Several years ago, our entire congregation gathered and rented a movie theater in Nonhyeon-dong, Incheon, to watch the film ‘Jesus Is History’. It tells the story of investigative journalist Lee Strobel, who, upon his wife becoming a Christian, thought she had “fallen for a strange religion.” He then traveled across the United States seeking out experts and professors in various fields to refute Christianity’s alleged fallacies. He challenges experts like historians, doctors, and psychologists to disprove Jesus’ death. True to his journalist roots, he uses logical, sharp questions to try to prove Jesus is a myth. It’s not a believer struggling to prove their faith, but an atheist trying to prove “Jesus is a myth” by asking uncomfortable questions. Through this process, his doubt gradually turns into conviction.

​It felt like someone was asking the questions about Jesus’ resurrection that anyone might have doubted at some point. Throughout the book, I was both curious and amazed, wondering, “How could one possibly answer such questions?” It begins by comparing and analyzing the New Testament’s reliability as a historical document against other historical records. The historian’s explanation that multiple accounts of the same event, each slightly different, actually enhances credibility made perfect sense. For example, in the story of the man possessed by a legion of demons, Matthew and Mark record the location as “Gadara” and “Gerasa,” respectively. It turns out one was a regional name and the other a village name.

Medically, the section explaining why Jesus must have died, based on a doctor’s professional opinion, provided detailed insight into the suffering Jesus endured during crucifixion. To firmly secure his body to the crossbeam, nails were driven not through his palms but through his wrists. Due to his body weight, breathing while suspended was extremely difficult. Every time he lifted his feet to support himself, he would have felt excruciating pain as the nails in his feet tore through the flesh. This sustained condition causes fluid to accumulate in the lungs, supporting the biblical description of blood and water flowing when a Roman soldier pierced Jesus’ side with a spear to confirm His death. Moreover, having endured thirty-nine lashes from a horrific whip that stripped flesh and skin to expose bone and intestines, then being forced to carry the cross and run up Golgotha Hill, it would not have been surprising if Jesus had already lost consciousness and died.

Jesus’ death was a historically and medically certain fact; the question was “how could the resurrection be proven?” The most plausible counterargument is the suspicion that the disciples stole Jesus’ body. However, from the perspective of the Roman soldiers, who faced execution for failing to guard the body, they absolutely could not have allowed it to be taken. I have visited the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, believed to be the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. I saw the tomb, carved out of rock like a chamber, and the groove where the round stone that sealed the entrance once sat. Structurally, the round stone door was rolled sideways to block the entrance, making it impossible to push open from inside. Moreover, I thought it impossible for someone who had been crucified to rise and roll that stone.

The evidence for Jesus’ resurrection was proven by the records of His appearances to multiple disciples and before many people after His resurrection. However, the most decisive reason is the fact that all the disciples, except Judas, risked their lives to preach the gospel after Jesus’ resurrection. Faced with the utterly common-sense explanation that no one would give up their life to uphold a lie, Lee Strobel seemed to be brought to his knees. Ultimately, seeing that all the disciples except the Apostle John were martyred, it is clear they were certain witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection and thus proclaimed that truth. I too recall a memory from the past: after praying inside the garden tomb, on my way out, I saw the dazzling sunlight shining through the clouds and imagined the moment Jesus emerged from the tomb. Today, I rose at 4:30 a.m. and began the day with vigor.