But Easter bursts in with the message that Jesus conquered death, and by
faith in Him, we can be “more than conquerors” through Him who loved
us. But can historians prove that Jesus of Nazareth literally, bodily
rose from the dead 2000 years ago?
The Scottish Enlightenment skeptic David Hume opined that Jesus could
not have risen from the dead because dead men don’t rise from the dead.
Well, generally, they don’t. That’s why the Easter story is so
significant.
The bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead was so momentous it ended
up changing the world. The very year you were born is indirectly tied
to that event. Time is measured by the birth of Jesus because His coming
was so significant.
The resurrection is so significant because if it is true, it means all
the other claims of Christ are true – that He was the Son of God, that
He died for sinners, that He will one day judge us all. Every beat of
the human heart is dependent on Jesus. Even the most hardcore skeptic
draws every breath he draws courtesy of Christ. We all have a vested
interest to know what happened on that first Easter morning.
Dr. Paul L. Maier is a best-selling author and a retired professor of
ancient history from Western Michigan University. He’s a first-rate,
Harvard-trained historian. I’ve had the privilege to interview him for
TV and radio several times through the years.
He once told me in an interview for Christian television, “The tomb of
Joseph of Arimathea, into which Jesus was buried on Friday, was in fact
empty on the morning of the resurrection. Now I’ll be the first to say
that an empty tomb does not prove a resurrection, but reverse it: You
can’t have a resurrection without the tomb being empty as its first
symptom. And the empty tomb can be proven.”
Maier notes that it can be proven by sources hostile to Christianity.
He states, “Where on earth did Christianity first begin? The answer
would be Jerusalem. The first proclamation that Jesus was the Messiah
who rose from the dead took place in Jerusalem.
But there it would have been least likely that the resurrection would
have been announced if the moldering body of Jesus of Nazareth were
still available.”
“Imagine the scenario,” opines Maier, “[The Chief Priest] Caiaphas –
confronted by the apostles claiming the resurrection – would say, ‘Oh
you poor, benighted fisherman, follow me; let’s go over to the tomb.’
Then he would have had the stone removed and say, ‘Behold, the moldering
body of Jesus. What is this claim about a resurrection?’ If that had
been the case, if that tomb had the body of Jesus, there wouldn’t have
been a Christian church on earth at all. It would have died out as some
peculiar Jewish sect.”
The temple authorities claimed the disciples stole the body during the
night. This claim, notes Maier, is positive evidence for the empty tomb
from a hostile source. Why would they see the need to explain away the
empty tomb? Only because it was actually empty – thus establishing this
historically-inarguable fact.
Another convincing proof that Jesus rose from the dead is the sudden
transformation of the apostles, the original skeptics of the
resurrection. They were dejected and ready to move on to other things
(or even back to fishing or their previous occupations). They hid for
their lives out of fear after the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus.
And then something happened that changed them – they claimed they had
seen Him risen from the dead – in a multitude of appearances, over many
weeks, in a variety of settings, day and night. And seeing the risen
Jesus transformed them into bold, unstoppable witnesses. They became
fearless, even in the face of martyrdom, which many of them experienced.
Through the ages, Christians from all walks of life have found great
comfort in the resurrection of Christ. Take, for example, George
Washington, the father of our country.
Behind George Washington and Martha’s sarcophagi in Mount Vernon,
chiseled in stone, are these words from Jesus in John 11:25 KJV, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” You can see these words for yourself in what is reported to be the most visited home in America.
During these days of great upheaval and uncertainty, what a privilege it
is to trust in Jesus Christ, the only one who ever conquered the grave.
He is risen. He is risen indeed.
