Jesus' Resurrection

 

 Jesus’ Resurrection

If one believes in God, it should not be hard to believe that God can raise someone from the dead, even His beloved Son. There are numerous historical accounts of the events surrounding the resurrection of Jesus in the Bible and extrabiblical accounts as well that contain truths that the majority of scholars, even non-believing scholars, agree on:

1. Jesus was a Jewish man who lived approximately 2000 years ago, offended Jewish leaders, and died a gruesome death on a cross near Jerusalem at the hands of the occupying forces of Rome.
2. Jesus’ body was buried in a nearby tomb or cave and sealed and guarded by temple guards so that the body would not be stolen – for He had predicted that He would rise from the dead.
3. Three days later, the body of Jesus was gone.
4. Jesus’ followers believed, and later announced, that they had seen Jesus risen from the dead. The Jewish leaders claimed that His followers stole the body from the tomb.

The above should be considered established facts of history agreed upon by the majority of historians. Below are the reasons why Christians believe that the Biblical accounts recorded by Jesus’ followers are true:

5. Biblical accounts in the Jewish Old Testament, written centuries prior to the birth of Jesus, predicted the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus – Psalms 16 and 22, Isaiah 53

6. Biblical accounts recorded by Jesus’ followers offer strong evidence that appeals to their honesty – Jesus’ followers had recorded that they all acted cowardly at the arrest of Jesus; the resurrection was first witnessed by women (in Jewish culture the testimony of women was not accepted as valid); accounts agree that the appearance of the risen Jesus was different than prior to His arrest – many did not recognize Him at first. But, for forty days Jesus appeared to them, teaching them and displaying miracles (including His ascending into heaven before His follower’s eyes) that were convincing proofs that He was the risen Jesus, the Son of God.

7. The twelve Jesus follower’s lives were changed after witnessing the risen Savior as they came to believe that His death was payment for the sins of mankind and was God’s gift for forgiveness and reconciliation. This belief was displayed in their proclamation of this good news with accompanying miracles affecting the quick spread of Christianity throughout the known world. Each of them held to this belief until the day of their death.

8. Three skeptics who greatly struggled with belief encountered the risen Jesus Who changed their lives. James was the brother of Jesus who was antagonistic and unbelieving during the ministry of Jesus (John 7:1-5,  Galatians 1:18,19) became the leader of the Jewish church in Jerusalem. Thomas said, ‘unless I put my finger into the nail holes in His hands and place my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ Jesus appeared and invited him to do just that. He exclaimed, ‘My Lord and my God!’ (John 20). Paul was an enemy of the early church – arresting and killing believers. After his encounter with the risen Jesus, he became the most famous of missionaries (Acts 15:3-11).

9. Finally, my life has changed! I see Jesus alive in my life today, working in and through me, with changes in my heart, my attitudes, my responses, speech and action that I can only attribute to His presence in my life. As well, I see this same change in other followers of Jesus. He’s alive!

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”  2 Corinthians 5:17