We all wonder what will
happen to us after we die. When a loved
one dies, we long to see him or her again after our turn comes. Jesus taught that life does not end after our
bodies die. He made this startling
claim: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die
like everyone else, will live again.” According to the eyewitnesses closest to him,
Jesus then demonstrated his power over death by rising from the dead after
being crucified and buried for three days. It is this belief that has given hope to
Christians for nearly 2000 years.
Some people believe that
Jesus didn’t really die. Some believe
that he died and his followers stole the body and made up the stories of his
resurrection.
Charles Dickens begins “The
Christmas Carol” with, “Marley was deader than a doornail, of that there was no
doubt.” The same can be said of Jesus –
the Romans were experts at execution and no one who was crucified, lived. Crucifixion was such a horrendous death that
there were no words to express the pain that those crucified experienced – the
Romans invented a new word to describe the pain: it was excruciating. Jesus’ death is a certainty.
Did his followers steal his
body and make up stories of his resurrection?
Chuck Colson, implicated in the Watergate scandal during President
Nixon’s administration, pointed out the difficulty of several people
maintaining a lie for an extended period of time. He said . . .
[Quote] “I know the resurrection is a fact, and
Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus
raised from the dead, and then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never
once denying it. Each of them was
beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t
true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most
powerful men in the world – and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie
for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.” [End
Quote]
If his death wasn’t faked
and it wasn’t a conspiracy by his closest friends, then we are left with only
one conclusion: Jesus Christ was crucified, died and was buried, and on the
third day he rose from the dead, reconciling us to God and restoring us to
eternal life.
