The Resurrection
Read Luke 9:21-22; Luke 18:31-34; Luke 24:1-49 As the trial came to a close, the judge said to his friend, “While I find you guilty as charged, I want you to know how much I still love you.” He then stepped down off the bench, walked over to the bailiff, and wrote a personal check for $1,000,000 to satisfy in full the penalty of his friend.
So it is with God. As man rebelled against him, an insurmountable chasm separated man from his maker because of his sin. While the debt had to be paid somehow, God sent his only son to suffer and die a horrible death on the cross for our sin. Our debt has been paid.
The capstone of the Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus had told his disciples several times that he would suffer death and be raised to life again. But at the time they had no idea what he was talking about.
The resurrection was not just some hallucination or a spiritual resurrection, as some have claimed. The Bible records that Jesus appeared in the flesh to at least 515 people. There are over two dozen appearance accounts in Scripture. If you would like to look them all up, here they are: Matthew 28:1-8, 9-10, 16-20; Mark 16:1-8, 9-11, 12-13, 14, 15-18; Luke 24:1-12, 13-32, 34, 36-43, 50-51; John 20:1-10, 11-18, 19-25, 26-31; John 21:1-14; Acts 1:3-9; Acts 9:1-19; Acts 22:3-16; Acts 26:9-18; 1 Corinthians 15:5, 6, 7; 1 Corinthians 9:1. There is no doubt, even among skeptical scholars, that many people absolutely believed that they saw the risen Jesus in bodily form. Their complete confidence in this event turned the frightened bunch of forlorn disciples into the force that propelled Christianity throughout the known world in just a few years.
People have tried to explain away this seminal event of history. But the best legal minds in history have studied the testimony of the eye witnesses and have found them to be convincing.
Read Acts 2:24; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Corinthians 15:1-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:10; 1 Peter 1:3.
The importance of this event to your own life cannot be understated. It confirms who Jesus is, and validates his mission. Christ’s resurrection provides hope for eternal life. No matter who you are, or what you have done, you have hope for eternal life through the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.
So it is with God. As man rebelled against him, an insurmountable chasm separated man from his maker because of his sin. While the debt had to be paid somehow, God sent his only son to suffer and die a horrible death on the cross for our sin. Our debt has been paid.
The capstone of the Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus had told his disciples several times that he would suffer death and be raised to life again. But at the time they had no idea what he was talking about.
The resurrection was not just some hallucination or a spiritual resurrection, as some have claimed. The Bible records that Jesus appeared in the flesh to at least 515 people. There are over two dozen appearance accounts in Scripture. If you would like to look them all up, here they are: Matthew 28:1-8, 9-10, 16-20; Mark 16:1-8, 9-11, 12-13, 14, 15-18; Luke 24:1-12, 13-32, 34, 36-43, 50-51; John 20:1-10, 11-18, 19-25, 26-31; John 21:1-14; Acts 1:3-9; Acts 9:1-19; Acts 22:3-16; Acts 26:9-18; 1 Corinthians 15:5, 6, 7; 1 Corinthians 9:1. There is no doubt, even among skeptical scholars, that many people absolutely believed that they saw the risen Jesus in bodily form. Their complete confidence in this event turned the frightened bunch of forlorn disciples into the force that propelled Christianity throughout the known world in just a few years.
People have tried to explain away this seminal event of history. But the best legal minds in history have studied the testimony of the eye witnesses and have found them to be convincing.
Read Acts 2:24; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Corinthians 15:1-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:10; 1 Peter 1:3.
The importance of this event to your own life cannot be understated. It confirms who Jesus is, and validates his mission. Christ’s resurrection provides hope for eternal life. No matter who you are, or what you have done, you have hope for eternal life through the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.