The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crux of Christianity. Without it, there would be no Christian faith. To disprove Christianity, all one needs to do is disprove the Resurrection.

Sounds easy, right?

However, actually disproving the resurrection is an insurmountable test that does not account for the major changes which took place immediately following the resurrection. The first change to note is the drastic transformation of the disciples’ attitudes and actions after Jesus appeared to them.

Prior his post-resurrection appearance, the apostles had scattered and even denied knowing Jesus. They were a sorry group of guys who were depressed and discouraged after their leader and friend had been killed as a criminal. They clearly did not stay this way, as all but one of them ended up dying for proclaiming that Jesus rose from the dead. What else could explain the dramatic change in the disciples’ behavior from being depressed and lost to then devoting the rest of their lives to spreading the message of Jesus Christ by proclaiming his resurrection?

As previously mentioned, all but one apostles died for his beliefs (the one who was not killed for his faith was John, who died of old age in exile). The apostles were killed for their beliefs in refusing to reject the claims of Jesus. What else besides seeing Jesus alive after his death would cause them to believe in something so wholeheartedly that they would die for it?

One may argue that the people who blow themselves up believe in their cause wholeheartedly, so how would they be any different from the disciples? The key to answering this question is the disciples were eyewitnesses. They knew for a fact whether or not Jesus rose again. If they saw him after his death, then the resurrection was a fact. If they did not see Jesus after his death, then they knew for a fact that he did not rise again. It is hard to come to the conclusion that the disciples died for something they knew for a fact to be a lie.

Those who blow themselves up are not eyewitnesses of their beliefs, so they cannot know for a fact if their beliefs are true. Once again, it simply does not seem plausible for the disciples to die for something they knew to be a lie. It also seems hard to believe that the disciples would suddenly forget all of Jesus’ great moral teachings and proceed to tells lies with the intent of deceiving people.

Cleary, Jesus taught against lying and deception, so it is hard to rationalize that the disciples would throw his great moral teachings out the window to start this huge movement. The resurrection is the only reasonable conclusion to reach when trying to figure out a cause for both the dramatic change in the disciples and for the reasoning behind the disciples dying for their faith.

As we continue, it is important to take into account Jesus’ body. To disprove the resurrection and therefore, Christianity, all that needed to be done was to produce Jesus’ body. If the disciples went around claiming Jesus had risen again and someone was able to produce Jesus’ body, then that would put an end to Christianity right there. However, Jesus’ body was never found. One logical argument is that the disciples stole Jesus’ body. This may seem plausible, but it would mean the disciples knew that Jesus’ resurrection was a lie. This leads us back to the previous point that people will not die for something they know for a fact to be a lie. Therefore, the disciples did not steal Jesus’ body. The Bible also records that Jesus appeared to many more people besides his disciples. It even says he appeared before 500 people at once. If Jesus did not appear to those people, then those people would have served as a corrective by setting the story straight in saying that Jesus did not appear before them. If this were the case, the Christian movement would have quickly died out.

However, Christianity clearly did not die out; rather, it flourished. Through the testimony of those who saw Jesus after his resurrection, the new church began to grow and develop. Christianity took root and spread rapidly among Jews and gentiles alike. The earliest Christians did not just endorse Jesus’ teachings. Rather, they were genuinely convinced that they had seen him alive after his death on the cross. That is what changed their lives and started the church, which is still around 2000 years later.

So why does this matter? I do not know why God set the universe up the way He did, where the only way for me to be made right with God was for him to send Jesus to die in my place for all of my sins. I understand it seems a little weird that we would need a savior and that this is the way the savior came.

There are still many questions left unanswered, but there are extremely compelling evidences of both God and of Jesus’ resurrection. My faith is not a blind faith, and though I do not have all the answers, I have enough to know the truth, and that truth has set me free.

Note: A number of these points were gathered from Lee Strobel’s book, “The Case for Christ.” He will be on campus April 13 and 14.

About the writer:

Stephen Reiff is a first-year business administration major. He can be reached at [email protected].