The bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is neither a hoax nor a cleverly devised fable, but an indisputable fact of history evidenced by the changed lives of His people. It was, undoubtedly, a peculiar blessing to have witnessed firsthand any one of our Lord’s many resurrection appearances. Thomas, for instance, found that he did not have to put his finger into the print of the nails after all, or put his hand into His spear-pierced side; the very moment that he saw Christ he believed. This, however, does not validate the saying that “seeing is believing.” Too often, in fact, seeing is not believing (see Luke 16:31), but believ­ing, rather, is seeing perhaps seeing for the first time – seeing at last what the darkness of unbelief kept hidden. As Jesus said to Thomas, “Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

The historicity of the resurrection is evident in the unwavering commitment of those who were prepared to die in order to preach it to others. Peter had boasted of what great things he would do, yet that inflated claim showed little substance in the face of danger. What a change we see in him after our Lord’s resurrection! When Peter was called to be a shepherd to feed the Lord’s sheep (on the same shore where he had earlier been called to be a fisher of men), he was given opportunity three times to confess his love for the very One whom he had three times so shamefully denied. Peter was not able to do it; using a different word in his reply, he acknowledged his affection for Jesus, but not his consistent love. We must not think, though, that this was an indication of more weakness; instead, it was an expression of a budding spiritual vital­ity. The man who had said much before but did little was determined now by the grace of God to say little and do much – nor did he flinch when he was told by what death he would glorify God! People die for false beliefs all the time, but they think that they are sacrificing themselves for the truth. The difference for Peter, and for so many of his generation, is that having seen the resurrected body of Jesus and having experienced its sanctifying power, he knew what was true.

The historicity of the resurrection is evident not only in the commitment of those who died for Christ, but also, just as remarkably, in the commitment of those very ones who were prepared to live for Him. Saul of Tarsus was feared by Christians everywhere. Who would have guessed that such a zealous persecutor could ever be con­verted? But what a change we see in him as well after he was confronted by the risen Christ! At first, Christians were afraid of him still and did not believe that he could really be one of their number as he claimed. In time, how­ever, as they learned of his conversion and as they heard how he came to preach the faith which he had once tried to destroy, they glorified God and gladly received him! Saul (now called Paul) became as zealous for Christ as he had been against Him, and he tells us why: “that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3:10).

To believers, the announcement of the angel to the women, “He is risen!” ought to be as thrilling today as the first time when it echoed from the tomb. We know that our Lord’s resurrection from the dead was not an isolated event. No, this was a vital part of His ministry to seek and save lost souls, and it was what He did for us. If death could not hold Him down, death can no longer hold us down either. He ascended and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High for us, too. He did it in order to prepare a place for us. When at last His bride is ready for Him, He will come back to the earth and take her home to glory, that she may be with Him forever. If the cross of Christ is the key to understanding history, its meaning and purpose, then the empty tomb is His joyful declara­tion of complete victory on His people’s behalf.