“Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 15:57
He is risen! Death is defeated! The tomb is empty! Jesus has conquered! What was accomplished by the death and resurrection of Jesus was a victory so profound it affects every person in the world! Without the resurrection, all 1200 promises in the Bible are meaningless. The resurrection was the difference between life with purpose versus life with despair. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, the New Testament is false and we have no hope! “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith,” 1 Corinthians 15:14.
Of all the religions in the world, only Christianity provides an objective, verifiable test for its claims. The test is that Jesus rose from the dead. The Roman and Jewish leaders were highly motivated to make sure Jesus was dead, fearing the disciples would try to “steal” the body. Pilate certified Jesus’ death by a Centurion. The Jewish leaders told Pilate Jesus had predicted He would rise after three days, even unbelievers believed! Jesus prophesied they would “look for His body but would not be able to find it!” John 7:34, 8:21.
The stone covering the tomb weighed nearly two tons. It was sealed with the Imperial Seal of Rome. Anyone tampering with it would be put to death! Four Roman guards led by a trusted centurion fell asleep! When the guards saw the sight of the open tomb with an angel sitting on the stone, it says, “they shook and became as dead men,” Matthew 28:4.
Jesus was from Galilee in northern Israel. Family tombs were used for centuries. Where would there be a tomb no one had ever used? Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man on the Sanhedrin, had purchased a tomb for his family. Jesus “was assigned a grave with the wicked, but was with the rich in his death.” Isaiah 53:9. After Pentecost, the Church came into existence. It was founded on the truth of the resurrection in the very city where Jesus was executed and buried.
After the events of Calvary, there was loud silence by the Jewish leaders! They attacked the followers of Christ and put them to death, but never disputed the fact of the empty tomb! Never, even decades later! Peter and the disciples boldly proclaimed the resurrection right from the beginning and this condemned them! By 56 AD, when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 15, the Jewish leaders were still silent about the facts of the resurrection! No body! Jesus was alive and the foundations of hell had been shaken!
But just an empty tomb is not enough! Over forty days, He appeared in twelve separate appearances to a variety of people. 1 Corinthians 15:6-8, “He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that, He appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time….. then to James, then to me as one born out of due time.” Paul invited skeptics to check it out for themselves. The witnesses constantly emphasized the eyewitness nature of their testimony! Peter said, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it,” Acts 2:32. In modern trials, if prosecutors have three eyewitnesses, chances for a conviction are 99%. For the resurrection, 100’s of people testified and bore witness through the purity of their lives and willingness to suffer and die, because they knew it was true!
Your friend, Jean