If you could have the correct answer to one question in this life what would you ask? For me the question would be, “Did Jesus rise from the dead?”. Once I know this answer all the other important questions in my life are answered. The resurrection of Jesus is foundational and crucial for Christianity. Without the resurrection Christianity would not exist. If the resurrection happened we know that God exists and that Jesus is the Son of God sent to save us from our sins because only God could rise from the dead. If the resurrection happened we know about the character of God, that He made us and loves us and wants us to live in heaven with Him forever. You are what you do and so is God. If the resurrection happened we know the Bible is the Word of God and contains God’s wisdom and truth.
1 Corinthians 15:14 – And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
If the resurrection happened I have no problem accepting the miracles of Jesus as God showing us He has authority over all things in his creation. If the resurrection happened I know where we came from and where we are going. I also know God put on this earth for a reason, to seek out our God and decide whether or not to serve Him or not. I know we are put on this earth to bring praise, honor and glory to God by how we live our lives. At the time of the resurrection of Jesus all the people in Palestine accepted it as an irrefutable fact. The Jewish authorities had the Roman guards seal the tomb of Jesus and stand watch because they knew Jesus said He would arise on the third day and they didn’t want his disciples to take the body and thereby perpetuate the myth.
When the Roman soldiers reported the body of Jesus missing the Jewish elders paid the soldiers money to say the disciples came and stole the body. Nobody at the time believed this story because a Roman soldier caught sleeping on guard duty was killed instantly. At the time the Jewish and Roman authorities did not dispute the resurrection of Jesus. How could they? The tomb was guarded, the body was gone and they could not produce the body of Jesus. If the authorities had the body of Jesus they could have produced it and ended the upstart Christian cult right there.
As far as saying the disciples stole the body of Jesus we have to understand the disciples did not believe Jesus would rise from the dead. It’s inconceivable to believe all of them would band together to steal Jesus’ body in order to perpetuate a false religion on the people. Not to mention the fact it would be impossible to steal the body of Jesus out from under the noses of the Roman guard detachment there to protect the tomb. A recent theory is that Jesus wasn’t actually dead when he was buried but had swooned. We are to believe Jesus ripped off the 75 pounds of burial clothes he was wrapped in from the inside and then somehow managed to roll back the burial stone weighing several tons from the inside with no possible handhold.
In his physical condition we are to believe Jesus then walked away to appear before the disciples unharmed and in good physical condition. Let’s not forget Jesus also had a spear thrust into his heart and hands and feet that were pierced by nails. The Romans were experts at crucifixion and they knew death when they saw it. The resurrection is much more plausible than believing all these other impossible things happened in conjunction.
If Jesus had not risen from the dead in 32-33 AD and the evidence been irrefutable then there would not have been an explosion of believers. The Christian church would not now be worldwide with two billion believers. The resurrection is the cornerstone of all we believe.
The resurrection has been verified by eyewitness testimony by the Apostle Peter as recorded by Mark. The gospels of Matthew and John written by those Apostles also testify to the resurrection of Jesus. Luke wrote his gospel after carefully examining the evidence and came to the same conclusion that Jesus arose from the dead.