection The persons: Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, John and 2 other unnamed disciple The place: By the Sea of Galilee The Christ: 1. Risen to show Himself (v14) 2. Omniscient (v5-6,18, 19) 3. Love of Christ (v7) 4. Lord (v7, 12, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21) 5. Miracles of Christ (v10-11, 13) 6. Provision of Christ (v12, 13) 7. Demands of Christ (v15-17, 19, 22) 8. Coming of Christ (v22) Eighth Appearance The verses: Matt. 28:17-20 The time: 4 to 5 weeks after His resurrection The persons: 11 disciples The place: On a mountain side in Galilee The Christ: 1. Risen (v14) 2. Deity (v17) 3. Authority of Christ (v18) 4. Command of Christ (v17, 20) 5. Son of God (v19) 6. Presence of Christ (v20) Ninth Appearance The verses: 1 Cor. 15:6 The time: 4to 5 weeks after His resurrection The persons: 500 disciples The place: Unknown, but likely Galilee The Christ: 1. Risen (v6) Tenth Appearance The verses: 1 Cor. 15:7a The time: 5 weeks after His resurrection The persons: James The place: Unknown, but likely Jerusalem The Christ: 1. Risen (v7a) Eleventh Appearance The verses: I Cor. 15:7b; Lk. 24:44-49 The time: 5 weeks + after His resurrection The persons: 11 apostles The place: Jerusalem The Christ: 1. Risen (v44) 2. Fulfiller of prophecy (v44, 46) 3. Subject of the O.T. (v44) 4. Omnipotent (v45) 5. Death, burial, resurrection (v46) 6. Commission of Christ (v47) 7. Authority of Christ (v49) 8. Giver of Holy Spirit (v49) 9. Restrainer of men (v49) Twelfth Appearance The verses: Lk. 24:50-51; Mk. 16:19; Acts 1:4-10 The time: 0 days after His resurrection The persons: 11 apostles The place: Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem The Christ: 1. Risen 2. Authority (Mk. 16:19; Lk. 24:50a; Acts 1:5) a. Revealed His sacrifice (hands) 3. Grantor of blessings (Lk. 24:50b-51) 4. Ascension (Lk. 24:51; Acts 1:9-10) 5. Deity (Lk. 24:52) 6. Giver of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5) 7. Lord (Acts 1:6) 8. Omniscient (Acts 1:7-8a) 9. Commission of Christ (Acts 1:8b) Thirteenth Appearance The verses: 1 Cor. 15:8; Acts 9:3-6; 22:6-10 The time: Unknown, but after His ascension The persons: Paul The place: Unknown, but perhaps on the road to Damascus The Christ: 1. Risen (22:14) 2. Omniscient (9:4; 22:8) 3. Authority (9:6, 11-12, 15-16; 22:10) 4. “I Am” (Jehovah) (Acts 22:8) 5. Of Nazareth (22:8) 6. Lord (22:10, 19) Concl: The Bible says that “in the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses a thing shall be established.” The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the most established facts in history. Not only do we have the actual appearances of Christ, but there is much more evidence of those that witnessed and lived through the events surrounding the resurrection. In Christ we can be confident of our salvation, and in Christ we can be confident of our own resurrection at the last trumpet. “And there shall we be with the Lord.” Early Views 1. Hazrat Aishah, God be pleased with her, relates from the Holy Prophet Muhammad:Jesus, son of Mary, lived to the age of 120 years. (Hujaj al- Kirama, p. 428) All the narrators of this hadith are reliable (ibid.) 2. Hazrat Fatima, God be pleased with her, relates from the Holy Prophet:Jesus, son of Mary, lived to the age of 120 years. (Kanz-ul-Ummal, vol. vi, p. 120) 3. Hazrat Imam Hasan ascended the pulpit after the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali and said:O people! This night there has died a man whose status cannot be reached by the earlier or later generations. The Messenger of Allah used to send him to battle, so on his right would be Gabriel and on his left Michael (Mikal), and he would not return without victory. And he has left but seven hundred Dirhems with which he intended to buy a slave. He died on the night on which the soul of Jesus, son of Mary, was taken up, that is the twenty-seventh of Ramadaan. (Tabaqat Kabir, vol. iii, p. 26) Thus the members of the Holy Prophet’s household have not only revealed Jesus’ age at death but make it clear that it was his soul, not his body, which was taken up to heaven, and that he died on the 27th of Ramadaan. 4. Explaining the Quranic verse, O Jesus, I will cause thee to die (mutawaffi-ka), Ibn Abbas is recorded as saying:Ibn Abbas said: mutawaffi-ka means ‘I will cause thee to die(mumitu-ka) ’. (Bukhari, Kitab al-Tafsir, on verse 5:110). 5. Of Imam Malik, one of the four imams of jurisprudence (fiqh), it is written: While most people believe that Jesus did not die, Malik said that he died. (Majma al-Bahar, vol. i, p. 286) And:In the ‘Utbiyya it is written that Malik said that Jesus, son of Mary, died. (Ikmal al-ikmal, Sharh of Muslim, vol. i, p. 265) 6. Imam Ibn Hazm, Amawi Zahiri Qurtabi, writes:Jesus, peace be upon him, was neither killed nor crucified, but God caused him to die and then raised him. The Almighty has said: ‘They did not kill him or crucify him’; and ‘I will cause thee to die and exalt thee’; and ‘I (Jesus) was a witness of them so long as I was among them, but when Thou didst cause me to die Thou wert the Watcher over them’ and ‘Allah takes souls (yatawaffa) at the time of death’. Thus there are two kinds of wafat: sleep and death. Jesus in his words ‘When Thou didst cause me to die (falamma tawaffaita-ni)’ was not referring to sleep, but it is correct that by wafat he meant death. (Mahalli fil-Fiqh, p. 23) 10. Imam Asir-ud-Din Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Ali al-Andalasi, known as Abu Hayyan Nahwi, writes:This verse shows that God made Jesus die (tawaffa-hu wafat al-maut) before raising him. (Bahr al-Muhit, vol. iv, p. 4) 11. Imam Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah, known as Allama Shokani, has written:It is said that this verse shows that God caused Jesus to die before raising him. (Fath al- Qadir Qalmi, p. 4)
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 11:55:00 +0000
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