He Rose From The Dead
One of the greatest proofs that Jesus was/is God lies in the fact that He rose from the dead. Below are various Scriptures and evidences that prove Jesus was exactly whom He claimed to be.
1) Jesus Claimed He Would Rise From The Dead
John 10:17-18 - The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
Matthew 16:21 - From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the Elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Matthew 20:18-19 - "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"
2) Jesus Died
Mark 15:37-39 - With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"
The centurion was qualified to detect whether Jesus was dead, having no doubt witnessed many executions, and having seen many die in battle.
John 19:33-34 – But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
The soldiers did not break Jesus' legs because they were confident He was already dead. Piercing Him with a spear would cause death by loss of blood, even if He were not already dead. Medical doctors claim that blood and water coming out of the spear wound proved Christ was already dead.
Mark 15:43-45 - Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.
3) Pilate believed Jesus was dead
Matthew 28:11-15 - While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the Elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
Even after the tomb was empty, Jesus' most intelligent enemies, the chief priests and Elders, did not doubt the reality of His death. They saw Jesus die, and were sure He was dead. His disciples believed Jesus was dead. They were afraid for their lives and did not expect Jesus to rise. Thomas even refused to believe Jesus was alive until he saw Him with his own eyes (John 20:25).
4) Jesus Was Buried
John 19:39-42 – He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Matthew 27:59-60 – Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.
5) Both the Jews and the Romans knew Jesus was buried
Matthew 27:62-66 - The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first." "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
They rolled a huge stone in front of the tomb where they had buried Jesus. Then officials sealed the tomb, and placed guards there, preventing anyone from stealing Jesus' body.
6) Jesus Rose From The Dead
Matthew 28:2-7 - There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 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."
7) The women felt unable to move the stone because the stone was so large.
Mark 16:3-4 - and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.
8) The huge stone was moved, and the Roman seal was broken, in spite of the guards at Jesus' tomb.
Matthew 28:12-13 - When the chief priests had met with the Elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.'"
Everyone - friends and enemies - knew where Jesus was buried, and they knew the tomb was empty. In fact, Jesus' tomb being empty was common knowledge in the first century. Thus the Jewish religious leaders had no option but to make up the story that the disciples stole Jesus' body – even though they knew the truth.
Acts 6:7 - So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
After Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, His disciples took the good news of His life, death and resurrection to others. Many priests at Jerusalem -- who were Jesus' enemies responsible for killing Him -- believed in Jesus after His resurrection. Something happened that proved to them Jesus was more than a moral teacher, but was God in the flesh and Savior of the world. That something was His resurrection from the dead.
9) Many Other Witnesses of Jesus After His Resurrection
1 Corinthians 15:3-5 - For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 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. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
Click on the links to see what else the Bible says about Jesus.