BY SHARON VAN ARNEMAN
As Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Easter this year amidst COVID-19, I invite you to come along with me and let’s take a journey back in time, as together we examine the evidences for the bodily resurrection of Christ – the cornerstone of the Christian faith.
Let’s begin by laying out the facts as presented in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 (The Message). Paul tells his readers “that the Messiah died for our sins... that He was buried; that He was raised from death on the third day… that He presented Himself alive to Peter, then to His closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of His followers all at the same time, most of them still around; that He then spent time with James and the rest of those He commissioned to represent Him; and that He finally presented Himself alive to me.”
The first thing Paul does is to set the scene for us: He tells us that Jesus died, was buried, and was raised from the dead on the third day. We already know from Scripture that Jesus’ body was wrapped in a linen cloth and placed in a brand new rock tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea. An extremely large stone was then rolled against the entrance of the tomb and Roman guards were stationed to guard the tomb, which would have had the Roman seal as a precautionary measure to deter anyone from even attempting to move the stone, as this would have broken the seal and led to the automatic execution of the culprit.
Yet, three days later, the seal was broken; the stone rolled away; the tomb empty; and the Roman guards were nowhere to be found! And in the place where Jesus’ body had lain were His grave clothes, lying there in the form of a body, as if He had just evaporated right out of them. Adding to all that, in the days that followed, Jesus’ disciples were going throughout the very city where He had died and been buried, proclaiming to everyone that Jesus had risen from the dead and had appeared to them during a 40-day period. They obviously knew how easy it was to fact-check their claims – for all one had to do was to visit the tomb – yet they boldly continued to declare that Jesus was alive! That’s why I find it noteworthy that Paul includes himself in his list of Resurrection witnesses.
You will recall that Paul (formerly called Saul) was that notorious persecutor of the early Christians. But by his own admission, after his encounter with the risen Christ; this once hostile witness became one of the most ardent witnesses for the truth of the Resurrection! He also mentions that the risen Christ had been seen by more than 500 people, most of whom were still alive when he wrote this account and were thus able to verify his statement. Paul’s account of Christ’s post-resurrection appearances also includes Peter, James and His other disciples in general, most of whom willingly died as martyrs for their belief in Christ’s resurrection. Reading the historical records of the torture and persecutions the early Christians were subjected to for their faith in the Resurrection, one has to ask himself: Would so many people willingly die for a lie that they knew full well was a lie? Would you?
To contact Sharon,
write to P.O. Box 484,
Philipsburg, St. Maarten,
Dutch Caribbean.
Email:
roseofsharon1966
@hotmail.com
Phone: 1 (721) 554-9590
