Read all about it - Eternity
Did Jesus really come back from the dead? |
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If Jesus didn't come back from the dead then Christianity is not t.......... and we might as well go somewhere else. If Jesus did come back from the dead then He is ......... and Christianity is absolutely true. It's as simple as that and that's why so many false teachers are trying to get you to d............ the resurrection.
So here are the main reasons why Christians are sure Jesus is alive today and lives in their h............, promising our spirits new l........... with Him after our bodies are finished with.
"Now is Christ risen from the dead ... even so in Christ shall we all be made a............" 1 Corinthians 15:20,22
1. When Jesus died all his disciples ran away c..............d and afraid to die. There was no chance they would come back and risk their l............. for a d............ man who let them all down. Half of them would have gone back to fishing which was their former l...................
The people of Israel saw this happening for those three days. They would have thought, "That's
the last we'll see of those crazy dudes."
But none of this happened because they saw Jesus for ...... days after which He went up to h............ before their eyes.
This is what they said about their Master coming back from the dead:
Peter to the Jews: "You killed Him by letting sinful men crucify Him. But God raised Him from death, setting Him free from its p..............., because it was impossible that death could hold Him p......................" Acts 2:23-24
Peter in the temple: "God raised Him from death - we are w........................s to this." Acts 3:15
Peter to Captain Corneluis: "But God raised Him from death three days later and caused Him to appear, not to everyone, but only to the witnesses God has already c.................n..." Acts 10:40
Paul in Antioch: "But God raised Him from death, and for many days he appeared to those who had t........................ with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now witnesses for Him to the people of Israel." Acts 13:30-31 etc.
2. Paul was once a z......................s anti-Christian who was on assignment for the governing
S.....................n to round up Christians in Damascus when he was knocked off his h.......... and blinded by the risen Jesus who appeared from heaven in a vision.
Jesus said, "Saul, Saul! Why do you p............................e Me?
"Who are you, Lord?" Saul replied.
"I am Jesus whom you persecute," Jesus replied, after which He told Saul to see a Christian named Ananias in Damascus, who laid hands on his eyes and h..............d him (Acts 9).
Saul (later called Paul) had this to say about Jesus coming back from the dead:
"Just as Christ was raised from death by the g.....................s power of the Father, so also we
might live a new life." Romans 6:4
"He appeared to Peter and then to all twelve apostles. Then He appeared to more than five h............................ of His followers at once, most of whom are still alive... " 1 Corinthians 15:5-6
"It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me." Galatians 2:20
"For you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ through your f................... in the active power of God who raised Him from death." Colossians 2:12
We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we b............... that God will take back with Jesus those who have died believing in Him." 1 Thessalonians 4:14
3. The Old Testament p...........................d Jesus would rise from the dead:
Psalm 16:10: ..I have served you faithfully, and you will not abandon me to the world of the dead."
Psalm 30:2: "I cried to you for help, O Lord my God, and you healed me; you kept me from the g...............e."
Isaiah 53:9-12: "He was placed in a grave with those who are e..............., He was buried with the r........., even though He had never committed a c.................... or ever told a lie. ... He will see His descendants; He will live a long life, and through Him my purpose will succeed. After a life of suffering He will again have joy.. etc."
4. Jesus predicted He will rise again.
How many people do you know boast they will come back from the dead? You would call them nuts. Jesus told His followers and even His enemies He would rise again but they did not u................... it till after it happened.
John 2:19,21-22: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will build it again.... The temple Jesus was speaking about was His b................ So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this, and they believed the Scripture and what Jesus had said."
Matthew 12:40: "In the same way that Jonah spent three days and nights in the big fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and nights in the d............... of the earth."
Matthew 16:21: "...I will be put to death, but three days later I will be r.................... to life."
Matthew 17:22-23: "The Son of Man is about to h..................... over to those who will kill Him; but three days later He will be raised to life."
Matthew 20:18: "The Son of Man will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of Him, whip Him, and c...................... Him; but three days later he will be raised to life."
Matthew 26:31-32: "This very night all of you will run away and leave Me, for the scripture says,
'God will kill the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be s............................' But after I am raised to life, I will go to Galilee ahead of you." Etc.
You might say, "How could they have missed all these predictions? But remember what Peter said. None of them wanted to believe he would die on them so they shut all this talk out of their memories until after the e................."
5. The empty tomb is very convincing evidence that Jesus is risen. Peter and John saw the grave c...................... in the right position not un...................... but nobody in them. No wonder the record says that when John entered the tomb, "he saw, and believed." (John20:8). His doubts and fears immediately gave way to an amazed f................. He realized that risen Jesus had passed through the linen wrappings.
The enemies of Christ have tried weird th...............s that don't work. The disciples could not have stolen the body because they were in defeat and d.................... of the Roman persecution to follow. The tomb was heavily sealed and g.......................... by Roman soldiers in any case.
Jesus did not faint and come back to c.................................s to leave the tomb as how could He have unwrapped the burial clothes and broken out of a g.....................d tomb in a w....................... condition (remember Gibson's Passion of Christ movie?). Also the spear in His side released blood and w................r which is proof of death.
The disciples did not go the wrong tomb as the Jewish leaders could easily have shown people the r............ one when disciples went around claiming he was risen and He was seen by 500 people.
Such lame theories are typical of a world that does not want to b................... but prefers darkness to light. Is that you?
6. Jesus appeared over 10x to His disciples and others, to Mary Magdalene, to the other women, to Peter, to the 2 on the road to Emmaeus, to 10 disciples and to 500 followers.
7. The apostles would not have preached and written as they did unless they were absolutely sin................ and totally convinced of the truth of Jesus rising from the dead. They had instantaneously ch...................d from frightened runaways to bold Spirit-filled proclaimers of Christ and the resurrection. Such preaching cost them the l.............. of their lives, but they kept preaching as long as strength permitted.
Skilled l.............. minds at the highest level have stated that the apostles could not have kept going with such conviction under such p..........................n as being eaten by lions and crucifixion if they had not actually seen Jesus after His death.
You must make a d.....................n now, believe in Jesus rising again based on all this evidence or carry on with wild con.........................e and guesswork. Heaven help you to make the right decision.
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