The Reality of the Resurrection

It is not easy to believe in the resurrection. It is no coincidence that, in almost all apparitions, there is unbelief and doubt, also among the people who knew Jesus very well. At the same time, these hesitant witnesses are going to proclaim his resurrection.

Perhaps this is the strongest proof of the reality of the resurrection. The disciples of Jesus were traumatised by the shameful failure that Jesus’ (and their own) life’s work had turned out to be. They had fled in all directions. Shortly after that, the same people are going to proclaim with unimaginable passion that their hero is the Saviour of the people. They no longer conceal his death on the cross. They will now proclaim it almost with pride. Between both moments, they must have experienced something even more shocking and dramatic than the catastrophe of Jesus’ crucifixion: his resurrection.

Nicolaas Sintobin SJ, Did Jesus Really Exist? and 51 Other Questions