Jesus' resurrection : A wicked lie . . . OR . . . the most important fact of history?
The Christian faith rests upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without the resurrection, the whole Christian faith comes tumbling down. How could we ask a savior to give us eternal life if he himself remains in the grave? Why trust a dead Savior? In his book He Walked Among Us, Josh McDowell wrote that "The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted upon the minds of humanity . . . OR . . . it is the most important fact of history."

If Jesus never rose, our faith is in vain. . .
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then He lied and the faith of Christians are in vain. However, if Christ did rise from the dead, then we must seriously take His claim when He said whoever believes in Him has eternal life, and whoever rejects Him is under God's wrath (John 3:36). The apostle Paul wrote, "And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain...And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." (1 Corinthians 15:14,17). If Christ never rose from the dead, the apostle Paul added, "we [Christians] are of all people most to be pitied." (1 Corinthians 15:19)

Where is the body?
Many argue Jesus never rose from the dead, but the fact remains that three days after His death, the tomb where Jesus lay was empty. If Jesus was not resurrected, then what happened to the body?

Maybe the tomb was not empty!
The Jewish authorities did not deny the fact of the empty tomb. If the tomb was not empty, then Jesus' body would still be in the tomb, and they would have shown His dead body to disprove the resurrection claim. Yet they never did. [It's worth noting that after burying Jesus, they even put Roman guards in front of the tomb, for fear someone may come to steal it].

Maybe Jesus' disciples (followers) stole the body!
Why would they? Even the disciples at first did not believe Jesus rose from the dead. They became unsure of their beliefs and feared for their own lives (Luke 22:61). When the disciples heard the report that Jesus rose from the dead, "they did not believe them" (Mark 16:13). For example, during the trial of Jesus, one of Jesus' disciples, Peter, three times denied even knowing Jesus. He was afraid that they would also kill him for having been a disciple.

Thomas, a disciple of Jesus said, "Unless I see the nailmarks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." (John 20:25) But later on [after the resurrection], something happened in the lives of these disciples that instantly changed them! The same Thomas who said he won't believe until he feels Jesus' nail-pierced hands was killed for proclaiming the resurrection! And Peter, who denied even knowing Jesus, was eventually crucified for his faith. The eleven disciples and hundreds of others were tortured, killed by sword, or stoned to death. Why did these disciples (who were scared and did not believe in the resurrection) eventually all abruptly changed their mind and were willing to die for their belief in the resurrection? What event could possibly explain this profound change in their lives? The answer is simple: They were eyewitnesses to the living, breathing body of Jesus Christ after His death!

If the disciples stole the body, they would have known the resurrection was a lie. Maybe there have been people who have died for something they believe to be true, but how many people do you personally know who have died for something they know to be a lie?

Who do you say that Jesus Christ is?
Jesus predicted that He would be raised from the dead. Only God has power over life and death, and Jesus' resurrection is an evidence that He is who He claimed to be. If you've already made up your mind that Christ did not resurrect from the dead, then:

Why were the disciples willing to die for something they knew to be a lie?

If Christ resurrected, then what?
Jesus' resurrection proved that He has overcome death and won the victory over sin for us. And because He rose from the dead, we have the hope of eternal life after death. If you go to Buddha's tomb, his body's there. If you go to Muhammad's tomb, his is also there. But if you go to Jesus' tomb, it's empty! If Jesus still remains in the grave, what good is a dead Savior? Other religions have leaders that still remain in the grave. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Christianity is the only religion that claims if its Founder never rose from the dead, then its entire belief is a lie. No other religion has ever made such claim and lived up to it.