Testifying to the Resurrection (Acts 4:33)

Acts 4:33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.

The resurrection was the quintessential proof that Jesus (and His message) was from God.

John 2:18-21 Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
20The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21But the temple he had spoken of was his body. NIV
(Also: Matthew 26:61; 27:40; 27:63, Mark 14:58; 15:29)

Matthew 12:39-40 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” NIV (Also: Matthew 16:4 and Luke 11:16,29-32)

Mark 8:31-32 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32He spoke plainly about this… NIV

Mark 9:31 …He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” NIV

Although we may think of the message of forgiveness as the most important thing to communicate to others, it is only as important as it is true. The resurrection is what gives proof that the message of forgiveness is true. They testified, or gave witness, to what they had seen and experienced, and they did this with great power.

We must also be convinced of the truth of what we share. It is not enough that we like the message, find it comforting, or hope it is true. We must know its truth, and we should be able to communicate why we know it to be true.