We have just passed another celebration of Easter. The day Christ arose from the tomb, victorious over death and sin. And yet we still have so many who try to explain away the Resurrection, ignore it, call it a fictional story etc....
Well to those naysayers I must say that is a load of bull. Christ was seen by over 500 eyewitnesses after His death, burial, and resurrection. 500! If ever there were a criminal case with that many verified witnesses that would truly be open and shut.
In Acts Luke tells us that there are many infallible proofs. Many witnesses.
John 20:26-31KJV
Well to those naysayers I must say that is a load of bull. Christ was seen by over 500 eyewitnesses after His death, burial, and resurrection. 500! If ever there were a criminal case with that many verified witnesses that would truly be open and shut.
In Acts Luke tells us that there are many infallible proofs. Many witnesses.
Acts 1
King James Version (KJV)
1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight
Now we can go over the list of those who saw Him, Or we could look at the actions of those involved (the religious leaders and the roman soldiers) and prove it that way, but I am going to take another tack. There is sufficient evidence in the actions of the apostles that make the resurrection a certainty.
Here we have a group who 3 days before saw their Lord, Master and teacher killed and buried. They saw Him die in the most excruciating manner ever devised by man. They went home, they were sorrowing and fearful afraid of the retribution of said religious leaders. They were cowering totally forgetting that He promised to Rise again in 3 days, after all it had never been done before. Till this point in time resurrections had only been done by Christ ie Lazarus, and Jarius' daughter. In their viewpoint once you died you stayed dead. Perhaps they didn't quite believe that He raised the dead but that the persons He raised were swooning or asleep etc... So to question them in their lack of faith in this instance I think is unjustified. I mean after all we in the world today would probably be far more skeptical.
John 20:18-19
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Luke 24:1-16
24 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
8 And they remembered his words,
9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
10 It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.
13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
Something made these men no longer fearful. No longer afraid. They found a power and a resolve, a resolve so great that they died for it. The only thing that turns mice to men is a cause, a belief, a true purpose. They had their true purpose - Jesus had risen from the grave. They were cowering from the jews and feared for their lives. Then a scant 40 days later Peter preached a sermon and 3000 were saved.
Acts 2:38-41
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Only one thing could have accounted for the turn around. they saw Christ, they talked with Him. He renewed their strength and their purpose. He is God. Alive yesterday, today and forever at the right hand of the Father.
Christ died, His disciples saw Him die, saw Him buried. They were afraid and dejected. Then they went out and preached, suffered and died for Him. Only one thing could have caused their hearts to bolster. They had seen the Lord.
3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
8 And they remembered his words,
9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
10 It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.
13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
Something made these men no longer fearful. No longer afraid. They found a power and a resolve, a resolve so great that they died for it. The only thing that turns mice to men is a cause, a belief, a true purpose. They had their true purpose - Jesus had risen from the grave. They were cowering from the jews and feared for their lives. Then a scant 40 days later Peter preached a sermon and 3000 were saved.
Acts 2:38-41
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Only one thing could have accounted for the turn around. they saw Christ, they talked with Him. He renewed their strength and their purpose. He is God. Alive yesterday, today and forever at the right hand of the Father.
Christ died, His disciples saw Him die, saw Him buried. They were afraid and dejected. Then they went out and preached, suffered and died for Him. Only one thing could have caused their hearts to bolster. They had seen the Lord.
John 20:26-31KJV
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
There you have it. Christ knew there were to be many who would not see but would believe. Those who saw Him after the Resurrection believed even till awful deaths and martyrdom, and there are those of us who have never seen yet believe. We are blessed for our faith, Can we do any less than these men?
The 4 gospels were written so that we might believe. They were wrote by men who lived it, who saw it.
The naysayers who reject it, were they there? No. What proof do they have? none. Yet they would have us believe they know far more than the eyewitness accounts, More than those who saw the Resurrected Lord.
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