Pastor, Peabody Bible Church
Most historians acknowledge the fact that Jesus was killed; some are Christians and some are not. Yet, they admit that the evidence is obvious: Jesus died.
There is also no debate that Jesus was buried. Historical records, and common sense, make that case as solid as the limestone tomb itself: Jesus was buried.
The events of Good Friday are well documented and widely accepted … then comes Easter Sunday.
Buckle up.
The resurrection is the intersection that forces mankind to decide which direction to travel. Make no mistake about it, trustworthy evidence, like illuminated road signs, are present. And the direction all signs point toward causes many to hit the brakes and make an intellectual U-turn, because if Jesus did rise from the dead, then everything He said is forever validated. In other words, He told the truth … and so did the rest of the Bible. The historical/eternal implications of Easter are enormous. (see Romans 10:9)
Those unwilling to travel the road clearly marked by reliable evidence swerve off in another direction … in search of a corpse. They make their obligatory stop by the tomb, realize that it really is empty, and then try to figure out who stole the dead body. Not being able to produce a bag of bones is quite inconvenient indeed. They drive down every rabbit trail, growing increasingly irritated that they can’t find any sign of the dead Nazarene — and they never will. Eventually they realize their only course of action is to tamper with the evidence or just ignore it.
The evidence, demonstrated in the pages of scripture, clearly states that Jesus has risen … He has risen indeed. The tomb was empty. The risen Lord was seen. The disciples were changed.
The evidence is laid out, the case has been made. Which direction will you go?