Every day, more and more people are taking a look — for some, a second glance — at the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth.
So why do His life and teachings still generate such interest today?
To begin with, everything about Him was unique: The predictions of His coming. His birth. His life. His teachings. His miracles. His death. And especially His resurrection.
It is history’s most significant event.
The validity of Jesus’ claims about Himself rests on the Resurrection — whether He rose from the dead or stayed in the grave. Many skeptics say that to believe that Jesus rose from the dead is nothing more than a blind leap of faith with little or no basis in truth. When confronted with the facts, however, those who are intellectually honest have been forced to admit that the Resurrection is a historical event based on undeniable evidence.
On my spiritual journey from agnosticism to faith in Christ, I, like many people, had a problem with the Resurrection. But my personal study brought me to a firm belief that a bodily resurrection is the only valid explanation for Christ’s empty tomb.
Several pieces of evidence helped me reach this conclusion.
The Resurrection sets Christianity apart. No other religious leader has risen from the dead and conquered sin.
The Resurrection confirms that Jesus is who He claimed to be. Let us consider the magnitude of this event.
The Resurrection proved that Christ was divine. The fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross does not prove in itself that He is God. Jesus proved His divine nature by fulfilling the predictions of His death and by His return from the grave. The Bible declares that “by being raised from the dead [Christ] was proved to be the mighty Son of God, with the holy nature of God Himself” (Romans 1:4, The Living Bible).
The Resurrection proved Christ’s power to forgive sin. The Bible claims, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17, NASB). By rising from the dead, Jesus proved His authority and power to break the bonds of sin and to assure forgiveness and eternal life to all who accept His gift of salvation.
The Resurrection revealed Christ’s power over death. The Bible records, “Christ rose from the dead and will never die again. Death no longer has any power over Him” (Romans 6:9, TLB). The Resurrection secured our victory over death as well and “lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Christ, where we sit with Him in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 2:6, TLB).
The Resurrection defeated God’s enemy. From the moment of Satan’s original rebellion until the day of the cross, the devil fought viciously and cunningly to overthrow the kingdom of God. At the crucifixion, Satan must have thought he dealt the final and decisive blow in this age-old war. But this was the devil’s most serious miscalculation. The cross was not a sign of defeat. The cross was heaven’s triumph! When Jesus Christ rose, the power of sin and death was forever shattered. Because of the Resurrection, Christians don’t have to fear Satan or death again.
For 40 days after His death and resurrection, Christ appeared many times to His followers.
On one occasion, He gathered His remaining 11 disciples on a mountain in Galilee and gave them His Great Commission.
He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always” (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).
Later, the Book of Acts records that, on the Mount of Olives, He admonished His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were filled with the Holy Spirit and then to take His message to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the world (Acts 1:4-5, 8).
Immediately after, He ascended and disappeared into the clouds, leaving the disciples staring after Him in amazed wonder.
The ascension of Christ was the final act in our redemption. His mission completed, Jesus Christ was exalted to His former glory.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ ranks as history’s most revolutionary event. One cannot deny that He shook the world in His day. But His life just as dramatically has shaped the course of history in our time.
The Resurrection is the final proof that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be.
© 2010 Bill Bright. All rights reserved. Adapted with permission from “A Man Without Equal” (Peachtree City, GA: New Life Resources).
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