Yes He Does

Happy Easter to one and all.

As was covered here earlier today at Red State by Behold, He Is Alive by Susan Wright and Happy Easter by Caleb Howe there is plenty of scripture in the Bible which gives CHRISTians the belief and hope of the story of Easter. Christ rising from the dead and fufilling prophecy.

So I’m not going to wow you with my lack of in-depth knowledge of scripture or a fiery sermon. Nope, I’m just going to ask a simple question.

If Jesus did not rise from the grave than what happens when you die?

My atheist or agnostic friends have explained to me the alternative they believe. Nothing happens when you die other than your physical body ceases to function. If the Bible did not exist I would tend to agree with that assessment.

Yet the story of Christ and His resurrection does exist and I believe it to be true for some very simple, logical reasons.

Jesus was a historical figure that DID exist. The writings of first-century historian Josephus clearly make the case for historical Jesus as someone who did exist during this time.

Now here is the part where if you have been breathing air and dealing with humans for any amount of time you will understand this.

The New Testament records the writings of the Apostles who were an eyewitness to the life, teachings and resurrection of Christ. Almost all of them were captured and tortured for speaking the truth.

They weren’t going around trying to sell books or get internet clicks. They weren’t trying to get their own T.V. show on Fox News or CBN and tell you to donate money to their cause and build big homes for themselves.

They witnessed God turned into flesh, walk this Earth and walk among us. They saw first hand his torture and execution at the hands of the Romans. They all talked with and broke bread with the resurrected Christ.

They could have recanted their eyewitness testimony to appease the non-believers in power but they didn’t. They continued on in preaching the “Good News” being they were first-hand witnesses to it.

As Chuck Colson who was involved in the Nixon Watergate mess once famously said via the Washington Post

The lesson of Watergate is that a lie cannot live for long, according to Colson.

“Here were the 10 most powerful men in the United States,” he said, referring to the Watergate cover-up attempt. “With all that power, and we couldn’t contain a lie for two weeks.”

Applying the Watergate scandals to the New Testament and to current suggestions that accounts of Jesus’ resurrection were a conspiracy perpetrated by His apostles, Colson insisted: “No way.”

“Take it from one who was involved in conspiracy, who saw the frailty of man firsthand,” he declared, “there is no way the 11 apostles, who were with Jesus at the time of the resurrection, could ever have gone around for 40 years proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection unless it were true.”

Had the New Testament account not been true, Colson continued, “Peter would have been exactly like John Dean” who, he said, led a parade of White House aides who talked to prosecutors to “save their own skins.”

If the apostles’ story about the resurrection had begun to unravel, as the Watergate cover-up did, Colson said: “They the apostles would have sold out to save their skins.”

The apostles were not seeking fame and fortune here on Earth is they knew what was promised to them after they passed on from here. Common sense tells you that if you are telling a lie that big, you better be gaining some fame or fortune from it. You won’t die for it if you can recant the story and live and not be tortured.

So the alternative to believing in the historical Jesus and the one in the Bible is to believe in nothing. That, of course, is your right but there is a better way and I hope those that are nonbelievers start to become more open-minded and start to really question that belief and ask questions about the “alternative” you have chosen.

He, is waiting for you to ask.

Happy Resurrection Day everyone!!!!!!!!