Ten Reasons to Believe that Christ Rose from the Dead

Ten Reasons to Believe that Christ Rose from the Dead

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[url=http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/ rtb/]http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/ rtb/[/url]

1. A Public Execution Assured His Death During the Jewish Feast of
Passover, Jesus was swept away by anangry crowd into a Roman hall of
justice. As He stood before Pilate, the governor of Judea, religious
leaders accused Jesus of claiming to be the king of the Jews. The crowd
demanded His death. Jesus was beaten, whipped, and sentenced to a public
execution. On a hill outside of Jerusalem, He was crucified between two
criminals. Brokenhearted friends and mocking enemies shared in His
deathwatch. As the Sabbath neared, Roman soldiers were sent to finish the
execution. To quicken death, they broke the legs of the two criminals. But
when they came to Jesus they did not break His legs, because from experience
they knew He was already dead. As a final precaution, however, they thrust
a spear into His side. It would take more than resuscitation for Him to
ever trouble them again.

2. A High Official Secured the Gravesite The next day, religious leaders
again met with Pilate. They said Jesus had predicted He would rise in 3
days. To assure that the disciples could not conspire in a resurrection
hoax, Pilate ordered the official seal of Rome to be attached to the tomb to
put graverobbers on notice. To enforce the order, soldiers stood guard. Any
disciple who wanted to tamper with the body would have had to get by them,
which wouldn't have been easy. The Roman guards had good reason for staying
alert--the penalty for falling asleep while on watch was death.

3. In Spite of Guards, the Grave was Found Empty On the morning after the
Sabbath, some of Jesus' followers went to the grave to anoint His body. But
when they arrived, they were surprised at what they found. The huge stone
that had been rolled into place over the entrance to the tomb had been
moved, and Jesus' body was gone. As word got out, two disciples rushed to
the burial site. The tomb was empty except for Jesus' burial wrappings,
which were lying neatly in place. In the meantime, some of the guards had
gone into Jerusalem to tell the Jewish officials that they had fainted in
the presence of a supernatural being that rolled the stone away. And when
they woke up, the tomb was empty. The officials paid the guards a large sum
of money to lie and say that the disciples stole the body while the soldiers
slept. They assured the guards that if the report of the missing body got
back to the governor they would intercede on their behalf.

4. Many People Claimed to Have Seen Him Alive About AD 55, the apostle Paul
wrote that the resurrected Christ had been seen by Peter, the 12 apostles,
more than 500 people (many of whom were still alive at the time of his
writing), James, and himself (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). By making such a
public statement, he gave critics a chance to check out his claims for
themselves. Inaddition, the New Testament begins its history of the
followers of Christ by saying that Jesus "presented Himself alive after His
suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by [the apostles] during
forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God"
(Acts 1:3).

5. His Apostles Were Dramatically Changed When one of Jesus' inner circle
defected and betrayed Him, the other apostles ran for their lives. Even
Peter, who earlier had insisted that he was ready to die for his teacher,
lost heart and denied that he even knew Jesus. But the apostles went
through a dramatic change. Within a few weeks, they were standing face to
face with the ones who had crucified their leader. Their spirit was like
iron. They became unstoppable in their determination to sacrifice
everything for the one they called Savior and Lord. Even after they were
imprisoned, threatened, and forbidden to speak in the name of Jesus, the
apostles said to the Jewish leaders, "We ought to obey God rather than men"
(Acts 5:29). After they were beaten for disobeying the orders of the Jewish
council, these once-cowardly apostles "did not cease teaching and preaching
Jesus as the Christ" (Acts 5:42).

6. Witnesses Were Willing to Die for Their Claims History is full of
martyrs. Countless men and women have died for their beliefs. For that
reason, it is not that significant to point out that the first disciples
were willing to suffer and die fortheir faith. But it is significant that
while many will die for what they believe to be the truth, few if any will
die for what they know to be a lie. That psychological fact is important
because the disciples of Christ did not die for deeply held beliefs about
which they could have been honestly mistaken. They died for their claims to
have seen Jesus alive and well after His resurrection. They died for their
claim that Jesus Christ had not only died for their sins but that He had
risen bodily from the dead to show that He was like no other spiritual
leader who had ever lived.

7. Jewish Believers Changed Their Day of Worship The Sabbath day of rest
and worship was basic to the Jewish way of life. Any Jew who did not honor
the Sabbath was guilty of breaking the law of Moses. Yet Jewish followers
of Christ began worshiping with Gentile believers on a new day. The first
day of the week, the day on which they believed Christ had risen from the
dead, replaced the Sabbath. For a Jew, it reflected a major change of life.
The new day, along with the Christian conversion rite of baptism, declared
that those who believed Christ had risen from the dead were ready for more
than a renewal of Judaism. They believed that the death and resurrection of
Christ had cleared the way for a new relationship with God. The new way was
based not on the law, but on the sin- bearing, life-giving help of a
resurrected Savior.

8. Although it was Unexpected, it was Clearly Predicted The disciples were
caught off guard. They expected their Messiah to restore the kingdom to
Israel. Their minds were so fixed on the coming of a messianic political
kingdom that they didn't anticipate the events essential to the salvation of
their souls. They must have thought Christ was speaking in symbolic
language when He kept saying over and over that it was necessary for Him to
go to Jerusalem to die and be resurrected from the dead. Coming from one
who spoke in parables, they missed the obvious until after it was all over.
In the process, they also overlooked the prophet Isaiah's prediction of a
suffering servant who would bear the sins of Israel, being led like a lamb
to the slaughter, before God "prolong[ed] His days" (Isaiah 53:10).

9. It was a Fitting Climax to a Miraculous Life While Jesus hung on a Roman
cross, crowds mocked Him. He helped others, but could He help Himself? Was
the miracle suddenly coming to an end? It seemed like such an unexpected
ending for someone who began His public life by turning water into wine.
During His 3-year ministry, He walked on water; healed the sick; opened
blind eyes, deaf ears, and tongue-tied mouths; restored crippled limbs; cast
out demons; stilled a violent storm; and raised the dead. He asked
questions wise men couldn't answer. He taught profound truths with the
simplest of comparisons. And He confronted hypocrites with words that
exposed their coverup. If all this was true, should we be surprised that
His enemies didn't have the last word?

10. It Fits the Experience of Those who Trust Him The apostle Paul wrote,
"If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who
raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit who dwells inyou" (Romans 8:11). This was the experience
of Paul, whose heart was
dramatically changed by the resurrected Christ. It is also the experience
of people all over the world who have "died" to their old ways so that
Christ can live His life through them. This spiritual power is not evident
in those who try to add belief in Christ to their old life. It is seen only
in those who are willing to "die" to their old life to make room for the
rule of Christ. It is apparent only in those who respond to the
overwhelming evidence for Christ's resurrection by acknowledging His
lordship in their heart.

Dean Masters, owner of the Masters List