Multiple lines of evidence confirm the resurrection of Jesus Christ: the empty tomb, numerous eyewitness accounts, and the dramatic transformation of fishermen into bold gospel preachers. The resurrection of Jesus shows that Jesus has conquered sin, death, and the devil and that all those who trust in Him have eternal hope .
Several lines of evidence support the historical and factual nature of Jesus' resurrection. First is the empty tomb. New Testament scholars widely agree on the authenticity of the gospel claim that witnesses found Jesus’ tomb empty on that first Easter morning. This report has a very early date and fits well with what is known of the times archaeologically and culturally. If the Jews or Romans had produced Jesus’ body, Christianity would have been disproved immediately, yet the resurrection was never challenged, let alone refuted, by Jesus’ contemporary enemies.
Second, Jesus appeared to numerous eyewitnesses after His death and resurrection, debunking the stolen body theory. Witnesses claimed to have seen, heard, and touched the resurrected Christ. During Paul's day, half of these witnesses were still alive (1 Corinthians 15:6).
Third, the Book of Acts describes a dramatic transformation of disciples from defeated cowards immediately after Jesus’ crucifixion into courageous preachers and, eventually, martyrs. Such radical and extensive change is hard to explain without the resurrection. When the skeptic Paul met the resurrected Jesus (Acts 9) he was converted from a violent persecutor to a gospel preacher.
The resurrection proves who Jesus is and that He accomplished what He set out to do: provide the only means of redemption for mankind.
Two more lines of evidence for the resurrection that affect us today are the emergence of the Christian church and Sunday as a day of worship. Within four hundred years from the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, Christianity dominated the entire Roman Empire and, over the course of two millennia, virtually all of Western civilization. Christianity developed a distinct cultural and theological identity apart from traditional Judaism in a brief window of time— and amid intense, sometimes deadly, resistance. The fact of Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the only reasonable explanation for the emergence of the unique Christian faith.
The Jewish day of worship, or Sabbath, began at sundown Friday and ended at sundown Saturday. However, the early Christian church gradually changed the worship day. Sunday commemorated Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, an event that transformed worship and distinguished the Christian faith from traditional Judaism. Apart from the resurrection, no reason existed for early followers of Jesus to view Sunday as having any enduring significance
The resurrection is proof of who Jesus is and that He accomplished what He set out to do: provide the only means of redemption for mankind. Jesus conquered death and He tells us that He alone is "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6) and that no one comes to the Father except through Him.