Tag Archives: Resurrection

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The Real World Importance of the Resurrection of Jesus

“Risen and alive, the one who stood at the center of God’s kingdom was vindicated. His claims of kingship, heavenly rooted authority, and God’s kingdom stood firm. Life triumphed over death. The disciple’s grief became conviction. The offer of life had found in him a fresh focal point—forever. The disciples taught what Jesus had preached. They proclaimed the new promise of God. They shared that life had come in the message and person of Jesus. Resurrection not only meant new life for Jesus, but the offer of new life to the world.” – Darrell Bock

The resurrection is the central claim of Christianity and its implications reach far and wide. In fact, as far as the curse is found.

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. – 1 Corinthians 15:1-7 (NASB)

Explore the historical evidence for the resurrection

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What Kind Of Historical Sources Can Be Trusted?

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Gary Habermas offers the following helpful criteria when doing historical investigation. “Historians employ a number of common-sense principles in assessing the strength of a testimony.” Here are just five of those principles:

1. Testimony attested to by multiple independent witnesses is usually considered stronger than the testimony of one witness.
2. Affirmation by a neutral or hostile source is usually considered stronger than affirmation from a friendly source, since bias in favor of the person or position is absent.
3. People usually don’t make up details regarding a story that would tend to weaken their position.
4. Eyewitness testimony is usually considered stronger than testimony heard from a second- or thirdhand source.
5. An early testimony from very close to the event in question is usually considered more reliable than one received years after the event.

Christianity is a historical faith…you can investigate it with eyes wide open (1 Cor. 15:16). So is the Old Testament historically reliable? 

Listen to my podcast where I make the historical case for the resurrection of Jesus

Learn more in his excellent book with Mike Licona – The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus

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A Living Hope

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”- 1 Pet. 1:3-6

He is Risen!

Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
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How Do We Know That Jesus Is Who He Claimed To Be? – Jonathan Morrow (Video)

This is the central issue when it comes to examining the claims of Christianity. Here are 2 powerful reasons that support Jesus’s radical claims.

Here is a link to the Think Christianly podcast with a talk I did on the historical evidence for the resurrection that goes into more detail.
I have a chapter on it here:


Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
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Why Can’t We Just Let Jesus Be Jesus? – An Easter Sermon (Audio)

Last month I came across an article in the Washington Post by Martha Woodruff —the title caught my interest:

Why can’t we just let Jesus be Jesus? I’m not close to being a Christian, but I am a person of faith who is quite the Jesus fan. Why? Because this guy, more than anyone I’ve ever known or heard of, fearlessly lived his relationship with God, the great Whatever….

She continues…

….So back to this Jesus, a knowable figure in history. Personally, I admire and wish to emulate him, without having any urge to deify him. It does seem to me Christianity’s insistence that Jesus be god repels people who might otherwise happily trot along in his path. And that path trotting is, I would suggest, what Jesus, himself, calls us to do.”

Her bottom line is clear: why do you Christians have to mess up a perfectly good example of spirituality for the rest of us by making Jesus out to be God? Why can’t we just try to follow his example and leave it at that? (more from article)

And then you have people like Richard Dawkins—probably the most famous atheist in the world today—claiming that:

“There is no good historical evidence that he [Jesus] thought he was divine.”

Is that true?

And then there is the bizarre trend today that people think they get to recreate history according to their preferences or desires. But that is not the way history works, that is not the way truth works. And truth is what we are after because at the end of the day, it is the only solid foundation on which to build a life.

Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, but everyone is not entitled to their own truth. What we are after this is the truth. Who was Jesus? Was he the Son of God? Was Jesus divine? On Easter sunday I preached a message addressing this very important question (click here to listen). I also make the case here.