Something to consider this Easter. He has risen! He has risen indeed! Here’s proof… Simply use logic. Archaeological discoveries continue to support the Bibles historical accuracy. After all, if you’re going to discount the Bible as a historical record, why believe any history book? Nonetheless, as we discover ancient ruins and lost settlements, we find that the Bible accurately describes these places. The Bible was written by men and were most often first-hand accounts of what occurred. Further, many of them were written by different men, at different times, at different locations and then discovered by different men, at different times, at different locations and yet, all support each other’s accounts. Non-biblical evidence for Jesus existence comes from the writings of Flavius Josephus, Cornelius Tacitus, Lucian of Samosata, and the Jewish Sanhedrin. Virtually every religion discusses Jesus. The empty tomb. Why was it empty? If you read anything about the Romans, you have to know that the soldiers would not have “fallen asleep” on their own and would have of course woken up as the stone, they had put in front of the tomb with great effort, was rolled away by grave robbers. The whole motivation of killing Jesus was to stop the idea that he was the Messiah. All the authorities would have had to do was to grab is body and bring it forth and that would have shut everyone up! “Someone stole Jesus body.” The Jews and Romans had no motive to steal the body. By Jesus being gone, this completely messed up their plans to have him simply go away and no longer be a threat. Christs apostles were too cowardly and would have had to overcome the Roman guards. Jesus burial cloths were left neatly folded inside, hardly the act of hurrying grave robbers. “The women and disciples went to the wrong tomb.” The women who found the tomb empty had earlier watched Jesus being laid away; they knew where the correct tomb was. Even if they had gone to the wrong tomb, the Sanhedrin could have produced the body from the right tomb to stop the resurrection stories. The fact the Gospel tells us that WOMEN were the first eyewitnesses! This is further proof that the Gospels are accurate historical records. If the accounts had been made up, no ancient author would have used women for witnesses to Christs resurrection. Women were second class citizens in Bible times; their testimony was not even allowed in court. If they were trying to make up a story and create a movement” they would have used men as eyewitnesses, not women. After the crucifixion, Jesus apostles hid behind locked doors, terrified they would be executed next. But something changed them from cowards to bold preachers. Anyone who understands human character knows people do not change that much without some major influence. A large crowd of more than 500 eyewitnesses saw the risen Jesus Christ at the same time. Most of these men and women were still alive when historical records talk about Jesus and his resurrection, about 55 A.D. The sighting all of a sudden stopped after the ascension of Jesus. The conversion of Paul records the most drastically changed life in the Bible. As Saul of Tarsus, he was an aggressive persecutor of the early church. When the risen Christ appeared to Paul on the Damascus Road, Paul became Christianitys most determined missionary. He endured five floggings, three beatings, three shipwrecks, a stoning, poverty, and years of ridicule. Finally the Roman emperor Nero had Paul beheaded because the apostle refused to deny his faith in Jesus. What could make a person willingly accept—even welcome—such hardships? Ten of the original apostles died as martyrs for Christ, as did the Apostle Paul. The hid after his crucifixion and suddenly, all of them, all at once, seemingly got courage? Why? What did they see? Use logic. They gave up everything, their families, their belongings and ultimately their lives. If they had not witnessed Jesus after his crucifixion, why? Why would they do these things? God bless and Happy Easter. He has risen.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 16:07:51 +0000