April 24 - May 8, 2022 The Christian faith is unique in the world because our entire belief system is dependent upon one historical fact: Jesus Christ rose from the dead. In order for our beliefs to be true, his body cannot have simply been stolen. It cannot be that he just appeared as a ghost with his body still in the tomb. The claim from the early Christians is simple. Jesus’s body was not in the tomb because he was bodily resurrected. What is our proof for such a radical claim? Our proof is people, those that witnessed the resurrection and lived their lives accordingly. During this series we will get to know three people that were witnesses to the resurrected Christ and how their experience can become our Proof.
Peter’s proof is his own life and the transformation from denier to believer. He went from rejecting his connection to Jesus to being willing to die for Jesus. What accounts for such a dramatic change? Was he crazy? Delusional? Or did he witness the miraculous?
Thomas’ proof details the nature of the resurrection and the reasonability of the early disciples. Thomas wasn’t crazy. He knew that this was unlikely, almost impossible. He demanded proof. We are not in the position to demand the same sort of proof, so this week we are asking: Can we trust Thomas?
Paul’s proof is comprehensive. He details the widespread testimony of hundreds who witnessed the resurrection. The transformation of Christianity from a couple dozen despairing followers to a movement that overtook the entire empire is because this wasn’t the belief of one prophet, but the consistent declaration of hundreds of people that was verifiable in Paul’s day. Paul goes a step further to describe what that means for us: we too will be resurrected.