Acts 26:26b  “This thing was not done in a corner.”

This past weekend, the world celebrated the two greatest events in human history: Good Friday (the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ) and Easter (the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead).

Even though many Americans hardly read their bibles anymore, this weekend was the highest for church attendance for the entire year. That is because Americans often view Easter Sunday Service as a tradition. Traditions are great, but who wants to get up early on Easter Sunday and go to church to celebrate a myth?

However, most of us do not realize there is overwhelming evidence from non-biblical sources around the time of these events and for the explosive growth of Christianity. They testify to the fact that people claimed not only that Jesus was a real person who was put to death by crucifixion and rose three days later from the grave.

Our verse this week is a small section of Paul’s appeal to King Agrippa, where Paul appeals to the evidence for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here is the full verse: “The king, before whom I speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner.” What does Paul mean by “these things” and “this thing”? The preceding verses tell us.

“Having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come – that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles” (Acts 26:22-23).

It was not only Paul, the author of most of the New Testament, who wrote down what was happening around Jerusalem at the time of Christ. The picture below shows 14 non-biblical authors who wrote down these facts about Jesus Christ: 1) He claimed to be God, 2) He was worshipped by His followers as God, 3) He was reported to perform miracles, 4) He was crucified, 5) He was believed to have risen from the dead.

Unlike Paul, the majority of these 14 writers are hostile to Christianity. Yet, what they recorded matches the New Testament narrative – Jesus was crucified, He was worshipped as God, He was claimed to have risen.

These 14 non-biblical authors give us powerful, unbiased evidence for why we should be celebrating Good Friday and Easter – not just because it is a tradition – but because it is TRUE.

The Evidence of Faith’s Substance _ Article #497