How we know Jesus rose from the dead

How do we really know that Jesus rose from the dead?

I could give you a traditional answer. It would be something like:

“Well the Bible says he rose from the dead, and the Bible contains many contemporary eyewitness accounts which are corroborated by non-Christian, non-Biblical evidence, and it's been transmitted to us accurately through multiple sources."

This is how many Christians would respond, and they would be right.

Or, I could say:

"You know what? We live as if Jesus rose from the dead, because we live as if there is such a thing as unconditional love, because somehow we feel that we should love everyone no matter what—especially the marginalized, the poor, and the outcast."

If all we are is atoms and molecules, if all we are is just another life form on this planet, we should only love the rich, the powerful, and the strong, those who give us a competitive advantage.

But somehow we sense we should love everyone unconditionally—and especially the weak, the poor, the marginalized, and the outcast.

Where do we get this idea from?

One place we get it from is the Easter story. God becomes one of us. The rich one becomes the poor one, the powerful one becomes the weak one, the living one becomes a dead one. He comes back to life so he can love us and give us a new life.

We life as if Jesus rose from the dead, as if there is purpose, hope, and meaning in this life.

Victor Frankl, who was a Holocaust survivor, says in Man's Search for Meaning that in the end the only way we can live, the only way we can survive is if we have a story greater than our own story to live for.

That's what Jesus gives us. By rising from the dead, he gives us a bigger story than just our own story to live for.

So how do I know that Jesus rose from the dead? In the end we live as if Jesus rose from the dead. If we talk about purpose, hope, and meaning and unconditional love, we live as if Jesus rose from the dead.

Today’s post comes from Sam Chan, a public evangelist with City Bible Forum in Sydney, Australia, where he regularly shares the gospel with high school students, city workers, doctors, and lawyers. His Evangelism in a Skeptical World is available as a book and a course. Take a look at the FREE preview: