WAS JESUS CHRIST REALLY RESURRECTED?

An Objective Analysis of the Compelling Evidence

Michael Caputo

© Michael Caputo, 2013 (All rights reserved)

To all Christians Around the World.

Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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The resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to Christian belief and to the Christian hope. Christians believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, because the Old and the New Testament teach it, because Christ promised it and because His apostles confirm it in the New Testament writings. Contrariwise, Atheists, Agnostics and others assert that the resurrection is a fable concocted by Jesus’ followers, because their attachment to Jesus’ memory was so strong that they all “agreed” to create a new religion in His name based on lies and deceit. The evidence for Jesus' resurrection is not based on flimsy fables but on the unassailable evidence of solid logic, many totally reliable and truthful witnesses and plain common sense.

 Was Jesus Christ a self-deluded charlatan? Did Jesus Christ cunningly deceive His many followers with promises that were impossible to fulfill? Most importantly, did His followers react to His “unfulfilled” promise of a personal resurrection by “reciprocating” with an vigorous attempt to elevate Him to the divine plane?

Any sensible and objective mind would have no problem replying, “Certainly not!” to the above questions. Yet the rigid mental set of the enemies of Christianity would reply affirmatively. The reason for their baffling unwillingness to accept the obvious is primarily because accepting Christ’s resurrection would devastate a belief system that they have been defending for centuries and that would transform their thinking and their lives beyond what they are willing to allow.

This article is not an exhaustive attempt at listing all the reasons that have been offered through the centuries on behalf of the truth of Christ’s resurrection. The focus of this work will be to present simple, sensible and obvious arguments which point forcefully to the undeniable reality that Jesus Christ died and rose again, and that His disciples witnessed the event and testified truthfully to it, in spite of the dangers inherent in their testimony.

Those who have read the Gospel accounts know that Jesus Christ called out his disciples from their occupations, their communities and their future. Because they abandoned their secure jobs, they most probably caused their families concern for following a young man who promised them positions of power and rulership in a future Kingdom. Those great promises, though, were contingent upon an astonishing event: Jesus’ future death and resurrection. This, of course, may have been hard to believe at first but, in time, it became obvious to the disciples of Jesus that anything was possible for someone who had resurrected the dead before their very eyes. 

If Jesus had died and had stayed in the tomb, as unbelievers insist happened, the psychological consequences on the disciples would have been undeniably devastating. They would have felt let down, lied to, deceived and manipulated. Their egos would have been dramatically deflated; they would have become the focus of ridicule by family, friends and others. All of the above would have led to understandable anger at the one who had played games with their minds, had lied to them callously for three and one half years, and who was the cause of all the derision they had to bear.

Believing that such a disillusioned, betrayed and angry bunch would intentionally pass around false information meant to elevate the deceiver and the charlatan to the divine plane is the ultimate folly. Angry and bitter people do not elevate a despised enemy--they tear him down. In fact, some might have vented their anger at anything remotely connected to him and to his memory. Furthermore, some would besmirch the man’s name for years to come and would do anything and everything possible to get back at the person, even if the only thing they could do is attack his memory. Believing that all of them would react otherwise and that they would harmoniously persist in dedicating their lives to celebrating a liar is nothing short of incongruous and bizarre.  

But the disciples were neither disillusioned nor angry. In fact they acted and talked like people who had received a powerful confirmation that their hopes and dreams were based on a totally firm foundation. They were filled with zeal and excitement, like they had never exhibited before, and the reason was what that they had witnessed the seemingly impossible. After three days and three nights, the dead corpse of their beloved leader had come out of a sealed and guarded tomb, alive and brimming with vitality -- just as he had promised, on more than one occasion. Furthermore, Jesus exhibited supernatural powers, such as walking through walls, that only a supernatural being could exhibit.  

In view of the above, unbelievers’ treasured rationalization that Jesus’ disciples concocted the story of Jesus’ resurrection, even though he had lied to them, had used them, had manipulated them, and had betrayed them, is nothing short  of irrational.

From its inception, Christianity was sown in truth, was framed in truth and was based on absolute truth. Most opponents of Christ seem to have little awareness of how strong and how foundational truth was to the Christian message, from the very inception. Jesus Christ firmly emphasized its critical importance, and His disciples continued to do the same for decades to come.

The critical importance of truth received strong emphasis with Jesus Christ. Jesus taught his disciples the necessity of being “truthful,” if they were to enter the Kingdom of God. "But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). Jesus Christ taught, protected and defended the value and sacredness of the Ten Commandments. The ninth commandments was, “Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness against thy neighbour” (Exodus 20:16 KJV).

Jesus also insisted that lying was evidence of the presence of an evil spirit who opposed truth. He told his persecutors that this being was working in them, and that they served his purposes. ” You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44 NKJV).

Thus, Jesus Christ was the incarnation of truth; He preached its necessity and value and labelled lies as issuing from the father of lies: Satan. To validate this reality He not only preached it – He died and did not compromise with it.

Jesus was captured and was brought to the religious leaders in Jerusalem to be interrogated. The accusations, if true, were serious enough to merit death.

⁵⁷ Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. ⁵⁸ But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.

⁵⁹ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. ⁶⁰ But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.

Finally two came forward ⁶¹ and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

⁶² Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶³ But Jesus remained silent  (Matthew 26: 57-63 NIV).

 “Jesus remained silent.” This was a perfect opportunity for a charlatan to hastily lie his way out of a very dangerous situation, but he stayed silent and said nothing. He was going to fulfill His destiny and did not lie. Amazingly, He then went on to make things worse for himself by confirming some of the accusations.

⁵⁹ Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, ⁶⁰ but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward ⁶¹ and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’”

⁶² And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” ⁶³ But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! ⁶⁶ What do you think?”

They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.”

 (Matthew 26: 59-67 NKJV).

Jesus Christ had a mission to accomplish and, in spite of the verbal and physical abuse, He remained undaunted, firm and truthful.

This is the same man who had promised to His disciples that death would not have defeated Him; He would have been resurrected, after being dead in a tomb three days and three nights. "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again" (Luke 24:7)

As He had promised, Jesus Christ was resurrected the third day, and death had no power over Him. He did fulfill His promise and He fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament as well. Furthermore, he set the example for his disciples to follow: Truth must be upheld, even if it will lead to death – and the transformed disciples faithfully followed His example.

The disciples saw Jesus Christ taken down from the cross as an inanimate corpse. The dead body was taken to a nearby tomb and was placed into it. A huge round stone was rolled over it and the entrance was sealed. Several soldiers guarded the tomb for three days and three nights.

The disciples waited patiently until the guards would have finally left, and then they went to help embalm Jesus’ dead body. What they found was an empty tomb and angels who confirmed Christ’s resurrection. Later, they saw the resurrected Christ Himself.

This is one of  the most momentous event ever witnessed by any human being as its occurrence confirms with absolute certainty that Jesus indeed died for the sins of humanity, and that the resurrection of the dead is possible -- and is certain, because Christ led the way. The reader is encouraged to read the whole account as it appears in the Gospel of Luke chapter 24.

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. ³ And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: ⁵ and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, ⁷ saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. ⁸ And they remembered his words, ⁹ and returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. ¹¹ And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. ¹² Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

¹³ And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. ¹⁴ And they talked together of all these things which had happened. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. ¹⁷ And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? ¹⁸ And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? ¹⁹ And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: ²⁰ and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. ²¹ But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. ²² Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; ²³ and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. ²⁴ And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. ²⁵ Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ²⁶ ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? ²⁷ And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸ And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. ²⁹ But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. ³⁰ And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. ³² And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? ³³ And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, ³⁴ saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. ³⁵ And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

³⁶ And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. ³⁷ But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. ³⁸ And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. ⁴⁰ And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹ And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? ⁴² And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. ⁴³ And he took it, and did eat before them. ⁴⁴ And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. ⁴⁵ Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: ⁴⁷ and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ And ye are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

⁵⁰ And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. ⁵¹ And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: ⁵³ and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen (Luke 24:1-53)

After the joyful pause and the receiving of the Holy Spirit, the time came to spread the Good News. Death had been defeated by Jesus Christ, thanks to His death and resurrection. Humans could now hope in being resurrected themselves. The first location where the message would be preached was the same den of lions where Jesus had been killed: Jerusalem. The High Priest and the religious leaders that had demanded Jesus’ death were still there ready to squash anything that pertained to their hated enemy: Christ.

But that did not discourage the disciples. They had seen Jesus Christ alive, and they understood the magnificent significance for all of humanity, and no human being was going to deter them, even if it would have meant potential beatings, scourging and even death. 

The Book of Acts tells us that the leading force behind the spread of the Good News was Peter, the one who had rejected Jesus Christ just days before. But he would reject Christ no more and, in spite of the dangers that might have faced him, he stood before the multitude of foreigners, locals and local leaders and asserted the truth of Christ’s resurrection.  

 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. ¹⁵ For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶ But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
¹⁸ And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
¹⁹ I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
²¹ And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.’

²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— ²³ Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; ²⁴ whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning Him:

‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face,
For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
²⁶ Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad;
Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
²⁷ For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
²⁸ You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’

²⁹ “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, ³¹ he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. ³³ Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear (Acts 2:14-33). 

The transformed Peter continued spreading the message and healing people, giving evidence that the power that had worked in Jesus Christ was now at work in him as well. 

While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. ¹² And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? ¹³ The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. ¹⁴ But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵ and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses (Acts 3:11-15 ESV).

The bewildered religious leaders did not hesitate to react and quickly had them arrested. They threatened Peter and John with severe consequences, if they persisted in preaching about Christ’s resurrection. Both could have changed their minds and could have gone home in peace, but they did not. What they had witnessed demanded that all know about the momentous event.

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, ² greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³ And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴ But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

¹³ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. ¹⁵ But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, ¹⁶ saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” ¹⁸ So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, ²⁰ for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” ²¹ And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. ²² For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old  (Acts 4:1,3; 13-22 ESV).

The Apostles’ confident attitude and courage made the High Priest and the leaders very angry. How dare ignorant men speak like that to such lofty personages. Thus the result was prison once again. But they remained unafraid and did not turn to lies to escape punishment.

Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, ¹⁸ and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. ¹⁹ But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ²⁰ “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”

²¹ And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

²² But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, ²³ saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside^[a] before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” ²⁴ Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. ²⁵ So one came and told them, saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”

²⁶ Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. ²⁷ And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, ²⁸ saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”

²⁹ But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. ³⁰ The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. ³¹ Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ³² And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

³³ When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them. ³⁴ Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. ³⁵ And he said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. ³⁶ For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. ³⁷ After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. ³⁸ And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; ³⁹ but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”

⁴⁰ And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. ⁴¹ So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. ⁴² And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ (Acts 5: 17-42).

Not even beatings could now stop them. In fact, to the disciples, suffering for their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had become an honour.

Stephen, too, had the same unstoppable attitude. He too was bent on bringing the Gospel to all, and he too was taken and imprisoned. But he had a different final punishment: death by stoning.

And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. ¹⁰ And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. ¹¹ Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” ¹² And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. ¹³ They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; ¹⁴ for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” ¹⁵ And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel. (Acts 6: 8-15). 

At this point the High Priest asked Stephen to confirm or deny the accusations. He could have lied and by so doing he could have escaped certain punishment.  But his response was shockingly direct -- and honest.

 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

⁵² Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

⁵³ Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

⁵⁴ When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

⁵⁵ But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

⁵⁶ And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

⁵⁷ Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

⁵⁸ And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.

⁵⁹ And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

⁶⁰ And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:51-60 KJV).

Stephen, therefore, could have lied and could have denied having had any involvement with Jesus--and he certainly could have denied having seen the resurrected Christ. But he did not, because the glorious truth had to be defended to the death.

The Apostle Paul today would be the equivalent of a militant atheist, such as Richard Dawkins, turned Christian evangelist. He, like today’s unbelievers, did not and would not accept the resurrection of Christ. To him Christians were liars, charlatans and deceivers who deserved to be killed. In his anti-Christian zeal, he made sure that as many Christians as he could find would be imprisoned and then killed. In fact he had been one of Stephen’s accusers, and he, too, wanted him dead (Acts 8:1).

Paul had been a blind follower of the religious leaders. He was, you might say, their blindly dedicated and committed secret agent, who zealously sought to eradicate this new, dangerous and fanatical new group that was spreading lies and heresy.

And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

² And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

³ As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison (Acts 8:1-3 KJV).

Later on, Paul confessed to his blind zeal and to his horrible crimes, before the very group of leaders he had previously supported, who stood before him in disbelief.

 Brethren and fathers, hear ye the defence which I now make unto you.

² And when they heard that he spake unto them in the Hebrew language, they were the more quiet: and he saith,

³ I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as ye all are this day:

⁴ and I persecuted this Way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.

⁵ As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and journeyed to Damascus to bring them also that were there unto Jerusalem in bonds to be punished. (Acts 22:1 ASV)

He then explains the transforming experience he had experienced, due to his encounter with Jesus Christ, and goes on to explain what happened afterwards.

 When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance ¹⁸ and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get quickly out of Jerusalem, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ ¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in thee. ²⁰ And when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I also was standing by and approving, and keeping the garments of those who killed him.’ ²¹ And he said to me, ‘Depart; for I will send you far away to the Gentiles (Acts 22: 17-21).

Paul became so convinced of all that pertained to Christ and His resurrection from the dead that he was willing to endure the most gruesome consequences so as to announce Jesus’ death and resurrection. In his Epistles to the Corinthians, he shares some details as to what awaited his choice.

 Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. ²⁵ Three times I have been beaten with rods; once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been adrift at sea; ²⁶ on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brethren;  (2 Corinthians 11:24-26) 

Here is the same man who had previously opposed Christ, his followers and everything they preached and stood for who now was joining the opposition and was preaching the same message he had opposed and was even willing to bear great sufferings and risk death, so as to announce the death and resurrection of Christ, and all that it entailed for humanity.

Yet unbelievers would love to rationalize away the zeal of this brilliant and fervent man as the consequence of another hallucination. But if so, they have to explain how his companions also saw the hallucination, and how the same hallucination gave Paul great miraculous powers, which lasted throughout his life.

Of course, in their blind zeal against Paul and Christ, they can rationalize them away as well as being skilfully crafted “lies;” but this attempt can be quickly rendered void by the fact that Paul consistently taught against lies, and by the fact that he had been a zealous follower of the Torah who obeyed God’s commandment against lying fanatically. It is not a coincidence that later on in his Epistle to the Colossian Church he firmly confirmed the need to be truthful. “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds…” (Colossians 3:9). 

Such a man would not lie.

Some might wish that someone had done an objective investigation of the events surrounding Christ so as to provide an account of what transpired during the early days of Christianity. Well, we have such an account.  Luke, “ the beloved physician,” as he is called in the Bible, went to Jerusalem and the surrounding area; he interviewed many witnesses of the events that surrounded Christ’s life, as he reasonably could, and then wrote a thorough historical account of the events surrounding Christ’s life, His death and resurrection. This account we know as the Gospel of Luke.

We must also mention that Luke went a step further and later accompanied and watched first hand the works of one of Christ’s foremost Apostles, Paul of Tarsus, and then wrote a thorough, detailed account of his observations. Thanks to Doctor Luke, we have an unparalleled and totally reliable, first-hand account of the first foundational decades of Christianity.

Luke is objective, methodical-- and truthful, and, as such, he is not well liked by some objective intellectual unbelievers who probably wish that Luke’s two works would simply disappear. But disappear they will not. Luke and Acts are outstanding and totally reliable historical works which testify to the existence of Christ, His mighty works, His death, and His resurrection and the power His Spirit had manifested in transforming lowly people into bold and powerful preachers of the Gospel. 

The resurrection of Jesus Christ was a momentous event for all of humanity. Because of it, we have a hope that Satan would love to destroy, and this he attempts to do through the works of atheists, agnostics, and others that are openly anti-Christian. 

Common sense dictates that an all-wise God would not allow such a critical event to rest of flimsy evidence. The resurrection of Jesus Christ rests of the witness of many truthful men and women that had no reason whatsoever to lie on behalf of a callous and cunning deceiver and manipulator. Their witness sufficed for the first Christians; it sufficed for the great multitudes through the ages and who have accepted the reality of Jesus’ resurrection, and it suffices for those who today are willing to objectively look and accept the unassailable facts.

The reader is encouraged to ponder this most amazing and transforming fact and to recognize that although accepting Jesus as a living Saviour means changing one's way of life, the result of this transformation will mean tremendous joy and a longing for the day when, because of Christ’s death and resurrection, multitudes will come to life for evermore.

Michael Caputo

Author of the award-winning, God Seen Through the Eyes of the Greatest Minds.