"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." "He spake of the temple of his body."

I. THE BODILY RESURRECTION OF JESUS FROM THE GRAVE IS AN HISTORICAL CERTAINTY.

A. The Resurrection Was Publicly Announced by Jesus.

Jesus was not complacent when He was confronted by religious leaders. He was confrontational. Nothing was more serious to our Lord than religious leaders who were convincing people they were going to heaven when in reality they were being headed to hell.

The setting for this text recorded by the Apostle John was the Passover celebration in Jerusalem. The temple was in a remodeling and enlargement program at the time. This was one of Herod's attempts to pacify the leaders of Israel and guarantee peace in the area. Herod was a great builder and remains of his work in Israel are still observable to this day. Apparently the rebuilding of the temple had already taken forty-six years.

The cause of the anger of the religious leaders is unquestioned. The text records one of the times in which Jesus cleansed the temple area of merchants that were profiteering from the common people by using religious schemes. They would reject the animal sacrifices brought by the people, sell them replacements at an inflated price or take them in as "trade ins" and resale them again for full profit. They also were taking advantage of the people by changing Roman money for temple money, again at great personal gain. Jesus drove out the animals being sold and turned over the moneychangers' tables. Jesus was more interested in proper worship than personal popularity.

While it is not the purpose of this article to write about crooked religious racketeering, it does not require any imagination to know what Jesus would do today with the many who are turning the gospel of free grace into personal profits. They are many and the profits are much.

The text teaches that early in Jesus' public ministry He made it clear that He would die and rise again. To reject the supernatural resurrection of the Lord from the grave is not only to reject the historical evidence of the resurrection, but it is also to reject the very statement of Jesus Himself.

It should be noted that the Apostle John was an eyewitness of both the death of Christ on the cross as well as His bodily resurrection. The apostles were not only first-hand observers, but also they were creditable expositors as guided by the Holy Spirit of God, John 14:26. We are not left to wonder about the truth of the physical bodily resurrection of Jesus as liberal and some new evangelical scholars are teaching. It is an historical certainty.

The critics of Christianity both inside and outside of the church question the realness of the Lord's physical resurrection. They often do this by arguing that either Jesus was not dead when he was taken from the cross or that His resurrection was neither physical nor fleshly.

1. Jesus was in a dead physical state when He was removed from the cross.

The Lord's death should not be questioned from either an historical or theological view. Historically, the soldiers knew He was dead, the perpetrators of the crucifixion knew He was dead, the disciples knew He was dead, the soldier that speared him in the side knew He was dead, Joseph knew He was dead when he asked for the body, Pilate authorized Joseph to bury the body in his tomb, the enemies of the Lord knew He was dead, those present at the eleven post-resurrection appearances knew He was dead, the five hundred individuals who were present at one appearance knew He was dead, the Apostle Paul knew He was dead. Listing additional evidence is not necessary.

2. Jesus was in a live physical state when He left the grave.

Those who were present at the eleven post-resurrection appearances of Jesus knew He was physically alive, Thomas knew He was alive, five hundred people who were present at one appearance knew He was alive, the people walking with Him on the road to Emmaus said He was alive, the men who ate with Him knew He was alive, the Apostle Paul knew He was alive, as did Peter, Matthew, doctor Luke and many others. Especially, the soldiers who saw Him come out of the tomb knew He was alive! It is not a small matter to include that Jesus knew He was alive.

To state that the resurrection is a narrative, legend, and thus unhistorical is to sweep away the whole of Old Testament prophesies as well as New Testament revelational information.

3. Definition of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

A sufficient definition of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb is, the body of Jesus was taken down from the cross in a physical lifeless form, laid in the borrowed tomb provided by Joseph of Arimathea, was restored to life while in the tomb by a combined act of both the Lord Himself and God the Father, made various physical appearances in body (not spirit) form, remained alive on earth for forty days before He ascended back into heaven, during which time He walked, talked, ate and had almost daily fellowship with people of the area.

A. There are some essential elements in the gospel. Without them the message would be meaningless. The essential elements would at least include:

1. The virgin birth of Jesus

2. The sinless life of Jesus

3. The death of Jesus as a substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus for sin

4. The physical bodily resurrection of Jesus from the grave

B. The resurrection from the grave is the major element in the preaching and teaching of the gospel by the apostles.

C. The resurrection from the grave is used about sixty times by the apostles in defense of doctrine of human redemption.

D. The text in Romans 4:25 lists two events that must be believed for the forgiveness of sins.

1. The deliverance in death of the Lord for our sins. This is Jesus' substitutionary sacrifice as the sole and sufficient payment for sin.

2. The resurrection of Jesus from the grave as the source of our justification.

3. Justification is the legal action of God whereby He declares righteous the person who accepts the death of His son for the payment and pardon of their sins. This action does not make the sinner righteous; it does, however, declare him righteous by the crediting of Christ's righteousness to the believer's debt of sin against a holy God.

E. It would logically follow, that if accepting the resurrection of the Lord from the grave is the act that brings the response of God in forgiving and legally declaring a sinner saved, then rejection of the resurrection is indication of one still being lost in sin.