The heart of the gospel, the good news, is Christ was raised from the dead. He is risen indeed! That means faith is fruitful rather than futile; preaching is powerful rather than pointless; the disciples were dependable rather than deceptive; salvation is certain rather than imaginary, and death is defeated rather than victorious.

Because Christ rose from the dead, those of us who believe are of all people the most blessed and the happiest because the resurrected Christ lives inside of us. Because Jesus rose from the dead, one day we will rise too! What a glorious truth!

Remember, Paul didn’t say they were just believers in the resurrection. He said they were witnesses of the resurrection, and there’s a big difference between a believer and a witness. A witness testifies to what he has seen, heard, and personally experienced, which makes Christianity different from every other religion and every other philosophy.

And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. – Acts 4:33 ESV

The resurrection is not just a historical fact. It’s not just a sign from God validating Christ. It means Jesus is alive right now, and He can be known by you, right here, right now. You don’t have to take anyone’s word for it. Living people can show up for themselves. That is the ultimate evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ—the reality of His power and His presence. You don’t have to merely believe it; you can witness it for yourself.

When we witness Jesus alive, we become like the disciples, who, despite the forces trying to silence them, continued to share the truth of the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. The resurrected Christ was at the core of the gospel the disciples preached. None of them changed their story, even while being tortured. None of them simply stopped talking about the resurrection and quietly went away. They all gave their lives, proclaiming Jesus had risen from the dead!