ACTS 1 NLT

Acts1:3 "After His suffering, he (Jesus) showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the Kingdom of God." 

Acts1:8 "...You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses..."

HOW were THESE guys going to be the key witnesses?  (after they had been running for their lives in fear just weeks earlier) 

By the power of God's Spirit and by the confidence that Jesus HAD, in fact, risen from the dead.

WHAT were they witnesses of? (which needed to be told) 

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 -Paul explains that the things of "first importance" that must be passed on are: 1. Christ died for our sins, 2. He was raised on the third day, 3. He appeared to hundreds of people to prove he was alive!

WHY was this so important to them?

1 Corinthians 15:14 "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.."

1 Corinthians 15:19-20 "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But, BUT Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!"

The resurrection was the most important part of the message of the early church. Without Christ coming back to life, all the rest of the story would have lost the meaning and power. I think we should continue to keep the message of the resurrection in front of us all year long - not just during the week of Easter. 

7 REASONS TO HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE RESURRECTION

1. The disciples clearly didn't expect it or hope for it and therefore would never have planned to fabricate it. 

2. The disciples went from being scared & hiding to ALL sacrificing their own lives rather than deny the resurrection.

3. Over 500 people attested to seeing Jesus alive and no one ever came back and changed their story.

4. Other explanations of what happened are not plausible. (ie. He never really died or the disciples stole & hid the body. Read: "The Case For Christ" by Lee Strobel)

5. No one ever produced the body. (and they were highly motivated to do this. Watch the movie: "Risen")

6. The Biblical accounts of the resurrection show no effort to fabricate a lie. (Real eye witnesses of events often differ on the minor details but always agree on the key points)

7. The truth of this event has stood the test of time.