The Validity Of Jesus' Resurrection

[Reformer]

REFORMATION RUMBLINGS
BUFF SCOTT, JR.
__________________

The Validity Of Jesus'
Resurrection

     A few years ago, in the backwoods of Utah, a man and his clan holed up in their home awaiting the resurrection of their leader. They believed the "coming forth" from the grave of their deceased prophet would bring about their deliverance and rescue them from the law enforcement officers who had surrounded their house. The resurrection never materialized. These poor people were misguided, misled, and mistaught. They were looking for something that was no part of God's plan for them. Their hopes were gone, their "rapture" faded. Instead of deliverance, they found themselves incarcerated. God's Program

    The resurrection of Messiah Jesus was part of God's program. Without the resurrection of the man called Jesus, there would have been no liberation, no reclamation, no regeneration, no re-creation, no hope, no future, and no eternal life. Without the resurrection event, the saints of old—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses—would have toiled in vain, for their eternal "Canaan" rested on the man Jesus. He was God's ultimate plan, final proposal, and chief Pioneer. This special man paved the way, leveled the mountains, and corrected the bends.

    The promises, the covenants, the prophecies, the animal sacrifices, sanctification, justification, the obliteration of sin—all of these either hinged or do hinge on the resurrection affair. The embodiment of God's strategy for the ages was to see its fruition in the resurrection of His Son. Had the resurrection not occurred, the prophets of old who foretold this event would have passed on without notoriety or acknowledgment. The fact that their prophecies became reality in the personage of Messiah Jesus corroborates their authenticity.

    It truly did occur! The resurrection actually happened, according to the many witnesses who saw Him alive after His death. John, one of Jesus' special disciples, along with Simon Peter, witnessed the empty tomb and saw Him alive after His resurrection. "So Peter and the other disciple [John] started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in" [John 20:1-8].

    In the same narrative, John recalls, "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!' After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord" [vs. 19 & 20].

    Luke, a writer and physician, testified that Jesus "gave many convincing proofs that he was alive" following His resurrection [Acts 1:3]. In fact, Luke affirms, Jesus appeared to them "over a period of forty days." Paul, drawing upon the evidence of other credible witnesses, with divine inspiration, wrote that Jesus "appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time" [I Cor. 15:6]. Many other writers and witnesses presented the same story, and without contradicting each other.

    The testimony of these witnesses and writers has never been discredited. Nor has their character been shown to be less than honorable. They were not fictional writers. They knew the facts of the case, and they described those facts. Until someone disqualifies these men as reputable, credible witnesses, their testimony will stand.

    Because of the resurrection event, we have A.D. instead of B.C., a "light for the Gentiles," a shining city on a high hill, the "new Jerusalem" coming down out of heaven, and a new pavement that leads directly to the throne of God. Truly, we are living in an era of rescue!

    Those misguided people in the backwoods of Utah lost their hope of deliverance when their leader failed to show. But the disciples of Jesus rediscovered their hope when their leader reappeared in person. His appearance from the tomb 2,000 years ago served as a beacon of light for all generations whose ships have floundered in the mire of sin and slavery. He has become the Captain of our salvation and the Author of eternal redemption. He is my Lord and Messiah!

[johntwayne]

+1 for a positive post.

[4WD]

 Amen and Amen

+1 to you Buff

[Reformer]

Thank you, fellows - have a blessed day.

Buff