That Jesus bodily rose from the dead is not in doubt. Sure, some reject this truth, but there will always be those who deny the truth because the truth infringes on their ability to live in any way they please. In his first epistle, the apostle John writes about Jesus, “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life. . .” (1 John1:1).
John knew Jesus before and after His death. He referred to himself as “the one Jesus loved” (John 13:23), not a title one would reward oneself with for being a passing acquaintance. After Christ had risen from the tomb, John declares he and others saw Him, watched Him move around, and physically touched Him. There was no denying it, Jesus was alive again.
The truth of Jesus’s resurrection is a problem for the world. A risen Savior means there is a God, which means there is an absolute moral and just standard. The problem gets even bigger. Paul tells us we all fall short of that standard (Romans 3:23). If the resurrection of Jesus is true (and it is), then the existence of God is true, which means the Bible is true. Establishing God and His Word as the source of all truth puts the culture on a collision course with God’s wrath. That is a problem indeed.
We can avoid the wrath of God by accepting the gift of salvation through His Son. Most think that’s great until they recognize a belief in Christ means they will need to obey the commands of Christ (John 14:15). Those who love Jesus have no issue with this. We recognize He alone is good. He alone is worthy of our worship and sacrifice. For those who are simply looking for a way to escape God’s judgment by professing Christ with their lips and not their lives, then the rudest of all awakenings awaits them (Matthew 7:18-23).
John not only testified that Jesus rose from the dead, but the fact He did rise proved He was God. Jesus is the Word of life (1 John 1:1), has existed with God since before time began, and will be with the Father for all eternity (1 John 1:2). There is no other way to spend eternity with God except through Jesus (John 14:6). Your eternal life began the moment you were conceived. Inside each of us is an eternal soul. The only question is, will we spend eternity in paradise with Jesus (Luke 23:42-43; John 14:2-3) or separated from God in eternal flames (Matthew 25:41)?
For some, the truth is harder to believe than not to, but whether you choose to believe does not change the truth of what is. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). He is not my truth or the truth of a bunch of fanatics. Jesus is simply and only truth.
If you reject Him, you sentence yourself to an eternal death far worse than anything you can imagine. If you accept Him, you will experience a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). You will find your life when you surrender everything you thought was real for what is true (Matthew 16:25; John 10:8-10). Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). Outside of Him, there is no hope (1 Peter 1:3-6; Romans 8:24-25). And that is the truth.