Easter 2018 Evidence That Stands
About a week ago, I was ready to leave the LivRite Gym to come home when a guy I have seen and said “Hi” to many times asked if he could talk to me a few minutes. I think this guy has recently either come to Christ himself or recommitted his life. He explained that he had a friend who says he is an atheist and doesn’t believe in God or the Bible. I said that is more common today than in the past. There was a recent study in 2017 that concludes that roughly one-quarter (26 percent) of Americans likely do not believe in God.[1] I shared with him a couple books that I knew of that were very helpful to me. One was Know What You Believe by Paul E. Little and the other Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell. With fewer people growing up in church, taught or instructed in the Bible and discipled to follow Jesus, it is little wonder this is true. Because of the internet, a lot of questioning of the Scriptures and Jesus’ reality has arisen. This is why it is important we know what we believe and why we believe it. It is really sad that many liberal-thinking professors have put their arguments out there. They can use 50¢ words that sound intelligent but are not really based on sound information. Josh McDowell was an atheist who set out to prove the resurrection was a hoax only to discover the truth himself. Listen to this short conversation between Josh and his son on the release last year of an updated version of Evidence That Demands A Verdict.
Video Clip: Josh McDowell--The Resurrection became the strongest thing that led me to Christ!
LUK 24:44-49 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 "And you are witnesses of these things. 49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
Jesus Resurrection Fulfilled the Scriptures
For our redemption to be sure and to do what God required concerning sin it was necessary for all Scripture to be fulfilled. How awesome and encouraging to hear the many promises about the Messiah fulfilled in what happened to Jesus.
Psalm 22:14-18 (NLT) My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. 15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. 16 My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. 17 I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat. 18 They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.
David wrote his psalms around 1000 BC. Approximately 1000 years before Jesus fulfilled these Messianic prophecies. That is mind boggling.
We cannot comprehend the Scriptures unless Jesus opens our understanding.
Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples, He opened their eyes. We think we see but until He reveals things to us, we do not truly understand. I had thought I had really repented and been sorry for My sins but when He gives a "Spirit of Repentance" I see what my sin did to Him and others and I grieve, loathing even the garment tainted with sin. I have learned to hate the very pleasure of sin.
It Was Necessary For Christ To Suffer For Our Sins.
LUK 24:46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer…
There was a price to be paid, an awful price—the life of God’s only son and He willingly gave it. It was not fair that the sinless One should have to die and suffer such anguish and pain, but it had to happen. We do not understand how giving man a choice mandates allowing suffering in the world, we do not understand fully why Jesus had to die, but according to the scriptures, He had to do it! It was our sin that put Him there, how we should appreciate what He did. Every detail of the Scripture means something. Jesus was the Lamb of God who became the sacrifice for our sins. As Julie mentioned last week, Jesus actually entered Jerusalem at the exact some time the sacrificial lambs were brought in for the Passover observance. His blood shed on the cross made it possible for our sins to be forgiven once for all.
It was necessary for Christ to rise from the dead the third day.
LUK 24:46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to... rise from the dead the third day,
Poem: Life Is Stronger
Tomb, [you shall] not hold Him longer;
Death is strong, but Life is stronger;
Stronger than the dark, the light;
Stronger than the wrong, the right;
Faith and Hope triumphant say,
Christ will rise on Easter Day. - Phillips Brooks
This is the great confirmation of our faith. Jesus said, "I will rise the third day." If He did not come out of that grave, He was not who he said he was. If He did not have the power to come back to life, He was an impostor and not truly the Son of God. Paul said, in 1 Cor. 15:12-23: Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming.
Paul makes so clear how imperative it was that Christ rose from the dead the third day. No resurrection, no forgiveness. No resurrection, dead have perished. No resurrection, we who have served Him are most pitiable because what we have suffered to preach Christ is in vain. Everything hinges on this resurrection!
Vs. 20 But Now Christ Is Risen From The Dead...!!!
Why We Believe Jesus Rose from the Dead
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, the Christian faith is a foolish fantasy. However, if the resurrection of Christ did occur, it confirms His life, message, and atoning work. It is the basis of our hope of life beyond the grave. Christ is alive, and the evidence is overwhelming. Here are seven of the reasons we can be so sure given by Kurt DeHaan.
1. Jesus predicted His resurrection (Matt. 16:21; Mark 9:9-10; John 2:18-22).
2. The Old Testament prophesied it (Psalm 16:10; compare Acts 2:25-31; 13:33-37).
3. The tomb was empty and the grave clothes vacant. If those who opposed Christ wished to silence His disciples, all they had to do was produce a body, but they could not (John 20:3-9).
4. Many people saw the resurrected Christ. They looked on His face, touched Him, heard His voice, and saw Him eat (Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 24:13-39; John 20:11-29; John 21:1-9; Acts 1:6-11; 1 Cor. 15:3-8).
5. The lives of the disciples were revolutionized. Though they fled and even denied Christ at the time of His arrest, they later feared no one in their proclamation of the risen Christ (Matt. 26:56, 69-75).
6. The resurrection was the central message of the early church. The church grew with an unwavering conviction that Christ had risen and was the Lord of the church (Acts 4:33; 5:30-32; Rom. 5:24).
7. Men and women today testify that the power of the risen Christ has transformed their lives. We know that Jesus is alive not only because of the historical and biblical evidence but also because He has miraculously touched our lives. --Kurt E. DeHaan
Billy Graham on the Resurrection: We look back to 1966 when Billy Graham was preaching in Greenville about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.[2] Christ is Alive, He is a living Savior!—Billy Graham
Maybe doubt and unbelief have held you captive from yielding to Christ. Maybe chains of sin, shame and failure have help you. I am here to tell you today, He is alive! He has defeated the devil and He can and will set you free if you simply put your trust in him. It is a choice today. Choose Him and choose life! Choose Him and find true victory and freedom that is possible nowhere else!
How many atheists are there? By Will Gervais Maxine Najle, May 31, 2017, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/way-more-americans-may-be-atheists-than-we-thought/. Downloaded 03/28/2018.
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hkBn8_QsFk, Downloaded 03/28/2018