[Faith-talk] FW: [masterslist] Ten Reasons To Believe Christ Rose

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: "Dean Masters" <dwmasters at earthlink.net>
To: "masters list" <masterslist at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [masterslist] Ten Reasons To Believe Christ Rose
Date: 
Sun, 24 Apr 2011 16:52:27 -0400

Ten Reasons to Believe that Christ Rose from the Dead

from
http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/rtb/

1.  A Public Execution Assured His Death During the Jewish Feast of 
Passover, Jesus was swept away by anangry crowd into a Roman hall of 
justice.  As He stood before Pilate, the governor of Judea, religious 
leaders accused Jesus of claiming to be the king of the Jews.  The crowd 
demanded His death.  Jesus was beaten, whipped, and sentenced to a public 
execution.  On a hill outside of Jerusalem, He was crucified between two 
criminals.  Brokenhearted friends and mocking enemies shared in His 
deathwatch.  As the Sabbath neared, Roman soldiers were sent to finish the

execution.  To quicken death, they broke the legs of the two criminals. 
But 
when they came to Jesus they did not break His legs, because from
experience 
they knew He was already dead.  As a final precaution, however, they
thrust 
a spear into His side.  It would take more than resuscitation for Him to 
ever trouble them again.

2.  A High Official Secured the Gravesite The next day, religious leaders

again met with Pilate.  They said Jesus had predicted He would rise in 3 
days.  To assure that the disciples could not conspire in a resurrection 
hoax, Pilate ordered the official seal of Rome to be attached to the tomb
to 
put graverobbers on notice.  To enforce the order, soldiers stood guard.
Any 
disciple who wanted to tamper with the body would have had to get by
them, 
which wouldn't have been easy.  The Roman guards had good reason for
staying 
alert--the penalty for falling asleep while on watch was death.

3.  In Spite of Guards, the Grave was Found Empty On the morning after
the 
Sabbath, some of Jesus' followers went to the grave to anoint His body. 
But 
when they arrived, they were surprised at what they found.  The huge
stone 
that had been rolled into place over the entrance to the tomb had been 
moved, and Jesus' body was gone.  As word got out, two disciples rushed to

the burial site.  The tomb was empty except for Jesus' burial wrappings, 
which were lying neatly in place.  In the meantime, some of the guards had

gone into Jerusalem to tell the Jewish officials that they had fainted in

the presence of a supernatural being that rolled the stone away.  And
when 
they woke up, the tomb was empty.  The officials paid the guards a large
sum 
of money to lie and say that the disciples stole the body while the
soldiers 
slept.  They assured the guards that if the report of the missing body
got 
back to the governor they would intercede on their behalf.

4.  Many People Claimed to Have Seen Him Alive About AD 55, the apostle
Paul 
wrote that the resurrected Christ had been seen by Peter, the 12
apostles, 
more than 500 people (many of whom were still alive at the time of his 
writing), James, and himself (1 Corinthians 15:5-8).  By making such a 
public statement, he gave critics a chance to check out his claims for 
themselves.  Inaddition, the New Testament begins its history of the 
followers of Christ by saying that Jesus "presented Himself alive after
His 
suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by [the apostles] during 
forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" 
(Acts 1:3).

5.  His Apostles Were Dramatically Changed When one of Jesus' inner
circle 
defected and betrayed Him, the other apostles ran for their lives.  Even 
Peter, who earlier had insisted that he was ready to die for his teacher, 
lost heart and denied that he even knew Jesus.  But the apostles went 
through a dramatic change. Within a few weeks, they were standing face to 
face with the ones who had crucified their leader.  Their spirit was like 
iron.  They became unstoppable in their determination to sacrifice 
everything for the one they called Savior and Lord.  Even after they were 
imprisoned, threatened, and forbidden to speak in the name of Jesus, the 
apostles said to the Jewish leaders, "We ought to obey God rather than
men" 
(Acts 5:29).  After they were beaten for disobeying the orders of the
Jewish 
council, these once-cowardly apostles "did not cease teaching and
preaching 
Jesus as the Christ" (Acts 5:42).

6.  Witnesses Were Willing to Die for Their Claims History is full of 
martyrs.  Countless men and women have died for their beliefs.  For that 
reason, it is not that significant to point out that the first disciples 
were willing to suffer and die fortheir faith.  But it is significant that

while many will die for what they believe to be the truth, few if any
will 
die for what they know to be a lie.  That psychological fact is important

because the disciples of Christ did not die for deeply held beliefs about

which they could have been honestly mistaken.  They died for their claims
to 
have seen Jesus alive and well after His resurrection.  They died for
their 
claim that Jesus Christ had not only died for their sins but that He had 
risen bodily from the dead to show that He was like no other spiritual 
leader who had ever lived.

7.  Jewish Believers Changed Their Day of Worship The Sabbath day of rest

and worship was basic to the Jewish way of life.  Any Jew who did not
honor 
the Sabbath was guilty of breaking the law of Moses.  Yet Jewish
followers 
of Christ began worshiping with Gentile believers on a new day.  The
first 
day of the week, the day on which they believed Christ had risen from the

dead, replaced the Sabbath.  For a Jew, it reflected a major change of
life. 
The new day, along with the Christian conversion rite of baptism,
declared 
that those who believed Christ had risen from the dead were ready for
more 
than a renewal of Judaism.  They believed that the death and resurrection
of 
Christ had cleared the way for a new relationship with God.  The new way
was 
based not on the law, but on the sin- bearing, life-giving help of a 
resurrected Savior.

8.  Although it was Unexpected, it was Clearly Predicted The disciples
were 
caught off guard.  They expected their Messiah to restore the kingdom to 
Israel.  Their minds were so fixed on the coming of a messianic political 
kingdom that they didn't anticipate the events essential to the salvation
of 
their souls.  They must have thought Christ was speaking in symbolic 
language when He kept saying over and over that it was necessary for Him
to 
go to Jerusalem to die and be resurrected from the dead.  Coming from one

who spoke in parables, they missed the obvious until after it was all
over. 
In the process, they also overlooked the prophet Isaiah's prediction of a

suffering servant who would bear the sins of Israel, being led like a
lamb 
to the slaughter, before God "prolong[ed] His days" (Isaiah 53:10).

9.  It was a Fitting Climax to a Miraculous Life While Jesus hung on a
Roman 
cross, crowds mocked Him.  He helped others, but could He help Himself? 
Was 
the miracle suddenly coming to an end?  It seemed like such an unexpected

ending for someone who began His public life by turning water into wine. 
During His 3-year ministry, He walked on water; healed the sick; opened 
blind eyes, deaf ears, and tongue-tied mouths; restored crippled limbs;
cast 
out demons; stilled a violent storm; and raised the dead.  He asked 
questions wise men couldn't answer.  He taught profound truths with the 
simplest of comparisons.  And He confronted hypocrites with words that 
exposed their coverup.  If all this was true, should we be surprised that 
His enemies didn't have the last word?

10.  It Fits the Experience of Those who Trust Him The apostle Paul
wrote, 
"If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He
who 
raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies 
through His Spirit who dwells inyou" (Romans 8:11).  This was the
experience 
of Paul, whose heart was
dramatically changed by the resurrected Christ.  It is also the
experience 
of people all over the world who have "died" to their old ways so that 
Christ can live His life through them.  This spiritual power is not
evident 
in those who try to add belief in Christ to their old life.  It is seen
only 
in those who are willing to "die" to their old life to make room for the
rule of Christ.  It is apparent only in those who respond to the 
overwhelming evidence for Christ's resurrection by acknowledging His 
lordship in their heart.


Dean Masters, owner of the Masters List

I personally know someone who is literally older than dirt.
If you would like to meet him ask me to introduce you.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/masterslist