Who would you say is the most skilled lawyer of all times? According to the Guinness Book of Word Records, it is Sir Lionel Luckhoo, the winningness lawyer in the world with 245 straight murder acquittals. You would think that a lawyer with his track record would possess superior investigative skills. Applying those skills to researching the authenticity of the resurrections, he wrote, "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."

"And he said to them, 'Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. [7] But go, tell His disciples and Peter, He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said to you.'" (Mark 16:6-7)

For more information on God's Outrageous Claims, go to http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310225612/fm082-20

A new survey conducted by the Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University found most Americans do not believe they will experience a resurrection of their bodies when they die. Only 36 percent of adults surveyed said "yes" when asked, "Do you believe that, after you die, your physical body will be resurrected someday?" Fifty-four percent said they did not believe, and 10 percent were undecided.

Two major creeds of the Christian faith, the Nicene Creed and the Apostle's Creed, which were meant to unify Christian teaching, state a belief in the future resurrection of the physical body. Previous surveys found evidence Americans do hold to other elements of these creeds. A survey in 2003 found 63 percent were "absolutely certain" Jesus died and physically rose from the dead.

—http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=RESURRECTION-04-05-06. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

1 Corinthians 15:19-21 (CEV) "If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else. [20] But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. [21] Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ."

In the motion picture, "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe", King Aslan the Lion has been brutally killed by the White Witch. Leaving his body on the stone table, the witch goes out to war with the followers of Aslan. Lucy and Susan are dejectedly mourning the loss of the great king. Turning to walk away, the ground shakes and they hear the sound of stone cracking. The girls turn and see Aslan's body is gone.

Wondering what has happened, the girls are amazed as Aslan appears at the top of the hill, with the morning sun rising behind him. Susan and Lucy run to him, but can't believe what they are seeing. Susan asks, "But we saw the knife..."

Her question is cut short by Aslan's response. He explains the Evil Witch did not understand the true meaning of sacrifice. Aslan proclaims, "When a willing victim who has committed no treachery is killed in a traitor's stead, the stone table will crack and even death itself will turn backwards."

—"The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe", Scene 20 Aslan's Resurrection 1:52:38—1:54:50. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Romans 4:25 (GW) "Jesus, our Lord, was handed over to death because of our failures and was brought back to life so that we could receive God's approval."

A documentary produced by Oscar-winning director James Cameron claims that an ancient tomb discovered in a suburb of Jerusalem contained ancient caskets used to store bones that may have contained the bones of Jesus and his family. Cameron says if true, the implications of his find are huge. He suggests that contrary to Christian beliefs, Jesus was married and had a family. The fact that Jesus had an ossuary contradicts the major tenet of the Christian faith that Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven.

Attallah Hana, A Greek orthodox clergyman in Jerusalem says, "The historical, religious, and archaeological evidence show that the place where Jesus was buried is the Church of the Resurrection. He added the documentary "contradicts the religious principles and the historic and spiritual principles that we hold tightly to." Stephen Pfann, a biblical scholar from the University of the Holy land in Jerusalem agrees saying, "I don't think that Christians are going to buy into this. But skeptics, in general, would like to see something that pokes holes into the story that so many people hold dear." Pfann says Cameron's theories are not plausible.

Despite the controversy, Cameron says he is not a theologian, nor an archaeologist. He added, "I'm a documentary film maker."

—http://uspolitics.tribe.net/thread/e3b1ef54-ca7d-47f7-8997-94d1b4e4bad4. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

1 Corinthians 15:14 (CEV) "And if Christ wasn't raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith."

An ancient stone that could hold the earliest known reference to Jesus outside the Bible has turned the archeological world upside down. The item in question is a stone coffin discovered several years ago in Israel. An inscription in the stone ossuary identifies the body inside as belonging to James, the brother of Jesus. Some archeologists say wording claiming the person inside was the brother of Jesus was added after the person’s burial. Others claim the inscription is original, but note the names James and Jesus were common in the first century, so the inscription proves nothing. Some authorities claim the find will build up the faith of believers, while others view the find as controversial and potentially destructive to believers in Jesus.

Paul Mace, pastor of the Forest Park Baptist church in Vero Beach Florida says he is not very excited about the find. He says, “we trust God by faith and not by archeological evidence.”

—www.tcpalm.com, Faithful unfazed by artifact, October 22, 2002. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

I don’t know if the coffin really belongs to James, the brother of Jesus, but I do know that you never find one with the inscription Jesus, the brother of James—at least not one that refers to Jesus Christ—because the grave couldn’t keep Him. He is not there. He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Matthew 28:6-7 NIV He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. [7] Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

The Center for Public Christianity in Sydney, Australia conducted a poll about the holiday and tenants of the Christian Faith. The survey of 2,500 average Australian citizens turned up some surprising results. The survey found nearly half of the respondents believed Jesus Christ rose from the dead, though they did not identify themselves as being “born again.” Fifty-seven percent of the people surveyed said they knew Easter had a connection with the death of Jesus, while 67 percent knew the holiday concerned His resurrection. When asked about who they believed Jesus to be, half of the respondents said He was a real figure with divine powers, 39 percent said he was a real person without divine powers, and 11 percent said Jesus was not an historical figure.

The main goal of the Center is to gain public understanding of the Christian faith and explore the beliefs of those who do not attend church, loosely identify with Christianity, identify with another religious systems, or are non-religious. Co-director of the Center, John Dickson said, “We are staggered. We thought the survey would show the profound skepticism of Australians. Instead, it shows there is a base level assumption among the Australian public that accepts the Jesus story, even if it has no relevance to their lives.”

--Nearly, Half of Born-Again Australians Believe in Resurrection, http://www.christianpost.com/Intl/Overseas/2009/04/nearly-half-of-non-born-again-australians-believe-in-resurrection-06/index.html ; April 6, 2009, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

James 2:19-20 GW You believe that there is one God. That's fine! The demons also believe that, and they tremble with fear. You fool! Do you have to be shown that faith which does nothing is useless?

“Can you be Christian and not believe in the resurrection?” shouts the headline in the Salt Lake Tribune. What a crazy question. You would think that when the journalist came up with that question, as soon as she began to research it among Christian clergy, she would have decided that it was a foolish question not worth pursuing.

Her opening paragraph states, “Many scholars dismiss it. Some theologians downplay it. Even some worshippers dodge it. But, for most Christians, the idea that Jesus Christ’s body literally was resurrected is a given, a fundamental of the faith.” The only surprising thing here is that it wasn’t unanimous among the Christian leaders she interviewed that without the resurrection, our preaching and even our faith itself are useless.”

--Salt Lake Tribune, April 3, 2010, p. C2 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

1 Corinthians 15:17 (NASB77) “and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.”

An Austrian woman recently had to convince the local electric company that she was still alive. The fifty-eight-year-old woman identified as Christine received a personally addressed letter from the electric provider stating they had heard of her passing through her bank. The woman wrote back by fax and email stating that she was not the one who had died. She explained she was the caretaker for her neighbor, and that person had recently passed away, accounting for the confusion.

Though she sent letters testifying to the fact that she was alive, the electric company asked that Christine come into the customer service center in person to prove her existence. Afterwards, a spokeswoman for the company said, “It was an unfortunate mistake. There was a muddle in the paperwork and the letters we automatically send out. It has been resolved now.”

--http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66E4I220100715; July 15, 2010. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

It is hard to say someone is dead when you see for yourself that he/she is alive.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 (CEV) “I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. That part is: Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say. (4) He was buried, and three days later he was raised to life, as the Scriptures say. (5) Christ appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. (6) After this, he appeared to more than five hundred other followers. Most of them are still alive, but some have died. (7) He also appeared to James, and then to all of the apostles. (8) Finally, he appeared to me, even though I am like someone who was born at the wrong time.”

Imagine the surprise, actually the terror, when people attending the funeral of Dama Zanthe, a 34-year-old Zimbabwean, were filing by the casket and he began moving. “I feel better now,” said Zanthe.

While Zanthe experienced resuscitation, Jesus indeed resurrected from the dead.-- Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Matthew 28:6 (ESV) He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

Antonio Arias has a problem. Four years ago a hospital mistakenly declared him dead and a death certificate was filed that bears his name, Social Security number, and date of birth. Now no matter how much he persists, no government agency or bank will believe he is alive. His credit cards have all been canceled, his tax payments rejected, his Medicaid benefits cancelled. Recently he has filed a lawsuit demanding reinstatement of his living status.

Thankfully, the only credit rating Jesus needed was the credit of his disciples. And they believed him 100%. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

1 Corinthians 15:4-8 (NIV) that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, (5) and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. (6) After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. (7) Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, (8) and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

While visiting the grave of a loved one, a woman in Brazil was given the shock of her life. She was laying flowers when a man started digging himself out of a neighboring grave. “The mourner heard some strange moaning and noticed the soil moving around in a neighboring plot.” The woman ran off and called the police who came and dug the man out of the ground and took him to the hospital. “Police think the man was beaten up, thrown into an empty grave and partly covered with dirt.” Not exactly a resurrection, but a noteworthy event nonetheless.

Resurrection from the dead is seen as impossible, and so it is unless it is by the power of God. The hope of the believer, the proof of salvation, and the message of good news is all based on an “impossible without God” event; the resurrection of Jesus Christ. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

1 Corinthians 15:14 (NKJV) And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

“Workers at a Mississippi funeral home got a shock when a corpse started moving inside his body bag.” Walter Williams, 78, had been declared dead several hours earlier and morticians were about to start the embalming process. Then the coroner, Dexter Howard, noticed something not quite right. There was a twitching inside the bag. When they unzipped the bag they discovered Williams was breathing. Waking up in the hospital Williams couldn’t remember dying or being taken to the funeral home. According to his daughter Williams said “he was just asleep.”

While it is an amazing story, and must have been like a resurrection to his family, it was resuscitation not resurrection. Walter Williams still must face death unlike the resurrection of Jesus, whose death was in full view of the passing crowds, whose tomb was visited by all his closest friends and guarded by a Roman contingent and whose resurrection was witnessed by over 500. Jesus did not rise so he could die again; he rose so we could rise with him. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

1 Corinthians 15:6 (HCSB) (6) Then He appeared to over 500 brothers at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.

Alan Sinclair does not want his death to be permanent. After he dies, his blood will be flushed from his body and replaced with antifreeze. Technicians will then cool the body with dry ice and fly it to a cryonics center in Michigan. The center will keep it at minus 320 degrees. When a solution is found for whatever kills him, future technicians will thaw him out. Cured Alan will exist on earth once more. His wife has already died and undergone the cryonics solution.

The Christian hope is that God will resurrect us from the dead, just as our Lord Jesus resurrected. In the newly resurrected state, we will need no cure because the main cause of death, sin, will have already been taken care of. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

1 Corinthians 15:54-58 (NKJV) “So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.(55) O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’ (56) The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. (57) But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (58) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Resurrection

A Russian man who was declared dead after he drank too much vodka at a party woke up to find himself in a morgue. A police spokesman said the man screamed when he regained consciousness in the mortuary freezer attracting the attention of staff. After he was released he quickly returned to the party, where his pals were still drinking, this time in his memory.

The friend who opened the door fainted when he saw the “dead” man, and the mourning ceremony was quickly turned into a “re-birthday party.”

John does not tell us how Lazarus, his sisters, or their friends reacted when he rejoined them outside the tomb except to say, “many believed.” We read more about the reaction of the disciples when Jesus was found to be alive after his resurrection.

What joy it will be for all of us on the resurrection morning. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

John 11:33–34 (HCSB) When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was angry in His spirit and deeply moved. ³⁴ “Where have you put him?” He asked. “Lord,” they told Him, “come and see.”

The reputed tomb of Jesus Christ is underneath the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem’s Old City. On October 28, 2016, conservationists, who were working to restore the tomb, found what researchers think is the original limestone burial bed of Jesus. Most researchers believe that the identification of the burial bed by representatives of the Roman emperor Constantine some 300 years later is a reasonable one. —Jim L. Wilson and Ben Hsieh

John 1:14 (HCSB) “The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

One day a man’s four-year-old daughter asked him why they celebrated Christmas. He didn’t have a good answer for her, so he went to the local book shop and bought a Children’s Bible and began reading it to her. They even memorized a Bible verse together. He never talked, though, about the cross and resurrection because he thought it was too much for her. Then one day around Easter they were driving by a church where a crucifix statue was outside. His daughter asked him who that was. He told her it was Jesus and he was there because people didn’t like His teaching. —Jim L. Wilson & Andrew DeHart

This dad missed the point because the good news of Jesus does not end with his death.

Romans 1:16–17 (HCSB)“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.”

Allie Megan Webb runs a body care store in North Carolina. Her husband belongs to a group that hunts for the legendary Bigfoot. She claims to have invented a bottled scent that will attract any Bigfoot within 1.5 miles of the wearer. Her husband was wearing the scent, called “woodsy,” when he claimed to have spotted one. Somehow the truthfulness of such a claim could be totally doubted except for legendary primatologist Jane Goodall. Goodall says she doesn’t want to disbelieve. “There are just too many witness accounts from tribal people of tall hairy, bipedal primates.”

While eye-witnesses can make mistakes, the number eye-witness accounts of the resurrected Christ make it a certainty that Jesus did not remain in the grave. Especially when you take into account that a number of them died a martyr’s death defending what they saw. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—

Chicago police identified a severely injured and unconscious man they found in as Alonzo Bennett. All they had for identification was an old mug shot, but Bennett’s family assented to the identification. Soon thereafter the hospitalized man died without regaining consciousness. The family planned a barbecue as a memorial before the funeral. Just as they were digging into the food, Alonzo Bennett arrived to see what it was all about. He had been out of town on a trip.

While not a true resurrection, can you just imagine the excitement when Alonzo came walking in. I think of the joy and the excitement when the one they thought was dead was alive. The disciples knew Jesus was dead. They saw him crucified. They saw him taken down from the cross and put in a borrowed tomb. Then in the midst of their sorrow, here comes Jesus. No wonder this one event made such a difference. –Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

John 20:19 (CSB) “When it was evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”

Michael Knapinski, 45 was hiking on Washington’s Mount Rainer when he was caught in a Blizzard. Lost in white out conditions, he became unconscious. The next afternoon a helicopter search crew spotted him and flew him to the hospital. In the helicopter they detected a very faint pulse but when they admitted him his heart stopped. For the next 45 minutes doctors and nurses worked over him and finally restarted his heart. The next day he was sitting up in bed, eating a sandwich and talking to his mother.

Do you ever wonder what a person thinks about when they are dying? When they are brought back to life, there must be an appreciation of life. For the Christian, we are promised a real resurrection when Christ returns. What a marvelous time that will be. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.