It was Josh McDowell who said that the resurrection is either the greatest fact of history and to be reckoned with, or the biggest and cruelest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind. Paul really did say that if Christ isn't risen our faith is in vain. He also said that Christ "was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead..." (Rom. 1:4, ESV). Because He lives we can be sure that we, too, will live with Him in eternity.
The Jews had no clear cut-and-dried theology on the afterlife, and Jesus' resurrection transformed the disciples from cowards unwilling to stand up for Jesus to being fearless in the face of persecution. Now they had reason to believe and had evidence to boot. Jesus also did say that blessed is the one who believes and hasn't seen after Thomas' doubts.
We don't need to see Jesus in order to believe because we have the Holy Spirit resident in us and it bears witness with us. We have it better in this arrangement with God than if Jesus were just walking around the earth still teaching. We have the complete canon of Scripture and the filling of the Spirit which is a superior blessing than to have been there and sat under His teaching! We are more blessed than they were! Jesus changed the disciples and He is still in the business of changing lives--you might say He is still in the resurrection line and business!
The resurrection has profound theological significance because it proves the Father accepted His blood atonement and it proclaimed His final victory over Satan and over death. It gives us a rationale to believe in the afterlife and heaven. We don't just have philosophical or theological reasons to believe in the resurrection, but a historical and experiential one--we can experience the power of the resurrection too. It is historical fact supported and proved more variously by circumstantial evidence than any in antiquity.
We don't need to see Jesus in order to believe because we have the Holy Spirit resident in us and it bears witness with us. We have it better in this arrangement with God than if Jesus were just walking around the earth still teaching. We have the complete canon of Scripture and the filling of the Spirit which is a superior blessing than to have been there and sat under His teaching! We are more blessed than they were! Jesus changed the disciples and He is still in the business of changing lives--you might say He is still in the resurrection line and business!
The resurrection has profound theological significance because it proves the Father accepted His blood atonement and it proclaimed His final victory over Satan and over death. It gives us a rationale to believe in the afterlife and heaven. We don't just have philosophical or theological reasons to believe in the resurrection, but a historical and experiential one--we can experience the power of the resurrection too. It is historical fact supported and proved more variously by circumstantial evidence than any in antiquity.
Jesus is with us today in Spirit because He said that wherever two or three are gathered in His name, there He is (cf. Matt. 18:20). His victory is now ours and Satan is a defeated foe who has no power over us. Jesus proclaimed His salvation as a done deal and we are to tell the wonderful news concerning Him was known as the gospel.
We have a sound reason to believe, not based on myth or cleverly devised story, as Peter said. Dr. Luke said, there were "many infallible proofs," Acts 1:3 Believing Christ lived, died, and rose to live is really just history; believing and realizing His resurrection in you and that He lives in you is salvation. Soli Deo Gloria!
We have a sound reason to believe, not based on myth or cleverly devised story, as Peter said. Dr. Luke said, there were "many infallible proofs," Acts 1:3 Believing Christ lived, died, and rose to live is really just history; believing and realizing His resurrection in you and that He lives in you is salvation. Soli Deo Gloria!
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