Proof of the Resurrection?
Well, not really. There is no hardcore, physical evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. If there were, there would be no requirement for faith—no engaging commitment on our part. Jesus had no intention of jumping up and saying “Voila!” to all of mankind on that first Easter Sunday. He aspired to see a Church built on faith, not on ‘See, I told you so.’
However, if you contemplate two facts we do have, placing your faith in Christ’s resurrection actually makes more sense than the idea that he remained dead and buried.
Fact 1: Jesus of Nazareth was crucified by the Romans.
The reason the empire brutally crucified dissenters, murderers and instigators of insurrections rather than the more straightforward sentence of decapitation was simple—to publicly showcase the horrifying torture that awaited anyone who stepped over the line under Roman occupation. Indeed, it was a very effective deterrent. Even Jesus’ closest, most ardent followers, his dearest of friends, scattered like timid kittens both during and after his crucifixion. These disciples who had witnessed his miracles and were convinced he was the Son of God cowered away behind locked doors for fear of being associated with the condemned Nazarene. If Jesus had stayed in the tomb, you can bet his history would have ended there. The apostles would have secretly slunk back to Galilee, perhaps become fishermen again, and definitely would have kept their noses out of trouble and the name ‘Jesus’ hush-hush. But…
Fact 2: The apostles embarked on lives of public evangelization that led to a martyr’s death.
So let’s see … they went from lost, petrified sheep in hiding … to bold, fearless zealots proclaiming the divinity of Jesus to Jew and gentile alike. Interesting. And how did that work out for them? Well … only one of them died from natural causes. You need look no further than Peter. One moment he’s denying he even knows who Jesus is, and just a few days later he’s embarking on a mission to profess Jesus as savior of the world, a message that ultimately leads to his own crucifixion!
These two indisputable facts are so at odds with each other. These men who first adopted an instinctive ‘Screw this, let’s get out of here’ mentality somehow quickly transformed into courageous, confident crusaders, willing to accept certain death.
So, what happened in between? What exactly transpired to turn their crushed, intimidated mindsets into robust, unbreakable resolve? A giant leap of faith? The will to save an executed man’s legacy? I’m not so sure I’d give them that much credit.
It seems more likely that proof suddenly walked among them.