Title: Those Who Deny the Resurrection
Contents
Matthew 28:11-15 Those who deny the resurrection
There have been and are still people who claim that “the resurrection of Jesus is not true.” As such, those who deny the resurrection of Jesus deny the resurrection of Jesus by arguing as follows. First, there is the ‘corpse theft theory’. Literally, Jesus' disciples stole Jesus' body from the tomb and falsely propagated that "Jesus is risen".
This claim has been around since the early church. At that time, when the soldiers guarding the tomb informed the priests that the body was missing, the priests paid a lot of bribes to the soldiers and bribed them to say, “The disciples stole the body of Jesus.” And today's Bible reveals that they said that if the governor heard these words, they would take care of it.
Second, there is the ‘housework revival theory’. In other words, it is also referred to as 'sleep out' or 'passed out'. This theory is that Jesus did not die, but simply passed out from exhaustion from wounds and heavy bleeding. In other words, after fainting, the cold energy in the tomb and the stimulant smell from the incense surrounding the linen cloths made Jesus come to his senses again. And when Jesus came to his senses, he took off the linen cloth that was wrapped around him, and just then, a great earthquake occurred and the cave that was blocking the entrance to the tomb was opened, so Jesus was able to get out.
Third, there is the ‘fantasy theory’. This claim is that Jesus is not really resurrected, but is an illusion based on the disciples' vision. This is the theory that the disciples thought they had seen Jesus because they were so excited for the resurrection after his death. That's why it's also called 'hallucination theory'.
Fourth, there is the ‘reburied rumor’. This claim is also called 'Joseph this theory'. At first, Joseph of Arimathea wanted to bury Jesus in his own tomb, so he allowed it, but later he thought it was not good to put the body of the crucified in his own tomb, which he loved, so the Sabbath After this, the body was secretly moved to another place.
Fifth, the ‘surrogate execution theory’. The argument is that the person who died on the cross was not the real Jesus, but someone else like Jesus. In other words, the disciples bought someone else who could die in Jesus' place with a lot of money so that they could die in Jesus' place, and then they fled to another place.
Sixth, there is the ‘spiritual resurrection theory’. Jesus was resurrected not in the body, but in the spirit. This claim is made by many heretics and sounds very plausible to those who do not know the Bible. Moreover, the physical appearance of the resurrected Jesus has a spiritual appearance that transcends time and space, so it is easy to think of the resurrection of Jesus only as a spirit. However, Jesus was physically resurrected. Just because the resurrected body is an incorruptible body, a spiritual body, and a glorified body, it is easy for us to mistake the appearance of Jesus' resurrection with a spirit.
Seventh, there is the ‘other myo theory’. The women, including Mary Magdalene, did not go to the tomb of Jesus, but to another empty tomb. So they saw another empty tomb and said that Jesus had risen. Eighth, there is a ‘myth theory’. In other words, the resurrection of Jesus is a made-up myth to deify the sect.
However, since they do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus, they have come up with various theories of their own. What do you think when you hear these theories? I also thought that if I had the head to come up with this kind of thought, I would believe it well if I believed in the resurrection of Jesus with that head. It is really sad that there are so many people in the world who do not believe in the resurrection, and furthermore, there are many people who actively deny and refute this resurrection.
In fact, the place that explains the above theories the most is the cafe named ‘Korea Anti-Religious Club’ that appears on the Internet. They have anti-Christian ideas and actively deny the resurrection. And through the above claims, they are eager to argue why the resurrection is a lie and try to convince others. Surprisingly, there are many people in the world who eat like this and do crazy things.
In particular, even among those who claim to be Bible scholars and seminary professors, there are often people who do not believe in, misunderstand, and explain the resurrection of Jesus. They have extreme denials about the resurrection of Jesus. Why the hell are you doing that? Does that make you a good scholar, raise your reputation, and make yourself a smart person? If I simply believe in the resurrection of Jesus, like you and I, do I become a fool and an idiot?
In today's text, there are those who deliberately deny the fact of the resurrection of Jesus. In particular, the soldiers guarding the tomb of Jesus clearly saw that Jesus had died and his body was in the tomb. And no one, including the disciples of Jesus, removed the body of Jesus from the tomb, and we saw an angel appearing at the tomb of Jesus and rolling the large stone that was the door of the tomb. And soon afterward, because Jesus was not in the tomb, they were the ones who personally saw Jesus resurrected.
This fact alone made them excellent witnesses of the resurrection. But when they met the high priests, their attitude and words changed in an instant. Those who, not long ago, had told the high priest the truth, "an angel appeared to the tomb and opened the tomb door, and Jesus was not seen," are now absurd. What did you say? “While we were sleeping, the disciples came by night and stole the body of Jesus.”
No, why are you saying this? Why do you deny what you see? Did they see a vision of what they saw a while ago? Obviously, the soldiers were at the scene of Jesus' tomb, they saw an angel appearing with their own eyes, and they saw that the disciples did not take the body of Jesus. Why do they spread such nonsense as the truth?
In today's text, there is a saying, 'Give a lot of money to the soldiers'. That is, these soldiers were bought by the high priests and elders. Aren't the high priests and elders the most powerful and powerful politically at the time? Aren't they the bad guys who mobilized the crowd to persuade Pilate to crucify Jesus? These people pay large sums of money to the soldiers, pushing them to cover up the facts.
What would you do if you were a soldier at this time? Of course, some of you may say this. “No matter how large the amount of money, I cannot tell such a lie. I don't get paid.” Of course, you may not get paid. But who will guarantee the future of their soldiers if they do not listen to the proposals of the elders and high priests, who are powerful and powerful political leaders? Unless you're an idiot, it's easy to understand that if you do something wrong, you'll get a huge penalty and your head will be cut off.
Ladies and gentlemen, defending the truth often involves risks. Keeping the truth and making it known sometimes requires threats and intimidation. There are times when we have to give up great disadvantages and honor. There are times when you need a decision to give up a good position and give up your neck. But the soldiers couldn't. Their conscience was crushed by political power. And he got a lot of money for selling his conscience. With the protection of the priests and elders, they were able to avoid their responsibility for failing to protect the tomb properly, and they were able to maintain their position. In return for denying the resurrection, they ate pheasants and ate eggs.
Guys, yesterday and today, aren't many people going down the path of these soldiers? We hide the facts to protect our honor and safety. They try to deny the very obvious resurrection of Jesus. Only then can you live, and only then can you stand. However, many members of the early church, including the disciples who witnessed the resurrection of Jesus, risked their lives to announce the fact of the resurrection of Jesus. This also resulted in great persecution. All the disciples were martyred.
However, because of the merits of those who risked their lives to announce the resurrection of Jesus to announce the truth of the truth they saw, can we not hear the news of the resurrection and taste the grace of the resurrection today? If the early church members were deceived by the lies conspired and spread by the soldiers, elders and priests, they would not have been able to tell us the truth of the resurrection.
But they defended the truth of the resurrection. Don't be fooled by lies. I risked my life to keep the truth. We must not forget the merits of those who sacrificed themselves for that truth. They took great insults to defend the truth. He did not succumb to threats and threats. What a pity it would be if we did not believe in the truth delivered by those who worked hard and dedicated to keep the truth, and were deceived by the lies they made up.
Everyone, I want to ask you. What kind of person are you? Are you perhaps distorting the truth you have clearly seen with your own two eyes? Have you ever forgotten that you saw clearly with your own two eyes? Or did you know the truth clearly, but did you not throw it away for your own benefit? Or did you fall into the delusion of thinking lies as truth and truth as lies, because the truth is deceived by lies?
Folks, this is the clear truth. Jesus came to this earth 2000 years ago, died on the cross for our sins, and on the third day
You are alive again. Hold on to these clear truths. Do not be deceived by claims such as corpse robbery, housekeeping, fantasy, re-burial, surrogate execution, spiritual resurrection, death, and myth. Of course, it makes more sense to say that the disciples stole the body than that the dead were brought back to life. However, if the person who believes such lies is my family, my husband, my wife, and our brothers and sisters who are worshiping together here, how unfortunate would it be?
Gentlemen, we are not people who deny the resurrection for our own benefit like the soldiers. They are not people who want to hide the truth even if they pay a lot of money by falling into conspiracy tricks. Moreover, they are not deceived by the lies and lies they have created. We believe. The Lord is risen. This is a truth we can risk our lives to protect. We believe that the risen Lord is still here with us. Our faith is based on the resurrection faith. Because the resurrection is an absolute fact and a historical reality.
The risen Lord guides us today. And he speaks to us today. “Do not be deceived by those who deny the resurrection. Do not deny yourself the resurrection. I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if they die, will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26) Amen!