.png)
There are 4 gospels written in the word of God. Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection is in all 4 of them. Let us look at Matthew 28 Together.
Read Matthew 28:1-15 Together.
It is clear here that Jesus is alive, He has been resurrected and what we blieve in is true. But how can we trust this to be true? Did Christianity steal the easter celebration from another religion? What proof is there that Jesus did indeed resurrect Himself out of the grave?
The resurrection can be trusted and is real. Here is how we can trust it.
1. The bible says it is so.
--I don’t know if you know this; but the Bible is the most documented book ever. Period. It is the most reliable book ever written when it comes to its influence on the world and how many fragments have been found proving its validity. The New Testament has a primary source called the Didache written around 100 AD. Before the Didache was written down in 100AD it circulated as oral tradition passed down by eye witness accounts of Jesus’ ministry (Peter, John, early apostles). This document continued the ministry of Christ after He was resurrected and proves that the bible was not made up by one person rather it was made up by God working through His community to orally practice His commands and to preserve the gospel. See Acts 2:42. The bible has over 24,000 manuscripts found for it in over three languages. The dead sea scrolls preserve the Old Testament and prove that the OT is canon and reliable. There is physical evidence for the trustworthiness of the Bible.
2. Jesus’ bonebox has not been found. It does not exist because Jesus is alive—we will never find His bones.
There are two tomb locations, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and The Garden Tomb, that have been believed to be the actual tomb of Christ. The Garden Tomb is known to be the real place where Jesus laid when He was dead. There was a tradition where Jews were buried in an open tomb (not underground) for a year. After that year, their body has been decomposed and a family member(s) would have collected their bones and put them in a bone box. The fancier the box, the wealthier the family. James’ (brother of Jesus) bone box has been found with the inscription of his name on it. Caiphus, the high priest who accused Christ has also been found. These boxes are called Ossuraries. People claimed that they found Joseph’s families Ossurary in Crypt in Talipos, Israel. Experts have proven that there are not two boxes that contain Mary (Jesus mother) and a son or blood relative in that Crypt meaning those are not Jesus’ bones in the crypt.
3. The Shroud of Turin.
The shroud of Turin is an incredible find for believers in Christ. It is a shroud that is believed to have held Jesus’ dead body as He was buried in the tomb. There is an imprint of a man (Jesus) on the shroud. It appears to be “Blasted” on, a person cannot see it if you are closer than 10 feet to the shroud. When Jesus is resurrected it says in scripture that he appeared as lightning and as white as snow (Matthew 28:3). Some experts will say that the shroud is a forgery, and it is much younger than what is believed but that is not consensus among scholars both inside and outside of the church. It is a fascinating find and totally unexplainable. The Shroud is being kept in the Tourin, Italy.
4. There were MANY eyewitnesses to Jesus’ Resurrection.
Intially there were 7 people that witnessed the resurrection of Christ. Paul the apostle later explains in 1 Corinthians 15:1-10 how Christ revealed Himself to a multitude of people (500 people to be exact!) Paul even explains that Christ revealed Himself to Paul himself! This created movement that led to the building of Christ’s church and to the gospel spreading around the world.
5. Jesus was really killed. He died.
Jesus died! Some people may say that Jesus never died. This is a lie. There are roman records of a Nazarene dying in crucifixion that match the dates of Christ’s death known to be 33AD. This is also why three days was so important because that was how they indicated someone was really, truly dead. They have also found a great bone (heel bone) persevered that showed how feet were put together for crucifixion. There is proof that Romans crucified many people and there is proof that Jesus was crucified.
“Clearly the weight of evidence indicates that Jesus was dead even before the wound to his side was inflicted.” -The Journal of The American Medical Association.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_68KfQFICg&t=2672s
6. Pagan religions and practices that celebrate Ostre were stolen by Christianity.
This is flat out false. Christianity is older than all of these pagans religions especially that of Easter. The Ostre goddess of fertility began to be celebrated around the 8th century long after Christian celebrations of the resurrection were in place. If anything, Ostre was created to disprove and combat God—not the other way around.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Easter-holiday
It is important that we fight for and defend the resurrection of Jesus. It is important that we even look at artilces that aim to debunk Christianity none of the enemies of Christianity have been able to debunk it—they never will. Jesus really died and really came back to life giving the world eternal hope in Him. There is only one way to God and that is through Jesus Christ. The trinitarian God is real and we are called to worship Him and share the good news that we celebrated last week at Easter.
Comments