How can We be Sure Jesus Christ Rose from the Dead?

The foundations of Christianity rests on this one central fact for without Jesus' resurrection, Christianity crumbles.

From conception begins mans fight against death for death has dominion over the whole world physically, biologically, and socially, imposed by God's curse because of mans rebellion. The fact of Christ's resurrection is the most important event in history. It is confirmed by a wider variety testimonial and other evidence than any other historical event since the creation of the world.

The explosion of Christianity itself serves as a predominant example of His resurrection. The first Christians were devout Jews used to worshipping the Lord on the seventh day but moved worship to the first day in celebration of the resurrection. The very existence of the Lords day, Easter, and the Christian church itself can be traced back to the apostolic period and only the fact of the resurrection can account for each of them.

Consider the suffering and persecution the apostles faced for their belief in Christ's defeating death. All lost their possessions but more importantly, 11 of the 12 lost their live and in many cases, brutally. These 12 men would hardly have persisted in their testimony unless they had been firmly persuaded that Jesus did in fact arise from the grave. Furthermore, it is not realistic to argue that 11 of these men would willingly die for something they knew not to be true.

Consider the following scriptures:

I Corinthians 15:6

"After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep."

There were plenty of witnesses who physically experienced His death and complete resurrection. Such an experience fueled them into sharing the facts of the resurrection. It is a natural tendency of man to talk about an event that has had a great impact on him. Witnessing a man, professing to be God come in the flesh, die and then arise three days later full of life would have a profound effect on ones belief in absolute truth. Such an event would send all those who witnessed it to the streets sharing the good news. And indeed they did.

I Corinthians 15:17

"And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins."

Without Christ's sinless, blood-sacrifice on the cross, eternity with a perfect holy God would be hopeless.

Acts 17:6

"…These who have turned the world upside down have come here too."

Christianity was spreading like a wildfire out of control.

Apostolic preaching centered on the resurrection:

Acts 2:24

"whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it."

Acts 2:31

"he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption."

Acts 3:15

"and killed the Prince of life whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses."

Acts 10:41

"…even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead."

Acts 13:30

"But God raised Him from the dead."

When the apostles first seen Jesus appear to them in the upper room after His resurrection, they thought they were seeing a spirit (Luke 24:37). Jesus invited them to touch Him and feel His nail scarred hands and feet. He then sat down and ate dinner with them and they could no longer doubt that it was Jesus Himself in the same body just as they had always known Him.

Some scoffers have claimed He never actually died but rather just fainted. This demonstrates the extremes some will go to in their seeking separation. They will throw out anything their imaginations can dream up and believe it in hope of escaping accountability. The Roman soldiers themselves pronounced Him dead. The mixture of blood and water had poured forth from His wounded side, He was bound up in grave clothes and placed in a sealed tomb for three days guarded by Roman soldiers under pain of death. Nevertheless, on Easter morning all that remained was His grave clothes lying where His body once did.

The only explanation for the empty tomb is a bodily resurrection. If the body were still accessible to the Jews or Romans, they certainly would have produced it in an effort to quench the spreading flame of the Christian faith. If the apostles were able to convince a legion of Roman soldiers, under penalty of death, to allow them to steal the body thus knowing He was dead, they could have never preached His resurrection as they did knowing it would mean persecution for them and most likely death. No man will willingly sacrifice his life for something he knows to be a lie.