When we examine the resurrection account in Matthew 27-28, we encounter something remarkable: a story so well-documented, so thoroughly witnessed, and so radically transformative that it has withstood two thousand years of scrutiny.

Consider the circumstances. After Jesus died, His body was placed in a tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man who had become a disciple. The religious leaders, remembering Jesus’s prediction that He would rise after three days, demanded that Pilate secure the tomb. They feared the disciples might steal the body and claim a resurrection. So Pilate provided guards, and they sealed the stone.

Yet on the third day, the tomb was empty.

The explanation offered by the religious authorities—that the disciples stole the body while guards slept—crumbles under examination. Would all the guards have fallen asleep on duty, knowing Roman law would execute them for such failure? Would timid disciples, who had fled in fear at Jesus’s arrest, suddenly become bold enough to overpower armed Roman soldiers? And most telling of all: would they then spend the rest of their lives proclaiming a lie, enduring poverty, persecution, and martyrdom for something they knew was false?

When people lie, they do it to gain something—wealth, power, or honor. The apostles’ testimony led them to the exact opposite. That only makes sense if they really believed He had risen.

When Skeptics Become Believers

Throughout history, brilliant minds have set out to disprove the resurrection, only to be convinced by the evidence they uncovered.

Simon Greenleaf, a founder of Harvard Law School whose writings on evidence became the standard for American lawyers, was challenged by students to apply his rigorous legal standards to the Gospel accounts. After thorough examination, he concluded the testimonies were reliable and would hold up in any court of law. He converted to Christianity and published his legal argument for the reliability of the Gospels.

Lee Strobel, an award-winning investigative journalist, treated the resurrection as a cold case. He spent nearly two years interviewing leading scholars attempting to debunk Christianity, only to find the historical evidence so overwhelming that it demanded belief.

C.S. Lewis, the brilliant Oxford scholar and staunch atheist, investigated the historical and philosophical foundations of Christianity. He famously realized that based on the evidence, Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or exactly who He claimed to be—leaving no room for Him to be merely a “good moral teacher.”

Charles Colson, who served time in prison for his role in Watergate, observed: “Watergate embroiled twelve of the most powerful men in the world, and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me twelve apostles could keep a lie for forty years? Absolutely impossible.”

The evidence is solid. The history is secure. But evidence demands a verdict from every single one of us.

Four Ways to Respond

Matthew’s Gospel presents four distinct responses to the resurrection, each representing how people today might react to this earth-shattering truth.

The Women: Fear and Great Joy

The women who discovered the empty tomb experienced what Scripture calls “fear and great joy.” This wasn’t terror—it was profound awe mixed with overwhelming hope. They recognized they were standing in the presence of divine power, but it was power motivated by love, not condemnation. Jesus had come not as a foe to condemn but as a friend to save. Everything they had feared in life, He had overcome for them.

This is the fear of the Lord—a reverent wonder that draws us closer to God in worship rather than pushing us away.

The Chief Priests: Willful Blindness

When guards reported what happened at the tomb, the religious leaders didn’t investigate. They had already decided the resurrection couldn’t be true, so they refused to even consider the evidence. Instead, they paid the guards to spread a manufactured lie.

They represent people whose minds are bolted shut—not by lack of proof, but by protective fear. If Jesus is alive, they’re no longer the ultimate authority. Driven by fear of losing control over their lives and influence over others, they suppress the truth and actively work to prevent anyone else from examining the evidence.

The Soldiers: Fear Without Joy

The guards experienced sheer, unadulterating terror. They shook and became like dead men. Unlike the women’s reverent awe mixed with joy, the soldiers felt only paralyzing dread.

They didn’t know Jesus. They hadn’t experienced His grace. When confronted with His raw, undeniable divine power, they feared for their lives—afraid of the angel, afraid of the Roman governor who would execute them for losing the body, afraid of the religious leaders.

Because they didn’t know God’s love, they assumed His power was there to punish them. So they took a bribe and lied to save themselves, choosing political protection over eternal truth.

But the resurrection proves that God didn’t come to condemn the world but to save it. Jesus didn’t rise from the grave to punish anyone—He rose to demonstrate His perfect love, a love that took our punishment on the cross so we never have to fear condemnation again.

The Disciples: Worshiping Through Doubts

Even after seeing the risen Christ, Matthew records that “some doubted.” Thomas famously refused to believe without physical proof, declaring he wouldn’t believe unless he could touch Jesus’s wounds.

Here’s what’s beautiful: Jesus wasn’t offended by Thomas’s doubts. A week later, Jesus intentionally went looking for Thomas, appeared to him, and said, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Jesus comes to doubters where they are. He invites us to “taste and see” that He is good—to experience His reality for ourselves. Doubt is a common human experience, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the story. Jesus invites questioners to reach out, to investigate, to come and see.

Your Response Today

The evidence is on the table. An empty tomb. Transformed lives. A movement that spread through the world faster than anyone expected, driven by people with no resources except their conviction that Jesus had risen from the dead.

The only question left is how you will respond.

Will you close your eyes to the truth because you’re afraid of losing control? Will you shrink back in fear, thinking God only wants to punish you? Will you respond with reverent awe and incredible joy, realizing Jesus came to save you?

Or maybe you’re right where Thomas was—wanting to believe but struggling with doubts. If that’s you, know this: Jesus isn’t offended by your questions. He’s stepping through the locked doors of your fear today, holding out His hands, and saying, “Come and see.”

You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to reach out.

He is alive. And He is inviting you into His story.