Day 1: Pillar of Christianity

Paul told the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:17–19).

The preaching of the apostles in Acts revolved around the historical resurrection:

“We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.” (Acts 10:39–42)

To this day, the entire Christian faith still stands or falls on this one event. Thus, the question of whether the resurrection actually happened is of critical importance. If it didn’t, then we all might as well stay home on Easter Sunday.

Fierce Skeptics Converted

Many thinkers seeking to disprove the resurrection and thus invalidate Christianity have found themselves confronted by such a weight of evidence for the resurrection that it forced them, instead, to bend their knees before the living Christ.

Years ago, attorney Frank Morison planned to write a book that would lay the myth of the Resurrection to rest. But his book, Who Moved the Stone?, did precisely the opposite, and Morison was converted to Christianity by the historical evidence for the empty tomb.

General Lew Wallace, C.S. Lewis, and Malcolm Muggeridge are all famous examples of “reluctant” or unexpected converts who put their faith in Christ after coming face to face with incontrovertible evidence. You can learn more about each in their autobiographies: Surprised by Joy (Lewis), Jesus Rediscovered and Chronicles of Wasted Time (Muggeridge), and Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (Wallace).

Tomorrow, we will begin looking at eight pieces of evidence surrounding the death of Jesus that historians and theologians cannot ignore. From these facts, I hope you’ll start to see the strong case for the resurrection.