Evidence #2 for Resurrection: Conversion of the Skeptics

Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things, which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
—Acts 21:18–19

Consider another evidence for the resurrection: the conversion of the skeptics.

First of all, think about James, the half brother of Jesus. When Jesus started roaming the countryside telling everybody He was the Son of God, His brothers and sisters were embarrassed. And so the Bible tells us that His siblings had what we would call today a family intervention with Jesus. They went to Jesus, sat Him down, and said, “Now Jesus, all this stuff about you being the Son of God, you’ve got to stop it and you’ve got to stop it now. You are ruining the family name.” Now, James the half brother of Jesus was one of those siblings who did not believe that Jesus was who He said he was. Yet after the crucifixion of Jesus, James was transformed. He became the leader of the Christian movement in Jerusalem. Not only that, history tells us that James was stoned to death for his faith in Jesus Christ. How do you explain that complete transformation in the skeptic James?

In 1 Corinthians 15:7, Paul says when Jesus arose from the dead, one of the first people was to his half brother, James. James saw the resurrected Christ, and that experience transformed him.

Or think about Saul of Tarsus. Saul of Tarsus was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. He went about the countryside persecuting and tormenting those who were followers of Jesus Christ. But in an instant Saul of Tarsus became the apostle Paul. Every historian who has ever lived has believed that Paul existed and that he was the greatest spokesman for the Christian faith the world has ever known. He turned the world upside down for Jesus Christ. How do you explain that transformation in the life of Saul of Tarsus—who became the apostle Paul? Paul says it himself in 1 Corinthians 15:8: “And last of all, as to one untimely born, He [the resurrected Jesus] appeared to me also.”

These skeptics saw the risen Savior. And their transformation is one of the strongest proofs that Christ has been raised from the dead.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Simple Answers to Sincere Questions,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2011.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.