I know Easter is now over, but its importance for the Christian faith – indeed, its importance altogether – doesn’t just melt away because the church calendar decides to move on from Holy Week.
Truth be told, I don’t think Evangelicals talk about the resurrection nearly enough. I think we are pretty good when it comes to the cross. We know that Jesus died for sin and most would probably give a fair stab at explaining penal substitution in some form or other. But we aren’t so great at talking about the resurrection. I’m pretty sure we’re not very good at realising its vital significance to our faith.
It is interesting to note that, repeatedly, the Apostles pointed to the resurrection as the central grounds for Christian hope. Paul, in 1 Corinthians, lands on the resurrection and says, if it didn’t take place, we’re still in our sin, we have no hope, our preaching is futile and we are the most pitiable of all people on earth. If Jesus was raised for our justification, then justification hangs on the resurrection (you can read a bit more about what this means here). So, the resurrection is vital and, without it, there is no Christian faith.
To that end, here is Dr William Lane Craig outlining four facts upon which the majority of Ancient Historians and New Testament scholars agree that undergird the case for the resurrection:
You can watch the full presentation, and hear Dr Craig flesh out each of those facts and their significance in the following video: