There is, however, strong historical evidence for Jesus’ bodily resurrection. As previously noted, the biblical evidence ought to be considered in a historical light. One cannot honestly dismiss it simply on the grounds that it contains "miracles" and other matters that we have not witnessed firsthand in today's scientific world. The evidence comes in the form for any other historical event.

Contemporaries and Eyewitnesses claim to have seen Jesus alive after he had died and was buried. His body was missing from the tomb the third day after his death, and, as one has noted, "no convincing natural explanation is available to account for this fact" (Craig 280). Many other explanations exist, but they involve unhistorical speculation based upon philisophical bias against the miraculous. If one is interested in the historical Jesus, then the gospel records must be considered, for there have been "no new data on the person of Jesus since the Gospels were written" (Woodward 70).

A couple of professors from a well-known university have noted, "The historical evidence is massive enough to convince the open-minded inquirer. By analogy with any other historical event, the resurrection has eminently credible evidence behind it. To disbelieve it, one must deliberately make an exception to the rules used everywhere else in history. Now why would someone want to do that?" (Kreeft and Tacelli 197).

These facts include the following:

1. Jesus was a real person of history who was put to death on a Roman cross.

2. He was buried in a tomb that was new, observed, guarded, and sealed. These facts make it implausible to think that His body could be mistaken for another, that the disciples all went to wrong tomb, or that the tomb itself could be tampered with.

3. On the third day, the body was missing from the tomb. The seal was broken, the consequences of which were severe for the guards. The stone was moved, which was a difficult feat at best. It would have taken several men to move it, ruling out the idea that Jesus simply revived, moved the stone, and scared away the Roman guards. The grave clothes were even found folded in the tomb.

4. Jesus was then seen alive by hundreds of eyewitnesses. The first of these witnesses were women. This is significant because the testimony of women was not highly regarded in the first century. This shows that if later disciples were just inventing the resurrection story, it would have been very unlikely that they would have included women as the first witnesses. Why do that if no one would believe it? This fact authenticates the accounts because the only reason it would be included is that this is exactly the way it happened (Dunn 65).

No other explanation apart from resurrection adequately accounts for the evidence. The evidence is reliable, the documents trustworthy, and the history is available for all to investigate.

We have previously argued that if Jesus' identity is shown to be true, then there is conclusive evidence for the existence of God, as well as the truth of the Christian's faith. The resurrection is the event that establishes this truth. The Bible uses the resurrection to buttress belief in Jesus as the Son of God. The apostles, who were depressed at the death of Jesus, were convinced that Jesus arose and were subsequently willing to die in order to preach it. If historically true, then it "validates his claim to be divine and not merely human, for resurrection from death is beyond human power; and his divinity validates the truth of everything else he said, for God cannot lie" (Kreeft and Tacelli 176).

The resurrection is the basis for hope. Without it, there is no hope of heaven since there would be no reason to believe that there is life beyond physical death. This is why Paul argued so strongly for it in 1 Corinthians 15. If there is no resurrection, our faith is vain, we are still in our sins, and we are pitiable. But the evidence for the resurrection stands as strong as ever. If the evidence is considered upon the same grounds as other ancient historical events, then there is solid reason to accept the resurrection of Jesus as true. If true, then the fact remains that God is, and that He has stepped into this world for the benefit of all mankind.

Works Cited