The First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians clearly shows the resurrection of Christ (linked to our own resurrection on the last day), where we read:
“For I delivered to you first of all, what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and after that to the Eleven. Then he was seen by more than five hundred brethren at one time, many of whom are with us still, but some have fallen asleep. After that he was seen by James, then by all the apostles. And last of all, as by one born out of due time, he was seen by me” (1 Cor. 15:3-8).
If there were any reason whatsoever to deny the resurrection of Christ, certainly these men, years after Christ’s death, would not be claiming that they saw the risen Redeemer when they knew this claim would bring them persecution and death. In actual fact, the apostles with one exception gave their lives for this belief. Men do not die for a lie. Nor do they die for something uncertain, or something of which they are unsure.
The Gospels are no less clear. They tell us that the tomb was empty, the stone was rolled away, and that the soldiers were paid to say the apostles had stolen Christ’s body.
Further proof is given in the eleven appearances of Christ to different individuals and groups: to Mary Magdalene, to the pious women, to Saint Peter, to the disciples on the way to Emmaus, to all the apostles except Saint Thomas, to all of them with Thomas, to five apostles and two disciples at Tiberias, to eleven apostles in Galilee, to five hundred brethren together, to James, and to the eleven apostles in Jerusalem. Jesus not only appeared, He talked and ate to show that he was risen bodily.