As we wrestle with issues of Faith and Doubt, the question that all of us must answer is: Who is Jesus? Is He who He said He is – the Son of God and Savior of the World?

The answer to that question rises and falls on one single event: the Resurrection.

Did Jesus, in fact, rise from the dead? Where does the evidence point?

The case for Jesus’ resurrection necessarily involves two steps:

What is the evidence to be explained?
Which explanation of that evidence is most compelling?

In looking at the evidence to be explained, there are three key areas that must be addressed:

The empty tomb
Jesus’ postmortem appearances
The explosive birth of the church

Let’s look at each, then you can decide which explanation is most compelling.

The Empty Tomb

Some explain the empty tomb by suggesting that the women went to the wrong tomb. The authorities (who had a lot riding on Jesus staying dead!) could easily have pointed to the real tomb and put to rest the resurrection theory once and for all. But they didn’t. They couldn’t.

Others say that the disciples snuck in in the middle of the night and stole the body, then proclaimed a miraculous resurrection. But this theory overestimates the disciples’ courage and strength and underestimates the might and intimidation of a team of Roman soldiers guarding the tomb.

Then there’s the issue of…

Jesus’ Postmortem Appearances.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul mentions several individuals by name who claimed to have encountered the risen Jesus. He also mentions 500 people who saw Him all at the same time. Paul was saying in effect, “There are witnesses available to be questioned.” A bold invitation to examine the evidence.

Finally, we must look at…

The Explosive Birth of the Church.

When you track the growth of the church through the pages of the book of Acts, you find that within 25 years, this group of 120 believers grew to an estimated 125,000 Christians in Jerusalem alone.

Those numbers are mind-boggling. How did that happen? What was behind it? The only one reason that makes sense is that these believers really did believe that Jesus had risen from the dead.

And now it’s your turn. What do you say? What do you do with the resurrection factor?