After Jesus was resurrected, hundreds of people saw firsthand evidence of it, and thousands more heard sufficient evidence of it, and believed in Jesus. But many, many people did not believe, despite the evidence being available if they wanted to pursue it. They chose not to pursue the evidence, and some immediately devised a story to contradict the evidence, claiming that the disciples had stolen the body. Why would they do that? Because they didn’t want anything to do with Jesus, even if He did exactly what He said He was going to do and even if He was exactly who He said He was.
Besides being a preacher, I am also an apologist. And as an apologist, I see that the argument for Jesus’ resurrection is incredibly strong. It is tempting to think, “If I keep presenting this information, with more evidence and more passionately, people will see the truth of it and come to Christ.” But as I’ve been thinking about it, the issue isn’t apologetics. It would change nothing to build a stronger case or present it more urgently. People aren’t rejecting the truth of the argument. Like the Pharisees on the day after Jesus was resurrected, they are rejecting Jesus. The truth is irrelevant. The cost of accepting the truth is the issue.
Jesus (of course) understood this. He was a terrible salesman. He urged people to count the cost, and made sure everyone understood there was no riding the fence.
It’s the day after Easter. What will you do with Jesus?
