*The Resurrection with its reasonable proof!*
`If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 1 Corinthians 15:14`
In Acts 26 Paul is talking to King Agrippa and Festus, the Roman governor. He talked about Christ’s death and resurrection. In the middle of his discussion, Festus cried, _“Paul, your great learning is driving you insane”_ (Acts 26:24). Paul’s response was respectful but surprisingly confident. _“I am not insane, most excellent Festus”_ Paul replied. _“What I am saying is true and reasonable. The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.”_ (Acts 26:25–26). Paul says that his faith in the resurrection is “reasonable”_ a word that refers to careful, rational thought. He is not making mere assertions but is offering arguments. Paul can also say confidently to Agrippa that he knew the facts ofJesus’s death, of the empty tomb, and of the reports of the eye witnesses to the resurrection, because these things were _“not done in a corner.”_ They were public knowledge and so there was substantial evidence for what he was saying.
Paul is doing in 1 Corinthians 15 for all readers, present and future, what he did before Agrippa and Festus. To summarize, he provides two main argumentsfor the resurrection. First, the tomb was empty. The gospel does not merely say that Jesus died but also “ _that he was buried._” This fact would be unwanted unless it is used to make the point that resurrection was a “ _spiritual_” event, and that the body was gone and the tomb empty. The fact of the empty tomb is accepted by most scholars, including those who don’t accept the resurrection. It was extremely important to Jews to bury people and not leave bodies out simply to decay. Therefore, it is hard to imagine that – belief in a risen Jesus can get very far when one can easily point to the grave in which he was still present.
The second main argument is that a large number of people, across adiversity of circumstances, testified that they had seen the risen Jesus. We are not talking about one single sighting, or several appearances in one remote location where they could be staged. But the variety of times and circumstances of the encounters makes that highly unlikely. For example, how could five hundred people have the same hallucination at once?
So we are left with two hard-to-refute facts: that the tomb was empty and that hundreds of people claimed to have seen the risen Christ. If we had only the empty tomb, then we could plausibly claim the body was stolen. If we only had the testimonies, we could say they had to be fantasies. Together, however, they give evidence that something extraordinary happened! JESUS IS RISEN… HALLELUJAH 🙌
Yours in Christ,
Apostle Ashok Martin