Evidence: The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid. ~Oxford University Press~

We often hear the word “evidence” as it pertains to news stories, crime investigations and court cases. Even with very advanced forensics and crime labs sometimes a suspect will be acquitted due to “lack of evidence”.

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On Easter Sunday morning we will be looking at how much evidence it took for those in John 20 to believe in the resurrection of Jesus.

The empty tomb and linen cloths were enough for John to declare his belief in the risen Christ.  No other evidence was required.

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There are those who believed upon hearing  Mary of Magnela at first she was talking to the gardener.  She had spent so much time with Jesus she knew his voice.  The voice of Jesus was all she needed.

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Then there was those who believed upon seeing.  Jesus showed the disciples his hands and side, and “the disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord”.  They are those who believed, but only when confirmed with their own eyes.

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Then there was Thomas who declared he would not believe until he himself put his finger in the nail scars and his hand in Jesus’s pierced side , he would not believe.

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For those witnesses of the evidence of the empty tomb and seeing Jesus alive, there was such a powerful impact that they turned the world upside down.  And for those of us in 2016, there is a blessing for us who have not seen, yet have believed.

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