All of the gospels were written after the resurrection. In fact, had the resurrection never occurred, I doubt very much if the gospels would have been written at all—or even if Jesus would be remembered today.

Of course, one could argue that the memory of Jesus would have lived on, simply by virtue of the wisdom he shared and his remarkable ability as a teacher. However, as scholars point out, most of what Jesus taught was not original to him. It was based on the prophets who had come before. He expanded their ideas, to be sure. But had he not been raised from the dead, it’s unlikely that the words of Jesus—in and of themselves—would still be recalled today.

Others might argue that the memory of Jesus would have lived on by virtue of his miracles. But, to be honest, rumors of miraculous feats were fairly common in Jesus’ day. There were many folks who reportedly performed miracles, and all of them have long since been forgotten. So it’s doubtful if Jesus would have been remembered strictly for that either.

Quite simply, the reason Jesus is known today is because of what took place on Easter. Otherwise, he would be only an obscure footnote in Jewish history—another messianic pretender who ended up being condemned by the religious community, ridiculed by the crowds, and abandoned even by his own followers.

Occasionally, someone will confide to me that, while they appreciate the things Jesus said and admire what he did, they can’t quite bring themselves to believe that he actually rose from the dead.

But, you see, the only reason we have a record of what Jesus said and did is because of the resurrection. If he didn’t get up from the grave, then chances are that everything we know of his life would have remained buried, too!