Written by Terry Watkins
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The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is either ...
the greatest event, or the greatest fraud in history!
Did Jesus Christ actually rise from the dead?
Dr. Greenleaf, the Royal Professor of Law at Harvard University, was one
of the greatest legal minds that ever lived. He wrote the famous legal
volume entitled, "A Treatise on the Law of Evidence," considered by many
the greatest legal volume ever written. Dr. Simon Greenleaf believed the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ was a hoax. And he determined, once and for
all, to expose the "myth" of the Resurrection. After thoroughly
examining the evidence for the resurrection Dr. Greenleaf came to the
exact opposite conclusion! He wrote a book entitled, An Examination of
the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence
Administered in the Courts of Justice. In which he emphatically stated,
"it was IMPOSSIBLE that the apostles could have persisted in affirming
the truths they had narrated, had not JESUS CHRIST ACTUALLY RISEN FROM
THE DEAD, . . ."(p.29).
Greenleaf concluded that according to the jurisdiction of legal evidence
the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the best supported event in all of
history!
And not only that, Dr. Greenleaf was so convinced by the overwhelming
evidence, he committed his life to Jesus Christ!
What changed his mind? What evidence did Dr. Greenleaf encounter that so
drastically turned him around? What facts did he discover that he could
not rationally ignore?
In order to answer that, let's go back to that scene nearly 2,000 years
ago. That eeire night in the garden of Gethsemane, as a blood-thirsty mob
came and arrested Jesus Christ. He was brought before Pilate, and there
in plain view, Jesus Christ was spit upon, cursed, he was laughed at,
whipped, beaten. He was branded a blasphemer. And He was sentenced to
die by the most extreme, shameful form of capital punishment ever
devised, crucifixion. Galatians 3:13 reads, "Cursed is every one that
hangeth on a tree".
Jesus Christ died a curse. He died as a criminal. He died in open shame
and disgrace. In the eyes of the world, Jesus Christ died a total
disgrace!
And there stood His apostles in stunned unbelief. Here was their hope.
Here were 11 men that had forsaken all and followed this man. They
believed in this man for 3 years. Can you imagine what was going on in
their minds? Didn't He heal the sick? Didn't we see Him walk on water?
Didn't we see Him raise people from the dead? Didn't we see Him still
the raging storm? And to end like this? THAT NIGHT, THERE STOOD 11
DEFEATED AND CONFUSED MEN! They had given up everything for naught. And
then to die like He did. Beaten. Smitten. Humiliated. Guilty.
Blasphemer. A complete disgrace!
And Mark 14:50, says, "And they all forsook him, and fled".
There was the apostle Peter, the one who boasted, just days earlier,
"Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee." (Matthew
26:35) There he was that night, standing in the mob, defeated, confused,
and hurt. Jesus was dead! He was crucified as a blasphemer! One of the
women saw Peter and said, "you were one of them, you was with Jesus of
Nazareth". The Bible says, "he began to curse and to swear, saying, I
know not this man of whom ye speak." (Mark 14:71) Three times Peter
denied the Lord, cursing and swearing, "I know not this man".
"And they all forsook him, and fled!"
BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED!
Something happened to that small band of frightened and humiliated men.
"Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs. . . ye have taken,
and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. . . THIS JESUS HATH GOD
RAISED UP, WHEREOF WE ALL ARE WITNESSES."
What transformed these fearful and confused men into fierce, bold lions?
Acts chapter 4:18-19, reads, "And they called them, and commanded them
not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John
answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to
hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye."
And verse 20 reads, "For we cannot but speak the things which WE HAVE
SEEN AND HEARD".
What had these men seen?
What had these men heard?
What was it that beatings, threatenings, jail, torture and even death
could not silence? In Acts 5, they were put in jail and beaten and verse 41
says "And they departed. . . rejoicing that they were counted worthy to
suffer shame for his name".
What had these 12 men seen that would eventually die a horrible death
for?
Friend, there's only one event in the history of this universe that
could explain such a change.
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST!
One theory suggests the apostles fabricated the resurrection. Two major
problems: One, If the body of Jesus Christ was available, you'd better
believe, the Roman authorities would have paraded His body for all to
see. Christianity was spreading like a wild fire! And nothing could have
quenched that flame quicker than the body of Jesus Christ!
An article, suggesting Jesus faked His death and resurrection, appeared
in the prestigious British Journal of the Royal College of Physicians.
The article makes the assertion, "the whole episode was planned by Jesus
and his followers. . . that death would be feigned so that early removal
from the cross might be secured."
Do you know the problem with that is, if the resurrection of Jesus Christ
was not true there were 11 men that knew it!
Remember, friend THESE MEN WERE EYEWITNESSES! They were there!
"Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were
EYEWITNESSES. . ." Luke 1:2
"That which was from the beginning, which we have HEARD, which we have
SEEN WITH OUR EYES, which we have LOOKED UPON, and our HANDS HAVE
HANDLED. . ." 1 John 1:1
"For we have not followed cunningly devised, fables, when we made known
unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were
EYEWITNESSES of his majesty." 2 Peter 1:16
And these men went so far as seal their testimony with their blood! They
died a horrible and martyrs death!
FOR A LIE!
KNOWING IT WAS A LIE!
Friend, there is no way these 12 men could have all been deceived.
For this reason these 12 men not only died for a lie and here is the
catch THEY KNEW IT WAS A LIE!
If the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a lie THEY KNEW IT!
You can not find a group of 11 men in the history of this universe who
forsook all, were beaten, were jailed and even went so far as die for a
lie KNOWING it was a lie!
IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE!
Michael Green, principal of St. John's College, Nottingham, writes
concerning the apostles, ". . . You could imprison them, flog them, kill
them, but you could not make them deny their conviction that on the
third day he rose again." Dr. Greenleaf wrote, "IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE that
the apostles could have persisted in affirming the truths they had
narrated, had not JESUS CHRIST ACTUALLY RISEN FROM THE DEAD!"
And then there's the man called Saul of Tarsus.
Saul of Tarsus thought Jesus was a false messiah, a fake, a blasphemer.
And to exterminate Christianity totally, became his passion! The Bible
describes him:
"As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house,
and haling men and women committed them to prison." (Acts 8:3)
"And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the
disciples of the Lord, . . ." (Acts 9:1)
Saul of Tarsus was one of Christianities' most rabid persecutors. One day
traveling the dusty road to Damascus, Saul burning with vengeance, with
documents authorizing him to capture all the followers of Jesus. But on
the road to Damascus something happened to Saul of Tarsus. . .
"And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined
round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard
a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he
said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou
persecutest". (Acts 9:3-5)
And on the road to Damascus, the greatest conversion in history took
place! For Saul of Tarsus, among the greatest enemies of Jesus Christ,
that ever lived became the Apostle Paul THE GREATEST CHRISTIAN THAT
EVER LIVED!
What happened to this man?
What could so transform this man, that he completely dedicated his life
to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ? And was later beheaded at Rome
in 67 A.D. for his faith in Jesus Christ.
There is only one possible explanation THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS
CHRIST!
Gilbert West and Lord Lyttleton, two Oxford students, believed
Christianity was a "tale gone mad" and they determined to refute the
Christian faith. Lyttleton resolved to disprove the conversion of Saul
of Tarsus, and West would refute the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They
figured a careful, rational, examination of the evidence would easily
disprove the Christian faith.
But after examining the evidence they both separately came to the
opposite conclusion! Lyttleton concluded that Saul of Tarsus did, in
fact, convert to the Apostle Paul through Jesus Christ. And Gilbert West
concluded that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was among the best
established facts in all of history! West went on to write a book
entitled, "Observations on the History and Evidences of the Resurrection
of Jesus Christ".
Professor Thomas Arnold, former chair of history at Oxford, and author
of the famous volumes, "History of Rome," was skillfully educated in the
study of historical facts. Professor Arnold, stated, "I have been used
for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and
weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of
no one fact in the history of mankind which is PROVED BY BETTER AND
FULLER EVIDENCE of every sort, than the great sign which God has given
us that Christ died and rose again from the dead."
After investigating the evidence of the resurrection, Lord Darling,
former Chief Justice of England, stated, ". . . there exists such
overwhelming evidence, positive and negative, factual and
circumstantial, that no intelligent jury in the world could fail to
bring in a verdict that the resurrection story is true."
To deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ you have to close your eyes to
the overwhelming facts of history.
And friend that's a very serious thing to do
because if Jesus Christ actually rose from the dead what He said about
"after death" is not something to take lightly!
And Jesus Christ warned of a place called hell over and over! He
mentioned hell eight times more than heaven! In Luke 16:23, Jesus
described a man that had died, and Jesus said, "And in hell he lift up
his eyes, being in torments,. . ."
Jesus said plainly the man was in hell!
Jesus went on to describe the man, in verse 24, ". . . for I am
tormented in this flame."
Friend, Jesus Christ believed in a place of fire and torment called
hell!
What if Jesus Christ is Right?
Friend, I want to ask you the most important question you'll ever
answer:
Have you ever received Jesus Christ as your Savior?
Not joining a church, not religion, not baptism, not good works, not
sacraments but trusted Jesus Christ and Him alone, as your Savior. If
not, Friend you could be one year, one month, one hour, one minute,
one heartbeat away from eternity in a lake of fire!
Revelation 20:15 says, "And whosoever was not found written in the book
of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Friend, God does not want you to go to hell. 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord
is. . . not willing that any should perish. . ." Jesus loved you so much
He died on a rugged cross, to pay for YOUR sin, and to keep YOU out of
hell! Revelation 1:5 says, ". . . Unto him that loved us, and washed us
from our sins in his own blood."
Friend, don't EXIT this message, until you MAKE SURE you've received
Jesus Christ!
I assure you if you die without Jesus Christ it'll be the biggest
mistake you'll ever make!
DON'T TAKE THE CHANCE!
Friend, If you've never been saved, don't wait another minute!
FRIEND, YOU CAN BE SAVED THIS VERY MINUTE!
It's simple to be saved ...
Know you're a sinner.
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" Romans 3:10
"... for there is no difference. For all have sinned, and come short of
the glory of God;" Romans 3:23
That Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins.
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, ..." 1
Peter 2:24
"... Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own
blood," Revelation 1:5
And the best way you know how, simply trust Him, and Him alone as your
personal Savior.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not periswhosoever believeth in him
shouJohn 3:16
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE SAVED?
Pray this prayer, and mean it with all your heart.
Just pray this simple prayer, and mean it with all your heart. Lord
Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and unless you save me I am lost
forever. I thank you for dying for me at Calvary. I come to you now, the
best way I know how, and ask you to save me. I now receive you as my
Savior. In Jesus Christ name, Amen.
One outstanding author for related materials is Josh McDowell - Search for his books at Amazon.com:
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