The Journey

Many have said that Christianity rises and falls on the resurrection. If it didn't happen, then all we have in Jesus is a good man, a God-sent prophet, or a self-deluded charlatan. If it did happen, then we are dealing with the most important event in human history.

There are many arguments for the reality of the resurrection. Perhaps the strongest, at least from a legal perspective, are the eyewitnesses that saw the resurrected Lord. The apostle Paul, writing 10-15 years after the death of Jesus, challenges his readers to check with the eyewitnesses in order to corroborate the resurrection. He writes in 1 Corinthians 15 these words:

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me also."

Paul is essentially saying, "if you don't believe me about Jesus being raised from the dead, go talk to the other people who saw him as most of them are still alive." It has been noted by Josh McDowell that if each of those 500 people were to testify for only six minutes, including cross-examination, you would have an amazing 50 hours of firsthand testimony which would prove to be very compelling evidence if a trial were to be held regarding the "realness" of the resurrection.

For those of you wrestling with the historicity of the resurrection it is incumbent upon you to examine these eyewitnesses along with some of the other important questions:
1. What happened to the body?
2. Why did all but one of the original disciples die a martyr's death while claiming to the end of their lives that Jesus had indeed died and rose again?
3. How did Christianity go from a small, insignificant sect to the most dominant religion in the Holy Roman Empire in such a short time?

The evidence for the resurrection is strong, to say the least. The burden of proof lies on those who claim it didn't happen. What say you?

For more information on the appearances of Jesus after his resurrection, please follow this link.

http://www.biblicalfoundations.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/resurrection-appearances.pdf