To answer this question one must systematically review the events of the resurrection and the claims made against it. Although this is something I plan to do in a thorough fashion in a future post, at this time I will seek to address this question with some preliminary structure that can set the stage for assurance in this historical event.

Firstly, we must begin with the Word of God spoken through Paul to understand the significance of this topic (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 12-20):

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”

“But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has …