7. Assurance Unto All Men

IN the last analysis, the real basic ground for this assurance, not only of the individual salvation of each believer but of the eventual carrying out of the divine program in its entirety, rests solely upon the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is emphasized by the apostle Paul in his great sermon addressed to the Athenian philosophers on Mars Hill, as recorded in Acts 17. There, after pointing out the unreasonableness and wicked folly of idolatry, he declared the truth as to the Unknown God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and added: "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:30,31).
He had himself received ocular proof of that resurrection of which he spoke. The risen Christ had appeared to him, as he fell to the ground on the Damascus turnpike, overcome by a supernatural light from heaven. And at this very time there were living many witnesses of the greatest miracle of all the ages, for when writing to the Corinthian church, some years later than his visit to Athens, he enumerated considerably over five hundred who could bear positive testimony to the resurrection of our Lord, "of whom," he added, "the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:5, 6).
Horace Bushnell declared that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the best attested fact of ancient history. Think of the authoritative sources for any other outstanding event, and compare them with the proofs of the resurrection, and you will realize the fairness of this remark.
The writers of the four Gospels were men of the sincerest piety and probity, as their works attest. They unite in giving unqualified testimony to the resurrection of Christ. The other New Testament writers, Paul, James, Peter, and Jude definitely mention or clearly imply the same glorious fact. They all speak of Christ Jesus as the living One, who once died for our sins. Concerning what other ancient historical event can the testimony of so many eyewitnesses be cited?
Even the enemies of the gospel bore unwilling witness to the resurrection by their clumsy efforts to interpret to their advantage the empty sepulcher on that first Easter Sunday. They knew Jesus had predicted that He would rise again in three days, and so they went to Pilate demanding that steps be taken to prevent His disciples from stealing the body of their Master. Pilate gave them a guard and commanded the sealing of the tomb, and grimly added, "Make it as sure as ye can!" But all their efforts were in vain. When the appointed hour struck, angelic hands broke the Roman imperial seal and rolled back the stone, revealing an empty crypt-the body was not there. Certainly none of His foes rifled that grave. They were determined to keep the body of Jesus there as long as time should last. And if they could have produced that body later, in order to disprove the message of the resurrection, certainly they would have done so.
And it is preposterous to credit the story circulated by the wily priesthood that His disciples came by night, and stole away His body, for even they "knew not the scripture, that he must rise from the dead." The amazing thing is that His enemies remembered what His friends had forgotten. The empty tomb was as great a shock to those who loved Jesus, as it was a fearful portent to those who hated Him.