Written By: Kyle Sullivan | Northeast Regional Coordinator

I rarely see the inside of a barrel, and even rarer that I make it out. So when it does happen, and there are witnesses or better, photo evidence, that is a pretty miraculous event for me and worth celebrating!

Jesus told His disciples in Mark 9:31: “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And when He is killed, after three days He will rise.”

I am not equating getting barreled to Jesus rising from the grave. What I am saying is that Jesus predicting His arrest, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, and then it happening is a miracle above all others! Moreover, Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection were witnessed by so many.

At the gravesite following Jesus’ death, we read in Matthew 28:5-7: “But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.’” 

They did see Him!

Paul lays out this evidence for the resurrected Jesus and writes in 1 Corinthians 15:3-6:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”

It’s been jokingly said, “If no one saw the barrel, it didn’t happen.” We want to see proof of the claim. The early church, under intense pressure, never denied the claim that Jesus rose just as He promised.

He came out! A claim that is still changing lives today, and the evidence backs it up.