“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
Even if one had no faith, there is a lot of testimony (evidence) that Jesus arose from the dead. There is the testimony of the four gospels. Suppose that three witnesses of a crime took the stand in a courtroom and each one was asked to describe the man who robbed a convenience store. The first witness said, “He was about six feet tall, weighed around two-hundred-fifty pounds, and wore dirty jeans.” The second and third witnesses said exactly the same thing, using exactly the same words. We would know immediately that they had talked with each other, and rehearsed their testimony. Their truthfulness would be in question.
When we read the four gospels, they describe the resurrection, but each one in a different way. The only thing that is alike in all four is the very strong assertion that “He arose.” By this, we know the resurrection was not a made-up story or figment of someone’s imagination. It happened.
In addition to the scriptural testimony, there is eyewitness testimony. He was seen by Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (Mark 16:12), and by the 11 while they were eating (Mark 16:14), and by many others too numerous to mention.
There is evidence of the resurrection. The question is, have we received it and do we believe it?
Dr. Robert Wilkerson is a minister, writer, and president of Robert Wilkerson and Associates. drbobwilkerson@bellsouth.net
