Do you know why Christians worship on Sundays instead of Saturdays? It all revolves around the resurrection of Jesus. Let me explain.

All the religions in the world can actually be placed into two categories: abstract ideas and historical events. Many Christians make their mistakes when they define Christianity by abstract religious ideas like; 1. You shall love the Lord with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength, or 2. You shall love your neighbor as yourself, or 3. You shall have no other gods before me. These are guidelines within our faith but they are not the foundations upon which our faith rests.

Our faith rests on specific events in history; 1. God spoke and created the world, 2. God redeemed Israel from Egyptian slavery, 3. God sent the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, 4. Jesus died on a Roman cross, 5. Jesus rose from the dead three days later. These are historical events. The meaning for all these events is where we gain our ideas.

If you can prove that Jesus did not rise from the dead, you could pull the foundation out from under Christianity. Therefore, the resurrection is of primary importance (1 Corinthians 15). Let me give you some logical and historical evidence for the resurrection.

First, the day of worship changed from Saturday to Sunday. The gospel writers record for us in thirteen places the connection between the empty tomb and the first day of the week, Sunday (Matt. 28:1 two times; Mark 16:1-2, 9 three times; Luke 23:56, 24:1, 7, 13, 22 five times; John 20:1,19 three times). When the Scriptures talk about "The Lord's Day" (1 Cor. 16:1-2; Rev. 1:10) they are identifying Sunday. This fulfilled the prophecy of the "First Fruits" from Leviticus 23. The offering of first fruits was to be offered the day after the Sabbath (v.11). The new grain was offered the day after the Sabbath (v.15-17). Paul identifies Jesus with the language of the "First Fruits" of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20-23). The tomb found by Professor Sukenik at Talpioth has coins dated from about 50 A.D. and identified as from the sixth year of Agrippa. Also within the tomb, he found inscriptions on the ossuaries (bone boxes) "Yeshu Aloth" which is Aramaic for "Jesus let him arise." In a letter from Pliny to Emperor Trajan (Bythinia, 111 A.D.), Pliny writes about the Christians worshipping "Jesus the Roman criminal on Sunday." So the early church took the fourth commandment about keeping the Sabbath holy, and realigned it under the resurrection of Jesus to now be Sunday, the first day of the week.

Second, eyewitnesses saw the resurrected Messiah, Jesus. The first witnesses were women. Women were not citizens. They had no credibility in the ancient world. They would have been a bad choice if the resurrection was a hoax (Matt. 28:9; Mark 16:9; John 20:14). Matthew records thirteen witnesses to the resurrection. Mark records thirteen. Luke records three, two named, and then an entire group. John records twelve eyewitnesses. Paul records for us that at one appearing, there were over five-hundred witnesses (1 Cor. 15:6). How many eyewitnesses do we need to prove an event?

One particular eyewitness gets special attention. Saul of Tarsus persecuted the early church (Acts 8:60, 9:1-31, 21:37-22:23, 25:23-26:23; 1 Cor. 15:8-9). We know him as the Apostle Paul. By our record in the Bible, Paul was an insider with the Jews. He knew all the secrets. Later, he became an insider with the early Church. He knew all their secrets. If the resurrection is untrue, Paul would have known. So, what kept him from declaring the resurrection an unbelievable hoax? Very simply, he saw and heard the resurrected Jesus.

Paul's first letter to the Church at Corinth is the earliest document we have with a record of the resurrection (written around 55 A.D.). Look again at Paul's evidence listed in chapter 15. This resurrection fulfilled prophecy (v. 4), identified Jesus within the sacrificial system of the feast of first fruits (v. 20-23), lists the eyewitnesses (v. 5-8), and then explains the meaning including the resulting benefits (v. 12-56). Preaching is useful. Our faith is valid. We are true witnesses of God. We are set free from our sins. We have hope in a heavenly reunion with loved ones. Death is overcome. We will gain an eternal body.

So, after giving the evidence, then explaining its meaning, Paul finishes with "How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord! So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's word, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless" (1 Cor. 15:57-58 NLT).

Rev. Ted Beam