Confident in the Resurrection of Christ
Dec. 20, 2025
To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. — Acts 26:22-25 ESV
While reading recently the above account of Paul’s defense before King Agrippa, I was impressed with Festus’ reaction to Paul’s statement about Jesus Christ having risen from the dead. I’ve read this account on numerous occasions in the past but only now have I given much thought to the reaction of Festus.
Imagine for a moment that you are Festus, a Roman procurator, having little or, likely, no appreciation for the one true God, and no knowledge of the inspired prophetic writings about the Messiah. You find yourself interrogating Paul who makes a claim that he follows a religious leader who suffered and died, and then came to life again! When considering Festus’ background, it’s not surprising that he yelled out, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind!” For a Roman pagan, to believe such a thing — someone rising from the dead — would be preposterous. Such an occurrence would be beyond the scope of human reason. It would be miraculous! Upon hearing Paul’s claim, Festus may have been embarrassed that he had even set Paul before King Agrippa.
That is exactly what Christ’s resurrection is — Miraculous! And, that is exactly what we are called by the Most High God to believe, namely, that His Son, Jesus the Christ, died, was buried, and rose from the dead. It was testified by “Moses and the prophets” hundreds of years before it happened. Jesus’ crucifixion was witnessed by Jews and Gentiles, disciples and enemies, believers and non-believers. His body was buried in a tomb and sealed inside with a great stone. Three days later, the tomb was found empty. After His resurrection, Jesus was seen by Mary Magdalene, the apostles, by over 500 men, and by the Apostle Paul (re. I Cor. 15:3-8).
Only Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Most High God, has the power to overcome death. His resurrection is central to faith. “If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (I Cor 15:17- 19).
The Apostle Peter exhorted “... sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (I Peter 3:15).
As Christians, we have hope of eternal life because the miracle did occur; Jesus did, indeed, die and was buried and arose to life again. Therein is a primary reason for our hope. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote:
He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus. — II Corinthians 4:14 ESV
Ever since Jesus’ resurrection, there have been individuals like Festus who have denied its occurrence. Those individuals rely upon earthly wisdom and deny the almighty power of God. The Apostle Paul addressed this conflict: For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. — I Corinthians 1:19-25 ESV
May God be praised that He sent His Son from heaven to earth to live as a man, to reveal our Father’s will, to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins, to die on the cross, and to rise from the dead. Let us not be swayed by unbelief, but let us stand firm upon the “true and rational” knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection!