Final Victory

Review & Preview

Suffering & Glory (John 12-21) – The Coming King, 12 – The Suffering Servant, 13 – Farewell Address, 14-17 – Passion, 18-19 – Resurrection, 20 – Epilogue, 21

Jesus as the Passover Lamb (Jn 1:29 “Behold the Lamb of God…”) ● The festival ● The blood on the doorway ● The unbroken bones ● The hyssop branch

John 19:31-42 (The Burial of Jesus)

The Garden Tomb ● Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple, makes a public request (Jn 19:38). Nicodemus, another secret disciple, joined him, but they had to hurry. ● They had to hurry to secure permission, prepare the body, and bury the body all after 3PM and before sundown (9PM). ● Joseph owned a newly quarried tomb in a private garden near the place of execution (Jn 19:41). First-century tombs like this were had slabs or niches for various family members who had recently passed and loculi hewn into the walls for ossuary boxes. The tomb is then sealed with a stone that would have been rolled into place. ● Church of the Holy Sepulcher | Gordon’s Tomb ● The Shroud of Turin?

John 20

Believing in the Resurrection (see 1 Corinthians 15)

1. Mary Magdalene – Grief

2. Peter – Guilt

3. John – Belief

4. Disciples – Fear

5. Thomas – Doubt

John 20:27–31 — Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Evidence for the Historical Bodily Resurrection of Jesus

1. Eyewitness Testimony (cf. Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:3; 1 Cor 15:3-8). ● Evidence that ancient Roman biographies depended upon reliable eyewitness accounts (in contrast to modern liberal theories). ● Knowledge of localized topography, botany, sociology, naming conventions, etc. ● Accurate portrayal of local political & religious groups. ● Evidence that ancient disciples of rabbis and philosophers often utilized memorization & notes. ● Undesigned coincidences in the eyewitness testimony (Lydia McGrew, Hidden in Plain View) ● There is no earlier tradition of a non-resurrected Jesus and to argue that this developed later is an argument from silence and presupposition. The earliest confessions are already “developed” in their theology (e.g. 1 Cor 15:3-7; Phil 2:5-11; Col 1:15-20). As Bauckham observes, “The earliest Christology was already the highest Christology” (Jesus and the God of Israel, 196).

2. Embarrassing Details ● Peter’s botched confession & denial ● Doubt and confusion in the disciples (Mk 16:1-8; Mt 28:17) ● Demonic confessions (1:24; 3:11; 5:7) ● Judas’ betrayal (Mk 3:19; 14:10-11) ● Jesus’ family – “He is out of his mind!” (Mk 3:21) ● Women as first witnesses (Mk 16:1; Mt 28:1; Lk 23:55; Jn 20:1)—why make up the story of women as first eyewitnesses? Some scholars consider this among the strongest evidence for the authenticity of the story (Habermas, Evidences, 607).

3. The dramatic transformation & risk of the first disciples ● Peter (Acts 4) ● Saul (Acts 9) ● James the brother Jesus (Mk 3:20-21; 6:1-6; Jn 7:1-5; Gal 1:19; 2:9-12; 1 Cor 15:3-7; Acts 12:17; 15:9; 21:18). ● Cornelius (Acts 10) ● Worship on the “first day of the week” rather than on Sabbath (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:2).

4. Historical criterion of “Dual Similarity & Dual Dissimilarity” (cf. NT Wright) ● The gospel testimony is similar to both early Judaism & later Christianity. ● The gospel testimony is dissimilar to both early Judaism & later Christianity. – “Nobody was expecting this kind of thing!” NT Wright – “The Explosion of a New Worldview—After the death of Jesus the entire Christian community suddenly adopted a set of beliefs that were brand-new and until that point had been unthinkable. The first Christians had a resurrection-centered view of reality. They believed that the future resurrection had already begun in Jesus. They believed that Jesus had a transformed body that could walk through walls yet eat food. This was not simply a resuscitated body like the Jews envisioned, nor a solely spiritual existence like the Greeks imagined…the Christian view of resurrection, absolutely unprecedented in history, sprang up full-blown immediately after the death of Jesus. There was no process or development.” Timothy Keller, Reason for God,

5. Minimal historical facts accepted by most modern historians (even skeptics): a. The tomb was empty—for one reason or another (Habermas, Evidences, 631; cf. Justin Martyr, Dialogue, 108]). b. Jesus healed or at least was believed to be a healer (ancient sources and rabbinical opponents attest to this — his opponents attributing the source of his power to sorcery—it is never questioned in ancient sources). c. Jesus died on a cross.

6. Other questions to consider: ● If the early church merely invented the story, why didn’t they add details about the physicality of Jesus’ resurrection? It is mentioned somewhat matter of fact. ● Why leave the linen burial cloths if the body was stolen? Or why make up that detail? A detail that convinced John of the resurrection (Jn 20:5-8).

● Why wasn’t someone able produce the body of Jesus? There is “no early evidence that anyone, either Christian or non-Christian, ever alleged that Jesus’ tomb still contained his remains (Pannenberg in Habermas, Evidences, 628). ● What about the theory that the disciples stole the body? (Mt 28:11-15) – Why did they leave the grave clothes? – Why don’t we find any stories, even among opponents, of disciples recanting their story even under persecution?

Reflection Questions:

• John has given us evidence of the risen King. Will you choose to believe? To listen to His wisdom? To hear the hard truth?