7 Fascinating Facts That Prove the Resurrection of Christ

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We dive deep into seven fascinating, historically-grounded facts about the resurrection of Jesus Christ that might surprise you and matter to your life right now. Walking through compelling evidence from historical sources, we examine how the most significant event in human history continues to transform lives today.

• No one expected a resurrection - not even Jesus' closest friends, making their testimony more credible
• Women were the first witnesses in a culture where women couldn't testify in court
• Even Jesus' enemies acknowledged the tomb was empty, debating only why
• Over 500 people claimed to have seen the resurrected Jesus, including skeptics like his brother James
• The disciples willingly died for their testimony, suggesting genuine belief
• A Roman imperial decree may provide historical evidence of resurrection claims
• Resurrection power continues working today, bringing life to dead situations

If your life was transformed by Christ, you are equipped to help others experience this transformation. Check out our website, rfwma.org, and find out how to get involved in short-term missions in over 32 countries across the globe.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Limitless Spirit, a weekly podcast with
host Helen Todd, where sheinterviews guests about pursuing
spiritual growth, discoveringlife's purpose through serving
others and developing a deeperfaith in Christ and Todd.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
And today we're diving into what might just be
the most powerful, most talkedabout and most life-altering
event in human history theresurrection of Jesus Christ.
But instead of retelling theEaster story the way you've
heard it a hundred times, we'regoing deeper.
We're going to walk throughseven fascinating, historically

(00:44):
grounded facts about theresurrection, things that might
surprise you, things thathistorians wrestle with and,
more importantly, how theymatter to you right now.
Ready, let's go.
Fact number one no one expecteda resurrection.
Let's start with somethingthat's actually really

(01:05):
comforting.
Not even Jesus' closest friendsexpected him to come back from
the dead, even though he said itwould happen, like in Mark 8,
31, where he tells them the Sonof man must suffer, be killed
and, after three days, riseagain.
Still, his disciples weretotally blindsided by the

(01:30):
crucifixion.
They were heartbroken, hidingand had zero expectation of
Easter Sunday.
Now that's what makes thatfascinating.
Historian and theologianNicholas Thomas Wright points
out that in both Jewish andGreco-Roman culture at the time

(01:50):
no one was thinking about oneperson rising in the middle of
history.
Jews believed in resurrectionat the end of time, not now.
Greeks didn't even want bodiesback.
They wanted souls floating inthe afterlife or just
nothingness.
In his book, the Resurrectionof the Son of God, wright says

(02:13):
the early Christians did notinvent the empty tomb and the
meetings or sightings of therisen Jesus.
Nobody was expecting this kindof thing of the risen Jesus.
Nobody was expecting this kindof thing.
So when they claimed it anywayand staked their lives on it, it
wasn't because they had somereligious fantasy.
It was because somethingtotally unexpected had really

(02:37):
happened.
If you've ever doubted orstruggled to believe, you're in
good company.
The resurrection didn't startwith perfect faith.
It started with heartbreak andtears and then a miracle.
And God still meets us today,right where we are All right.

(03:00):
Fact number two it's one of myfavorites.
Fact number two it's one of myfavorites the first people to
witness the resurrection ofJesus were women Mary Magdalene,
joanna, salome women who inthat culture weren't even
allowed to testify in court.
If you were making up a storyin the first century, you would

(03:23):
never use women as witnesses.
That's why it's so powerful InJesus and the Eyewitnesses.
Richard Buckham writes.
In patriarchal Jewish societythe testimony of women was not
considered credible.
The inclusion of women asprimary witnesses is a sign of

(03:45):
authenticity, not fabrication.
God doesn't play by humanstatus games.
He trusted the most importantnews in history to women who
were marginalized.
If you've ever felt overlooked,underappreciated, excluded,
remember God sees you, he usespeople the world underestimates.

(04:09):
Moving on to fact number three,the tomb was really empty.
Okay, let's talk about the tomb, because this is big.
Even Jesus' enemies actuallyagreed that the tomb was empty.
There's a great story inMatthew, chapter 8, where the
guards were actually bribed tosay the disciples stole the body

(04:33):
.
Think about that for a moment.
They didn't say the tomb wasn'tempty.
They said let's explain why itwas.
Why does this matter?
Because it tells us the emptytomb was never up for debate.
Philosopher William Lane Craigputs it this way Philosopher

(04:53):
William Lane Craig puts it thisway the Jewish polemic
presupposes the empty tomb, thatis.
They tried to explain why thetomb was empty, not that it
wasn't.
Jesus didn't need the stonerolled away for himself.
God rolled it away for us toinvite us in.

(05:16):
The tomb isn't just empty, it'sopen.
Step inside, see for yourselfand believe.
Okay, moving on to fact numberfour, jesus was seen by hundreds
, even skeptics.
Now this is huge.
Jesus didn't appear just to hisclosest followers.

(05:40):
He showed up to over 500 people.
In 1 Corinthians 15.6,.
Apostle Paul says then heappeared to more than 500
brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still living,
basically saying you don't haveto take my word for it, go ask

(06:01):
them.
But one person in particular isJames, jesus's own brother.
In John 7, 5, it says thatJames didn't believe in him at
all while Jesus was alive.
But something changed After theresurrection.
James becomes a leader in theJerusalem church.

(06:22):
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians15.7,.
Then he appeared to James.
Nicholas Thomas Wright commentson this.
James was not a follower ofJesus before his death, but
something radically changed.
The most natural explanation isthat he genuinely believed he

(06:43):
saw his brother raised from thedead.
If God can transform a doubtingsibling into a bold church
leader, he can work with yourquestions too.
Doubt doesn't disqualify you.
It invites you to seek thetruth.
All right.
Fact number five the disciplesdied for it.

(07:04):
Let's be honest.
People don't die for somethingthey know is a lie.
The disciples weren't justpreaching a feel-good message.
They were beaten, imprisonedand killed for insisting they
had seen Jesus alive.
Peter crucified upside down,thomas speared in India.

(07:25):
In the book the Fate of theApostles, sean McDowell writes
the consistent pattern ofsuffering and martyrdom is
powerful evidence that thedisciples truly believed the
risen Jesus had appeared to them.
How powerful is that?
If the resurrection gave themthe courage to face death?

(07:48):
What fear in your life needs tobow to resurrection power?
When death loses its sting, yougain your voice.
All right, tag number six ARoman decree may be a historic
evidence of the empty tomb.

(08:10):
Let the resurrection.
And it's during the reign ofEmperor Claudius.
It says anyone caught removinga body from a tomb should be

(08:34):
punished by death.
Historian Clyde Billingtonwrites the wording fits
remarkably with early Christianclaims of a resurrection.
It may reflect an imperialresponse to the resurrection
claim.
Is Nazareth's inscription proofof the resurrection Jesus, who

(08:55):
knows?
The wording is wild.
It says graves must remainundisturbed forever and that
violators who move with wickedintent the bodies should suffer
capital punishment.
We don't know for sure if itwas a direct response to Jesus,
but the timing and intensitymake it very, very compelling.

(09:18):
Even empires felt the tremor ofthe resurrection.
Even empires felt the tremor ofthe resurrection.
I just wonder what if we livedin a way that made the world
notice too?
What if we got a hold of thatresurrection power?
How can we change the world Allright.

(09:39):
Fact number seven theresurrection power is personal.
Let's bring this all home.
Romans 6.4 says we weretherefore buried with him
through baptism into death inorder that, just as Christ was
raised from the dead through theglory of the Father, we too may
live a new life.

(10:00):
John Stott puts this perfectlyin the cross of Christ.
We must not speak of the crosswithout the resurrection.
The resurrection is God's publicendorsement of Jesus's work and
vindication of his person.
This isn't about history.
It's about you.

(10:20):
The same power that raisedJesus from the grave is
available to bring your soulback to life.
The resurrection means yourstory isn't over.
It means your past doesn'tdefine you.
It means new life right now ispossible, no matter how broken

(10:42):
things feel, is possible nomatter how broken things feel.
So what is the most interestingfact about the resurrection?
Honestly, it's the fact that itis still happening.
Every time someone is forgiven,every time someone finds peace
in pain, every time faith risesfrom the ashes of doubt,

(11:03):
resurrection lives on.
The tomb is empty and your lifecan be full.
Thanks for hanging out with meon Limitless Spirit.
Today I am celebratingresurrection.
In my heart, it's my favoritecelebration.
If this episode encouraged, yousend it to a friend, share the

(11:26):
hope and start the conversation.
Check our website rfwmaorg andfind opportunities for you to
share the story of resurrectionand resurrected Jesus all across
the world.
Until next time, I'm Helen Todd.
Stay bold, stay limitless andwalk in resurrection power.

Speaker 1 (11:50):
Limitless Spirit Podcast is produced by World
Missions Alliance.
We believe that changed liveschange lives.
If your life was transformed byChrist, you are equipped to
help others experience thistransformation.
Christ called his followers tomake disciples across the world.
World Missions Alliance givesyou an opportunity to do this

(12:14):
through short-term missions inover 32 countries across the
globe.
If you want to help those whoare hurting and hopeless and
discover your greater purpose inserving, check out our website,
rfwmaorg, and find out how toget involved.