Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?

Stop smoking, eat a healthy diet, put on sunscreen, work out regularly, reduce stress; and so the list goes on, all the things we do to live a little longer. 

 

The only problem is, if we are lucky, it will only tack on a few years to our life, and then we die.  Guaranteed.  We all have an appointment with death, and no amount of healthy eating or exercise will change this.

 

So, what hope do we have?

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What if there was one person who overcame death?  What if someone actually physically died, and then rose right out of the grave?  Well, you say, that stuff only happens in movies. 

 

Normally, that is true. 

 

But what if there were eye witness accounts of someone rising from the dead.  And not just one or two witnesses, but hundreds.  What if these witnesses were so certain in what they saw, they would scatter all over the world telling others about this Man who died and rose again?  In fact, they were so certain in what they saw, many of them, would die telling others about it.  Proving, this was no fake story, it was the real deal.

 

The list of witnesses is profound. 

 

Witness #1

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 It starts with the most unlikely of characters, a woman from whom Jesus had previously cast out demons.  The kind of woman people in society had no time for, an outsider.  But when Jesus rose from the dead that Sunday morning, that was who He appeared to first.  You see Jesus cares more about every marginalized, cast out person, than trying to make a story that the paparazzi of the day will run with.  (Read John 20:11-16)

 

witness #2

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Then he appeared to two other women as they were walking back from the empty tomb, having been told by the angels that Jesus had risen.  (Read Matthew 28:8-10)

 

Witness #3

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Next, he appeared to eleven of his disciples, who were frightened, thinking they were looking at a ghost.  But his response was “touch me and see, for a spirt does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have”.  Proving to his followers, that He physically rose from the dead.  He was not just a ghost, but a real man.  (Read Luke 24:33-40)

 

Witness #4

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One of Jesus’ disciples, Thomas, was not present when he showed Himself to the other eleven disciples.  When he heard their stories about Jesus rising from the dead, he did not believe them.  He said, “unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe”.  Eight days later, guess what happened?  Jesus appeared to Thomas and said “See my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (Read John 20:25-27)

 

Witness #5 and beyond

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The Bible contains a letter, written by a man named Paul, several years after Jesus’ resurrection, to a group of Christians in a town called Corinth.  They had questions about the resurrection, and Paul tells the Corinthians “[Jesus] was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep”. (Read 1 Corinthians 15:6)  Think about this, Paul was telling his readers “out of the group of 500 people who saw Jesus, most of them are alive today, you can talk to them about what they saw, they will confirm what I am telling you is true”.

 

Maybe you are like Thomas, maybe you say, “I could never believe that!”  Our challenge to you is simple.  Read the above eyewitness testimonies in the Bible for yourself.  Study it like you really want to know the truth, Jesus said “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).  God has also said in His book the Bible “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

 

So, search for the truth like your life depends on it.

 

Because it does.