Every once in a while, Easter falls on April Fool’s Day (most recently in 2018; next time will be 2029). “That is perfect,” some will say, implying that only a ‘fool’ would believe someone could rise from the dead. Lee Strobel (1952- ) would have been of that opinion when he was a young man, working as an investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune. He was an outspoken atheist, and when his wife Leslie became a Christian, he was not happy. So, he decided to put his investigative skills to work in order to show her that she was a fool. All he had to do, he thought, was to prove that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a true story and the whole Christian faith would come tumbling down. He was right about that. Paul said that very same thing in I Corinthians 15:14: “If Christ has not been raised our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”
“But Christ has indeed been raised,” Paul went on to say in verse 20.
Lee Strobel didn’t think so, and set out to prove that the whole Christian faith was based on a fraud. He thought it would take about a weekend for someone with his skills to do that. He was wrong. Strobel did what few people take the time and effort to do– he started to look into the evidence. At first, it was in an effort to prove that the resurrection did not happen. But he soon came to realize that the more evidence he found, the more difficult it became to prove his case. For a long time, he remained firm in his conviction that the story was false, focusing on his goal to disprove it. But he was honest enough to keep looking, even when the evidence challenged his convictions and put many obstacles in the way of his goal. Finally, he started to reconsider his original beliefs. He began to be convinced, against his will, of the truth of his resurrection. After two years of searching and studying, Lee Strobel changed his mind and put his faith in Jesus Christ as his resurrected Lord and Savior. He has since written several books making the case for the truth of the Christian faith.
In the following video, Lee Strobel very briefly summarizes the main points of the historical evidence that changed his mind (three minutes):
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For a longer account of Lee Strobel’s fascinating story, and why he changed his mind, you may view this video (40 minutes):
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In 2017 a movie was made about Lee Strobel’s conversion (available for rent on Amazon Prime, or can be viewed for free on Pure Flix). You may view the trailer of “The Case for Christ” here:
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To read several more Emailmeditations by and about Lee Strobel, type his name into the search bar of this website. For more, an internet search of his name will lead you to many excellent articles and videos; including his own website: https://leestrobel.com/
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II Peter 1:16 — We did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Romans 10:9 — If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Luke 24:1-8 — On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words.
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Lord, I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.
–Mark 9:24
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