Proof of Jesus' Resurrection
"Is there proof of Jesus' resurrection?"
The
proof of Jesus' resurrection isn't a video clip or some other visual
evidence, to which
today's world has become accustomed. But that doesn't mean there isn't proof of
Jesus' resurrection. Consider the following details.
Despite everything that Jesus did and said, if He had died and remained dead,
Christianity wouldn't even have started, let alone spread across the world.
Consider Jesus' resurrection from His disciples' perspective. They accompanied Jesus everywhere
for three years and saw Him perform amazing miracles.
But when He was crucified, all of them except John ran away and hid, fearing their
own arrest and execution.
But just over a month later, they returned to Jerusalem and confidently
proclaimed Jesus' resurrection, declaring to a massive crowd that Jesus,
"whom you crucified"
(
Acts 2:36),
"This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all
witnesses" (
Acts 2:32).
Something significant happened during that month - something so
astounding, in fact, that it confirmed their faith in Jesus' deity even more than
all of the other miracles they had witnessed Jesus perform.
But what could be more astounding than seeing Jesus feed thousands of people with a boy's lunch
(
John
6:8-12), heal the sick and the blind (
John 9),
and raise the dead (
John 11)?
This time, it wasn't what Jesus did, but what He couldn't do: He couldn't
just quietly stay dead. During that month, they had seen and conversed with the physically
risen Jesus, who even ate food in front of them to prove
that they weren't seeing a ghost (
Luke 24:36-43).
Consider the apostles' proclamation also from their audience's perspective. They had called for the death of Jesus
(
Matthew 27:22-23),
so they didn't want to hear that He had risen from the dead or that He is their
"Lord" (
Acts 2:36).
If Jesus' body was still in the tomb, they would have yelled back,
"What
are you talking about? He is dead and his body is in that tomb!"
But instead of contesting the disciples' proclamation, three thousand people who
heard it became Christian on the spot:
"Then
those who gladly received his word were baptized; and
that day about three thousand souls were added to them"
(
Acts 2:41).
Why would they do that? The only possible explanation is that they couldn't
deny what the apostles declared about Jesus' resurrection, which proves
His deity and validates everything He had said before dying to pay the
death penalty due for our
sins.