Resurrection

Do you like to solve a crossword or Sudoku puzzle? Many people like puzzles as it causes them to exercise their minds. Another way to exercise our mind is to think about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Is this an ancient fable or a fact of history? Can we take seriously the biblical accounts that state, Jesus Christ died on a cross but three days later he rose from the dead?

It is an indisputable fact that in the first century there was a group of people proclaiming that they had seen Jesus Christ, after He rose from the dead. Some endured beatings and imprisonment as they travelled thousands of miles to tell whoever they met that they had seen, touched and even ate with the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Most of this group were murdered in horrific ways because of what they said. They did not receive any visible benefits – no prestige, wealth or social status – yet they would not stop speaking about what they had seen. Were they telling the truth? As we think about this evidence we need to remember that many people will die for their convictions but people do not die for a concoction!

What about the ‘empty tomb’? From Matthew’s biblical account, we know that the opponents of the Lord Jesus admitted the tomb was empty. The question is not ‘Was the tomb empty?’ but ‘Why was it empty?’. One theory was that the followers of Jesus had stolen the body. We might well ask that if this was true, then why did his followers give up their lives for something they knew was false. Of course, if the Roman authorities or religious leaders had stolen the body then they could have easily disproved any talk of the resurrection by displaying the corpse. Christianity would have instantly collapsed.

One other piece of evidence to consider is the ‘grave clothes’. When two followers of the Lord Jesus went to the tomb they saw an important piece of evidence. The cloths that had been used to bind the body of Jesus were neatly folded but empty. If the Lord Jesus had somehow revived after being crucified and having a spear plunged into his abdomen it is beyond belief that he would have woken in an airless tomb and neatly folded the graveclothes before walking unaided out of the tomb. Alternatively, if robbers had stolen the body they would not have taken the time to carefully disrobe the Lord Jesus before fleeing. The carefully arranged grave clothes were further evidence to the resurrection.

As you think about the resurrection you may well ask, ‘So what?’. A great response to this question can be found in the Bible, ‘if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’ The resurrection is the proof that Jesus Christ defeated death and that through Him forgiveness of sin is possible. Jesus rose to life so that all who trust in Him can have eternal life – Life with Him now and forever.