Posted by Andrew Toovey | 2 Comments | Tags: Resurrection, Forgiveness, Friendship, Future
It’s a fact of history: Jesus Christ was killed on a wooden cross. But three days after his body had been buried, he came back to life! Hundreds of people saw him, touched him, and ate food with him. And for 2000 years critics have failed to find another explanation for the millions of people around the world whose lives have been changed by the living Jesus.
But so what?
Even if he did come back to life, it was 2000 years ago - what difference does it make to MY life now? Here are three ways the living Lord Jesus Christ can change lives - including YOURS.
If you can honestly say you have no regrets about the past, you’re a very rare person! Regret is a big signpost that shows us we’ve done something WRONG.
Jesus died on the cross so that you could be forgiven. Like a bodyguard throwing himself in front of the President, he took the bullet of God’s punishment in your place. The cross was a SWAP and Jesus came back to life to PROVE that it had worked.
If you stop pretending you’ve done nothing wrong and pray to him for forgiveness, he will forgive you NOW, whoever you are, whatever your regrets.
Lots of people today are lonely. Even if you have lots of friends, you still might feel that no-one really understands you.
Jesus promised that if you trust in him, he will come and LIVE in you. That sounds a bit weird right?! It’s actually amazing. By his Holy Spirit he will guide you, and help you to know and love him more.
No partner or friend or husband or wife can promise to be with you forever and never leave you. Jesus promises close friendship forever, and because he’s BEATEN DEATH himself, you know he’s not making it up!
Cemetries are not fun places. People don’t go to cemetries unless they have to. We don’t like to think about death, because we know that one day we too will die.
I’m 100% sure that when my body dies, I’ll go to be with Jesus forever in heaven. How? Because I’m on his team. Unlike a sports team, I wasn’t picked for being good. I was picked because I’ve trusted in Jesus and asked him to be captain of my life.
When you trust Jesus, you don’t have to be afraid of illness, or cancer, or even death. The fact that Jesus came back from the dead is like holding a ticket to the World Cup Final. It GUARANTEES that one day you will be with him, safe and loved forever.
Why not trust Jesus today for Forgiveness, Friendship and Future?
Yep that's right, Jesus dying on a wooden cross is a fact. I'll take this definition of fact and trust you'll be happy with it: "a truth known by actual experience or observation".
In other words, if people clearly saw it happen, and they tell the truth about what they saw, then it's fact. You might not have seen it with your own two eyes, just like you probably haven't seen the North Pole with your own two eyes, but you trust those who tell you (and these days show you by pictures) what they've seen.
So, who saw Jesus die?
Firstly, his close friends and family. The four gospels (biographies of Jesus' life) in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are all written during the first century AD, and all claim to be a record of eyewitness testimony. All four go into great detail about the death of Jesus.
"Yes, but they're biased," you might say. Yes, they are. But that doesn't mean you can instantly dismiss their testimony. I may like Manchester Uniter, but that doesn't mean I'm going to deny that they just got knocked out of the Champions League! Even where the bias of historians distorts their view of history, at least credit them with the ability to reliably present the obvious - such as the significant event of Jesus being executed.
Have you actually read the gospels for yourself? You might be surprised if you do (try Luke at http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=luke&qs_version=NIV). They don't read like fairy tales or inflated legend. Each writer is seeking to record true eyewitness testimony.
Secondly, soldiers and religious authorities. Jesus didn't die in a small room in a remote village. He was publicly executed in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, at a time of year when the city would be full of people. It wasn't just those who believed Jesus was God who saw him die.
As you'd expect, there are several non-Christian historical sources that record Jesus' death. Jospehus (late first century), Tacitus (early second century) and Lucian (early/mid second century) all report the event. News spreads, and the fact that these people all mentioned Jesus' death without question suggests there's truth behind it.
To be honest, you're in the minority to be questioning whether Jesus really died on the cross. The sticking point for most people is his resurrection from the dead, which I'd also claim is a fact. If you're going to try and unravel Christianity, I'd start picking at that one if I were you!
Fact is (and even you can't deny this one!) there are millions of people around the world who claim to know the living Jesus personally. Poor and rich, educated or deprived, black and white, men and women. For 2000 years people have been trying to puncture the truth of Jesus' death and resurrection, but with no luck.
When it comes down to it, I can't prove Jesus to you. But he can. He promises to reveal himself through his word the Bible, to all who come to him humbly, not trusting in their degrees, long words, or quick logic. Sit down for an hour and read the words of Jesus. Engage with them - ask questions, chew it over. If they don't strike a chord with you, show you the uncomfortable reality of your life, then fine, keep searching. But if you ask Jesus to speak through his words, and you are willing to listen to what he has put down for you to read, I think you'll be surprised.
Jesus didn't just die and rot. He's alive, still powerfully changing lives today. You can keep running away... but what are you really running from? Jesus wants to bring your guilty life into the light before him, but so that he can nail it to his cross and give you his new, far better, more full, more satisfying life in its place.
The Contact page on the site will reach me directly if you want to talk more personally. Otherwise, keep thinking!
Posted by Andrew Toovey, 08/04/2010 6:12am (5 months ago)
"It’s a fact of history: Jesus Christ was killed on a wooden cross" - it's fact is it? Really? FACT? Where do these 'facts' come from?
Posted by David Towns, 03/04/2010 3:42pm (5 months ago)
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