Evidence of Resurrection
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2022 · 1 May 2022
The physical bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is so critical to the Christian gospel that all four gospel writers give us an account of the resurrection and provide for us multiple evidences of its reality. The resurrection is a historical fact, the Lord Jesus was a historical person, who died physically and rose from the dead in a glorified physical heavenly body.
In Acts which describes the apostles proclaiming the gospel, you find that they preached the resurrection of Christ. The resurrection means that God was satisfied with the sacrifice for sin that Christ offered. It means that He conquered death, not only for Himself, but for all of us who put our faith in Him. So in His resurrection is our resurrection, as in His cross is our forgiveness.
The resurrection was presented by the writers of the Old Testament in a number of ways. Our Lord Jesus Himself spoke of His resurrection to His apostles. But in spite of what the Scripture said, in spite of what our Lord said to them on many occasions, and specifically that He would die and He would rise again on the third day, in spite of that His followers did not believe He would rise.
Only when He appeared to them, all doubt was dispelled, and they went forth confident that Christ was alive from the dead, preaching a risen Christ and preaching resurrection. Before they saw Him, the disciples were fearful and terrified of the consequences that could fall on them. They don’t believe in a resurrection. They don’t even believe the testimony of the women eyewitnesses.
This is the appearance of the Lord to the disciples. Judas is gone, eleven remain. The first appearance was only to ten, because Thomas was not there. What had happened on the day of resurrection? Look at Luke 24. Our Lord comes out of the grave early in the morning at dawn, and the women arrive at the tomb. They find the tomb is empty, the stone is rolled away, and the grave clothes are lying there.
Luke 24:4 – 11, “And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered.
Into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8 And they remembered His words. 9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.”
These credible witnesses, followers of Jesus, were these women. But the apostles would not believe them. So averse were they to the idea of a resurrection that they wouldn’t believe the most credible people in their circle of human relationships. Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, saw the linen wrappings only, went away to his home wondering what had happened.
We know, however, from later in this chapter, and we know also from 1 Corinthians 15 that the Lord made a personal appearance to Peter, to convince him as the leader. So the women have gone to the grave, the tomb is empty, the grave clothes are lying there. The women are told by two angels that He has risen. These angels who give the testimony are messengers from heaven.
The women believe, they rush to the eleven apostles, and they are met with the idea that they are speaking nonsense. In the meantime, we know the Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene. A little later that day we read the story in Luke 24:13. Two disciples, not apostles, followers of Jesus were on their way to Emmaus. They were talking to each other, when Jesus Himself approached.
This is the risen Christ who traveled with them. Their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. That’s always the case after the resurrection until He identifies Himself. He is in a physical form, but it is a transcendent form capable of dwelling forever in heaven. Eventually, they say how sad they are, because the one they had hoped would be the Messiah is dead.
But our Lord explains to them that this is what the Old Testament promised. “O foolish men” – verse 25 – “slow of heart to believe in all the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things to be the sin-bearer, and then rise and enter into His glory?” Beginning at Moses with all the prophets, Jesus explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
He approached the village with them. They urged Him” – in verse 29 – ‘Stay with us, it’s getting toward evening; the day is now nearly over.’ So He went in to stay with them. When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.”
So now Mary Magdalene has seen Him, and the women have heard from the angels. Perhaps Peter has seen Him. Two on the road to Emmaus have seen Him. These two have burning hearts, verse 32: “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, and while He was explaining the Scriptures to us.” They were burning because now the Old Testament made sense.
Verse 33, “They got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, ‘The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon. And they began to relate their experiences on the road and how Jesus was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.” This validated the testimony of the women and the eyewitness account of Mary Magdalene.
And now these two have rushed there in the evening of the resurrection day itself to declare that they have spent time with the Lord. And they are met with the same kind of unbelief. But Luke 24:36 says, “While they were telling these things, Jesus Himself stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be to you.’ But they were frightened and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
And Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of broiled fish. He took it and ate it before them.”
Now let’s see John 20 again. Jesus has appeared to Mary, the angels have declared His resurrection to the other women, He has appeared to Simon, He has appeared to the disciples on the road; now it is time to appear to the eleven, verse John 20:19, “When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews.”
In that situation the text simply says, “Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” How did that happen? Well, He rearranged His resurrected body to go right through the wall the same way He had rearranged His resurrected body in the grave to go right through the linen clothing and the linen wrapping around His head and out of the grave.
Now I know that the skeptics do not believe that. He is not a spirit. But to make sure you don’t think that verse 20 says, “When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” This is no hallucination. This is a physical bodily resurrection. And to demonstrate that He shows them His scars, as in Luke 24:42 - 43, and He ate broiled fish.
In heaven in Revelation 5, where you see the throne of God and the cry is, “Who is going to take back the earth from the usurper Satan? Who is worthy to come and destroy Satan and all the demons and all the ungodly, and take back the world? Who has the title deed and the power?” And no one comes. And John starts to weep because there’s no one to do that. Finally, Jesus appears as a Lamb, as a scarred sacrifice.
Even in heaven He will bear those scars. And at the end of verse 20: “The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” I can’t even begin to describe what that may have been like. Verse 21-22, “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.’ He calms them down again. It is a shalom, but it’s more than that. Even eight days later they’re still shaken by these circumstances, and they still don’t know where this is all going. But our Lord has something to say to them, and what He says is profound and simple. Here is the first declaration of the Great Commission. We are all in the flow of fulfilling that commission.
It has three parts. Number One, verse 21, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” This is the first phase of the Lord’s commission. Why did the Father send Jesus into the world? The Son of Man is coming to seek and to save the lost. His purpose was to bring salvation to all God’s chosen people through all of redemptive history. You’re here to fulfill the task that was originally given to Christ.
Everything we do in our lives, is to let our light shine so that men can see the good works, and glorify God who is in heaven who transformed us to such good works, and then take that as an opportunity, shining His lights in the world to preach the gospel of light. The second aspect is, verse 22, “When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”
In Acts 1:8 He says, “When the Spirit comes on you, you’ll received power, and you’ll be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.” You can’t do this without the Holy Spirit. He breathed on them. Back in Genesis 2, when God had created Adam it says, “He breathed into him the breath of life, and Adam became a living soul.” That’s an expression of God’s creative power.
In that valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37, which is a picture of the corpse of Israel lying like dry bones in the desert, God shows up and says to the prophet, “Breathe on them.” And the breath of God comes and all the dry bones come alive, and that is the future salvation and resurrection of the believers in Israel. Romans 8:9 says, “No believer is left without the Holy Spirit.
Then the third element is really critical. Verse 23, “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” That verse has been misinterpreted and cast in stone in the Roman Catholic system. They have made it apply to the Pope, cardinals, bishops and priests. But that is not an accurate interpretation.
How can that be possible? Mark 2:7, “Who can forgive sins but God?” Or Daniel 9:9, “To the Lord God belong compassion and forgiveness.” We can’t go around forgiving people’s sins, that’s what the priests think they can do, and they can’t do that. You say, “Well then how does it work?” All you have to do is follow the ministry of the apostles and you’ll see it.
In Acts 10:42, we have the testimony of Peter, “God ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.” He’s talking about Christ. “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” So if you believe in Christ, I can say, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’
If you reject the Lord Jesus Christ, I can say to you, ‘You’re still in your sins, your sins are retained.’” Same thing Paul says in Acts 13:38, “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the law of Moses.”
Verse 24 – 25, “Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” This says that the disciples would never have made up a resurrection.
Thomas says, “I’m not going to believe unless Christ is really alive.” Verse 26 -27, “And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
Verse 28 -29, “And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” And that, dear friends, encompasses all of us. We haven’t seen the risen Christ, but we have experienced the risen Christ in His power and His presence. We love Him. Let us pray.