Objectives

Students will know the facts of the resurrection as described in the Bible.
Students will understand the Biblical account of the resurrection is unique and unprecedented.
Students will understand the significance of the open tomb being discovered by women.
Students will understand the significance of Paul's claim that over 500 saw the risen Christ in 1 Corinthians 15.

Introduction

An elevator pitch is a short presentation that aims to provide some basic fact in a short amount of time. The idea is that you just got on an elevator and the governor of the state happens to be on the same elevator (yes, this actually happened to me once). You have a short ride to pitch your latest idea. What will you say?

If you had to give an elevator speech on Jesus, what would you want to make sure to include?

- Peter actually provided an elevator speech in Acts 11:37-43. The main components of his speech were
  - Proclaimed by John
  - Anointed by the Holy Spirit
  - Crucified
  - Raised the third day

Virtually no body questions the crucifixion of Jesus. Even secular historians will grant that there was a Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. The real issue comes when we proclaim that this same Jesus was resurrected.
How historically accurate is the resurrection?

Why would it have been significant for women to be the ones who discovered the empty tomb?
- The testimony of women was not trusted at this time in history. If the disciples were trying to fabricate their own religion they would not have left it to women to discover the most significant event in their religion.

Who are some people who saw the risen Christ?
- The Disciples
- Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
- The Apostle Paul
- James

What is significant about Paul's claim that "the greater part remain to the present?"
- If Paul was lying, these individuals could have spoken up. Scholars (even secular) place a great deal of confidence in the fact that 1 Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul early in church history. If this was a false then surely someone would have called Paul out on this. I many legal systems a single witness to an event can be sufficient evidence, we have a multitude of witnesses to the resurrection.

Gary Habermas has developed a set of six minimal facts that are accepted by both Christian and non-Christian scholars. These facts are widely attested to in history.

Jesus was crucified
Shortly after the crucifixion, the followers of Jesus had experiences that they believed were appearances by Jesus.
The followers of Jesus lived transformed lives after these events.
These facts about Jesus were taught very shortly after their occurrence.
James, the unbelieving brother of Jesus, became a Christian because of his experience with the resurrected Christ.
Saul of Tarsus, a Christian persecutor, became a Christian after having a similar experience with the resurrected Christ.

Early Christians stopped their involvement in the Jewish sacrificial system and the focus moved away from the OT Law (Galatians 5:1-6).
Early Christians were bold, to the point of death, because of the resurrected Christ (Acts 6:8-15, 7:54-60).
The Christian day of Worship shifted from the Jewish Sabbath to Sunday (1 Corinthians 16:2).

What claim does Paul make in 1 Corinthians 15:14?
- The resurrection is of vital importance to the Christian faith, but thankfully, th resurrection is actually one of the best attested events in history.