Traditionally, we celebrate two major Christian events every year: Christmas and Easter. Easter is all about Jesus passing over from death to life. While many people believe in these events, there are always those who doubt, attacking Jesus’ birth and especially His resurrection. They try to say it’s just like old myths, like Horus and Isis or the Indian Krishna, who supposedly died and rose.However, when you really look at it with careful consideration, it’s completely different. These myths lack the message of hope that we find in Jesus’ resurrection. And did those mythological figures visit Jerusalem and die there? No! Jesus himself said in Luke 13:33 that a prophet must perish in Jerusalem. The Messiah had to die and be crucified there. These other stories don’t fit that historical reality. And it wasn’t just because people back then were dumb or gullible. These other mythologies weren’t powerful enough to change the world like Jesus’ resurrection. People are drawn to Christ, their lives are changed, and they have hope beyond death because of it.

Jesus’ resurrection is unique. Even within Judaism at the time, resurrection was seen as a group event at the end of the world, not a single Messiah dying and rising. And while Romans believed in a spiritual resurrection, Jesus’ resurrection was bodily. He ate with His disciples, cooked for them and showed Himself for 40 days. It was a physical resurrection. And we believers expect the same for ourselves someday.

Now, look at Apostle Paul in Acts 25:18-19. His Jewish accusers couldn’t bring charges of evil deeds. Instead, it was about disagreements in their own religion and this Jesus, “a dead man whom Paul asserted to be alive”. His core message was “Jesus is risen!”. That’s why he was arrested, that’s why he was going to Rome, and that’s why he would eventually be executed.

What evidence did Apostle Paul have? And how did this resurrection shape his life? These are key questions. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is everything for Christians. If it truly happened, if that tomb was really empty, then it changes everything about how we live and think. Jesus becoming the first fruit is our pattern for future resurrection. Without the resurrection, there is no hope at all.

Imagine if Jesus never rose. The gospel would be empty words, God’s promises unsustainable, our faith useless, and we would still be lost in our sins. As 1 Corinthians 15:14 says, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain”. Without the resurrection, we might as well just live for today because tomorrow we die. In fact, without the resurrection, Christians would be the most pathetic people, wasting their lives.

But the resurrection is a divine vindication, affirmation, and validation. Without Easter, the cross means nothing; Jesus’ death would just be another death. So what is the evidence Jesus rose? Some point to the empty tomb and the gospel accounts, which contain historical facts. Paul’s conversion itself is powerful evidence. And the birth of the church on Pentecost is another amazing sign. But for me, the best evidence is the eyewitness accounts. Paul was one of many who saw the risen Lord.

Consider the women at the tomb. At least five women – Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna, and another – saw the risen Lord and talked to Him. In the first century, women’s testimony wasn’t considered trustworthy. Yet, the Bible records their account. This points to its truthfulness. The Gospel of Peter, a later writing, tries to say male Jewish officers were the first witnesses, precisely because they knew women’s accounts weren’t valued. This is why it’s not part of the Bible and not a true gospel.

Richard Bauckham, a great theologian, highlights how these women saw Jesus die, saw where He was laid, saw the empty tomb, saw the rolled-away stone, and saw the angel. Even Bart Ehrman, an agnostic historian, is struck by the consistency in the independent accounts placing Mary Magdalene at the cross and the tomb. He admits it seems likely that the empty tomb tradition is rooted in history.

And Apostle Paul himself? He saw Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 15:8-9, he says he was like one untimely born, even considering himself the least of the apostles because he persecuted the church. He hated Christians, plotted to kill them, including Stephen. But Jesus showed him mercy through the resurrection.

Then there were James, Jesus’ half-brother who was a skeptic, and Peter (Cephas) – they also saw Jesus after His resurrection and became pillars of the early church. Apostle Paul, James, and Peter all have one thing in common: they were martyred for their belief in Jesus’ resurrection. They never recanted, even until death. People die for what they believe is true, but no one dies for a lie. These men willingly faced death for their testimony of the resurrected Christ.

Think about the reaction of the chief priests and Pharisees. They remembered Jesus saying He would rise after three days, and they were afraid His disciples would steal the body and claim resurrection, making the “last deception worse than the first”. If Jesus hadn’t risen, wouldn’t they have just produced His body? The tomb was empty. In the book of Acts, the apostles kept preaching Jesus’ resurrection, and the high priests never refuted it by showing a body.

Chuck Colson explains the truthfulness of the resurrection through the Watergate cover-up which he was a part of. Twelve of the most powerful men couldn’t maintain a lie to protect the President for more than three weeks. How could twelve ordinary men 2,000 years ago consistently maintain a lie about something they knew was false, even to the point of death? They couldn’t have been telling anything but the truth. Apostle Peter even asked to be crucified upside down.

Why? Because the resurrection defeats and destroys sin. Sin brings death, but the resurrection brings life. Because of the resurrection, we are personally transformed. Without it, the cross is meaningless. But the resurrection is a divine victory over sin and death. Even Paul, who was a blasphemer worthy of death, found forgiveness and purpose because of the risen Lord. The resurrection conquered Satan.

Five points on Jesus’ resurrection:

• Christ alone saves. No other religious leader has risen from the grave.
• It confirms the veracity of God’s Word. The Old Testament prophesied the Messiah’s death and resurrection. Scripture is truth.
• The resurrection shows that Jesus is God. When Peter preached on Pentecost, he declared that God had made Jesus both Lord and Christ because He was resurrected.
• The true church is built by the risen Lord. Jesus promised, “I will build my church”. He is the head of the church. The church endures because He lives.
• The resurrection empowers us to serve the Lord. Paul, by the grace of the risen Lord, was transformed from a persecutor to an apostle who labored tirelessly. Knowing the risen Lord impacts how we serve, reaching out to the lost. Therefore, we should be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing our labor is not in vain.

His resurrection is everything. It’s our foundation and our direction. Like Apostle Paul, we should forget what lies behind and press on toward the goal. At the end of his life, Apostle Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing”. (2 Timothy 4:7-8) His whole life was shaped, driven, and governed by the resurrection. May we all realize that Jesus is truly risen, not just in theory but in practice, impacting us deeply now and giving us hope for the future.