Easter time is a good time to explore the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Did it actually happen about 2,000 years ago? If Jesus has not risen from then the Christian faith is nothing but a fraud.

1 – You should believe the resurrected Jesus

There is more historical fact for the resurrection of Jesus Christ than any other historical event in the world. This is not a vicious hoax. It is a truth. So where is the infallible evidence?

• We know his body was buried. Some have tried to say that Jesus just swooned. This doesn’t make any sense. See John 19:34. This is medical proof that his heart had been pierced. He was nailed to a cross. He was wrapped from head to toe in grave clothes. Jesus would have had to unwrap the grave clothes and push away a large stone with a seal on it in a near death condition and then somehow avoid the attention of the Roman guards. He then somehow walked 14 miles to meet his disciples. It is obvious that He was dead and not just fainted.
• We know that the tomb was empty. This has never been refuted. A lie they came up with was that the disciples had stolen the body. Other tombs of religious leaders are occupied. The tomb of Jesus is empty
• We know that lives were changed. The disciples were timid and scared. Peter had denied Jesus. After the resurrection they were bold. What had happened? Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. Saul had persecuted the church and one the Damascus road he met the resurrected Jesus. There are many sceptics who have had their lives changed. E.g. Josh McDowell & CS Lewis.
• The false theories have been disproved.

1. The “swoon theory” was the prevailing theory for a while but as mentioned above it doesn’t make sense of the facts.
2. The “theft theory” is mentioned in the Bible. This holds that the disciples stole the body of Jesus while the guards were sleeping. The guards were under the sentence of death if they fell asleep.
3. The “hallucination theory” holds that Jesus dies and people imagined that they saw Jesus. He was seen by more than 500 people at the same time. See 1 Corinthians 15:5-6. Did they have the same hallucination at the same time? I don’t think it would stand up in court! Jesus is alive!
4. The “wrong tomb theory” holds that the disciples went to the wrong tomb. Peter, John, Mary, etc went to the wrong tomb? You don’t forget where you bury a loved love. Do you remember where you buried a loved one? Of course you do! It was the women who went to the tomb first and they are also unlikely to forget.

• The church was born. The very same city where Jesus was died was the birthplace of the church. Why? Jesus didn’t stay dead. He was resurrected and those who saw it were converted and went to tell others. The only explanation for the existence of the church is that Jesus rose from the dead and He is alive.

2 – You should receive the resurrected Jesus

If you believe than you will receive. It is enough evidence to believe in Jesus. There are three things that can change in your life.

• Your sins can be forgiven. See Romans 4:25. Jesus was raised from the dead to make us right with God. You can be forgiven no matter what you have done. No one of us was born perfect. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. You can choose an empty tomb or continue with an empty life.
• Your life can have purpose. Most people just exist. You were born to do so much more. God has a plan for your life. See John 10:10. The Devil wants to take the joy from your life. To get you to destroy your life in drink, drugs, etc. You don’t have to live with a guilty conscience and pain in your life. Jesus has come to give you a more abundant life. You can have heaven here on planet Earth.
• You can conquer death. Death is in the back of our mind. We try not to think about it. If you watch the news you can see that it happens every day. We try to avoid it or ignore it. We try to dress it up. Jesus has made sure that death has lost its sting. See 1 Corinthians 15:55. Jesus makes it possible for us to conquer death. It is not difficult to be saved. See Romans 10:9-10. If you do that today then you will not die. There is a new body awaiting the Christian when we leave this old body. See John 11:25-26.

Categories: Acts