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The Resurrection of Yeshua is the central fact that establishes the Christian/Messianic Jewish faith. Our faith stands or falls on Yeshua’s resurrection. So, did Yeshua actually rise from the dead? Can we know if He did? Thanks be to God, there are many convincing evidences that let us know that Yeshua’s resurrection really happened.
The Evidence From The Prophets: Messiah’s death and resurrection were made known by God’s prophets centuries before they happened. For example, Isaiah 53: He was cut off from the land of the living … he was buried like a criminal. He was put in a rich man’s grave … Therefore, I will give Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoil with the strong because He poured out His life to death. Other prophecies about Messiah’s resurrection: Zechariah 12:10, Daniel 9:24-27, Psalm 118:22-23. Yeshua’s resurrection is consistent with this preparatory revelation.
The Evidence From Yeshua Himself: Yeshua repeatedly predicted that He would die and rise again. Two examples: In Jerusalem at Passover, after cleansing the Temple, Yeshua said to the leaders: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Matthew 16: Around Caesarea Philippi, after Yeshua asked His disciples who people were saying He was and Peter declared that He was the Messiah and the Son of God, Yeshua began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. Yeshua’s resurrection is consistent with the prophetic knowledge He revealed about Himself.
The Evidence That Yeshua Really Was Dead: Yeshua was beaten, whipped and crucified. He was pierced by a spear. His legs were not broken to speed up His death because He was already dead. His death was verified by a Roman officer – a man who knew about death (Mark 15:44-46).
The Evidence Of The Empty Tomb: Yeshua’s body was placed in a tomb carved out of rock. The heavy stone at the entrance of the tomb prevented entry and exit. The tomb was guarded by soldiers, further preventing entry and exit. However, in spite of this, the stone was moved away from the entrance of the tomb and Yeshua’s body disappeared. The graveclothes that covered Yeshua’s body remained in the tomb and were undisturbed – but no longer contained a body.
The Evidence Of Yeshua’s Post-Resurrection Appearances: After Yeshua’s resurrection, He appeared to Mary (John 20:11-18), to other women (Matthew 28:8-10), to Peter (Luke 24:34), to two on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), to 10 of the disciples (Luke 24:36-43), to 11 eight days later (John 20:24-29), to seven by the Lake of the Galilee (John 21:1-23), to 500 at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6), to James (1 Corinthians 15:7), and finally to Paul (Acts 9:1-16). The testimony of hundreds of reliable witnesses who all said they saw the resurrected Yeshua under different circumstances should be believed.
The Evidence That Women Were The First To Discover Yeshua’s Resurrection: The following quote is from Stephen Jordan, in 9 Evidences for the Resurrection of Jesus (moralapologetics.com/wordpress/2019/4/21/9-evidences-for-the-resurrection-of-jesus): “When dealing with historical events, one piece of evidence that lends credibility to an account’s authenticity is the inclusion of embarrassing details. All four Gospels mention that several women were the first to find the tomb empty, which makes them the primary eyewitnesses. This is significant because in first-century Jewish and Roman cultures, women were looked down upon by men and their testimony was frequently regarded as untrustworthy. If the writers of the Gospels were making up a story that they wanted people to believe, they would have stated that men were the first to find the tomb empty. Why didn’t they do that? Because they wanted to tell the truth (women were really the first to find the tomb empty).”
The Extra-Biblical Account Of Yeshua’s Resurrection By Josephus: Josephus was a reliable first-century Jewish historian. In his book, The Antiquities Of The Jews, he wrote about Yeshua’s resurrection.
The Existence Of The Church: If Yeshua didn’t rise from the dead, Messianic Judaism, Christianity, the Church, would never have been established. All the hostile Jewish and Roman authorities needed to do to end the movement of Yeshua’s followers – which they wanted to do – was produce His body, but they never did. If Yeshua wasn’t resurrected, He would have been another false messiah, who would have quickly been forgotten.
The Evidence Of Transformed Lives: Only Yeshua’s resurrection could have transformed dispirited, fearful disciples and hostile family members into those who were willing to give up their lives for the message about the risen Messiah. James, Yeshua’s brother, who at first didn’t believe in Him, became the leader of the Jerusalem community. Peter, who denied Him three times, became a fearless follower. Paul, deadly opponent of the Messianic Jews, turned into the greatest missionary the world has ever seen. And over the centuries, millions more have been transformed by Yeshua.
The Evidence Of Yeshua’s Impact On The World: Not only have millions of individuals been transformed by Yeshua, the world has changed because of Him – especially Western civilization. Western civilization can’t be understood apart from Yeshua. Consider this: This is the year 2024. Why 2024? Our calendar begins with Yeshua’s birth. It’s been 2024 years since Yeshua was born. Yeshua’s impact on the world has been so great that most of the world measures time because of Him. Rabbi Hyman Enelow, who was not a follower of Yeshua, wrote this: Yeshua “has become the most renowned, most studied and most influential figure in the history of mankind. The love He has inspired, the comfort He has given, the good He has engendered, the hope and joy He has kindled are unequaled in human history. No Jewish person should be indifferent to the fact that this one Jewish man has had such a tremendous part in the religious history of mankind.” Rabbi Enlow was right – yet sadly, never became a follower of Yeshua. The world would not have been impacted so greatly by Yeshua if He had not been raised from the dead.
The Implications Of Yeshua’s Resurrection
If Yeshua didn’t rise from the dead, the New Testament is a fraudulent document and our faith is worthless. But if Yeshua was resurrected, His resurrection is God’s seal of approval on everything that Yeshua did and taught.
It lets us know that Yeshua is the Son of God, the one and only Lord and Savior, and the coming king of Israel and the nations.
Yeshua’s resurrection lets us know that He is unique, that He is far greater than all of the prophets of Israel.
Yeshua’s resurrection sets Messianic Judaism/Christianity apart from all other religions and ideologies.
Yeshua’s resurrection is the basis for our resurrection. Yeshua said: I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Paul added this: If you openly declare that Yeshua is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
I hope you believe that Yeshua was resurrected, is alive and has ascended to the right hand of God the Father – that He’s there right now, full of life and grace and love and power.
However, it’s one thing to believe that Yeshua is alive and another thing to have Him living in us.
We can believe that Yeshua is risen from the dead and not be saved. The demons know Yeshua is risen from the dead – but they are not saved.
We can believe that Yeshua is risen from the dead and not be living a successful life.
We can believe that Yeshua was resurrected and live in such a way that for us, His resurrection never happened.
There is belief that is limited to the facts and there is belief that fills the mind and the heart.
We can participate in a beautiful Easter service, but if the Spirit of Yeshua is not living in us and we are not living in the Spirit, it doesn’t mean much.
We can say, “Christ is risen, He is risen indeed,” a dozen times on Easter, but if we’re not living in the Spirit, those words are meaningless.
We can have a delightful family Easter gathering, but if the Spirit of Yeshua is not living in us and we’re not living in the Spirit, our belief in Yeshua is useless.
In one sense, Yeshua’s resurrection is perfect and complete. It really happened. It accomplished God’s will. It will never happen again. However, in another sense, Yeshua’s resurrection is incomplete – for us as individuals – unless the risen Lord is living in us because His Spirit living in us.
The Spirit of Yeshua lives in us when we know who Yeshua is and make a serious commitment to follow Him. When we become loyal to Him, God gives us a new nature and the Spirit of Yeshua takes up residence in us and lives in us.
Then we live in the Spirit by reading the Bible, thinking about it and practicing it, by talking to God throughout the day, and by serving our brothers and sisters in a good community of Yeshua-followers.
When we live in the Spirit, we’re aware of God, we’re alive to God, and the Spirit will lead each step we take.
When we live in the Spirit, we will share the Son of God’s mind and heart.
We will have Messiah’s passion for proclaiming the message of salvation to a lost and dying world.
When we live in the Spirit, we will love our brothers and sisters in Messiah’s community and want to be with them and serve them and help them.
We will love and understand the Word of God. We will hunger and thirst for righteousness.
When we live in the Spirit we will have peace, even when going through trials.
We will enjoy a happiness that’s not dependent on circumstances.
When we live in the Spirit, our hope of living forever with the eternal God in His glorious kingdom will be very real and precious to us.
We will hate sin, disobedience and rebellion against God.
We won’t yield to the sinful desires of our old nature.
We won’t love this world and its corrupt values.
When we live in the Spirit, the fear of man and the desire for the approval of the majority will fade away.
May we be thoroughly convinced that Yeshua rose from the dead, and may we live in the Spirit and experience the power of Yeshua’s resurrection in our minds and hearts. Amen?