“I say unequivocally that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt.” Sir Lionel Luckhoo is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful defense attorney in world history. He was knighted twice by Queen Elizabeth and served as justice on the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Britain’s highest court. He examined the evidences for the resurrection and came away a believer.
The basic facts of The Gospel (Christ’s death, burial, and even his resurrection) are established as matters of history beyond reasonable doubt. There are certainly no serious and credible historians — atheist, agnostic, or otherwise — who dispute the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth’s death, burial, and the empty tomb.
And, most significantly, the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is supported by so much evidence that no rational person can deny that what Christians celebrate on Easter Sunday isn’t rooted in reality. It is the most significant fact on which all of Christendom is founded — that Jesus of Nazareth, who claimed to be God, rose bodily on the third day — unequivocal proof of His divinity. New York Times bestselling author Lee Strobel, once thoroughly atheist, recently published “Is God Real?” His book details the compelling and undeniable fact of Christ’s resurrection.
Highly respected theologian, and author of over 70 books, N.T. Wright said, “The proposal that Jesus was bodily raised from the dead possesses unrivaled power to explain the historical data at the heart of early Christianity.” In other words, there is simply no other explanation for the behavior and attestations of the apostles and early church leaders — most of whom suffered tortuous deaths — than the truth of Christ’s actual death, burial, and bodily resurrection.
One thing that is absolutely unique about Christianity is that its founding apostles were all martyred, except for the Apostle John who died in banishment, because of what they said they SAW. No one dies for what they know to be a lie. Many have cinched a suicide vest to their chest and blown themselves to bits along with their victims. But, those poor souls sacrifice themselves for an ideology they believe to be true — not because they are attesting to what they saw. That is a different matter altogether. Christ’s apostles were forever changed by what they witnessed. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life.” (1 John 1:1)
They saw Him live. They witnessed His death. They beheld with their own eyes His resurrection, attesting to His divinity, and counted their mortal lives as nothing in comparison to the fact of the empty tomb. Again, It is the singular event on which all of Christendom stands. The cornerstone on which Christ continues to build his church.
Trump seems to have been touched with some of this resurrection power. He experienced what can only be described as a miracle, an assassin’s bullet humming that singular tune familiar to those who have been downrange of supersonic lead. A turn of the head, and his life was spared, but for a bit of fleshy ear. This Easter seems to hold special meaning for him. In a Truth Social post, Trump said, “This Holy Week, Christians around the World remember the Crucifixion of God’s Only Begotten Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and, on Easter Sunday, we celebrate His Glorious Resurrection and proclaim, as Christians have done for nearly 2,000 years, ‘HE IS RISEN!’”
The resurrection is not just a foundational principle of Christendom, it’s foundational to our Republic. Our entire system of law, politics, and jurisprudence derives from the Judeo-Christian tradition confirmed by the resurrection. Every elevated notion of inalienable rights traces its roots back to the cross of Christ. Human life has intrinsic value because of the Biblical concept of man’s creation in the image of God. Every atrocity committed by secular political theory that relies on an atheistic world view always begins with the diabolical notion that people are simply cogs in a cosmic machine. It is the founding principle of Marxism, and is most commonly expressed today in critical social theories that reduce humanity to a collection of arbitrary characteristics held in a perpetual state of conflict.
Mankind falls from the celestial heights of specially created being, to the abysm of randomly assembled bits of meat and electrical charge. It’s a close analogy to the fall of Satan — cast out from the glorious presence of God in a smoking plummet to shatter the earth with the impact of his sulfurous form.
Trump went on to say, “America is a Nation of Believers. We need God, we want God and, with His help, we will make our Nation Stronger, Safer, Greater, more Prosperous, and more United than ever before. Thank you, and HAPPY EASTER.”
We all need God. We need the God of the resurrection. The Gospel is simple. It’s the message that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4) Belief in that simple creed along with a repentant attitude toward one’s own sin, and a personal response (“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”), results in the application of the power of the resurrection — forever.
And just like the repentant thief on the cross, you can claim this eternal comfort and confidence, “And, he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42,43)