1 Corinthians 15:1-58
The Resurrection of the Dead
1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
The Resurrection of the Dead
12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
29Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
"Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die." 33Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 34Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.
The Resurrection Body
35But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
55"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?" 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Luke 24
The Resurrection
1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8Then they remembered his words.
9When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
On the Road to Emmaus
13Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but they were kept from recognizing him.
17He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
19"What things?" he asked.
"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ[b] have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.
30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
33They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." 35Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
36While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
37They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
40When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
45Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
The Ascension
50When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
Acts 1:1-11
Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven
1In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
6So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
John 20:1-31
The Empty Tomb
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
10Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
16Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 21:1-25
Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish
1Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias.[a] It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3"I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"
"No," they answered.
6He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."
11Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus Reinstates Peter
15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. 18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
20Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") 21When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
22Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." 23Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"
24This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
Acts 17:29-31
Importance of the Resurrection of Jesus
29 "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
John 14:19
Because I Live You May Live
19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
The disciples found it hard to believe that Jesus resurrected (as did others)...But after Jesus resurrected, He was with the disciples over a period of forty days and over that time, they quickly believed and their faith strengthened...By seeing Jesus over this extended time and in different places they knew He was alive again...Even though this it is hard to explain how the resurrection happened, they believed...They got to physically see Him again and again...I do not how the resurrection happened, but I do not know many things about the heavens and universe...I do not know how our mind takes what we see, feel, hear, and smell and then we can talk and have speech...I do not know how our brain takes all that information and we just talk...But I can talk...I do not know how there is reason and logic in the world, but there is...I don't know how Jesus is still alive after His death, but I believe He resurrected, and it somehow happened, like my speech happens...
St. Luke writes about the resurrection in the Gospel According to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles...St. John writes about the resurrection in the Gospel According to John in chapters 20 and 21...
St. Paul, in his first letter to the the Corinthians, tells us we need the resurrection and the story of Jesus resurrection...He tells us if Jesus has not been raised then our faith and hope are useless (in verses twelve through fifteen)...He gives us an overview of the resurrection of Jesus and the importance of Jesus dying then living again...We also need it because we are sinful in nature and we need a Savior for our sinful nature...
Outside of the fact and hope of the resurrection, we have no other purposeful fact or facts that will keep humanity going in the correct moral direction it must go...This single act of the resurrection of Jesus in our history separates Christianity from all other belief systems and religions...No other religion has a Man, if it fair to call Jesus a Man, that resurrected came back to life and is still alive...Jesus gives us eternal life...Jesus proved that there is life after death...
The resurrection has been discussed and written about countless times...There are major facts are derived from the death and resurrection of Jesus...The resurrection is the most important fact of our time...It is a fact mankind cannot do and live without...
Our first fact is Jesus lived in and around Galilee and Nazareth...Jesus was a Teacher, many people called Him Rabbi...Jesus was crucified...Many believers and nonbelievers would have watched this crucifixion...This is something many people would have seen and been witnesses to...Many people would have watched Jesus being crucified, because that sort of thing gets people's attention and people take notice to that sort of thing...The fact of His being crucified is believed by believers and nonbelievers...And Jesus died on the cross...Jesus could not have had a resurrection, unless He was dead...
Next, we know that in all four gospels, Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus in a tomb and gave Him a proper burial...He was assisted by Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin...So the Sanhedrin would have known firsthand that Jesus had overcame death, and was living...Jesus had taught Nicodemus (John 3:1-21)...This means the location of Jesus' tomb was known by followers of Jesus, non-followers, and the Sanhedrin...This is because Nicodemus a Pharisee was at the tomb help preparing Jesus for the afterlife and helped place Jesus in the tomb...
Joseph was from the small town of Arimathea, twenty miles from Jerusalem... Joseph of Arimathea was also a member of the Sanhedrin ruling council...So the ruling council, or at least some of the council (who were opposed against Jesus) would have known that he buried Jesus and that Jesus had died...The crucifixion was a not a small event, so some followers and non-followers would have known about Joseph burying Jesus...Of course, it quickly would have become an oral story and then oral tradition and then later written about (the burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus) in the Gospels...People could go see where He was buried...No doubt Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus would have been two people to talk to about Jesus, since they buried Him...
Another fact is that the tomb was empty on the third day...The body was gone...They knew where Joseph and Nicodemus buried Him...But no one knows where the body went...St. Matthew reports that the chief priest, elders, and soldiers made up a story that His disciples stole His body in the middle of the night...These are non-followers of Jesus who have identified that the tomb is empty...Nobody over the immediate days or later days have an answer to why the tomb is empty...
Another interesting fact, is that the empty tomb is first found by women...Women's testimony in the days of Jesus would not have accounted for anything...So to have all the oral stories about the women finding Jesus tomb empty and the four Gospel writers to say women found the empty tomb would not give much credence to the tomb being empty...But even with their weak testimony, the women followers of Jesus found the empty tomb first...
Another fact is the women, in particularly Mary Magdalene, are the first to have contact with men, Jesus, or angels after the resurrection...This first contact is when Jesus has risen...All four Gospels again have a group of women whose testimony would not stand up in the ruling council's court would be the first to have first hand knowledge of Jesus' resurrection...Women in the first century had no legal rights and little influence in public...Jesus has the women play a very important part in His resurrection, as well as the women followers who find the empty tomb...Putting women first at the tomb makes the story more credible (instead of less), knowing the women's status early in our history...
Another fact is that after His resurrection, Jesus is seen by a variety of people in different times and places...It was not just a one day and done resurrection...This is wrote about in the four Gospels...St. Paul also writes in 1 Corinthians 15 that many people have seen Jesus after His death and some of these people are still alive today (people that have seen Him after His death)...St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians was written after Jesus died, but there were still men alive that had seen the physically risen Jesus...In St. Luke, Jesus is seen on the road to Emmaus by two men...Again St. Paul gives an account of of other people seeing Jesus in first Corinthian's chapter fifteen epistle...So, many people who might have tried to say the resurrection did not happen would have a problem because of the number of different people seeing Him, and the number of days He returned was forty days...But there would have been this group of people (who had seen Jesus after He died) who could say, we saw Jesus after He died...Again the first to see Him, the women would have little strength in their testimonies in their day...As a side note, we know St. Paul meets with St. Peter (Galatians 1:18), after Jesus' resurrection...So St. Paul would have gotten more information and St. Peter's experiences about Jesus and other people seeing Him after His death, as well as other information...The variety of people and the different times Jesus appeared after the resurrection, makes it difficult to dispute the fact of the resurrection...
To further this, St. Luke writes about St. Paul in his Book of Acts of the Apostles... Governor Festus tells King Agrippa that St. Paul is being tried for believing in a dead man named Jesus, who St. Paul claims is alive (Acts 25:19)...St. Paul in Acts 26:8, says, "why should any of you (Festus and Agrippa) consider it incredible that God raises the dead"...St. Paul later tells Governor Festus and King Agrippa that "the king (Agrippa) is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him (the king) about such matters...Paul was convinced that none of resurrection story had escaped the king's notice, because it was not done in a corner (Acts 26:26)...So, many knew (believers and nonbelievers) of Jesus, His followers, His teachings, and His resurrection...
Another fact is the disciples were witnesses to His resurrection...Their Leader now deceased, the times for them would be difficult...The disciples could have said, Jesus was only going to be raised spiritually rather than physically...This would have made it much easier on them...And the disciples would be following a Dead Criminal...
To stand up and teach and preach about one who had physically been crucified on a cross, would be very, very unpopular and very dangerous...And now the disciples have seen a physically resurrected Jesus...This strengthened them and their faith...In all four Gospels Jesus meets with His disciples...The disciples take a strong and firm attitude after their meetings with the resurrected Jesus...There now strong belief was needed if Christianity was to grow...These Eleven Disciples were not very strong followers only a short time after Jesus' arrest...In Matthew and Mark, we are told that the Eleven deserted Him at His arrest...Their faith at the time of arrest was much weaker, than it was to be later -after they saw Him alive again...After the resurrection the Eleven are a strong group, with a much stronger faith...Something happened...Jesus resurrected and returned and talked and ate with the Eleven disciples...Then their faith grew dramatically...
If Jesus had not resurrected, right after He was on the cross, how can you explain the quick growth in Christianity and those writings all about Him, especially the gospels and Paul's epistles and the other New Testament epistles...If the story was not true why would people follow the gospel...St. Paul even went to Peter and James (Jesus' half brother) to talk about Jesus and His resurrection...If the story was a fabrication, why would St. Paul continue to follow and preach the Good News, after talking to those two...A lie, about the resurrection, would have stopped the followers of Christ in short order...How would the early churches grow around a lie?...This doesn't make sense that Jesus who called Himself Truth would have a lie follow Him after His death...
Another fact is Jesus physically body was never found...This is because, His physical body was raised from the dead...If his deceased body was found, Christianity would have been in jeopardy, in question, and maybe never became a religion or have (many) followers...Jesus physically was raised and walked around in this body...Thomas actually touched His body after His death...Jesus was risen from His death by God...Therefore, no physical body was found...This may sound strange but Jesus' body was with Jesus as He appeared to the different people He appeared to...
Another fact is St. Luke tells us in the first chapter of Acts that Jesus appeared before apostles for forty days after His death...So He appeared over a period of time and not just one day...He spoke about the Kingdom of God, after His death...Also, St. Luke and St. John have the resurrected Jesus eating with the disciples...In fact, St. Luke in the Acts 1:4 and in Luke 24:43 tells us of Jesus eating...In Luke, Jesus eats broiled fish after His death...His eating may have proven to the disciples and others He was real and physical and still had a physical body...
Information on these facts were written by other followers and non-followers of Jesus later after His resurrection...Josephus, a Jewish historian was maybe the most prominent to write about Jesus...Others include Pliny the Younger and also Tacitus...
There were a lot of skeptics and it was a troubling time for the early Christians, but they persevered...But more importantly the message of Jesus persevered...No skeptic of Jesus, then and now, has ever been able to disprove the fact of the resurrection of Jesus... Jesus' opponents could have continually denied and continually disputed the resurrection happened, but the fact of it, is that it lives on...
Therefore, the fact of the resurrection is the most important fact in history...
Do you ever wonder why the Sanhedrin, the teachers of the law, the Jewish traditionalists, and the Pharisees, who were so much against Jesus and His followers and worked with the Roman officials, were not able to disprove the resurrection?...One of their members, Nicodemus, helped bury Jesus (John 19:38-42)...Jesus had taught Nicodemus...Another Sanhedrin member was Joseph of Arimathea...Nicodemus would have known or been an acquaintance of the disciples and the Truth...The opposition could not explain the empty tomb...The Sanhedrin could not disprove what happened after Jesus died...Nicodemus would have told the Sanhedrin and others what he knew and saw, and exactly where and how He was buried...The opposition could never find the dead resurrected body...He was out talking to His disciples, and others, for forty days (Acts 1:3)...He visited five hundred different people and most of them were still living, when St. Paul wrote his first epistle to the Corinthians...And St. Paul was a Pharisee...Disbelievers could have went and talked to the ones who had seen Him after His death on the cross...Jesus lives...And is still alive today...
St. Paul writes that God has appointed Jesus as our Savior...He has proved that He is our Messiah and Savior by raising Jesus from the dead...Paul would not have said this, if he did not believe it were true after meeting with Peter and James...St. Paul says that Jesus in His Second Advent, the One who God appointed, will judge the world...
Jesus sums all the words of the resurrection up in His miraculous statement, "because I live, you will also live."...I AM the Resurrection and the Life...