The Police And The Resurrection
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, December 16, 2025 (Donate)
After an event where I spoke on the relevance of Genesis, a
man stood first in a long line to talk to me. He loved what I said about
Genesis, but as the conversation continued, I found that he denied the New
Testament.
He kept saying he loved who Jesus was, and held Him as a
great prophet, but he couldn’t get behind the books that followed the four
Gospel accounts—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. He told me he didn’t believe
Paul for instance. He tried to get me to deny the New Testament as well, which
I didn’t—though I was exceptionally kind in the conversation.
Nevertheless, as the discussion progressed, he would make
claims and I would cite Scripture—especially from the four Gospel accounts with
which he claimed to agree. And then it happened. As we were talking about the
nature of who Christ was and what He did for us, I realized that he didn’t
believe the four Gospel accounts that he previously professed to believe.
When we got to the resurrection, he went ballistic—he
aggressively got in my face, threatened me, and used an explicative. He flatly
denied the resurrection of Christ. This obviously goes against the four Gospel accounts! Bear in mind there was a huge aghast crowd here
listening intently while waiting in a long line.
I knew the event had a couple of police officers and I
knew they were positioned up the steps behind me about 20-25 feet. I immediately
said, “this conversation is over, I need security”. I immediately turned and rushed
up the steps and darted over to the police.
When I got to the two officers mere seconds later, I turned
around the man was right there—in my face again—he had charged after me. One
officer stepped between us to restrain him and pull him aside.
They calmed him and then escorted him out the door where he
finally left. My heart was beating! I went back to a huge line of people and
met some great people that day. But that was the only time I’ve had to call for
security with a guest.
The Resurrection
Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium
came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and
dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. (Acts 14:19,
NKJV)
The resurrection is not just an important doctrine—it is vital for salvation (e.g., Romans 10:9). I had a brief taste of what the Apostles and prophets endured—many of them were sadly put to death for their defense of God’s Word and the resurrection.
Paul, in Acts 14:19, was stoned, and they thought they killed him but he survived. This man that I had a lengthy conversation held with fervor the religion of Judaism—or a variation of it. So it is essentially the same religion the Apostles dealt with in first century Israel. Who would have thought that bringing the good news of Jesus Christ would be have such bitterness and hatred. Jesus said:
“If the world hates you, you know
that it hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world
would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out
of the world, therefore the world hates you. (John 15:18, NKJV)
When it comes to the resurrection, it is pivotal. There are those
who believe in Jesus Christ, who is the Creator and the Son of God, who took on
flesh and became a man and died on the cross and subsequently resurrected. And
there are those who deny the resurrection or the biblical nature of Christ. There
are eternal consequences to these beliefs.
Thus, a defense of the resurrection for any believer should be
warranted—you never know who is going to be standing in line that needs to hear
it. I laid the foundation for the Gospel with the man who came to my talk—and in
the talk itself, he heard the Gospel—including Jesus' resurrection. But it was as though a veil was over his
eyes so as to blind him from understanding it.
But their minds were blinded. For
until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old
Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this
day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one
turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (2 Corinthians 3:14-16, NKJV)
Even though he got heated, I hope our discussion about the resurrection prompted this
man to study the Bible—particularly the Gospel accounts and the rest of the New
Testament. I pray that the Holy Spirit open his eyes to the truth of what Jesus
did (1 Corinthians 12:3).
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is essential and defensible.
Bodie Hodge, Ken
Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various
churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers
in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding
news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight
Council.
Bodie
launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal
website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken
on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
