undeniable resurrection power

Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

Acts 26:8

And with that question Paul makes his defense before Herod Agrippa and Festus, the Judean governor appointed by Rome. His argument for the power of the resurrection is very compelling but not what we might expect. He doesn’t go on and on about the empty tomb. He doesn’t need to produce a shroud. He does not line up eyewitnesses like he does in 1 Corinthians 15. Rather, his preferred argument in his defense is the reality of the resurrection of Jesus and by implication conviction in a future resurrection for His saints that is centered on two-fold implications from Paul’s own personal testimony:

1.  A resurrected Jesus confronted Paul on the Damascus road, saved him, and commissioned him to preach the gospel.

2.  Paul’s own transformation experience from Jewish leader and hater of Jesus to apostle of Jesus and one hated by the Jews for preaching the gospel was a testament to life-giving power.

Paul’s transformed life was already something of an evidential exhibit to God’s resurrecting and transforming work. Paul’s complete turnaround from persecutor of Christianity to unashamed proponent and leader of the Christian movement was proof of this. God’s power was on display in the gospel message and the gospel messenger. The passion for the gospel was there because Paul encountered a real, live Jesus and then believed that His death and resurrection will also transform and resurrect all who believe in Him.

Paul turned the tables. The burden of proof for him was on those who needed to DISPROVE the resurrection. For Paul, this was impossible to do. God’s power was displayed in Christ’s resurrection,. That power is also displayed as the gospel brings new life every place it is preached. And this continues unabated even now. Every changed life is the evidence of the resurrection! How can we not believe when we have a resurrected Savior Who resurrects us to new life in Him and will resurrect us one day to eternal joy with Him?