The historical evidence for the Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection is compelling. It is so important to Christianity that a follower must believe in the Lord and His resurrection for salvation. His resurrection from the dead is evidence that God the Father accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as an atonement for sin.
The Fact of the Resurrection of Christ
There is a universally-held belief among believers in Christ–Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-13). If you don’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you have no part in Him and you will never receive the forgiveness of sins that reconciles you to God and brings you eternal life. Fortunately, you have every reason to believe it, because there’s overwhelming evidence that it happened.
“The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth.” ~ Henry M. Morris
Jesus death and resurrection were prophesied
The exact details of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ was foretold hundreds of years in advance. Only God could have revealed such an unusual and significant event well before it happened.
The Old Testament prophesied Christ’s resurrection
Job’s prophecy and fulfillment
Job’s Prophecy. “Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,
that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead,
or engraved in rock forever!
I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:23–27)
Fulfillment of Job’s prophecy.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:24–29).
Psalm 16 prophecy and fulfillment
Psalm 16 prophecy. “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:9–11).
Fulfillment of Psalm 16 prophecy. “Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay” (Acts 2:31).
Isaiah prophecy and fulfillment
The Messiah will conquer death – Isaiah 25 prophecy. “On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 25:7–8).
Fulfillment of Isaiah 25 prophecy. “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory’” (1 Corinthians 15:54).
Jesus foretold His resurrection
The Lord knew why the Father had sent Him, and He told His disciples beforehand what was about to happen. Jesus told his disciples that he would be killed and be raised again on the third day on three occasions.
- “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders and chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Matthew 16:21).
- “As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus instructed them, ‘Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead’ ” (Matthew 17:9). “When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.’ And the disciples were filled with grief” Matthew 17:22-23).
- “Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!’ ” (Matthew 20:17-19)
The tomb was empty
According to the Gospels , Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body down from the cross. (See Matthew 27:57-28:8, Mark 15:42-16:8, Luke 23:50-24:8, John 19:38-42). Then he wrapped it in clean linen cloth and placed it in a new tomb cut in the rock. Then he rolled a big stone in front of the entrance of the tomb. The next day, the chief priests and Pharisees got Pilate’s permission to further secure the tomb. They feared that Jesus’ disciples may steal the body to start a rumor that Jesus prediction had come true. So they sealed the tomb and had guards placed nearby.
On the third day, Mary Magdalene, another Mary, and Salome went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. When they got there, they saw that the stone had been moved away and the tomb was empty. An angel appeared to them and told them that Jesus has risen. The angel instructed them to go quickly and tell his disciples that He has risen from the dead. He was going into Galilee and He would meet them there.
Lee Strobel, a former atheist who converted to Christianity, says the greatest evidence for the empty tomb is Jesus’ opponents. “The best evidence for the empty tomb is that even the opponents of Jesus implicitly admitted the tomb was empty. When the disciples began proclaiming that Jesus had risen what the opponent said was, “The disciples stole the body.” They’re conceding that the tomb was empty, they’re just trying to explain how it got empty. So, everybody’s conceding that the tomb was empty. How it got empty is the real issue, and that goes to the fourth category of evidence, which is eyewitnesses.”
Jesus appeared to many eye-witnesses after He was risen
What better testimony to Jesus Christ’s resurrection than many witnesses to the fact. Many of them were still alive when the disciples proclaimed it! They could have denied it if if weren’t true, but nobody did.
As Paul wrote, “he [Jesus] appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born (1 Corinthians 15:5-8).
In Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Christ, he quotes from his interview with J.P. Moreland, PH.D. “When Jesus was crucified, his followers were discouraged and depressed. They no longer had confidence that Jesus had been sent from God, because they believed anyone crucified was accursed by God… Then, after a short period of time, we see them abandoning their occupations, regathering, and committing themselves to spreading a very specific message–that Jesus Christ was the Messiah of God, who died on a cross, returned to life, and was seen alive by them.”1Lee Strobel, The Case For Christ, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, Copyright 1998, page 246
The apostles were ready to die for something they had witnessed firsthand. They not only believed Jesus rose from the dead, they knew it for sure. Eleven credible witnesses, who had nothing to gain and everything to lose, agreed on what they had seen. So, how can you explain it away?
Jesus resurrection is the foundational basis for the church
Christianity had a monumental effect on Judaism and the Roman empire in the first century. This was nothing short of miraculous considering the storyline. The message was that a crucified carpenter from an obscure village had triumphed over death. It all began at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came powerfully upon a small group of praying disciples.
What could have caused skeptics like James, the half-brother of Jesus, to be stoned for his belief in Christ? Was it not that the risen Jesus had appeared to him? And what could have caused the chief persecutor of Christians to become the chief missionary to the Gentiles? Was it not that he had a remarkable encounter with the resurrected Christ?
Thousands of Jews turned their back on their cherished Jewish traditions that they had been taught from childhood. They knew something big was happening. They gave them away because they had seen miracles that they couldn’t explain. Many of them had seen the risen Christ, or knew others that had seen Him.
The meaning of the resurrection
Job asked the age-old question, “If a man dies, will he live again” (Job 14:14)? It’s a question we have all asked ourselves. Wouldn’t you love to hear the testimony from someone who died and returned to life to give an account of what he had experienced?
That’s exactly what Jesus Christ has done for us. The resurrection of Christ clearly shows there is life after death. Believing in Jesus’ resurrection matters to us. For it demonstrates that God has the power to raise the dead, if Christ was indeed raised. It also validates the claims and credentials of Jesus Christ to qualify Him as our savior. By trusting Him to save us, our sure hope is rightfully placed in the One who is our only hope for salvation.
“No one can remain neutral regarding Jesus’ resurrection.
The claim is too staggering,
the event too earthshaking,
the implications too significant
and the matter too serious.
We must either receive it or reject it as truth for us.
To remain indifferent or undecided is to reject it.” ~
Believers are justified by Jesus’ resurrection
The Old Testament reveals the necessity for a sacrifice that can atone for our sin against God. The sacrificial system that God instituted for Israel previewed the more perfect sacrifice for sin that Jesus would fulfill. Isaiah prophesied, “…but he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him” (Isaiah 53:5).
But God would not allow His Son to remain in the grave. Isaiah continues, “…though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:10-11).
“Since we have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life (Romans 5:9-10)!
Believers are identified with Jesus’ resurrection
Christians identify with Christ in His death and in His resurrected life. “… If we died with Him, we will also live with him” (2 Timothy 2:11). “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father; we too may live a new life.”
Believers’ hope is grounded in Jesus’ resurrection
Paul reasons that if there is no resurrection, then Jesus Christ could not have been raised from the dead. And if He was not raised, our faith is in vain. If we can have hope only for this life, we should be pitied among all men. If we’re not resurrected, we might as well live it up and live as each one pleases.
But Christ was raised from the dead. Death came through the first man, Adam, who was our representative before God. Since Adam sinned through disobedience, his sin was imputed to all of his descendants. Each one of us inherited our own sinful nature from him. Just as sin came to us through Adam, so our resurrection from the dead also comes to us through Christ. “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Believers’ living high priest is now the resurrected Jesus
Jesus Christ ascended to heaven after appearing to hundreds of people following His resurrection. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father, serving as our high priest. He is our advocate before the Father, interceding for His people. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus … ” (Romans 8:1).
Come to the wellspring of life
We enter into the family of God by believing in Christ alone. There’s nothing we can do to earn or merit God’s grace. His grace is a free gift, but you must receive it for yourself by faith.
Ask yourself two very important questions. First, are you sure that you’ll go to heaven when you die? Secondly, are you certain why God should let you into heaven? If you don’t know for sure, you can settle that matter today. Visit my post, How to Begin Your Life Over Again and you’ll know where and how you’ll spend eternity.
And for crystal clear YouTube presentations of the gospel message from several trusted sources, click here.
References
- 1Lee Strobel, The Case For Christ, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, Copyright 1998, page 246
