A Real Jesus
C.Hayden
3-25-21
Hello everyone, you are reading this blog either before or after one of the highest of holy days in the Christian world. That Holy Day is Easter Sunday, also known as Resurrection Day, the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead to solidify our deliverance from sin and the grave. What a wonderful gift! And even though it is the greatest story ever told, it is not a fairy tale. A real Jesus came down to die on a real cross, buried and rose from a real grave, and is seated on a real throne at the right hand of our real and living Father God.
How do we know this? The evidence of the truth of God’s Word is backed up by the categories of real evidence that when put to the test, is literally undeniable (Read “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel, former avowed atheist, investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune, and later the managing editor of the Daily Herald). There is archaeological evidence, historical evidence, literary evidence, thematic consistency, first-hand witness accounts, second-hand investigative, internal cohesion and coherence, cross checked external evidence (other literary accounts), and strong prophetic evidence. And then there is the miracles witnessed that have never been unproven. Far more evidence exists than most scientific theories out there today.
But the greatest piece of evidence of all, the empty tomb (John 20). Jesus’ body was never, and has never, been found. The facts surrounding the Lord’s body is amazing. After being brought down from the cross, the Lord’s body was wrapped in cloth, much like a mummy might be, placed into Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb, sealed with a great unmovable stone and guarded by Roman soldiers. Yet, on the third day, the guards fell asleep, the stone was moved away, the napkin around the Lord’s head folded neatly, separated from the bloody body wrappings found elsewhere in the tomb (if thieves or the disciples did it, why risk being caught by taking the time to unwrap the body) with His body absolutely nowhere to be found…Except when He was found alive, not only by His 11 close disciples, but by approximately 500 other disciples who were willing to be imprisoned, exiled and martyred for the testimony that they saw Jesus after His crucifixion. People have been found innocent or guilty of murder by the testimony of only one witness. And questionable scientific theories have been adopted as fact by society on much less than the evidence that exists declaring the truth of God’s Word and Jesus’ resurrection. Pretty strong evidence, don’t you think?
Be blessed even more!
Pastor Chris
