Christ occupies in the Scriptures. More than one hundred times is
it spoken of in the New Testament alone.

II. THE NATURE OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST.

1. JESUS CHRIST ACTUALLY DIED.

Some who disbelieve in the resurrection of Christ assert that Jesus
merely swooned, and that pitying hands took Him down from the cross,
thinking that He had died. The cool air of the tomb in which He was
placed revived Him, so that He came forth from the tomb as though
He had really risen from the dead. The disciples believed that He
had really died and risen again.

This theory is false for the following reasons:

Jesus Christ appeared to the disciples after the third day, not as
a weak, suffering, half-dead man, but as a conquering, triumphant
victor over death and the grave. He never could have made the
impression upon the disciples that He did, if He had presented the
picture of a sick, half-dead man.

From John 19:33-37 we learn that when the soldiers pierced the side
of Christ, _there came forth blood and water_. Physiologists
and physicists agree that such a condition of the vital organs,
including the heart itself, precludes the idea of a mere swoon,
and proves conclusively that death had taken place.

Joseph of Arimathaea asked permission to bury the body of Jesus
because he knew that Jesus had been pronounced dead (Matt. 27:57,