I believe it was C.S. Lewis that suggested the following three possiblilities about Jesus: “He either was Lord, a liar, or a lunatic”. Jesus claimed to be the Lord God. He said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father”. (John 14:9). He claimed to be “I AM’, a reference to God in Exodus (3:14). The Jews picked up stones to stone him for that reason; “because You being a Man, make yourself God (John 10:33).
Could Jesus have been simply a good man? A good man does not lie about who he is. If He was only a good man as some suggest, He could not claim to be God if he wasn’t. He would be a liar.
Some suggest that maybe He thought He was God, but wasn’t. In that case, He was a lunatic. But that is a most unjustied conclusion. No person in his ‘right’ mind would even suggest that about Jesus.
Well if he wasn’t simply a ‘good’ man, and he wasn’t a lunatic, then there is only one other conclusion. He is who He says He is. He is Lord. That’s the first reason I believe Jesus rose from the dead. He is Lord and can be trusted. He said He would rise and He did (Matt. 16:21). He has power over death.
Secondly, the world is full of complexities. Did it all happen by chance or was it designed by an intelligience beyond our comprehension? For example, could the images of the four presidents on Mt. Rushmore have formed over millions of years by chance? Obviously not. It required intelligence to create. If the making of their image required intelligience, wouldn’t the real four presidents require an intelligent Designer? So if you can believe the first verse of the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”, then bringing someone back to life is no problem for Him.
Thirdly, Jesus taught His disciples truth. He certainly taught them to be men of integrity and honesty. Why then would they continue to teach that He rose, if they knew it wasn’t true? And why would many of them die for this truth, if they knew that it was false?
Fourthly, there are many prophetic passages, hundreds of years prior to the birth of Jesus, identifying Him as the Messiah. Included in these prophetic scriptures are references to His resurrection (Is. 53:10; Ps. 16:10; Dan. 12:2; Job 19:25, 26). If prophecies accurately identified the Christ, then why couldn’t those concerning his resurrection be trusted also?
Fifthly, the tomb was empty. Even the religious leaders knew the tomb was empty, because they promoted the lie that the disciples stole it (Matt. 28:13). All they needed was a body and this whole movement called the church would have never got off the ground. Find the body and the case is closed.
The angel at the tomb told the women, “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.” (Matt. 28:6) In the end there is no cold case because there is no dead body to find! He’s alive and coming again. Are you ready?
Not a Christian; not sure. Click here for Good News!
Thank you for visiting assuranceofheaven.com. You are invited to follow as we explore God’s amazing grace and eternal security for anyone who has believed the gospel.
Assurance of Heaven 
I appreciate the logic and proof you give here. Good food for me to think on.
LikeLike
Thanks Ed. I’ve also read that scholars have dated I Corinthians 15:3,4 back to within a couple years or even months from the actual event. That’s really interesting to think about.
LikeLike