Christianity is an historical faith.  It is not primarily founded upon ideology or philosophy but it is rooted in history.  Preacher James Boice said, “Most of the religions of the world can exist apart from their founder.  You do not have to have a historical Buddha to have Buddhism.  All you have to have is Buddhist teachings.  So also with many other religions.  This is not the case with Christianity.  If you take away the history—if you reduce it, as some have tried to do, to a religion of mere ethics or ideas—Christianity evaporates.”

Christianity as a faith is linked to the life and accomplishments of the Founder/Savior and it is based on proof.  Of course the Post-Modern approach is to ask, “can anything ever be certain or proven?”  The world is filled with skeptics who reject the historical evidence.

Suppose the burden of proof is on us (Christians).  Can we give historical evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ?  Yes, we can!

In Acts 1, Luke shows us that the priority of Jesus after His resurrection was to appear to His disciples, now called “apostles.”  He spoke to them over a period of 40 days.  One of the purposes was to fix in them the certainty of His resurrection and the truth He taught over the past 3 years.

Luke says that Jesus appeared alive “by many convincing proofs.”  That term refers to a demonstrative proof that causes someone to know for certain.  The Bible is filled with these many convincing proofs.  So, what proves the resurrection?

1)  The Bible affirms the reality of Christ’s resurrection.  His resurrection was predicted centuries before it happened in several Old Testament passages.  In Psalm 16:10, David speaking of the Messiah says,  “For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay.”   In Isaiah 53:9-11, The Messiah would see the results of His sacrifice because of His resurrection.

Jesus Himself predicted His death and resurrection at least 17 times in the Gospels.  The disciples didn’t understand what He was talking about though until after the resurrection and it solidified their faith in Him.

2)  Jesus appeared to His disciples.  In the New Testament you find post-resurrection appearances described in the following ways: “He met them and greeted them”, “Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples”, and “He appeared to them.”

Paul indicates in 1 Corinthians 15 that Jesus appeared to more than 500 people at one time.  The disciples were invited to touch Him and see if He was real, they interacted with Him and ate meals with Him.  All these appearances are far from the theory that the disciples were simply hallucinating.  

3)  Jesus really died.  To understand the proofs of His resurrection, it is important to recognize that Jesus really actually died.  Some claim that Jesus didn’t die but slipped into a coma on the cross and was later resuscitated.  This is called the “swoon theory” but doesn’t take into account that the Romans were experts in the torturous pursuit of death.  The Roman author Quintilian said the Romans knew how to make sure a man was dead.  They had been crucifying people for a long time and wouldn’t be fooled if Jesus was simply comatose.  

The Bible attests to the literal death of the Lord giving convincing proof that the Man everyone saw was indeed the risen Savior.

4)  The empty tomb.  The friends of Jesus had come to the tomb to mourn and on the 1st day of the week (Sunday), they came to the tomb and found it empty (Luke 24:1-12).  Again, skeptics reject the historical evidence and suggest that maybe the disciples went to the wrong tomb.  If they did go to the right tomb, they suggest that someone stole the body of Jesus.  That was the original lie the religious leaders bribed the guards to tell (Matthew 28:11-15).   But if the disciples went to the right tomb (assuming they knew where they were going), and there was no body in it and no one stole it, the only other option is resurrection.

5)  Changes lives.  Perhaps the clearest and most potent evidences of the resurrection is in the radical changes that took place in the lives of Jesus’ disciples.  After His death and before they knew of His resurrection the closest disciples were living in abject fear, they were miserable, defeated and confused.  Once they had seen Christ and were convinced that He was resurrected, they were greatly encouraged.

F.F. Bruce comments, “Not even the disciples had reckoned with it; it took them quite by surprise. But it transformed them almost on the spot from a crowd of demoralized and frightened people into a band of men with a mission and purpose in life, which without delay, they proceeded to translate into action.”

They were accused of “upsetting the world” (Acts 17).  And they would all give their lives for what they believed in.  These transformations and the countless changed lives today serve as evidence that Jesus was indeed resurrected by “many convincing proofs.”

Pastor Matt

The month of March is upon us and spring is in the air.  March is also a time of the year when many in the world fall into base debauchery as they celebrate St. Patricks’s Day.  To be sure, the original St. Patrick would have nothing to do with the parties and drinking that are so common place today.  He was a true saint, converted to Christianity in the 5^th century when he was taken to be a slave in Ireland.  He escaped slavery and was ordained somewhere in Europe before coming back to Ireland with great missionary zeal.  The year was A.D. 432.  The church in Ireland seems to have been established about this time.  The church was devoted to her Savior and had a great longing for the intimacy and security that came in a relationship with Him.

British author Harry Patterson, who writes under the pseudonym “Jack Higgins,” has written more than 60 novels.  Since he wrote the book The Eagle Has Landed in 1975, most of his books have become bestsellers.  Patterson was asked what he would like to have known as a boy.  His answer: “That when you get to the top, there’s nothing there.”

In 1592, an important discovery was made in the realm of science.  Galileo discovered that the expansion or contraction of air could be measured in an inverted glass vessel.  In the following years, air was replaced by different elements, mostly mercury, and a scale for measuring temperatures was established.

This question is real and significant for every child of God.  We should all recognize the great reality of the indwelling Spirit in our lives.  The moment we put our trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit came and brought God’s eternal life to us.  Thus we have assurance of our relationship with God as Paul says, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16).