Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ REALLY true, or is it fake news?
We’ve heard of “resurrections”— people declared dead who came back to life—but even Lazarus died again. Jesus, however, was unmistakably dead. Roman soldiers could not afford to mistake a swoon for death. The friends who prepared his body also knew death. Jesus. Was. Dead.
And then—NOT DEAD.
After He rose, His disciples saw him walk through walls, touched him, watched him eat. He was seen in the city by 500 people.
Chuck Colson
Would all these witnesses lie?
Chuck Colson said, “Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world, and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years?
If the resurrection is true, it has to mean that Jesus was, indeed, God in flesh, God Almighty, GREAT I AM. The whole, huge sin problem, from Adam and Eve to this day, got zapped by Jesus’ death on the cross and ratified by His resurrection. The gateway to Life Forever swung open to all who side with Jesus.
Are you among that vast host who have been drawn by the God who knows each of us, inside and out? Or are you clinging to the tattered cloak of self-improvement?
Are you inside the Gate? Or are you standing outside—with fingers crossed?
“Christian conversion is the most radical change process in human history…. It is the refashioning of our entire being.” (David G. Benner)
Here are people whose radical conversions impacted the entire world.
- Saul, a rabid Jewish terrorist whose abrupt meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus led to the worldwide spread of Christianity through letters that make up nearly a quarter of the New Testament.
John Newton
- Constantine, a Roman emperor whose conversion legitimized Christianity throughout the entire Empire.
- John Newton, a slave trader whose changed life brought him to write the soul-altering song, Amazing Grace.
- Thousands today risk prison, torture, even death by refusing to deny Jesus.
IS JESUS’ RESURRECTION TRUE? YES! And millions in today’s world hail each other with these words:
CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN, INDEED!
What is your personal proof of the Resurrection? What made you believe? I love hearing your stories.
C S Lewis’ book Mere Christianity which I believe I was led to buy and read by the Holy Spirit. By the time I finished reading it I knew in my heart that the core of Christianity was true with a capital T.
Piercing questions here. This struck me especially: “Are you among that vast host who have been drawn by the God who knows each of us, inside and out? Or are you clinging to the tattered cloak of self-improvement?
Are you inside the Gate? Or are you standing outside—with fingers crossed?”
With the coronavirus coverage, surely millions of those standing outside are looking at Easter differently this year and making the best decision they could ever make.
As God would have it, a few hours ago I listened to the Acts 13 sermon you referenced in your email while I was exercising! I grew up as secular and science-oriented as the people you depicted in your email, assuming the theory of evolution was a fact that meant I didn’t have to bother studying the Bible or any religion. Christians and fellow students at Hollywood High, however, got me thinking otherwise when they exposed me to real Bible verses, such as those on the resurrection. The information came across as sober eyewitness testimony–hardly the fanciful stuff I expected.
Here are the core reasons why I am a believer:
First, take any calling in life- sports, music, art or acting for example and in each of these you have the great ones, those who distinguish themselves and stand above all the rest. Who was the greatest baseball hitter of all time? Some say Ted Williams, others Babe Ruth, Ken Brett or Rod Carew or perhaps Big Pappi. They call Tom Brady the greatest quarterback of all time but depending on what statistics you use you can come up with other candidates like Drew Brees or Joe Montana. My point is that in every case the greatest of them all is always debatable. Jesus Christ is the only man on this earth that had no equivalent rival. You can talk all you want about all the kings in history or the heads of other religions like Buddha or Mohammed but no one human being has transformed the entire world civilization as radically and as profoundly as Jesus Christ. Even the calendar we all use every day begins with his birth.
Secondly, I find the gospel so preposterous, so improbable, so mind bending and even in some ways so ridiculous that it could not possibly be a work of fiction. Like there is no way you could make this stuff up. If you were going to invent a new religion with the intent of attracting a bunch of followers you would never want your principal text to look anything like the Holy Bible. Are you kidding me?
Lastly, I am a classical thinker and I thirst to make sense of the world around me and to seek out my purpose. As a science minded guy I find that in the final analysis Jesus Christ is the only thing that makes sense. The Scientific Method is a wonderful gift that our creator has given us but it does not answer the most fundamental question of all- Why are we here? The teachings of Jesus provide the answer.
There are many other ‘reassurances’ that support my belief but one clue is particularly noteworthy and that is the way atheists make assertions with total confidence only to be proven wrong. In my personal experience the best scientists are generally believers in a higher power. I could give many examples but the climate change skeptic community is loaded with believers and the alarmist folk are most often non-believers. The cosmologist Carl Sagan is just one example. I loved this guy and his program “Cosmos” was enthralling. But as brilliant as he was he made predictions that failed to materialize. Sagan was an avowed atheist. Bill Nye is not a real scientist but he has been anointed as one by the media. An atheist who routinely mocks God he has been wrong about so many times I can’t keep track of his mendacious exploits. No one perverts science like the science guy. Anyway that’s a snapshot of my journey to faith. “Walk not by what is seen but by what is unseen.” What a novel idea!
Wow Ellie, this was powerful. The opening gotcha. The item from Colson (which I just sent out on several whatsapp), and the follow through. Bob
Thanks again Ellie for telling the Gospel story in a way to challenge our thinking. He is Risin Indeed and No one can steal our Easter. Alleluia!!!
Someone asked me once if I really believed in Jesus and I answered, ‘No’. I don’t believe in Jesus. I KNOW Jesus. Belief gives the option of denial but you can’t deny someone you KNOW. I know Jesus and that’s all I need to know.