01 May 2025

The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the most significant and far-reaching event (incredibly decreed from eternity past [1 Pet 1:19-20]) to detonate within the space-time universe. It ruptured the very fabric of reality, sending shockwaves to the furthest reaches of the cosmos. The effect transcended the speed of light, immediately affecting every part of a fallen creation, serving notice that everything had changed. But it was not only efficacious within our universe; it also sent powerful blast waves echoing throughout transcendent reality well beyond the universe into the realm of eternity———rippling both forward and backward in time. N.T. Wright was insightful in his magnum opus “The Resurrection of the Son of God” when he penned that it fractured the present evil age (Gal 1:4) in which we live with the unstoppable and life-changing invasion of a future era that is the Kingdom of God. As a result, we now live in a time when two ages overlap, a time of kingdoms in conflict. The resurrection of Jesus Christ brought a future reality (when everything will be made new) into the present, thereby eclipsing time. Inherent in the resurrection is a focus on the renewal of the most precious of all creation and that which is the pinnacle of God’s powerful creative work . . . fallen mankind made in the image of God. With the Resurrection, the Creator unleashed unstoppable divine power. Our own future bodily resurrection is inextricably linked to Christ’s resurrection.

Paul gives us insight into the significance of this event in 1 Cor 15:14 when he wrote “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” (ESV) Chrysostom’s (347-407) remarks concerning this specific verse are enlightening. He writes “Paul would have said here that if Christ had not be raised, historical facts would have been denied, but instead he says something much more relevant and indeed frightening to the Corinthians. For if Christ had not risen from the dead, then Paul’s preaching would have been useless and their faith would have no meaning.”¹ (emphasis is mine)

No wonder the early church made the resurrection the repeated and continual focal point of its message to a hostile, pagan culture. The New Testament book of Acts records the first 30 years of the early church after the resurrection and makes specific mention of resurrection some 25 times: Acts 1:3, 21-22; 2:24, 29-32; 3:15, 26; 4:2; 4:10; 4:33; 5:30; 9:40-41; 10:39-40; 13:30-37; 14:19-20; 17:2-3; 17:18; 17:31-32; 20:9-10; 23:6; 24:14-15; 24:20-21; 25:19; 26:7-8; 26:22-23. In addition to these specific explicit occurrences, there are also a considerable number of implicit references (i.e., Acts 8:37 where Jesus “is” [instead of “was”] the Son of God; Acts 9:5-6, 9:27; 22:6-8; etc.) We must ask why the early church placed such overwhelming importance on the message of resurrection.

The Reformers were adamant that Christ’s resurrection is the foundation of the gospel. “To deny this doctrine is to destroy the Christian religion and render Christian discipleship absurd.”² Martin Luther wrote that “Paul staked everything” on the resurrection and that “all Christians must believe and confess that Christ has risen from the dead.”³ John Dunne characterizes Paul’s words here “like lightning which affects and leaves some mark on everything it touches.”⁴ Wolfgang Musculus declared that Christ “is the victor over sin and death, and the restorer of eternal life that was lost through Adam” and is the potency and cause of our own future resurrection.⁵ The great reformer Philip Melanchthon wrote that the resurrection means that Christ is now reigning over everything. The resurrection affirms the absolute supremacy of Christ over all things seen and unseen.

But how can a sane person believe that such an incredible event actually occurred in space-time history? An event that was so extraordinary that one of the apostles (Thomas) refused to believe the eyewitness testimony of his fellow apostles until and unless he saw with his own eyes and touched with his own hands? (John 20:24-29) An event that was so astounding that other disciples who did see the risen Christ with their own eyes, still doubted? (Matt 28:17)

Around 59 AD, almost 30 years after the resurrection, the apostle Paul was on trial before the Roman procurator Porcius Festus in the port city of Caesarea Maritima. When Paul asserted that Jesus Christ was alive and had risen from the dead, Festus shouted that Paul was out of his mind (Acts 26:24).

Almost 2,000 years later, on April 24, 1974, I was seated in the EE auditorium at Georgia Tech as a junior majoring in Aerospace Engineering. I was mad at the world, mad at everyone and mad at everything———and especially mad with God if he even existed. I was a stick of dynamite waiting for someone to light the fuse. And then I was exposed to a powerful apologetic argument for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It changed everything . . . including me. Like Thomas some 2,000 years ago, came the mind-blowing realization of who Jesus Christ is. And like Thomas, I was impelled to exclaim “my Lord and my God!”

But is there any credible evidence to support the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Can we actually believe that this unprecedented event really happened? Yes, there is. That is why millions of people through 20 centuries from every walk of life and every level of society, from every tribe and every language, have believed and embraced the power of the resurrection. In the next four parts, we will examine the cumulative evidence that even most skeptics should be able to agree with. Everyone present that day 20 centuries ago agreed that the tomb was empty: the Romans, the Jewish Sanhedrin, the populace of Jerusalem and the disciples. All were in agreement that the tomb was empty. The question to be resolved is why was the tomb empty? What explanation does the evidence best fit?

We will consider the various theories put forth through the centuries to explain the empty tomb. It’s ultimately up to you to examine the evidence and decide for yourself why the tomb was empty that fateful Sunday morning. Why do I agree with Paul that Jesus is alive and rose bodily from the dead after his crucifixion? I’m not out of my mind as Paul was wrongly accused of being by Festus. Let’s see why.

Part 2 is here.

¹Chrysostom, Homilies On The Epistles Of Paul To The Corinthians, Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture, New Testament VII, 1-2 Corinthians (editor Gerald Bray). Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. 1999, p. 155
²Reformation Commentary On Scripture (editor Timothy George), New Testament IXa, 1 Corinthians. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. 2017, p. 362
³Martin Luther, Commentary on 1 Corinthians, Reformation Commentary On Scripture (editor Timothy George), New Testament IXa, 1 Corinthians. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. 2017, p. 363
⁴John Dunne, Sermon Preached at St. Paul’s Church, Reformation Commentary On Scripture (editor Timothy George), New Testament IXa, 1 Corinthians. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. 2017, p. 364
⁵Wolfgang Musculus, Commentary on 1 Corinthians, Reformation Commentary On Scripture (editor Timothy George), New Testament IXa, 1 Corinthians. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. 2017, p. 364