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165 Million People
John 20:1-20

      “I don’t believe you.  That’s not true!”  So said someone in my family after hearing that my brother Pete taught me how to do a wheelie.  For quite a distance.  I practiced on my bike to get really good at it.  I wore my helmet - well, I was made to wear my helmet by my folks.  There was a part of me at age 12 that liked pushing the limits. 
       I vividly remember proving my point that day. There I was on the side of the country road, some distance away from our home.  I would give them proof.  They’d see with their own eyes that my boasting was not idle talk.  My bike, by the way, wasn’t a two-wheel bicycle from a local department store.  No, my bike was a good-sized motorcycle that I loved and rode so much it felt like an extension of my body.
     I revved the engine, and off I went, confident I could prove my doubters wrong that day.  It felt glorious to see their reactions.   But, on a negative note, I was sorry Pete got some consequences for teaching me that very cool trick.
     Early on Easter morning, when the women returned from Jesus’ empty tomb and said they had seen him, the disciples were thinking “I don’t believe you. That’s not true!” They went themselves and what they witnessed vividly proved the women were telling the truth.   You and I have chosen to come to a church this morning because we believe it is true that Jesus Christ was God’s Son; he died on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins, was buried, and He is alive!  Resurrected from the dead.  
     I was saddened this week to read about a recent study that revealed that fewer than 50% of people in America now identify as “religious”.  That grieved me, so I searched to come up with the number of people without any religious beliefs.   165 million people, in our country alone, go through every day , month, year and decade of life just getting by the best they can until they die.   You and I have family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers who have never really heard the account of Jesus Christ, nor his teachings, or details about his suffering, death and resurrection. 
     For many years theologians and church leaders saw this new era dawning; they have labeled it Post-Christendom.  Post means “after”; we are now living as a  nation in a time period when the majority of people no longer have as our foundation a belief in God or Jesus Christ.   Many reject such beliefs or doubt their truth.  I remember someone once saying to me that some people are atheists (they believe no god exists), others are agnostics (not sure if there is a god, and don’t much care) but the least known but largest group are “ignostics” (they have never been exposed to the Bible; they are ignorant of its claims).              
      This week what has greatly intrigued me is this:  How many of the 165 million people who are ignostics would be open to learning about Christianity if they had the opportunity to learn about it in an engaging way?  I think millions would - it’s just a matter of reaching them.  To do that, we need every Christian able to talk about the basics of the faith.  If someone plays sports they need to practice a lot so they know the fundamentals; in jobs you receive training so you become an expert in your field.  As Christians, we too need to study and learn, so we can share the fundamentals. 
     So this Easter morning I want to equip us, as Christ’s church, to be able to talk about Jesus’ resurrection.  What really happened?  Was the tomb empty? What  evidence is there?  Acts 1:3 says there are “many convincing proofs”.  Do you know them?  I am certain you do, because at some point earlier in your life they were shared with you.  You listened to a Christian pastor, or parent, or youth leader and what you heard you chose to believe.  But new generations are among us now who are ignorant; they lack that knowledge.   So, this morning I’m going to offer 7 pieces of evidence that Jesus is the Son of God and He rose from the dead.  If someone wants to know about Easter, you will have some exciting things to tell them.  The same will be true if they want to know if we believe in heaven.
      We will begin with the very large STONE. There was a certain cemetery just outside Jerusalem; tombs were newly dug out of the hillside there.  The site is still there today, for any who care to see it for themselves.  The openings to each cave are low, and inside each dank room was a flat slab to place a corpse. 
     All four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, say that a rich man named Joseph, a respected member of the Jewish religious leadership (Sanhedrin) asked the Roman governor (Pilate) if he could bury Jesus’ body before sundown.  He got permission, and with his friend Nicodemas’ help, they rushed to bury Jesus before their holy day, the Sabbath arrived. 
      They would have carried about 80 pounds of burial spices with them, plus strips of white cloth.  Some of the sweet-smelling spices were like ground powder, others were a more gummy substance.  As they wrapped the linen strips around Jesus’ body, they put the spices between the layers so when they were done his body was tightly wrapped and embalmed.  When they carried Jesus’ body to lay him on the stone slab, he would have weighed about 250 pounds. Once back outside, the two of them pushed on a 2-ton, large round rock – it sat beside the tomb’s opening.  They slowly rolled the stone and felt the shudder as it fell into a  groove in front of the tomb’s entrance.  Knowing all was secure, they hurried away.  
      When the Roman guards arrived, they stretched a thick rope across the large stone and fastened it on each side with a sealing compound, then they stamped it with the seal of the Roman governor.  The penalty for breaking the seal was death.  The STONE that sealed Jesus’ tomb is the first piece of evidence that he died and no one “stole his body”, as some doubters have supposed.   Author Frank Morrison calls that stone, “the one, silent and infallible witness” to the fact that Jesus was dead. 
      But there were more witnesses.  A second supporting factor was the 16-person Roman Guard assigned by Pilate.  He wanted to make sure there would be no further disturbances from the Jewish leaders or any of Jesus’ followers and fans.  Four of the guards would have been placed in front of the tomb; they were an elite, highly trained fighting force.  The other 12 would be positioned in a semi-circle around the opening, taking shifts sleeping.  The penalty for any soldier who fell asleep while on duty was death -  no one was about to get past them to steal Jesus’ body.
      Now for the third piece of evidence.  No skeptic has ever been able to explain this away.  The tomb was empty.  Mary saw that on Sunday morning with two other women.  Peter and John arrived and saw it for themselves.  Other disciples went to see, including the Jewish leaders who brought Jesus to a trial.  When the Roman guards all woke up dazed, they too were shocked to find it empty, and they feared for their lives.  No one living at the time disputed the facts.   The tomb was empty and Jesus’ body was gone.  Someone once said that “the silence of the Jewish leaders is as eloquent as the witness of the newly-emboldened Christians”.
     This leads us to the fascinating matter of the grave cloths, which Luke and John describe.  The linen strips were left behind, but many artists prefer to make it one whole piece of white cloth.  Another strange omission in artists' scenes is the embalming spices.  The spices and resins would have hardened into the shape of Jesus’ body, leaving an appearance of a long cocoon, like that of a butterfly that has emerged.  Imagine seeing that!  Can YOU explain how anyone could have taken away Jesus’ body and then replicated the grave cloths winding tightly around a body?  And, to make things more intriguing, the separate cloth used just to cover Jesus’face was folded neatly and placed on the stone slab.   Isn’t this a gripping and dramatic scene?
       Now comes further evidence, not proving Jesus died and was buried for three days, but evidence that he rose from the dead.  There are 12 separate appearances of Jesus after his resurrection. He appeared sometimes to individuals like Mary and Peter, but also to small groups like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. He was seen in larger groups, like his disciples, and once with a group of 500 people. Sometime later he was seen by Stephen as he was stoned to death and by Paul on the road to Damascus and by John. All of these were eyewitness accounts, the cumulative weight of them, makes them impossible to dismiss.  There were even historians at the time that recorded them. There is overwhelming evidence that leaves us with one conclusion, that many witnesses saw Jesus Christ risen from the dead.
     Another point supporting the resurrection, is that all the Gospel writers agree that none of the disciples truly expected Jesus’ resurrection. They didn’t believe it  as they hid in the upper room after his death. When the women rushed back from the garden tomb, they thought it was an idle tale, just wishful thinking. They had to be convinced that their conclusion was wrong.  Their shock and unbelief helps any who doubt Jesus’ resurrection today.  They went from despairing skeptics to passionate witnesses.
        Also, during the last 2,000 plus years no one has ever found the bones or corpse of Jesus.   All of Israel has been dug up, more than once through the centuries.  But what does exists are eyewitness.  People who saw him risen; there were accounts from Jesus’ closest followers, from crowds who saw him, from his adversaries in the Jewish ruling group, and others in society. 
       I’m curious, wondering if anyone here has ever heard the theory out there that Jesus didn’t really die, he just “swooned” or fainted?  I refuse to describe, on Easter morning of all days, the suffering of Jesus.  He endured scourging before he was lifted up on a cross, where he hung for 6 long hours.  The Roman guards were witnesses to his death (not fainting), so was his mother and John, and many others.  They all knew death when they saw it. 
      Another far-fetched idea floated by skeptics is that the disciples all went to the wrong tomb on Sunday morning.  Maybe, if it was still mostly dark, one or two might have been confused.  But the theory lacks logic. When the sun came up, all the world could see for themselves where Jesus’ tomb was and that it was empty. 
      Here is a third and final theory suggested by those who desperately want to deny Jesus’resurrection.  It’s called the Hallucination theory.  The disciples wanted so badly to believe Jesus was alive, they suffered a mass hallucination.  So did everyone else who saw him in the coming weeks.  Modern-day psychiatrists have thoroughly discredited this theory. 
      What really happened on that first Easter morning was that the disciples were hiding out, fearful they would be found, identified as his followers and arrested.  We know the disciples struggled to believe the women who brought the good news.  Do you know why?  They were grieving his death, not expecting his resurrection!  That really puts the Hallucination theory to rest.
     This morning we’ve heard the accumulated weight of seven things that point to Jesus’ death and to his resurrection.  When fairly examined, with an open mind, I believe it’s the only possible conclusion that can be reached.  Every theory used to sow doubt is easily discredited. 
       Isn’t it wonderful to believe in Jesus Christ, to be here on Easter morning and celebrate his resurrection?   We are blessed to know God and have faith in His Son, aren’t we?   This is such Good News we must tell others.   There are about 165 million people out there who may well be ready – even eager - to hear.  Let’s be ready and willing to share our Christian faith with them.  Amen.   

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