Wednesday night we studied Acts 1:1-11. In this passage Luke wrote that Jesus gave “many convincing proofs” that he had risen from the dead. Some of the “convincing proofs” to which Luke refers are listed in Luke’s gospel:
- He allowed the disciples to see and touch his hands and feet (Luke 24:39).
- He ate food in their presence to show he was not a spirit or ghost (Luke 24:41-43).
- He showed them that the Scriptures (our Old Testament) prophesied the very events they were witnessing (Luke 24:44-48)
The skeptic might say, those proofs would be convincing if I had witnessed them myself, but how can I believe that Jesus really did these things? Can we have that same confidence in Jesus resurrection?
Yes. John Piper of Desiring God Ministries lists 9 Ways to Know the Gospel is True. One of which is:
Nobody has ever explained the empty tomb of Jesus in the hostile environment of Jerusalem where the enemies of Jesus would have given anything to produce the corpse, but could not.
The entire Christian movement could have been snuffed out if the opponents of Christianity had produced Jesus’ corpse. But they could not.
