Jesus Risen From the Dead
Dear Champions,
The short excerpt is from Cliffe Knechtle, and the Scripture is Matthew 20:17-19 Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 says that over a period of forty days Jesus appeared to more than five hundred people. Many of these eyewitnesses died for what they had seen-the dead Christ risen to life. They stood before Roman soldiers who said, The decision is simple. Say, Caesar is lord and live, or say, Jesus is Lord and die!
The early Christians said, We have seen Jesus risen from the dead. Jesus is Lord! They died, not for a belief, a religion, or a political persuasion, but for a person they had seen come back from the dead.
If the early Christians had made up the resurrection story, they never would have died in such large numbers. Someone would have revealed the fabrication under penalty of death. You cannot get a large group of people to die for a known lie. History reveals that Peter, Andrew, Philip, Simon the Zealot, James the son of Alphaeus, and Bartholomew were crucified. Matthew and James the brother of John were put to death by the sword. Thaddaeus was shot through with arrows. James the brother of Jesus was stoned. Paul was beheaded. Why? Because they had seen Jesus risen from the dead. They were willing to die for what they had seen.
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
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