HISTORICAL VALIDITY OF JESUS CHRIST

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JESUS’ HISTORICAL VALIDITY

Does HISTORY really validate the New Testament Gospels to be true about Jesus: His first coming, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His coming again?

Non-Christian ancient sources confirm details of Christ’s death and some of His resurrection. Dr. Gary Habermas catalogued over 3,400 sources, many of whom are sceptical, or even critical of Christians, adding to their veracity. Here are seven of the three thousand four hundred: 1. Josephus 37-100 AD, 2. Suetonius 70-160 AD, 3. Pliny the Younger 61-113 AD, 4. Tacitus 56-120 AD, 5. Mara Bar-Serapion 72 AD, 6. Lucian 125-180 AD, 7. Babylonian Talmud. They all confirm key points of the gospel: 

1. Jesus died by crucifixion; 2. He was buried; 3. His death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope; 4. The tomb was empty three days later. 5. Hundreds of people saw the resurrected Jesus.

After Jesus’ resurrection, all of His disciples saw Him and had many experiences with Him, “for over 40 days” (Acts 1:3) – eating with Jesus in different places, and lastly watching Jesus ascend off the earth – “as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9).

Rome’s most prominent Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD) wrote about the resurrection of Jesus. He also recorded Jesus’ 12 apostles and many of Jesus’ disciples (1 Cor. 15:1-9) all went to their deaths, most as martyrs for continually claiming Jesus’ resurrection (1 John 1:1-4). Some people have died for what was a lie – but no one, much less hundreds, will die for what they ALL KNOW is a lie! The apostles and Jesus’ disciples all preached Jesus’ resurrection up to the time of their deaths.

Today – anyone can find out if Jesus is alive! Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to indwell the spirit of everyone who repents of their sins against God and accepts Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. The Holy Spirit is their counsellor, teacher, and comforter.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

The spirit of a person was always meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The lamp of the Lord cannot function without the oil of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will convict us of sin. It is His job to make us like Jesus to enable us to be Jesus’ ambassadors on the earth.

“However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:9-11 

Thousands of Christians have been martyred for not denying their loyalty to Jesus Christ and many more will do so before His return. Jesus has warned us beforehand that prior to His return there will be a time of great tribulation for Christians.

There need be no question, historically or personally, about the resurrection of Jesus. If someone is willing to receive Him as their own personal Lord and Saviour they will receive the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit who will testify to the reality of Jesus and God the Father.   

The detail on the historical sources of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection was sourced from material provided by Jim McCotter – jimsbookstore.com

BELIEF OF AUSTRALIANS ABOUT JESUS AND THE RESURRECTION

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The recent Australian Community Survey (ACS) run by National Church Life Survey (NCLS) Research, reveals current beliefs amongst Australians about Jesus and the Resurrection.

44% of Australians believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead in some way according to the research.

30% of Australians do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead

25% of  Australians do not know what they believe.

50% of all Australians believe Jesus of Nazareth to be a historical figure. This is perplexing, given the wide acceptance amongst historians that Jesus Christ was a real person who lived in first-century Palestine.

22% of Australians accepted Jesus was divine, or ’God in human form who lived among people in the 1st Century’

20% of Australians thought Jesus was a mythical or fictional character.

30% of Australians don’t know.

Camdenville Methodist Church Girl’s Vigoro team and Men’s Cricket team. Mr. Bottomley was pastor of the church and Sunday School that was a feature article in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, “The Miracle at Camdenville”.

These figures differ greatly from when I was a boy attending Sunday School at a Methodist Church in Camdenville, Sydney, a time when most people identified with a Protestant or Catholic faith. I am the boy with a white shirt in the back row, third from the right. My sister is in the back row with an arrow pointing down to her head, My brother is the tallest boy in the centre of the back row.

There is no doubt that the teaching of the failed theory of evolution as a mechanism for bringing this complex universe into being is the reason for discarding the God of the Bible as the Creator of the Cosmos and Jesus Christ, God’s Son as the Saviour of mankind. Thank goodness, the discovery of DNA (complex information that controls the functions of all cells in the body) and the electron microscope which has revealed complex machinery in the cells that had to be complete from day one of the cell’s existence for the cell to function correctly has revealed that creation is the only plausible explanation for the complex cosmos that exists.

THE CASE FOR EASTER

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The Case for Easter invites participants to examine the evidence for themselves and consider whether the story of Jesus’ resurrection makes sense. It will point them to the inescapable conclusion that led New York Times bestselling author Lee Strobel from atheism to Christianity: Jesus was the Son of God who conquered the grave

In his bestselling book The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel retraced his spiritual journey from atheism to faith by showing how the evidence he obtained from experts in the field of history, archaeology, and ancient manuscripts led him to the verdict that Jesus truly was the Son of God. Now, in this four-week study for Easter (DVD/digital downloads sold separately), Lee investigates the story surrounding the resurrection of Jesus—and how we can know that it is true.

In each session, he explores the following aspects of the Easter story:

What the Gospel accounts actually say about Jesus’ death and resurrection, how we can reconcile the discrepancies between the accounts, and how we can know the biblical accounts are accurate

How we can use a technique known as “five minimal facts”—facts on which even skeptical scholars agree are true—and medical evidence to build a strong case for Jesus’ resurrection

What the evidence in the Gospels reveals about the Jesus’ tomb being empty, why the Gospel writers are credible when they make this claim, and what this evidence leads us to conclude

Who the Bible states witnessed Jesus being alive after the crucifixion, how early creeds emerged that stated Jesus was alive, and how it’s clear the early church carried on this teaching.

The Case for Easter invites participants to examine the evidence for themselves and consider whether the story of Jesus’ resurrection makes sense. It will point them to the inescapable conclusion that led Lee from atheism to Christianity: Jesus was the Son of God who conquered the grave.

THE EASTER STORY

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“You don’t create stories like this. It had to be based on reality,” Dr Michael Brown told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network.

The evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is overwhelming and there have been many great books testifying to its truth. An excellent book is the one shown here. For me, these facts make Jesus resurrection incontrovertible:

1. Twelve nobodies (fishermen in the main) were able to establish in their lifetime a church that could withstand immense persecution.

2. The disciples were willing to lay down their lives for Jesus and The Gospel.

“People ask, ‘Why should I believe it?’ Well, this book is going to tell you why you should believe it. I’ve said it for many years: You don’t die for a lie. If the disciples made up the idea that He rose and concocted it, then why did they die for it later on?

Listen to this testimony of Dr Michael Brown:

“Jesus demonstrates that He’s alive today by working in our lives. The one that set me free instantly from two years of heavy drug use is the risen Jesus, the one who’s working around the world as we speak. If Jesus didn’t rise, then nobody would know His name today. He would have just been some obscure, ancient, alleged miracle-worker who died. But the fact is, hundreds of millions of people have come to worship God through Him. Islam doesn’t talk about Muhammad rising because he didn’t. Buddhism doesn’t talk about Buddha rising because he didn’t.

Only one rose—Jesus, Yeshua, Messiah of Israel, Savior of the world.”

Ask our Heavenly Father for opportunities to share the good news of Jesus this Easter. He will answer that prayer.

“For He (Our Heavenly Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

ARE YOU A FOOL LIKE ME?

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Great Easter message. Pass it on

Unshakable Hope

I’m sure it’s the little boy still hiding in my 57-year-old paralyzed body, but I enjoy trying to pull off a good April Fools Day joke on Mary. In our thirty-two years of marriage, I probably have a 75% success rate.

It can be a real challenge to carry out a successful April fools joke with ALS because I can’t speak so I have to attempt to fool her via email or using my computer’s (no inflection) robot voice (the only “voice” I’ve had for the last twenty years).

As I’m sure you know, April Fools Day and Easter (the day we celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the dead) fall on the same day this year. The two have not fallen on the same day since 1956.

Are Christians foolsfor believing that Christ was literally raised from the dead?

Atheists, agnostics and those of other faiths, believe it…

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CHRIST REVEALED – POWERFUL EVIDENCE TO STRENGTHEN YOUR FAITH

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This is the first in a nine episode series on the evidence for Christ. You will be blessed, your faith strengthened and your ability to spread the Good News empowered. These videos will be a great tool to share your faith even to atheists. They will shed light into a dark world. Make sure you share them with others.