The Evidence for Christ's Resurrection

Greetings friends!

This week, I will be posting articles written from the Christian Research Institute, on several different topics surrounding the Resurrection of Christ. I hope that you are enlightened, disciple, and brought closer to the cross that we so desperately need.

Topic 1: THE EVIDENCE FOR CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
It’s often said that the validity of Christianity rests upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But how
do we know Jesus rose from the dead?
As Paul noted in 1 Corinthians 15:14, if Christ did not rise from the dead then our preaching and
our faith are useless. We must therefore be prepared to demonstrate that Christ’s resurrection
was an event that occurred in space and time — that it was in fact historical, and not
mythological (cf. 2 Pet. 1:16). The importance of this event cannot be minimized as Jesus
Himself proclaimed that His resurrection would prove His power over death, and thus His deity
(John 2:18-22).
Of the variety of evidence we have available, none is more compelling than the fact that over
five hundred individuals saw Jesus (1 Cor. 15:6) during a 40-day period following His death and
burial (Acts 1:3). In fact, the Apostles appealed to Christ’s resurrection as proof for the truth of
the gospel (Acts 17:18, 31). The historical evidence for the resurrection is so compelling that the
famed Harvard law professor, Simon Greenleaf, concluded that any cross-examination of the
eyewitness testimonies recorded in Scripture will result in “an undoubting conviction of their
integrity, ability, and truth.”
And even as we consider alternative explanations, reason drives us back to the conclusion that
Christ rose from the dead. We know that the Romans had no intentions of stealing Christ’s body
because the last thing they wanted was any turmoil that was sure to follow such an event. The
Jewish religious leaders would also have no motive in stealing the body since that would only
stir up the very movement they tried to crush. And certainly, the disciples could not have stolen
the body; after all, would anyone really suffer and die for a cause that they knew to be a lie? It is
conceivable that someone may die for the truth, but inconceivable that hundred’s of his
follower’s would, in fact, be willing to die for what they knew to be a lie.
All this leads us to only one possibility — that Jesus indeed rose from the dead, and lives to be
our Lord and our Savior (cf. Rev. 1:18)!
CRI, P.O. Box 7000, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
www.equip.org tel.949.858.6100 fax.949.858.6111


Trev Carpenter
www.btmcallen.com