The Resurrection And Why You Should Believe In It
As our world becomes more and more secularized and more people move away from the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, many have begun challenging the truth of the Resurrection. Many would say there is no Resurrection. Many would ask for proof that there really is a resurrection from the dead. So what is the proof really that the resurrection is real? What is the proof that Jesus Christ has truly risen from the dead? Is it real or are Catholics just very fanatical?
One of the first things we can look at is the Bible. It is either we believe that the Bible is true or it isn’t. Some of the authors of the Bible in the Old Testament spoke of the Resurrection. So it is not something that was known or became known only in New Testament era. From as far back as the Old Testament the resurrection was known and spoken of. An example of this can be found in 2 Maccabees 7 – the story of seven brothers and their mother who refused to taste pig’s flesh because it would go against God’s law.
After him the third suffered their cruel sport. He put forth his tongue at once when told to do so, and bravely stretched out his hands, as he spoke these noble words: “It was from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of his laws I disregard them; from him I hope to receive them again.” (Verses 10 – 11).After he had died, they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way. When he was near death, he said, “It is my choice to die at the hands of mortals with the hope that God will restore me to life; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life.” (Verses 13 – 14)
All through the bible, we will read of the relentless love of God that just never gives up on us. It is there constantly, even down to the very last moments of our lives (Ref Matthew 20: 1 – 16). No matter the foolishness we do and how far we wander away from God, His steadfast love and boundless mercy always endures. This is not to be confused with the mentality that we can do whatever we want. That is absolutely not the case, for God is also the righteous judge and Matthew 25: 31 – 46 is a clear reminder of this. The point here is that why would the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient God continue to pour our His love and mercy and amazing grace on us, over and over again, if now was all there is to this life, and when we die, it’s all over? That would make absolutely no sense. So in a very real sense, denial of the resurrection is a denial of the love and mercy of God – if not an outright denial of God himself.
God’s greatest desire is to spend eternity with us. 1 Timothy 2: 4 tells us, “He wants every one to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth.” That is why it is so important to God that all of us be saved. God is Love, and he created every single human being, in his own image and likeness, out of love and for love. God’s desire is to give us so much more than we truly deserve. In reality we deserve to die but God wants to give us life, life in abundance –“I came that they may have life and life to the full” (John 10: 10). God’s desire is to spend an eternity with us his beloved.
Back in Jesus’ time, the testimony of a woman carried very little weight. Women were considered to be much lower than men. The testimony of a man was considered to be much higher than that of a woman. With this in mind, it is no accident nor is it a coincident that the first witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a man. It was a woman. The first witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ was Mary Magdalene. You may recall that in some accounts of the Gospel, the disciples did not believe her when she reported what she saw and was told when she visited the tomb. So if the resurrection of Jesus Christ was something conjured up by the early apostles, they would have known that it would have been best to have a man reporting first that Jesus Christ had risen and not a woman. After all, it was a male dominated society.
When Jesus was doing his ministry on Earth and when he was crucified, Saul, who was later call Paul, never met Jesus Christ. He knew little about him. In fact after the resurrection Saul went on a campaign to silence anyone who was preaching and speaking about The Way. He didn’t know “The Way”. Like all of the authorities then, all he knew was that it was contrary to the teachings and practices at the time and was therefore seen as a threat to stability and to sovereignty. So it had to be stopped. So he went on a campaign to stamp it out. So Saul never met Jesus Christ till that fateful day. Saul encountered the Risen Lord Jesus Christ while on his way to arrest more followers of The Way. Jesus the Risen Lord appeared to him and knocked him off of his high horse as it were. We all know that story of how Saul became blind. At that encounter, Jesus spoke to him and asked him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” To which Saul replied, “Lord who are you? And Jesus replied, “I am Jesus and you are persecuting me”. (Ref. Acts 9: 1- 19)
As the story continues, the same Saul who was persecuting anyone who spoke of Jesus Christ, after that encounter with Jesus and after following the instructions to have hands laid on him, became Paul, one of the greatest evangelist ever going into the very same places where he persecuted Christians – or ‘followers of The Way’ as they were known then – and became the greatest preacher presenting very strong arguments to all who would listen to him that Jesus is Alive and that he has indeed risen from the dead. Again, Saul was not one of the original Apostles. His only encounter with Jesus was on the road to Damascus.
One of the greatest living testimonies of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ is the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church we know, was formed and commissioned by Jesus himself. This is fact. the Catholic Church is founded on the fact that Jesus Christ was not only crucified but that he rose triumphantly from the dead and is Alive!. The Catholic Church and all of Christianity hinges on this fact. If it were not true then the Catholic Church, and by extension, all of Christianity, would have ceased to exist a long time ago. The mere fact that the Catholic Church and Christianity is still very much alive and well despite all the challenges she has faced over the centuries, and still continues to face, bears very powerful testimony to the truth that Jesus Christ is alive. Jesus Christ has indeed risen from the dead – just as he said he would.
Over the centuries after Jesus’ death and Resurrection, countless persons followed Jesus. Very many of them were martyred for this teaching that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. One of the earliest recorded Martyrs was Stephen (Acts 7: 55 – 60). Many of those who gave their lives for this truth were highly educated people from varying walks of life, from far varying places and throughout the centuries. It is illogical and makes absolutely no sense for so many highly educated people to follow something over so many centuries, that is not true, let alone give their lives for such a cause. The mere fact that so many countless educated persons, over more than two thousand (2000) years, and from all over the world, give their lives for the cause that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead is another powerful testimony of this truth.
Over time, there have been several cults that arose; many of which ended with mass suicide; and all of their beliefs died right there. They were never heard of thereafter; neither did they spread. But here we have a teaching – a truth – about Jesus Christ, a Prophet, Messiah and King; who was crucified and died; but rose to fullness of life more than two thousand years ago. In a total absence of technology, this teaching, this Truth, this Way, this Life spread like wild fire even though those who followed and believed in this were and still are persecuted.
It must therefore be true. Jesus Christ has Risen from the dead. Jesus Christ is ALIVE!! ALLELUIA!!
