1. Session 10:
On the third day he rose
again

2. The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. AMEN.

3. He has risen, he is not
here.
Mark 16:6

4. On the third day he rose again
• If he died on Friday, rose on Sunday, how is
that three days?
– Back then they counted days like vacation
rental places.
– Half days count as full days.

5. On the third day he rose again
• Really? What evidence is there?
– No one could produce the body.
– Large groups of his disciples met him alive,
anywhere from 2 to 500 at a time.
– His disciples proclaimed his resurrection in the
face of ridicule, persecution, and death.
– These women, fishermen, etc....ordinary
folk...proclaimed Christ’s resurrection so boldly
and with such authority that they literally changed
the world!

6. Consider what it takes to keep a lie
• What if we decided to leave tonight and
attempt to convince everyone we know
that Mason has flown from one side of the
room to the other.
– First, we would likely create a very specific
story of what happened.

7. Lets compare the 4 gospels:
(Matt. 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20)
• Who goes to the tomb first?
• Who are the met by?
• Who does Jesus appear to first?
• Who do they go and tell?

8. Lets compare the 4 gospels:
(Matt. 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20)
• Because it is so real, supernatural,
breathtaking, unexpected, joyous, scary, life
altering--no two people describe it exactly the
same.
– This only supports the truth of the resurrection.
• “Certainly if the early Church had made
this up, they would have guaranteed that
the four gospels were in airtight
agreement.” -J. Howell

9. Consider what it takes to keep a lie
• What if we decided to leave tonight and
attempt to convince everyone we know that
Mason has flown from one side of the room to
the other.
– First, we would likely create a very specific story of
what happened.
– We would all, every single one, have to keep to
that story.
– We would have to continuously, for the rest of our
lives, tell the lie with tremendous enthusiasm and
conviction.
– We could never once, not even for a moment,
waver from this.

10. Consider what followed the resurrection...
• No one comes forward admitting it’s a lie,
even when faced with torture and death.
• Enthusiasm and conviction only grows,
spreading to the far reaches of the globe.
• There isn’t a particularly unified story of
the resurrection

11. On the third day he rose again
• This is the heart of the gospel, the center of
the Creed.
– “The resurrection is not just a past event, it is the
beginning of a new era, the dawning of the
kingdom.” J. Gonzalez
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12. On the third day he rose again
• What is the significance of Jesus’ rising?
– Romans 1:4
• 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the
Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ
our Lord,
• It confirmed Jesus as the son of God
– Acts 2:24
• 24
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not
possible for him to be held by it.
• It demonstrated victory over death
– 1 Cor. 15:17; Rom. 4:25
• 17
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in
your sins.
• It guaranteed the believers forgiveness and life after death
– Romans 6:4
• 4
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too
might walk in newness of life
• It brings the believer into the reality of resurrection life now. We live
knowing that we will never die!

13. Review
• Why the “third” day?
• What evidence is there that he really did rise
from the dead?
• What is the significance of Jesus’ rising?