The resurrection of Jesus Christ

"I first communicated to you what I also received : Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures ; he was buried, and was resurrected on the third day, according to the Scriptures." 1 Corinthians 15: 3, 4

The Christian faith is based on three historical facts reported by the Scriptures :

- Christ died for our sins ;

- Christ was buried ;

- Christ was resurrected on the third day.

No enemy of the Lord questioned the fact that Jesus died on a cross in Golgotha : neither Pilate who had ordained his crucifixion nor the religious leaders who had asked for it. Pilate even consented to hand over the body of Jesus to Joseph of Arimathea, who had come to ask him for it. The chief priests and Pharisees were so certain of the death of Jesus that they caused the tomb to be watched where Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had deposited his body. They had even sealed the stone which closed it and placed a guard.

Three days later, the news broke out : the grave was empty ! The Jews seek to hide the resurrection of Jesus. They pay the soldiers on duty to declare : "His disciples came by night and robbed him while we slept" (Matthew 28:13). Lying ridiculous ! How could the soldiers claim to know what had happened during their sleep ?

On the day of Pentecost, Peter, in a speech, reminds the Jews of these three facts to conclude : "Let the whole house of Israel know it with certainty : God has made this Lord Jesus Christ whom you crucified." (Acts 2.36).

In the Epistle to the Romans, which formulates the foundations of Christian doctrine, Paul recalls from the beginning the fundamental fact of the resurrection : "Paul ... set apart for the gospel of God ... concerning his Son ... demonstrated Son of God ... by the resurrection of the dead" (Rom 1: 1-4).

No fact in the history of men is more surely confirmed than that of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These events are so important that Paul communicated them "in the first place" to the Corinthians (verse of the day). The apostle gives a long list of eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. As many were still alive, there were still enough witnesses likely to be questioned, if someone asked for additional evidence.

Yes, our faith is firmly based on historical facts.

Source (To pleasing the Lord)