Resurrection of Jesus Christ: Summary | Part 1

Why the First Witness Changes Everything

If you were going to make up a story and wanted it to be believed, you'd choose your witnesses carefully. You'd pick people with credibility, authority, and status. People whose word would be accepted without question.

You would not choose a woman in first-century Palestine.

In this Crowd Church talk, Pete Farrington walks through John chapter 20 - the resurrection account - and draws out details that are easy to miss but profoundly significant. The fact that Mary Magdalene was the first witness isn't incidental. It's evidence.

A Witness No One Would Invent

Pete set the cultural scene with some uncomfortable historical quotes.

The Jewish historian Josephus, writing just a few decades after these events, said that a woman's testimony "was not deemed acceptable in a court of law because of the levity and boldness of their sex."

A man called Celsus in the second century "scoffed at the idea of Mary Magdalene being the first eyewitness, calling her a hysterical woman" and claiming she'd been "deceived by sorcery."

And Philo, a contemporary of Josephus, wrote of women: "She easily gives way and is taken in by plausible falsehoods which resemble the truth. The female sex is irrational and akin to bestial passions."

Pete was clear: "I would like to point out at this point that not all views expressed in this talk are my own."

But he included those quotes for a reason: "This is really important because if you were going to make up a story and try to make it sound credible - which is what many have argued the disciples did with the tomb and the whole story of the resurrection - if you wanted to come up with a mad conspiracy theory and you really wanted it to catch on, well, probably the very last thing you would have done in the first century would be to have had a woman as the first eyewitness."

And not just any woman. Mary Magdalene - "the one who Jesus cast seven demons out of" - was the first person to see the empty tomb and the first to encounter the risen Jesus.

They Weren't Expecting Resurrection

When Peter and John arrive at the tomb, they see the linen cloths lying there and the face cloth "folded up in a place by itself." They see and believe - but the text adds something crucial:

"For as yet they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead."

Pete noted: "If you still want to try and argue that this whole thing was fabricated by Jesus' disciples so that it would all match up with what they thought Jesus had been predicting, you've got a big problem. Because clearly resurrection hadn't even crossed their minds."

Even Mary hadn't considered it. Her only explanation was: "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him."

The Importance of God's Word

Pete drew out a principle from this: "This passage also shows us the importance of God's word, because it's God's word that helps us make sense of the things that we see and experience and walk through in life. It's God's word that helps us to think rightly about him and about ourselves, and about life."

He pushed back against a common sentiment: "This is why I take issue a little bit when people say things like, we don't need more theology, we need more experience. If that's the case, how are you going to understand your experience? We shouldn't be pitting the two things against each other. We both need to experience God and we also need to understand him and think rightly about him."

What the Resurrection Means

Pete moved from the fact of the resurrection to its meaning - not just seeing it, but perceiving its significance.

Validation of Jesus' deity. Romans 1:4 says Jesus "was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead."

Pete noted how John's language contrasts Jesus' resurrection with Lazarus being raised from the dead. When Lazarus came out of the tomb, "his hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, unbind him and let him go."

But Jesus? "He didn't rise like Lazarus to die again. He didn't stumble out of the tomb with his hands bound and his face covered. He even neatly folded up the face cloth."

Authentication of Jesus' claims.

Pete wondered what Peter and John might have said to each other walking home: "Hey John, were you there when Jesus said all that stuff about the Son of Man rising after three days? Do you think that's what we're seeing right now?"

Jesus had said in Mark 8:31: "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed. And after three days rise again."

Without resurrection, no justification.

Romans 4:25 says Jesus "was delivered up for our trespasses, for our sins, and he was raised for our justification."

Pete was direct: "Without the resurrection, we are not justified before God." He quoted 1 Corinthians 15:17: "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. There is no forgiveness without the resurrection. And there is no hope that we have outside of the resurrection."

Death has lost its sting.

Corinthians 15:55-57 declares: "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

And 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14: "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."

Pete summarised: "Death is not the end. We will rise. We too will rise again."

Jesus' ministry continues.

Pete quoted Hebrews 7:24-25: "He holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."

"Jesus's resurrection means that Christ's ministry has not ended. And if you are in Jesus, you had an intercessor yesterday, you have an intercessor today, and you will have an intercessor tomorrow. He always lives to make intercession for us. He's able to save us to the uttermost."

Mary Hears Her Name

Mary stays weeping at the tomb. She sees angels. She turns and sees Jesus standing there - but doesn't recognise him. She assumes he's the gardener.

Then Jesus says one word: "Mary."

And she knows.

Pete reflected on the significance: "Mary Magdalene's deeply troubled past didn't disqualify her from being the first commissioned messenger of the resurrection. It's incredible. She's the first person to see the risen Jesus."

He imagined the disciples' reaction: "I imagine the disciples must have been beside themselves at this point. It's like, Jesus, you're really not helping us here. If you keep choosing to reveal yourself to women, how is anybody going to believe us?"

But what Jesus says to Mary is beautiful. These are the disciples who deserted and denied him - yet he identifies himself with them: "Go to my brothers... I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."

Pete emphasised: "Not just my God, but your God. He identifies himself with us. It's incredible."

Peace Be With You

The disciples are hiding behind locked doors, terrified. Jesus appears among them and says: "Peace be with you."

Pete painted the picture: "They had left everything to follow this guy. They'd then watched Jesus die - or most of them deserted him, but their hero died, the one they pinned all their hopes on. They're now scared for their lives. And they've got this woman claiming he's alive. They must have been racked with terror and doubt. Was everything we'd seen just crowd hysteria? Was it just hype? Was it just smoke machines?"

Then this: "But even with the doors locked and barricaded, Jesus can reach you wherever you are. Jesus can do things that no one else and nothing else can do."

And what did these weak, sinful, cowardly, faithless men who had deserted him need? "They didn't just need to read the latest self-help book or do the latest personality test or just find the road back to their true selves. They needed to see the risen Jesus. Nothing else can bring us hope."

The Receipt

Jesus greets them with "Peace be with you" - and Pete unpacked why this is astonishing.

"The disciples must have been stunned because not only is this the man that had been crucified before their very eyes, but perhaps even more astonishingly, he claims to come with peace. How could there possibly have been anything but disappointment, anger, fury, and condemnation in Jesus' face?"

What Jesus does next answers that question: he shows them his hands and his side.

"It is only then that we are told that the disciples were glad to see the Lord. Because their shame and their guilt actually rightfully told them that but for some miracle, but for the blood of Jesus, to stand before the king would be a terrible thing. Because they were - as are we - deserving of nothing but punishment and wrath."

Pete's interpretation: "Jesus is telling them that the resurrection is the receipt. The debt that was owed has been paid in full. God's wrath for those who are in Christ Jesus has been fully laid on Jesus. It's been fully spent on Jesus, and there's nothing outstanding."

He quoted Romans 8:1: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Jesus repeats the greeting - "to make sure they've got it" - and shows them his hands and side again. "Because that is how God demonstrates his love for us. Romans 5:8 says, 'God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' He points the disciples to that demonstration of his love. He points them to the cross."

How God Gives

Pete connected this to what Jesus had said at the Last Supper: "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."

He asked: "How does the world give? I think at least one way is that it's really much easier to give extravagantly to someone who is maybe quite well off, who is very good at giving gifts, someone who just really gets you, and whose gifts you won't end up taking to the charity shop the first week of January."

"But it's different with God, isn't it? Because all that I have to give to God is dust, and yet he gives me life. All I have in my heart to give him is chaos and confusion, and he brings peace. He gives me peace."

"This is true generosity, because I cannot pay back what he's given. All I have to give him is myself, and he gives me everything - namely, himself."

Pete closed with this: "We have the tendency to be fascinated and get distracted by the peripheral benefits of the Christian life, when the greatest treasure that God gives us is himself. And there really is no miracle greater than a sinner and a traitor standing before the risen king and hearing those words: Peace be with you. My peace I give you."

Conversation Street

Why would anyone invent this story?

Dan was struck by the conspiracy argument: "If this was a conspiracy, why use a woman's testimony as the first testimony? I love it that Jesus said, Mary Magdalene, I'm going to make you the first person to see me. I love it that she was a woman in that culture, in that time - that wasn't the done thing to do."

He also loved the moment Jesus calls her name: "When he calls us by name, when he speaks to us - that's just a beautiful thing."

How did she not recognise him?

Matt found it intriguing that Mary didn't recognise Jesus: "How is that possible? She would've met him, talked to him, was familiar with Jesus. And yet she didn't recognise the risen Jesus."

He connected it to our own experience: "How many times, Jesus, have you been stood there? How many times have you been speaking to me and I've just not recognised it? It's not until he says her name that she goes, aha."

Dan related this to his own testimony. Growing up in a Christian family with an evangelist father, he'd heard the gospel many times. "I knew the gospel. But it's when I knew it was for me - that was the difference. That's when he called your name."

Jesus came out in his own power

Dan highlighted Pete's contrast between Lazarus and Jesus: "Jesus didn't need any help. He came out of that tomb in his own power. Lazarus was raised by Jesus' word, but then still needed his friends to take off those bandages. Jesus came out because he was done."

Scars remain

Matt noticed that Jesus showed the disciples his wounds: "This was a risen body, a risen healed body, but it still had scars."

He shared a memory of telling someone in a church meeting: "God has healed you of something, but there are scars that still remain, and we have to deal with the scars. As Christians, we can be healed of all kinds of things, but sometimes the healing is good and the scars still remain."

Hope is not a wish

Reflecting on Pete's comment about self-help books, Dan distinguished between hope as the world uses the word and biblical hope: "In the UK, if you're not in church circles, hope can be a bit like a wish. 'I really hoped I'd get a bike for Christmas.' It's not that. Our hope is steadfast. It's not a wish. It's something that's happened. Jesus is that fixed, steadfast rock."

He can reach you anywhere

Dan closed with a final thought from Pete's talk: "They were in a locked room and Jesus was there. If you think that you can't be reached, if you think you are in a place that God can't get to you - he can, even if it's your locked room."

Your Next Step This Week

1. Consider the evidence - If you've dismissed the resurrection as a made-up story, consider why the Gospel writers would include details that undermined their credibility in their own culture.

2. Listen for your name - Mary didn't recognise Jesus until he called her name. Are there ways Jesus might be speaking to you that you haven't recognised?

3. Receive the peace - Jesus came to his frightened, guilty disciples with peace, not condemnation. Whatever shame you're carrying, his first word to you is the same: Peace.

4. Remember the receipt - The resurrection isn't just a miracle; it's proof that the debt has been paid. There's nothing outstanding. No condemnation.

5. Know that he can reach you - Locked doors, locked hearts - neither can keep Jesus out. Wherever you are, he can get to you.

The Greatest Treasure

The resurrection means Jesus is alive. It means death has lost its sting. It means there's hope beyond the grave.

But Pete's closing thought cuts to the heart of it: the greatest treasure God gives us isn't the peripheral benefits of the Christian life. It's himself.

A sinner and a traitor, standing before the risen king, hearing: "Peace be with you."

That's the miracle. And it's offered to you.