Homily for Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, Year C

Reasons To Believe In The Resurrection of Jesus

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, Year C

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, April 20, 2025

Have you ever wondered why the Early Church believed in the Resurrection of Jesus? Why did they believe that Jesus had been raised? What actually convinced them to believe that our Lord is risen? In this homily, let’s examine the three main reasons the first Christians, who were all Jewish Christians, gave for believing in the Resurrection of the Lord. 

The first is the reality of the empty tomb. All four Gospels (Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15: 42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:31-42) tell us that after the death of Jesus, he was buried by Joseph Arimathea. But when his disciples went back to the tomb on Sunday morning, they found an empty tomb. So, the first sign of the Resurrection is the empty tomb. It is absolutely necessary for the tomb to be empty. To accept the possibility of his Resurrection, the tomb has to be empty, but it is not a sufficient reason because the tomb could be emptied in other ways. Someone could have stolen the body, even though that was impossible. The tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers who knew that the punishment for sleeping on duty was execution. Roman soldiers don’t fall asleep at the post because falling asleep on duty merited being put to sleep forever. So, an empty tomb is the first sign that the Triumphant Warrior is risen, however, it is not enough. 

The second reason for believing in the Resurrection was the many appearances of the Risen Jesus. In the Bible, we have multiple accounts of the Risen Jesus appearing to his disciples. In  Matthew 28, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary as they were on their way to inform the disciples of the message of the angel they met at the tomb who announced to them that Jesus is Risen. In the same Matthew 28, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee. In Luke 24, Jesus appeared to Cleopas and other unnamed disciples as they were on the road to Emmaus. In the same chapter 24, the disciples discussed among themselves saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” In that same chapter of Luke, we hear that the Lord appeared to the eleven disciples in the Upper Room. In John 20, the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene and the eleven disciples is recounted. In John 21, the Risen Jesus appears to the seven disciples. It is at this appearance that Jesus asked Peter three times “Do you love me?” In 1 Corinthians 15, the great St. Paul notes the appearance of the Risen Lord to Cephas (that is Peter), to the Twelve Apostles, to more than five hundred Christians at once and also to James and finally to him. So all these appearances of Jesus gave major motivation to accept and believe that the Crucified Jesus is back. He has been raised from the dead. He is alive again. He has conquered death with his own death. 

The third reason for the believability of the Resurrection is the fulfillment of Scripture. We don’t hear this third reason well enough. When modern day preachers speak about the Resurrection, they say something like “the Apostles believed in the resurrection so fervently that they preached it throughout the Roman Empire and gave their lives for the sake of resurrection.” Their argument is, ‘how could they have died for something they knew was a lie?’ Did the first Christians passionately preach that Jesus is Risen? Yes! Did they take this message around the Roman Empire and even to their death? Yes! But are those sufficient reasons to believe in the Resurrection? I don’t think so. They are subjective reasons, moreover, that is not how the early disciples of Christ spoke about the Resurrection. They never asked anyone to believe in the Resurrection because Peter was so zealous in preaching it. We know that some people can be zealous for something that is actually wrong. A good example are the Islamic terrorists who gave their lives for a terribly wrong cause. They are sincere in their pursuit but they are sincerely wrong. The objective reason for Jesus’ Resurrection is that his Resurrection was a fulfillment of the scriptures. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, we hear “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.” Also in Luke 24 and John 20:9, we hear that Jesus died and was raised according to the scriptures. But the big question is, “What scripture is being referred to here?” If you go to the Old Testament, there is no predictive prophecy of Isaiah, of Jeremiah, of Ezekiel, of Daniel, of Amos etc. that says the Messiah will be raised on the third day. Yet, some of the New Testament writers say that Jesus was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. What scripture were they referring to? There is only one scripture in the Old Testament that refers to this, and it is not a predictive prophecy, rather the story of Jonah. 

In the course of his public ministry, Jesus himself connects his Resurrection with the Old Testament. After curing a demoniac who was also blind and mute, people wondered if Jesus could be “the Son of David.” But then, the Pharisees accused him of using a demonic power to cast out demons. Reacting to their false accusation, Jesus simply told them that a good person produces goodness, but an evil person produces evil. In response, some Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you” (Matthew 12:38). Responding to them, Jesus said, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights” (Matthew 12:39-40). What’s the Lord doing here? He is referring to the Book of Jonah in the Old Testament and drawing two similarities. He is saying that just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so also the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. After his Resurrection, what did he do? He says to his Apostles, “Go forth to all the nations and proclaim the good news.” What good news? His Resurrection! Why is his Resurrection such a big deal? It tells us that death does not have the final say. It tells us that death is not the final word. The final word is Easter. And as they preached, all the pagan cities repented. Within two centuries, the entire Roman Empire, who for centuries, had worshipped idols, false gods, demonic spirits, animals, trees, rocks, mountains, rivers repented. One by one, they became Christians, worshipped Jesus Christ and the God of the Jews, the very Jews they despised. When the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign, he responded, “…No sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” What’s the sign of Jonah? It’s not just the miracle of the Resurrection, it is the miracle of the conversion of the pagans. Look around you, people are still converting everyday in Africa, Asia, South America etc. People are still giving their lives to Jesus even where there are terrorism and terrorist attacks. How do you explain that?Is it a coincidence that following the death and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, nations that had long worshipped false gods and demonic spirits converted and began to worship the God of Israel? I don’t think so! It will take a lot of ignorance, a lot of denial, and a lot of dishonesty to believe it is a coincidence. In the final analysis, when you look at the evidence— the biblical and historical evidence, it is deeply impossible not to say that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and Redeemer of the human race.