WAS THE TOMB REALLY EMPTY

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WAS THE TOMB REALLY EMPTY?

• Implications for the
• Christian Faith

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Introduction

• Foundation Stone of Faith
• 1 Corinthians 1514
• No Resurrection No Gospel
• Turn Disciples From Despair to Hope
• Fearful Men Became Courageous
• Proved Jesus To Be The Son of God
• Gave Hope To Followers They Would Live (John
  1419)

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Brief Overview of Arguments Supporting the
Resurrection

• Resurrection Appearances of New Testament (1 Cor
  153-11 esp 5-8)
• Attempts to Dismiss (Apostles Fraud
  Hallucination)
• 500 Brethren at Once?

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Brief Overview of Arguments Supporting the
Resurrection

• The Existence of the Church
• Group to Remember Death of Beloved Teacher...How
  Long Would That Last
• BUT Church Meeting Daily With Glad and Generous
  Hearts??? (Acts 246)
• Existence of Church is Witness to the Resurrection

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Brief Overview of Arguments Supporting the
Resurrection

• Cause and Effect Every Effect Has a Cause
• Effect Empty Tomb
• What Was the Cause?
• The Only Rational Explanation is the Resurrection

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Strange But True Attempts

• The Body of Jesus Completely Decomposed Within 36
  Hours
• Explain Away One Miracle With Another?
• Tertullian Records the Theory that the gardener
  removed the body of Jesus and placed it elsewhere
  to protect his lettuce from the spectators.

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Attempts to Explain the Empty Tomb

• Women Went to Wrong Tomb
• Joseph of Arimathea Stole the Body
• Jesus Did Not Die Only Swooned
• Disciples Stole the Body
• Empty Tomb was Late Tradition to Explain the
  Record of Resurrection Appearances

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Importance of Appearances and the Empty Tomb

• Empty Tomb Alone Does Not Equal Faith
• Luke 2421ff
• John 2013
• Resurrection Appearances Alone?
• What if Jesus Body Still in Tomb?
• Both are Essential and Both are Included in the
  Scriptures

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Was Empty Tomb Added Later to Explain
Resurrection Appearances?

• Account Recorded in all Four Accounts of Gospel
• Presence of Early Semitisms and Semitic Customs
  in Accounts (Palestinian setting)
• On the first day of the week (Mark 162)
• Angel of the Lord (Matt 282)
• Miriam (Matt 281)
• Bowed their faces to the ground (Lk 245)

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Was Empty Tomb Added Later to Explain
Resurrection Appearances?

• Jewish Belief in Early Palestine would not have
  produced belief in a resurrection without a
  physical bodily resurrection
• In other words, the story would make no sense if
  only resurrection appearances were originally
  recorded
• First items opponents would look for the body in
  the tomb

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Was Empty Tomb Added Later to Explain
Resurrection Appearances?

• Highly unlikely if not an empty tomb, that the
  fabrication of the story in the written record
  would include the women as the first witnesses to
  the resurrection
• Women's testimony was not valid
• If a legend only the fabricators would have made
  the witnesses men to add credibility to their
  story
• Why record women as witnesses
• recording the truth although harmful to case

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Was Empty Tomb Added Later to Explain
Resurrection Appearances?

• First Day of the Week
• What was so significant that changed day of
  worship from Saturday to Sunday?
• Only thing that gives significance it the tomb
  was found empty on first day of the week (Matt
  28 Mk 16 Lk 24 Jn 20)
• Resurrection on third day would not require first
  day of the week without that information provided
  (Jews reckoned time...any part of day equaled one
  day)

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1 Corinthians 153-4

• Died, buried, and was raised
• What?
• Body, therefore empty tomb
• Egeiro (raised) what was buried was raised
  (body) hence empty tomb
• Acts 229-31 Davids body/bones still in tomb and
  Jesus body/bones were not

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Importance to Baptism

• Rom 64 and Col 212
• Re-enact in some way death, burial, and
  resurrection of Christ
• In baptism, what is buried does not remain buried
  but is transformed and raised (or no longer
  remains in the water)
• Christ is risen from the dead and reigning...is
  he reigning in your life