Proofs of the Resurrection

"Prove it!" are the words someone might use when they don't believe something you've said or written.  Easter Sunday is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  If someone asked us to prove it, what might we say to them?  There are numerous proofs of the resurrection found in the Scriptures.  Here are a four of them.

1)  The Empty Tomb.  Because the Jewish religious leaders were concerned that the disciples might try to steal the body of Jesus in order to make it look like He had risen from the dead they asked Pilate to put a guard on the tomb.  So, it is recorded in Matthew 27  "Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how."  And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone."  That means the stone was sealed, and any tampering with the stone would be known right away.  The stone was not moved, and the women who came early on that Sunday morning wondered how they might roll the stone away.

Instead, the stone was rolled away by the angel in order to show that the Lord Jesus had been raised from the dead.  It was a proof that no one had stolen the body, but that Jesus had truly risen.

2)  The Appearances of Jesus.  In a court of law an eye-witness account is the strongest of all testimonies.  In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul is talking about the importance of the Gospel, and then gives a list of people who saw Jesus alive after His resurrection.  "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also."  That is quite a list of people, and the greatest number there is "more than 500 at one time."  If one or two people said they saw Jesus alive, then it might have been passed off as a hallucination, but 500?  If 500 people could come forward and testify that Jesus way alive, that would be quite a convincing argument.
At the end of this section, Paul himself gives testimony to seeing Jesus alive, and He was not hallucinating. 

3)  The Witness and Conviction of the Apostles.  Jesus told his disciples that they would be His witnesses (Acts 1:8), and that's what they did.  You hear Peter and the other disciples echoing those words later in their sermons in the book of Acts.  If Jesus had not risen from the dead, then these men would have known that, and would have had to be in collusion together to promote that lie.  Would someone give their life for something they knew was a lie?  I don't think so.  Besides, when Jesus is crucified, these men are not the confident and bold men of God that are seen in the book of Acts.  They are confused and scared men left without their leader.  They would hardly be candidates for proclaiming this lie.  Instead, the only explanation is that what they proclaimed really happened, and the person and power of the Holy Spirit came upon them to testify to the resurrection of their Savior and Lord.

4)  The Witness of the Christian Church.  The Church of Jesus Christ is a living testimony of the resurrection of Jesus.  It is the ongoing witness to how Jesus "purchased for God with (His) blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation."  If Jesus were not raised from the dead, then the purpose, stability, and meaning of the Church would be lost, and it would not hold together.  Instead, the Risen Christ stands as the leader of the Church, working through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  Men and women for over 20 centuries have had their lives transformed by the message of hope, salvation, and reconciliation that comes from the Word of God, and specifically the Gospel.  My life, and the lives of those in my family have been changed by the power of the Gospel!  Praise God!

How about you?  Are you rejoicing in the Resurrection of Jesus today?  Don't stay on the fence.  Understand that Jesus is truly alive again, and that He lives and reigns today as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  Hallelujah!!                            --Easter 2013