Evidence for Resurrection of Jesus Christ

The truth of Christianity stands or falls with one central issue: the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from death. Christians traditionally celebrate this event on Easter, but it is relevant for every day actually. If this really happened, then everyone should listen carefully to all that He taught. If not, then no one should trust the New Testament, because the New Testament repeatedly says that Jesus did rise from the dead. Not only did each of the gospel writers give major emphasis to this at the end of their gospels, but so did the apostle Paul, a former Pharisee and persecutor of Christians, who was converted through a direct encounter with the resurrected Christ whilst on his way to arrest and imprison believers in Damascus. If these gospel writers and apostles were liars, then it isn't much recommendation for the New Testament, even as a source of moral instruction. Yet it is arguable that the New Testament has done more for the moral betterment of humanity than any other piece of literature in the world! How could the writings of liars produce such wonderful effects?

Take the resurrection out of Christianity and all we are left with is another man-made religion with its list of do's and don'ts. The authority of the message is effectively removed once we deny the resurrection. Some people may prefer to view things that way, but I'd challenge such people to come to grips with the powerful historical evidence out there for the resurrection. I'd challenge them to offer an explanation as to why belief in a supposedly dead religious teacher has changed people's lives so much in modern times - restoring marriages, getting people off hard drugs, changing lives and society for the better.

Christianity claims to deal with the living God intervening in history and finally entering men's lives through the Holy Spirit. The resurrection of Christ is offered as the proof that Jesus Christ really was the Son of God, the one who made it all possible. To refute Christianity, it is not enough to simply say that these things can't happen. You have to explain how it is that such things could have been written about Jesus of Nazareth and why a whole movement of people left their religious traditions to trust and believe it, forming the early church.

To deny the resurrection, we'd have to conclude that all the apostles (Jesus' first disciples), most of whom were killed for their faith in Christ and the resurrection were liars and/or crazy, deluded fools. But does this really add up?

Non-Christian historians writing within a hundred years of Jesus' life talk of Jesus' existence and the early Christian belief in the resurrection.

Some people have closed minds and dismiss the possibility of a physical resurrection (or any miracle for that matter) out of hand. "We know [read: we assume] that there are no miracles. Why? I've never seen one, and neither have my friends. The only people who say they've seen a miracle are crackpots, fools, self-deceived! Why's that? Simple - everybody who is reliable and has a good brain knows there is no such thing as a miracle." Do you see this is nothing more than circular reasoning?

Reasons to Believe in the Resurrection

1. We have the record of the original eye-witnesses of Christ's resurrection - the apostles - who gave their lives for their message. That's a pretty strong testimony of its truth. You see, someone might tell a story and deceive me into believing something and dying for my belief. But when I die for something I claim to have seen myself, that is something else. No one could prove them wrong by producing the body. In fact, they proved what they were saying by continuing the miraculous ministry of Jesus Christ through their own lives - in healing the sick and casting out demons.

2. We have the present day revelation of Jesus Christ as alive to the hearts and minds of multitudes of people around the world whose lives were changed when they called upon his name. See my testimonies section for a few hundred examples. There are also a growing number of people who claim to have seen the resurrected Christ in a dream or vision. Significantly, quite a number of these people were muslims whose religious training opposed the doctrines of Christianity - yet they saw Christ and became Christians - many times experiencing severe persecution for their faith subsequent to that. I am not saying we should believe everyone who makes such claims, but when enough people who claim it go on to deny themselves comforts and advantages they could otherwise have had in order to serve the Lord Jesus, we should give some weight to what they say.

3. We have the continuing demonstrations of the power of God for healing and miracles and driving out demons - all done in the name of Jesus, whom Christians know and claim to be alive. I am a personal witness of such things, for God has been pleased to use me also in this way from time to time.

4. We have the textual evidence of the New Testament, and corroborating writings from other writers of the time. We can see in the details of this story, which occurred in a place known to us today also as Jerusalem, various historical accounts, and not just some nebulous myths or legends concerning things that happened "once upon a time in a land far away". These stories could have been easily challenged and refuted had they not been based on solid fact, with people totally convinced of the reality of which they spoke.

What are the possibilities concerning the alleged resurrection of Christ?

1. All these witnesses were emotionally disturbed and had hallucinations - thinking they saw Christ when really they just had over-active imaginations and were operating in wishful thinking.

If this is so, then why did the Jewish authorities simply not go to the tomb of Jesus, bring out the dead body of Jesus, and put an end to the delusion? It would have easily been in their power to do it. The answer is obvious: they and the soldiers knew that the grave where Jesus had been put and sealed in was now open and empty.

Also, people do not tend to have mass hallucinations. Individually, people may have them, but it is practically unheard of for a large group to all see a person who in fact was not there at all. Does anyone know of any examples of this?

2. The disciples stole the body of Jesus. This story we are told was passed around right from the start by the Jewish authorities. Let us suppose that the 11 apostles knew that the body of Jesus was stolen. They lied to more and more people and soon obtained a popular following. And so Christianity was born.

This theory fails to account for a number of important facts.

1. These same disciples were martyred around the world for their faith in Christ and their doctrine that He is alive. If they knew they were lying, why would they not recant in order to save their necks?

2. How is it that they were able to do miracles in the name of Jesus? How is it that such miracles are still happening today. (I have been involved in such events myself.) If Jesus was dead, why was there power in His name?
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