This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Acts 2:32
Did the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s in the United States prove the resurrection of Jesus Christ? It did for Charles Colson, one of the conspirators in that scandal. Here is what Colson said: ‘I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned, and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.’
Chuck Colson makes a powerful argument. Millions have died in support of lies, but every one of them believed that those lies were absolutely true. Not one person has ever died defending a lie that they knew to be a lie. The disciples and all of those early martyrs knew that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. As Peter declares in our text, ‘we all are witnesses’. They had seen Him, talked with Him, eaten meals with Him, and had watched Him rise from their midst to return to Heaven. Far more people had seen and could confirm the resurrection of Jesus than had seen and could confirm that Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas.
Paul wrote, ‘And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain’ – 1 Corinthians 15:14. You and I never have any reason to question our faith because hundreds of eye witnesses have confirmed that God raised up our Lord and Saviour from the dead. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/57r4Kp04WJ0