The proof & purpose of the Resurrection

By Rev. Dr. Eric N. Haley l March 25, 2024

I don’t think any sane person would argue that we all eventually die. The question that comes to mind is why? The Bible explains in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” A wage is a type of payment for falling short of God’s standards, called sin. Dying is also called the last enemy that Jesus Christ conquered when He rose from the dead, on the holiday that we Christians call Easter. I Corinthians 15:26 states, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” Also, Acts 12:4 is the only place the word, ‘Easter,’ is used in the Bible.

The following is proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:3-6 reads, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the Twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.” The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians of more than 500 hundred witnesses that saw Jesus in bodily form after Jesus rose from the dead. He encouraged the Corinthians to ask any of the over 500 witnesses as living proof that Jesus rose from the dead.

We know from human history that there has been numerous false theories challenging the resurrection such as: 1) the swoon theory, that Jesus only passed out due to exhaustion. However Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea made sure Jesus body was dead before he let Joseph of Arimathaea, take the body down from the cross. Scripture states in John 19:34, “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” The separation of blood and water indicates that a person has died.

False theory #2) is that the disciples of Jesus went to the wrong tomb or sepulcher. That’s highly unlikely because Pilate had assigned four quaternions of soldiers to guard the tomb. And a few of the disciples including some of the Marys followed the soldiers to the tomb where they lay the body of Jesus and sealed it with Roman insignia. Plus Joseph of Arimathaea could have easily told them where to look since it was his borrowed tomb.

False theory #3) The disciples stole the body. Do you think a bunch of rag tag fishermen, a tax collector, and farmers could defeat four quaternions of trained Roman soldiers and take Jesus’ body without some consequences to the Roman soldiers for shirking their duty to guard the tomb?

There will always be detractors and people who will not accept the evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. We have secular records of Jesus’ enemies that have been recorded in history by Flavius Josephus, who was a Jewish general, who then later defected to the Romans’ side and even became a Roman citizen when he realized that the Roman empire was too strong. Another Roman historian, Tacitus, wrote about this Jesus who had risen from the dead and was a thorn in the Roman’s side. And also an early Church father, Eusebius wrote about the resurrection of Jesus.

In addition to the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus told his disciples beforehand that this would happen to him in Matthew 16:21; Mark 8:31; and also in Luke 9:21-23.

The Sandhedrin council consisting of the Pharisees and Sadducees asked Jesus for a sign to prove that he was indeed the expected Messiah. Jesus answered in Matthew 8:39-40, “But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
The question remains, “Are you going to believe God or man?” I John 5:9-13 states, “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God has the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

There is more evidence that Jesus existed and rose from the dead than any other ancient person. We have countless discoveries of ancient manuscripts such as the Masoretic text, the Qumran scrolls called the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the book of Acts which states in Acts 1:3, “To Whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:” Remember also how Jesus told doubting Thomas to place his finger in side bruised side where the Roman soldier pierced him, and also he ate fish to show his other disciples that he was risen from the dead and not a ghost. Jesus has risen from the grave and his Church is witness by His Holy Spirit that lives in every born again believer. To squash all this nonsense that Jesus didn’t rise from the grave could have been avoided simply by showing his dead corpse to the masses. Why not? Because he had risen from the grave just like he promised. Jesus is the only way to receive eternal life. Of all the ancient religious leaders that have passed through this earth, Jesus is the only one to resurrect from the grave as prophesied beforehand. Something to think about.