You Can T Keep a Good Man Down

You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down

Luke 24:1-12

1Title Slide

2How observant are you? Study the following picture for 30 seconds.

3Blank slide: ask the following questions

Are there cars parked on the sides of the road?

What color is the pickup truck driving in the road?

Any minivans around?

What does the blue sign say?

What's the speed limit?

Are there any pedestrians on the road?

4Check your answers. How observant are you?

5Several years ago there was a TV news account of the arrest and trial of a man who had been accused of murdering his family with a knife. Neighbors had heard screaming on the night of the murders, but they had not given it much thought until two weeks later, when it was reported that the bodies of the victims had been found in shallow graves in a field outside of town. Then the neighbors called the police.

When the police entered the home of the victims, bear in mind that 2 or 3 weeks had already gone by. They found it to be immaculate. The carpets had been shampooed. The curtains and drapes washed and ironed, the woodwork polished. Every window had been cleaned; every piece of furniture polished; even the bedrooms and hallways had been repainted.
The police found no fingerprints, no blood stains, no shredded clothing, and no signs of a struggle anywhere.
This alone would have made the husband a prime suspect. No man by himself would have had such an immaculately taken care of home. The defendant’s story was that he and his wife HAD had an argument a month earlier, and she had taken the kids and left him. He said he had no idea of where they were until he’d been told their bodies had been found.
Understandably, the police doubted the man’s story. So they brought in aforensics team that sprayed the man’s bedroom, bathroom, hallway walls, and floors with a chemical known as Luminal. Luminal is a compound that’s designed to interact with blood, and when it comes in contact with blood, it gives off a florescent color - even under paint. The police sprayed the Luminal, waited a few moments, and then - sure enough - the patterns of blood appeared throughout the house. Neither the soap, the polish, nor the fresh paint had prevented the police from seeing the blood, even though the blood had been covered and hidden from their view.
When CSI Investigators examine a crime scene they often are looking for evidence that isn’t readily seen. Evidence they can use in a court of law. Evidence that will demand a verdict.
This morning we’re examining a crime scene: the empty tomb. What happened to the body? Was there tampering with the evidence?

If you were at the scene at the time of the disappearance, and had the opportunity to interrogate the witnesses, would you be able to find any evidence to support the resurrection?

6Luke 24:1-12

7I recently came across this story, it was told by “Dear Abby” in a response to someone’s question.
A young man from a wealthy family was about to graduate from high school. It was the custom in that affluent neighborhood for the parents to give the graduate an automobile. "Bill’ and his father had spent months looking at cars, and the week before graduation, they found the perfect car.
On the eve of his graduation, his father handed him a gift wrapped Bible. Bill was so angry that he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house.
He and his father never saw each other again. It was the news of his father’s death that brought Bill home again.
As he sat one night going through his father’s possessions that he was to inherit, he come across the Bible his father had given him.
He brushed away the dust and opened it to find a cashier’s check, dated the day of his graduation - in the exact amount of the car they had chosen together.
As I thought about this story, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people in this world have done the same thing to God. Literally tossed aside a wonderful promise, because they didn’t understand it, or they didn’t believe that it was possible.
In our world, we are taught that; “if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.” So many of us have been taken in by “empty promises,” that we are leery of anything or anyone that tells us we can have something for nothing.
THE WORLD SIMPLY DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY!
But, you know what – God does – God never made a promise that was too good to be true.
The truth of the matter is, the world is full of empty promises. We watch TV, and the advertisements tell us that we can be happy, sexy, rich, or famous, if we only purchase a certain product. It doesn’t take long before we have been fooled enough to know that the world’s promises are full of emptiness. But, God is different. Instead of promises full of emptiness, on Easter, he gave us emptiness that is full of promise.
This morning, I would like us to think about the promises of Easter. There are three of them. Each promise is marked by something empty. An empty cross, and empty tomb and empty burial clothes. It is the very fact that each of these is empty that assures us that God’s promises are real. Because they couldn’t hold Jesus, because he couldn’t be contained by the cross, the tomb, or even his burial clothes, we can be sure of the fullness of God’s promises in our lives.

8The truth of the matter is, the world is full of empty promises. We watch TV, and the advertisements tell us that we can be happy, sexy, rich, or famous, if we only purchase a certain product. It doesn’t take long before we have been fooled enough to know that the world’s promises are full of emptiness.

9The claim: “Better legs and a better butt with every step.” Reebok claimed that its walking shoes, running shoes and flip-flops were “proven to work your hamstrings and calves up to 11 percent harder” and that they toned the buttocks “up to 28 percent more than regular sneakers, just by walking.”

The truth: Though it did not admit to anything, Reebok settled Federal Trade Commission charges, agreed to pay $25 million andpromised to stop making claims that toning shoes or apparel strengthen or tone muscles without scientific evidence.

10The claim:Listerine can prevent and cure colds and sore throats; rinsing with itis as effective as flossingin fighting tooth and gum decay.

The truth: Initially sold as a surgical antiseptic in the 19th century, Listerine was the first product marketed as a mouthwash starting in 1914.In 1976, the FTC the maker of Listerine to spend $10 million on ads that stated, “Listerine will not help prevent colds or sore throats or lessen their severity.” Then in 2005, a federal judge ordered the commercials claiming that rinsing with Listerine was aseffective as flossingin fighting tooth and gum decay to be pulled.

11The claim: “Made from sugar so it tastes just like sugar.”

The truth: Under court order, Splenda was required to change its slogan to “It’s made from sugar. It tastes like sugar. But it’s not sugar.” Splenda’s main ingredient is sucralose, which is not sugar and is made in a laboratory.

12The claim: Provides immediate and significant pain relief from arthritis and other chronic conditions.

The truth: In an $87 million dollar ruling in 2011, the FTC began mailing 248,931 refund checks to consumers who were misled by the company.

13The claim: Activia helps prevent colds and flu; and relieves temporary irregularity.

The truth: In 2010, a judge ordered Dannon to drop the claims and pay $45 million in damages.

14Carb Blocker

15Your Baby Can Read

Because we have been misled so many times, we have become skeptical, we need scientific proof– genuine physical evidence of what you are trying to get us to believe. That is one of the reasons why many people say they don’t believe in God.

161 Peter 3:15

For our own faith, and the faith of others, it is critical for us to be able to give a reason why we believe in Jesus, His death, and resurrection. In reality, Christ’s resurrection is crucial to our faith.

171 Corinthians 15:17

If Christ did not rise from the grave, then there is no victory over sin and death.

18Romans 6:23

But, is there evidence to support our belief?

19You may not have heard of Sir Lionel Luckhoo. But if you open the Guinness Book of World Records, you’ll discover that he is listed as the most successful trial lawyer ever. He had 245 successful murder defenses in a row.
To give you an idea how good that is, I want you to think about the TV show Perry Mason. The producers had him lose a case after he won 70 successful ones, because they didn’t think anyone would find his character credible without a loss every now and again.

Although Lionel Luckhoo had fame, success, and wealth he felt empty inside. The older he got, the more meaningless life seemed to him. At age 63, he turned his analytical skills to the claim that Jesus rose from the dead. He found that the message of Jesus’ resurrection satisfied his personal needs and his intellectual questions..He wrote: “I have spent more than forty-two years as a defense trial lawyer in many parts of the
world. I say unequivocally the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt!”

20Dr. David Seamands tells of a Muslim who became a Christian in Africa: “Some of his friends asked him, ‘Why did you become a Christian?’ He answered, ‘Well, It’s like this. Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions and you didn’t know which way to go, and there at the fork in the road were two men, one dead and one alive. Which one would you ask which way to go?’”

21Consider the following proofs that point to the validity of the resurrection.

Evidence: Jewish prophecies speak of His death and "One who would die for the sins of many."

22Psalm 22:16-18

23Isaiah 53:4-6

The “seventy sevens” prophecy in Daniel 9 predicted the precise date that Jesus, the Messiah, would be “cut off.” Isaiah 50:6 accurately describes the beating that Jesus endured. Zechariah 12:10 predicts the “piercing” of the Messiah, which occurred after Jesus died on the cross.

24Evidence: Jesus also predicted his death and resurrection. Jesus cannot be ’just a good man’, or ’a prophet’. He was either a liar and has deceived millions of people for centuries. Or, he was crazy to call himself God. Or he is the Risen Christ, and he told the truth! You decide.

25Mark 8:31-32; John 2:19

26Evidence: Lack of DNA evidence…The tomb was empty.

For the Virgin birth and the resurrection we’ll never have enough evidence for definitive proof. Evidence gets destroyed. If it happened yesterday, we’d send in CSI and the CIA. But it happened 2000 years ago, and the further back in time, the more difficult it is. So, we are stuck with historians.

We know the body was missing, if there was a dead body, Rome and the chief priests would have produced it to squelch the mounting evidence of the resurrection. Where’s the body?

So, the blame-game started. - the Jews blamed the Romans – they were on guard at the tomb- the Roman soldiers blamed the disciples – they stole the body- the Christians blamed the Jews – they bribed the guards and their officers- who can we believe?

When Jesus was placed in the tomb, the Roman guard placed a seal on the rock. Rumors had already been circulating that Christ would riseagain. Roman guards were placed outside the tomb to make sure the disciples couldn’t steal the body. A bribe would be very necessary for Jesus’ body to disappear while they were on guard, since the guards were at risk of their lives if they had failed in their duty.Polybius records how the superior officer would investigate and then all the soldiers would be invited to join in with the execution of their comrades. This is a very strong motivation to make sure that they carried out their duty, bribe or not.Therefore, for the guards to risk their lives, a large bribe would be necessary. But who was more likely to have enough money to bribe the guards, the religious leaders or the disciples? Also, who had a greater motive, the disciples who wanted to have Jesus rise from the dead (risking further persecution), or the Jews who wanted to complete their attempt to be rid of Jesus? What do the scriptures say?

27Matthew 28:11-15

Their story spread widely among the Jews, and they still tell it today.

Why would Christians want to invent the resurrection and the empty tomb? It would make evangelism among the Jews almost impossible.

Jesus was crucified, and for Jews this meant God cursed him- there is no way that God would raise to life anyone who had been crucified.

28Did the disciples steal the body?

First, several people would have to agree to steal the body of Jesus and risk arrest by the guards and the Jewish leaders. You can't just walk to a tomb guarded by Roman soldiers and ask for Jesus' body. So, in order to fake Jesus' resurrection the disciples would have to obtain and dispose of the body of Jesus without any hostile witnesses. This would mean that the guards in front of Jesus' tomb would need to be bribed or in a very deep slumber. We have already shown why this is unlikely. It would further mean that several people would have to be involved in moving the 2 ton stone covering the opening of the tomb and in carrying away the body of Jesus.

Secondly, this plan would also have to include other people outside the circle of the disciples since such an "impossible" occurrence as a resurrection would be more convincing if others who were not biased followers of Jesus said that they saw Jesus after the crucifixion. This means that the disciples would have to convince a lot of people to go against the Jewish religious leaders, thereby risking their own economic and social security. Remember the Jewish leaders could excommunicate you from the temple which meant you could not worship in the temple, your family could have nothing to do with you, and others could not do business with you.

Third, it would be very obvious to the disciples that to continue claiming Jesus rose from the dead would bring the harsh attention of the religious leaders upon them. Since the Jewish leaders had just sentenced Jesus to die a horrible death on the cross, what would stop them from continuing with the disciples who would then start proclaiming Jesus had risen from the dead? But, the disciples changed from being cowards, to being willing to die for what they saw. If Jesus Christ wasn’t raised from the dead, if it weren’t true, Peter, the other disciples, and the rest of the early Christians, would have remained silent to protect themselves from persecution, torture and death! It is easier to proclaim what you know to be true in the face of opposition.

Who knew the tomb was empty? Everyone.

Imagine the scene in Jerusalem just 6 weeks later - a city with about 30,000 inhabitants and 3000 become Christians. In other words, about 10% of the population suddenly become Christians- and they all want to worship Jesus.

Where do they worship. At the tomb? – No – in the Temple! If there was a body, it would be a focus of worship- like the ornate tombs of former prophets all round ancient Jerusalem. In fact, the tomb was so neglected and unimportant that Christians forgot where it was. In 300 AD, Queen Helena wanted to build a church at the site of the tomb. But where was it? She asked around because no-one had marked the spot. No-one knew for sure, because it was not important. It was empty.

29Deuteronomy 19:15

301 Corinthians 15:3-9

Paul expects his readers to know some of those 500- he says, in effect, “If you don’t believe it, you can go and ask them yourself”. Large numbers of people saw Him alive: in different locations, at different times, and in
different circumstances over a forty day period.Lee Strobel, The Case for Easter points out that if every person the Bible identifies as being an
eyewitness to Jesus’ resurrection were called to the witness stand to be cross-examined, it would take 129 hours to hear their testimony at only 15 minutes a person.--In other words, it would take from breakfast on Monday until Friday at dinner time listening around the clock to hear the testimony of those witnesses.

31Evidence, Jesus showed his resurrected body to women first. Only Jesus would have given women, especially in that day, this honor: Jesus told them to go and tell the disciples the good news about the resurrection. If this was a fairy tale, men would have been the culturally accepted ones to first discover the empty tomb.