Easter Experts: The Resurrection
Confidently Defending and Dying for the Resurrection
Return
G’day Everybody and welcome back to another edition of “The Holy Go!”
This Easter season we’re levelling up our Evangelism and Discipleship by becoming Easter Experts. Last week we looked at The Lamb and how we understand Jesus death.
This week we turn our attention to the resurrection!
Equip
A year or so ago we ran Alpha for our Young Adults. We had a great turn out of Christian and Curious young people joining us. Overwhelmingly the most talked about session was the one on the evidence for the resurrection.
These young people had faced plenty of tough questions about their faith and now they had been shown that belief in the resurrection of Jesus was not blind faith but a belief that made sense of strong evidence.
If I were to be honest, I think there are three reasons why I first believed the resurrection:
The Bible says…
The Church Teaches…
My Parents said…
The problem is that when many of our young people get to university they end up sounding like “Bobby Boucher” from The Water Boy answering questions,
“My mamma says…” to roars of laughter from the rest of the class.
The truth is The Bible, The Church and Our Parents all get heavily critiqued in both university, and in the plethora of social media videos aimed at drawing attention to all the parts that do not make sense.
But the resurrection of Jesus is not some fanciful story that we blindly believe. Rather, there is ample evidence for our belief in the resurrection. Funnily enough,
The Bible says…
The Church Teaches…
My Parents said… (Or People said…)
Are actually all the basis of compelling evidence for the resurrection.
Imagine if the whole Church was able to communicate their reason for belief in the resurrection in such a way that seriously made people stop and ask, “What if it’s true?”
Below are some great reasons to believe the resurrection. I hope they help you share this amazing story with boldness and confidence.
The Bible Says… (But Why Trust It?)
Instead of just saying “the Bible says,” we can point to why it’s credible:
Bibliographical Test
The New Testament is recorded in over 5,800 Greek manuscripts (with over 24,000 total copies) which is far more than any ancient work. This allows texts like the Gospel of John to be reconstructed with remarkable accuracy.
In short: The Easter story hasn’t been corrupted.
Fulfilled Prophecy
There are 100–300+ prophetic threads pointing to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection centuries before He lived. (see Psalms 22 and Isaiah 53 for two especially literal predictions!)
In short: The story was written before it happened.
Multiple Witnesses
Jesus appeared to:
Individuals
Groups
Over 500 people at once
They then recorded these in raw unpolished accounts where:
Women are the primary witnesses (unexpected in that culture)
The accounts include differences (like real eyewitness testimony)
If you were making it up, you’d clean it up. The story is messy because it is real.
In short: The Gospels records real peoples testimony of what they saw.
Early Eyewitness Testimony
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul records a creed about the resurrection that dates to within a few years of Jesus’ death.
In short: The resurrection wasn’t a legend that developed over time.
Radical Transformation
The Apostle Paul was a real person who went from persecuting Christians to suffering for Christ. What other than an experience with the living Christ explains that kind of transformation with all the persecution Paul was to suffer?
In Short: Paul believed Jesus had risen from the dead!
The Church Teaches… (But Why Did It Start?)
Instead of simply agreeing with what the Church teaches, we can look deeper into the reasons behind the teaching.
The Empty Tomb
Jesus was buried in a known tomb.
No one ever produced a body.
Even opponents claimed it was missing.
The real question isn’t if the tomb was empty, it’s why?
The Rise of the Church
Christianity began in Jerusalem—the very place Jesus was executed.
No one expected a crucified Messiah.
Yet suddenly, thousands proclaimed:
“He is risen.”
The real question is what happened to spark that movement?
The Disciples’ Willingness to Suffer
Tradition (including Foxe’s Book of Martyrs) records that most of the apostles suffered terrible persecution and many were killed for their belief. Yet none of them ever denied Jesus had risen from the dead.
People may die for something they think is true.
But not for something they know is false.
The real question is why were they so convinced of the resurrection?
My Parents Said… (And Millions Still Do)
“My mumma says” may sound like a funny reason. However, it’s not just your parents… It’s the story of millions of people from all around the world.
Lives Transformed
From the first disciples to today, millions claim a real encounter with the risen Jesus.
Changed lives.
Powerful purpose.
Happy, Saved and Free!
Not only that but those who make these claims have transformed the world through pioneering the first:
Hospitals
Schools
Feeding Programs
Addiction Services
And more!
Whether you believe in the resurrection or not, the question must still be asked,
“What are these people experiencing that causes them to be transformed, and then transform the world around them?”
Dig Deeper
Jesus died and rose from the dead. I believe this because The Bible Says, The Church Says, and My Parents Says so.
But it’s deeper than a throw away line. It’s
The Empty tomb.
Multiple Eyewitnesses.
Millions of transformed lives.
A movement that changed the world.
Yes, the resurrection sounds like a made up story. But the evidence points to something miraculous.
This Easter, may we share the facts with our friends and family, may we show them the evidence, and call them to faith in the risen Christ!
Let’s not settle for throw away lines,
Let’s become Easter Experts!
Activate
This weeks challenge is to ask some people if they have heard the evidence for the resurrection, then share some with them.
Let’s Go!