THINK ON THESE THINGS...

THINK ON THESE THINGS…..Allen Ashlock

 I believe with all of my being that Jesus died on the old cross and was placed in a tomb and on the third day, the first day of the week He was resurrected from the dead with power and glory. Why do I believe this? There are many reasons. Here are just three of them.

First, the record shows that Jesus foretold His coming death and His resurrection. He affirmed such to His disciples many times. Look at Matthew 17:22; Mark 8:31 and Luke 9:22. Again, Jesus gave clear details of this in Matthew 26:61, Mark 14:58 and John 2:19. Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish so He the Son of Man would be three days in the grave (Matthew 12:39: 16:4). Again, He foretold it again in Matt 21:42 and Matthew 27:63. He set it forth in advance and laid it out for all to see and know. Only later did the disciples connect the dots and realize they had been blind to His very clear statements. To die this horrible death and be resurrected is not something that is likely to have been dreamed up by a deceived church. The character by all accounts in the New Testament and the external secular historians does not present Christ as a charlatan or mentally disturbed person.

Second, the EMPTY TOMB stands for all time as a powerful witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (Luke 24:3). The body was never found. There is no grave for Jesus Christ. The most powerful government and military on earth was involved in the killing of Jesus Christ, and they were never able to find His body. The disciples, the ones who knew the Lord the best all without any exceptions went to their grave shouting, HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN! Many of the Apostles were tortured in the most horrible ways, and not one ever took back their absolute affirmation, JESUS IS RISEN! The greatest historians of our day agree, it was this absolute confidence in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead that propelled Christianity forward to where it is today. Even now in the year 2014 the people of the most powerful nation on earth believe in large numbers that Jesus rose from the dead. The most recent Gallup Poll declares that 77 percent of the people of America believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins and was raised from the dead.

Third, Saul of Tarsus, a highly educated Jewish leader and poster boy for the Jewish power of his day, is converted to Jesus Christ! He was the principle leader of the opposition to Christianity in Israel for a time. His mission: to destroy the faith in Jesus Christ from the face of the earth. He is converted on a mission to destroy Christians. Once converted he will sacrifice everything for the name of Jesus! He never waivers and never surrenders. This sent shock waves throughout all Israel. Saul who became Paul the Apostle affirmed to his death in Rome, Jesus is the Son of God and was raised from the dead. Some 500 people saw the blessed Lord after His resurrection and many of these witnesses were still alive years later when Paul wrote of such (I Cor. 15:6). The evidence is so abundantly clear. HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN! He ever lives and reigns at the right hand of God. He is my Lord, my Savior, my hope, my joy, and my Lord and Master! Praise Jesus Christ, Praise Him, now and forever!