Question 1

What evidence supports our belief in the resurrection of Jesus?

Accepted Answer

Matthew 27:62-66; 28:11-15The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it. . . . As the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and told the leading priests what had happened. A meeting with the elders was called, and they decided to give the soldiers a large bribe. They told the soldiers, “You must say, ‘Jesus’ disciples came during the night while we were sleeping, and they stole his body.’ If the governor hears about it, we’ll stand up for you so you won’t get in trouble.” So the guards accepted the bribe and said what they were told to say. Their story spread widely among the Jews, and they still tell it today.Luke 24:1-3Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus.John 20:3-10Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.The first evidence for the Resurrection is the empty tomb. The guards and the Jewish priests knew the tomb was empty. Next, the women who came to the tomb found the stone rolled away and the body gone. Then Peter and John came and saw that the tomb was empty.Matthew 28:8-9The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him.Luke 24:28-34By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.”Acts 1:1-3In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.Acts 2:29-32“Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne. David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave. God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.”1 Corinthians 15:3-8I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.The second evidence for the Resurrection is that the resurrected Christ was seen by many witnesses: the women at the tomb; two of Jesus’ followers on the road to Emmaus; the disciples behind locked doors; and then later, “more than 500 of his followers at one time.”John 20:19-21That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”Acts 3:15“You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!”Acts 5:29-32Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”Acts 12:1-2About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword.The third and perhaps the most persuasive evidence for the Resurrection is the disciples’ transformed lives. When Jesus was crucified, they were disillusioned and most had deserted him in fear. Peter had denied even knowing Jesus. But after seeing Jesus alive they changed dramatically; they were fearless and willing to die for the truth they knew. They knew Jesus had risen from the dead. Eyewitness evidence for any historical event is the most reliable. Hundreds of eyewitnesses claimed to have seen Jesus following the Resurrection. The apostles were willing to risk martyrdom for preaching the truth about it, and millions upon millions of changed lives bear witness to the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive today.

Question 2

Why is the resurrection of Jesus so pivotal to the Christian faith?

Accepted Answer

1 Corinthians 15:12-20Tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.Jesus’ resurrection is pivotal for the Christian faith because it proves that what he said about himself and salvation is true. If Jesus were just a human being who lived an exemplary life, taught well, and had followers, then his death would have ended it, except for great memories. And because Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh, he would have been a liar or mentally challenged. He certainly could not have been our Savior. But as Paul declares, Christ has, in fact, been raised from the dead, so we can hope for this life and the next.Romans 8:11The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we have new life through God’s Spirit.1 Corinthians 15:42-44It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.1 Thessalonians 4:13-14Now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.Because of the Resurrection, we have hope, knowing that we, too, will be raised to new life.1 Peter 1:3-4All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.Because of the Resurrection, we know that our “priceless inheritance” is secure—eternal life with our Savior. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross accomplished God’s plan—our sins are forgiven and we will live forever with Jesus in heaven. Christianity, at its heart, is not just another moral or religious code but resurrection and new life.

Question 3

How can I have confidence that God will someday resurrect me to eternal life?

Accepted Answer

John 11:25Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.”1 Corinthians 6:14God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.1 Corinthians 15:12-14Tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.

Question 4

What does Jesus’ resurrection mean to me?

Accepted Answer

Matthew 28:5-6Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.”John 3:16“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”1 Corinthians 15:42It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.Without the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, there would be no Christianity. The Resurrection is central because it demonstrates that Jesus’ sacrifice was enough to pay for sin and assures us that we also will be resurrected. The power of God that brought Jesus back from the dead will also bring us back to life. Jesus’ death was not the end. His resurrection is the beginning of eternal life for all who believe in him.2 Corinthians 4:14We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.Because of Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection—and our faith in him—we stand holy and blameless in God’s presence. We can come to him confidently. Jesus died for us and rose again with the promise to be with us.1 Peter 1:21Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.The Lord is our source of hope because his promises are true. We lose hope when we stop believing that. The Resurrection, the greatest event in history, is the foundation of our hope. Jesus promised that he would rise from the dead, and because he did, we can be assured that every other promise God makes us will also come true.

Question 5

What will my resurrected body be like?

Accepted Answer

1 Corinthians 15:43-44Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.1 Corinthians 15:51, 53Let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! . . . For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.Our resurrected bodies will be physical, like we have now but also probably with some “supernatural” characteristics. Most importantly, our new bodies won’t decay from the effects of sin. We will never be sick or in pain again, nor will our minds think sinful thoughts. We will be fully and finally perfect in God’s sight.