I hope this season finds you more amazed and more in love with Jesus then ever before as God’s family all around the world prepares to gather on Resurrection Sunday proclaiming, “He is risen. He is risen indeed!” But for some, doubt and skepticism and unbelief define their attitude toward Jesus and His resurrection. Christian maturity requires a healthy blend of faith, facts and feelings. Authentic Christian faith as described in the Bible is more than just intellectual belief. It is also relational trust. Faith = Belief + Trust. And this faith is never blind faith in the absence of real historical facts. And authentic Christian faith is not just an intellectual assent and awakening, but a heart awakening as we grow in a personal relationship with God. Here is some research and resources for the historical evidence supporting the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I am enclosing below a very brief support for the resurrection. If you are curious I would encourage you to dig deeper into the resources I have listed.

“Jesus has three basic credentials (1) The impact of His life, through His miracles and teachings, upon history; (2) Fulfilled prophecy in His life; and (3) His resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ and Christianity stand or fall together.” (Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, p.203)

(1) The impact of His life, through His miracles and teachings

The historical facts are that no one has had a more far-reaching impact on the course of history than Jesus Christ.

“Let it simply be said that we know more about the details of the hours immediately before and the actual death of Jesus, in and near Jerusalem, than we know about the death of any other one man in all the ancient world.” -Wilbur Smith

“I have been used for many years to study the histories of other time, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God hath given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead.” – Thomas Arnold, Oxford University

“Without the belief in the resurrection the Christian faith could not have come into being. The disciples would have remained crushed and defeated men. Even had they continued to remember Jesus as their beloved teacher, his crucifixion would have forever silenced any hopes of his being the Messiah. The cross would have remained the sad and shameful end of his career. The origin of Christianity therefore hinges on the belief of the early disciples that God had raised Jesus from the dead.” -William Lane Craig

(2) Fulfilled Prophecy in His life

“Throughout the New Testament the apostles appealed to two areas of the life of Jesus of Nazareth to establish His messiahship. One was the resurrection and the other was fulfilled messianic prophecy. The Old Testament, written over a one-thousand-year period, contains nearly three hundred references to the coming Messiah. All of these were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and they establish a solid confirmation of His credentials as the Messiah.” (Josh McDowell, p.165)

The Feasts (Levitcus 23)    The Fulfillment in Christ

Passover                               Death of Christ on Passover exactly in history (1 Cor. 5:7)

Unleavened Bread              Christ in the grave dying for our sins (1 Cor. 5:7-8)

First Fruits                          Christ’s resurrection, the first fruit (1 Cor. 15:23)

Pentecost                            Outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 1:5, 2:4)

Trumpets                             Christ’s return (Zech. 9:14, 1 Thess. 4:16-17)

Atonement                          Christ’s atonement (Is. 53:10, Rom. 6:23, Jer. 31:34)

Tabernacles                         Christ with us (Is. 60:1, Zech. 14:16-17, Rev. 19-21)

It is miraculous how Jesus fulfilled the first four Jewish feasts in history and will come and fulfill the last three in the end. Good Friday is historically the feast of Passover. The celebration of communion is the fulfillment of the Passover feast. Easter or more accurately Resurrection Sunday is historically the fulfillment of the Feast of First Fruits. For more detailed study on Jesus’ miraculous fulfillment of the OT Jewish feasts look at: (The Feasts of the Lord by Howard/Rosenthal and elshaddaiministries.us with Pastor Mark Biltz)

(3) His Resurrection

Fact (1) After His crucifixion, Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea in the tomb.

Fact (2) On the Sunday following the crucifixion, Jesus’ tomb was found empty by a group of his women followers

Fact (3) On multiple occasions and under various circumstances, different individuals and groups of people experienced appearances of Jesus alive from the dead.

Fact (4) The original disciples believed that Jesus was risen from the dead despite their having every reason not to.

(Jesus’ Resurrection, Fact or Figment? A debate between William Lane Craig and Gerd Ludemann)

For further detail facts and evidence for Christ’s resurrection refer to:

(The Case for Christ, A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus by Lee Strobel and for more in depth study Gary Habermas, The Resurrection of Jesus: A Rational Inquiry; The Resurrection of Jesus: An Apologetic; The Historical Jesus; and Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? And The Resurrection Debate)

However, it is important to understand that no one comes to faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior through intellectual assent to the facts, no matter how impressive the facts are. 1 Corinthians 1:20-21 says, “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” So faith comes by hearing the word of God and opening one’s heart to receive Jesus. This is not a blind faith. It is built upon some of the strongest facts in history. It is a faith that not only believes but personally trusts Jesus. This is the kind of faith that truly brings our heart and feelings alive! It is a faith that does not just proclaim, “He is risen!” once a year at Easter, but a faith that trusts and lives by resurrection reality everyday!