Easter is a holiday which commemorates the historical event that clearly distinguishes Christianity from all other religions: the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. What are some of the kinds of evidence we have which corroborate the biblical account of the resurrection? Here are a few examples.

Number of Eyewitnesses

In the case of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, we don't just have one man wandering around in the desert saying he experienced something and therefore everyone should take him seriously. We have hundreds of eyewitnesses, many of whom were available for questioning until at least some of the New Testament was completed. If it were just one person originating a story, the possibility of the person being delusional would be very real, but not in the case of so many people.

Character of Eyewitnesses

The accounts of the eyewitnesses persisted, even when those who gave them sometimes did so at great risk. We have no record of any of them recanting even to the point of death. We have no evidence that they ever conspired to fabricate any of the accounts. Furthermore, they invited people to investigate the accounts of the events for themselves, and the evidence was immediately available to the hearers. Finally, the early eyewitnesses had nothing to gain in terms of their material circumstances. Many suffered being forsaken by families and communities; many suffered the loss of possessions; and many lost their lives. To say that none of them experienced an improvement in their material situation would be an understatement.

Explosive Growth of the Early Church

Another amazing fact is not only that the early church grew by leaps and bounds shortly after the events occurred, but that it did so in a hostile environment. Both the Romans and the religious leaders of the Jews had strong incentives to attempt to disprove the resurrection if they could. All they had to do was to come up with a body, and they never did.

If the resurrection actually happened, what does this mean? It means that if we think that this life is all there is to our existence, we're fooling ourselves. It means whatever we experience in this life, it's nothing compared to an eternal well-being. It also means that we need to pay serious attention to what the Scriptures say.

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