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As you survey the New Testament, it’s easy to
see that Jesus made history’s most radical claims (John
6:35,John 8:46, John
8:58, John
10:27-28, John
14:6, 9, Matthew
9:2, John
14:15). Even a cursory reading of the four Gospels reveals that
Jesus claimed to be a whole lot more than a “good teacher,” “spiritual leader,”
or a “prophet.”
Search the writings of the world’s religions, and you’ll never read anything like Jesus' claims on the lips of Buddha,
Muhammad, Confucius, Joseph Smith, or you name the leader. But anyone could say the things Jesus said. Saying those
things doesn’t necessarily mean they are true. And Jesus knew that. So, Jesus
didn’t just make the
claims. He proved that what He said was true by…
• Fulfilling dozens of Old Testament
prophecies
• Living a sinless life for which we even have the eyewitness testimonies of his enemies
• Opening the eyes of the blind
• Healing lepers
• Opening the ears of the deaf
• Causing the lame to walk
• Casting out demons
• Living a sinless life for which we even have the eyewitness testimonies of his enemies
• Opening the eyes of the blind
• Healing lepers
• Opening the ears of the deaf
• Causing the lame to walk
• Casting out demons
But for His critics, these kinds of things
were not enough. Matthew
12:38 says, “Then
some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a
sign from You.”
As if these other miracles were not enough!
So Jesus, graciously, promised them another sign. Two verses down, in Matthew 12:40, Jesus said, “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Jesus here, of course, was speaking about His impending death and resurrection three days later.
So Jesus, graciously, promised them another sign. Two verses down, in Matthew 12:40, Jesus said, “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Jesus here, of course, was speaking about His impending death and resurrection three days later.
On another occasion, in John
2:19-21, Jesus told them, “Destroy this temple, and in three
days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to
build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking
of the temple of His body."
So again, we see Jesus foretelling His
resurrection.
Some days
later, Jesus’ enemies did try
to destroy Jesus. Jesus was executed just as Daniel
9:26 and Isaiah 53 had prophesied would happen to the
Messiah 600 years earlier.
And then an amazing thing happened.
Three days later, Jesus' tomb was empty. Jesus
rose from the dead, just as He and the Old Testament prophets had foretold in Psalm
16:10 and Isaiah
53:10-12.
In Acts 13:38,39 Peter, one of the Apostles, states - 'Be it known unto you therefore men and brethren (he is speaking to a Jewish audience) that through this man (Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses'.
The resurrection of Jesus
Christ was a monumental event. So monumental, it’s considered the cornerstone
of the Christian faith, for it helped to prove that Jesus was the long-expected
Messiah, whom God promised would come into the world for mankind’s salvation.
But can an intelligent person
living in the 21st century really believe a man rose from the grave two
thousand years ago?
I believe the answer is Yes!
A significant part of this blog has been provided courtesy of http://www.alwaysbeready.com.
For more information or contact details, please visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk
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