He determines the number of the stars and calls them
each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
—Psalm 147:4–5
No story better illustrates the power and purpose of God than the story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The story of the crucifixion would have been lost in the mists of time if the followers of Jesus had not found the tomb empty and witnessed the presence of the living Lord for many days after His death. This story was so powerful to first century Christians that many chose to die rather than deny the truth of the living Lord.
Today many skeptics consider the resurrection to be pure fiction, and they never tire of providing reasons to explain why Christ could never have risen from the dead. But others, including millions of people in our own time, have staked everything on the truth of the gospel and on the power and might and love of God.
Ultimately, each one of us must deal with the biblical accounts of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If we side with the skeptics, then we must consider the implications of Jesus dying a brutal death with nothing else but the burial and empty tomb. That would mean the biblical accounts were made up and would throw into question the veracity of the New Testament itself: “For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:16–17).
Thomas, one of the apostles, famously doubted until he came face to face with the risen Lord. Jesus said this to Thomas and to us: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
–Eric Kampmann, Signposts
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