Was Jesus resurrected? How can you prove Christ’s resurrection? from Compelling Truth
The New Testament presents the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead as a historical fact. What evidence can be found to support this claim? Can we really prove Christ’s resurrection?
First, Jesus appeared to many eyewitnesses over a period of 40 days. First Corinthians 15:5-8records, “he appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me [Paul].” More than 500 people claimed to see Jesus alive again, most of whom were still alive 20 years later when Paul wrote this letter.
Second, those who saw the resurrected Jesus lived changed lives. The apostles all faced persecution and many faced death for teaching Jesus was alive again. History records that not one of the apostles (other than Judas Iscariot) recanted their faith in the resurrection of Jesus. The apostle Paul transformed from a persecutor of Christians to a missionary who endured persecution for his faith in the resurrected Jesus.
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Third, the body of Jesus was never found. The Jews claimed the disciples had stolen the body (Matthew 28:11-15). Yet Peter preached only weeks after the resurrection in the streets of Jerusalem that Jesus had risen. Those who opposed him could have easily disproven his message by revealing the body of Jesus. Yet they were unable to do so; the disciples had not stolen the body as they could not have overtaken the Roman guards at the tomb nor have hidden His body without someone finding out the truth.
Fourth, the rapid growth of the church offers evidence that the message is true. Many lives were changed and churches quickly sprang up across the Roman Empire and beyond as a result of the teachings of Jesus’ followers. Still today, Christianity is the largest faith in the world.
