Resurrection Witnesses

Announcer:

This is Today With Derek Prince. The internationally recognized Bible teacher and author presents to you Keys To Successful Living.

On yesterday’s program Derek Prince listed five specific changes which will take place in our resurrection bodies. He goes on today in this theme ‘Resurrection of the Dead,’ to give us evidence of Jesus’ resurrection through Old Testament Scriptures and human witnesses from the New Testament. Join him now as he continues his messages at a conference in New Zealand, and listen at the end of today’s program for our address and this week’s special offer.

Derek Prince:

Now let’s go on to the attestation of the resurrection of Jesus. What evidence is given us in the Bible to the resurrection of Jesus? And it’s an interesting fact, the primary evidence is not the evidence of eyewitnesses. The primary evidence is the evidence of Scripture that takes priority over human witnesses.

Let’s look at some of the passages in the Old Testament that predict the resurrection of Jesus. This is a very, very interesting subject and I wish I had more time to deal with it. But let’s look at one statement in 1 Peter chapter 1:10–12.

“Of this salvation [which Peter is talking about], the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow. To them it was revealed that not to themselves but to us they were ministering the things which have now been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you.”

So, the Old Testament prophets had a real dilemma. I wonder if you can understand it because it’s an amazing dilemma. Peter says the Spirit of Christ was in them, the Spirit of the Messiah. So, under that inspiration they spoke in the first person of things that would happen to Jesus that never happened to them. And that must have been difficult. I don’t know whether you’ve ever put yourself in the place of those Old Testament prophets. But they said the most extraordinary things about themselves which never happened. Let me give you just two examples. In Psalm 22:16, this is what they call a Messianic Psalm. In other words, it’s an unfolding of the revelation of the Messiah. Psalm 22:16, David is speaking in the first person and he says:

“Dogs have surrounded me, the assembly of the wicked has enclosed me, they pierce my hands and my feet.”

It never happened to David. How do you think he felt when he said those words? I have no idea, but he was inspired by the Spirit of Christ that was in him. So he spoke in the first person of things that would happen to the Messiah that never happened to him.

And then we can look in Isaiah chapter 50. There are countless other examples, I’m just giving you two very clear examples. Isaiah 50:6:

“I gave my back to those who struck me and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. I did not hide my face from shame and spitting.”

It never happened in the life is Isaiah, it happened in the ministry of Jesus. But, it was written in the first person. Can you understand what I’m saying? It was the Spirit of Messiah in them through the Holy Spirit that predicted what would happen to the Messiah, to Jesus, but never happened to them. And so no wonder they searched what manner of time they were speaking about. I marvel at the faith of those men that they had the faith to receive it. I thank God for them because this is the first confirmation of the resurrection of Christ that are predicted in the Scriptures.

In Psalm 16, which is quoted by the apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost, we have a very amazing outline of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Psalm 16, beginning at verse 8:

“I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”

Now that could have been true of David but it was also true of the Messiah. So, what happens is they say certain things which are true in their experience, then they move beyond their experience into something that never actually happened to them. He goes on:

“Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices.”

And if you want to turn to Acts chapter 2:26 you’ll find out what your glory is. Peter says ‘my tongue rejoices.’ Understand? I’ve told you that before. Your tongue is your glory because it’s the one member that was put in your mouth to enable you to glorify God. So he says:

“Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices, my flesh also will rest in hope . . . [In other words, though I will be buried I will have the hope of resurrection.]
. . . for you will not leave my soul in Sheol . . .
[So that indicates that his soul went down to Sheol.]
. . . nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption.”

His body never suffered corruption although it was a considerable time in the grave. Because He had never committed sin and sin is the sting that admits corruption to the body. Then it says in the final verse:

“You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

That was fulfilled when Jesus was resurrected. He returned to the Father’s presence and there was fullness of joy. So that’s one example.

Another is in Psalm 71:20–21. This is an amazing psalm. It doesn’t tell us who the psalmist was. You can look into the background if you want to but he’s addressing God and he says:

“You have shown me great and severe troubles shall revive me again [bring me back to life] and bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
[That never happened to any psalmist.]
You shall increase my greatness and comfort me on every side.”

So that only applies to Jesus. He was buried, He was brought back to life, He was raised up and His greatness was increased. He became the owner of the name that’s exalted above every name. See? It never happened to the psalmist, it happened to Jesus. That’s the Spirit of Messiah in them testifying beforehand the things that would follow. When you begin to absorb this truth it is the most powerful attestation of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus.

And then there’s one more interesting passage. Paul said in 1 Corinthians, he said the gospel consists of three facts. We looked at that the other day. Jesus died according to the Scriptures, He was buried and He was raised again the third day according to the Scriptures. Have you ever asked yourself what Scripture says He would be raised on the third day? I’ve only been able to find one and it’s extremely interesting because it goes far beyond the context. In Hosea chapter 6:1–2:

“Come and let us return to the Lord, for He is torn but He will heal us, He is stricken but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us [bring us back to life]. On the third day He will raise us up that we may live in His sight.”

So, that’s a very clear prediction of resurrection on the third day. The interesting thing is that it doesn’t speak about Him in the singular, it speaks about us in the plural.

This is a revelation. If you turn to Ephesians chapter 2 you’ll find how Paul applies this revelation. You see, prophecy does not merely predict future events but it predicts them in such a way as to show their real significance. It interprets them as well as predicts them. This is a perfect example. Ephesians chapter 2, beginning at verse 4, and this is written about all true believers. Ephesians 2, beginning at verse 4:

“But God who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses . . .”

That’s wonderful. He loved us even when we were dead. How many people can love a corpse? Now what did He do? Three things:

“. . . He made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ.”

All that is in the past tense. So, because of our identification with Jesus we’re made alive, we’re resurrected and, don’t stop there, we are enthroned. That’s our destiny. And Paul doesn’t put it in the future. In essence, he says if you can receive it, you’re sharing the throne with Jesus right now. But this is the outworking of Hosea chapter 6:1 and 2. See how marvelously the Scripture interprets itself.

Then Paul gives a list of human witnesses. That is not irrelevant but it secondary. We’ll just look at that briefly. 1 Corinthians 15:5–8. Verse 4 says:

“He was buried, He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

Verse 5:

“. . . that He was seen by Cephas [that’s Peter], then by the twelve apostles. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to this present and some have fallen asleep . . .[Most of them are still alive which indicates they were probably pretty young when they saw him.] After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as one born out of due time.”

That’s a list of the people that were eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Jesus. Now according to Jewish law the testimony of any two reliable men was sufficient to establish something at law. But God has given far more than two testimonies for the resurrection of Jesus.

Incidentally, and this I’ll just say because it interests me, Paul says he saw Jesus as one born out of due time—as a premature birth. I’ve pondered on that for a long while but I really believe Paul was a foreshadowing of the ultimate salvation of Israel when they see the Messiah. But Paul was two thousand years in advance, he was born out of due time. You can disagree with me about that and still be saved.

Now I want to speak about the importance of the resurrection. We cannot overestimate the importance of the resurrection of Jesus. It is the decisive fact of the history of the universe. The whole history of the universe, not just the human race, revolves around the fact of the resurrection of Jesus. First of all, it was God’s vindication of Jesus. Remember, two courts had condemned Him to death: a secular Roman court, a religious Jewish court. And when He was buried He was under that condemnation but when He rose God vindicated His Son. This is expressed in Romans chapter 1:3–4:

Announcer:

Tomorrow Derek Prince will conclude his teaching ‘Resurrection of the Dead,’ by delineating the extreme importance of Christ’s resurrection and how it applies to us personally. This week’s message is available on audiocassette No. RC4168 and also on video. Our special offer this week is Chords From David’s Harp. Based on the book of Psalms, each of the one hundred one meditations is based on a specific passage, develops a theme and concludes with a short faith response. When applied they will revive you and deepen your communication with God.

To receive your copy of ‘Resurrection of the Dead,’ write today and include a contribution of $5.00 or more for audiocassette RC4168 or $14.95 for the video teaching. Include a gift of $5.00 or more for the book Chords From David’s Harp.

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