I. Jesus Himself declared that He would rise from the dead.
II. Jesus' body is gone from the tomb. (John 20:8; Luke 24:12; Matt. 27:64-66; 1 Cor. 15:20)
A. The disciples of Christ did not steal His body.
1. The disciples did not think of the resurrection as a possibility.
2. A guard was set over the tomb.
B. The enemies of Christ, whether the Roman authorities or the Jewish leaders, did not take the body of Christ.
1. The question must be asked, "Why should they take the body?"
2. The guard would never have allowed the Jews to take the body of Jesus.
3. The enemies of Christ failed to produce His body when stories of the resurrection began to circulate.
C. Christ actually, bodily, arose from the tomb.
III. Jesus' resurrection transformed the fearful disciples.
A. The disciples fled from Jesus during His arrest, and during His trial and death most of them were strangely absent.
B. The disciples stood boldly for the Lord following His resurrection.
1. Prior to the resurrection Peter denied the Lord and afterward he spoke boldly for Christ.
2. All the disciples lived for Christ with a holy boldness, and all but John were martyred.
IV. Jesus' resurrection transformed the church's greatest opponent, Saul of Tarsus.
A. Saul of Tarsus was converted when faced with the truth of Christ's resurrection. (Acts 9:1-6a)
B. Paul suffered for the glory of the Lord Jesus. (2 Cor. 11:23-28)
V. Jesus' resurrection resulted in the church.