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Jesus: Dead or Alive

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I remember when I lost my first pet. Lancelot the cat was as brave and true a feline as anyone could own. He wasn't like your average cat- stuck up, selfish, and swollen with pride. No, Lancelot was more like Puss 'n' Boots in Shrek 2. One minute he was fierce as a tiger, the next he would melt your heart with those big round eyes that made you forget that he had just marked his territory for the 15th time on the furniture.

Then one day Lancelot was sick, and a few weeks later he was gone. Though that was a long time ago, I still remember driving back from the vet with an inconsolable sadness that went to the pit of my stomach. I knew there would be other pets, but Lancelot would never be replaced.

Death has such finality, doesn't it? When we go through the loss of someone or something we dearly loved, a hopeless feeling creeps in and leaves us wondering what to do next. Perhaps that's exactly what the disciples were feeling as they gazed up at the lifeless body of their best friend as he hung on the cross.

Make no mistake, Jesus truly died on that fateful day. The Romans made sure of it by piercing his heart with a spear, and the disciples walked away from a hill called The Skull feeling grief and despair that few of us will ever know. Jesus was then taken down from the cross, prepared for burial, wrapped in grave clothes, and placed in a borrowed tomb. The Roman Government, fearing that someone might try to steal the body and also because Jesus had predicted his resurrection, rolled a huge stone in front of the tomb and placed the Emperor's seal on each side. They also stationed 4 rotating squads of 12-16 state-of-the-art fighting machines called Roman soldiers at the tomb with orders to defend it to the death. If they fell asleep or failed to guard the body, they would face a death penalty for their letdown.

Who knows? Maybe some soldiers would still be there if a true shock and awe event hadn't occurred that rocked the ground and is still rocking the world today.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Make no mistake; Jesus truly came back from the dead on that triumphant day. This is a fact that is backed up as well as any ancient historical event ever recorded. He beat the pain of death and brought the hope of life to the entire world. He is the only 'religious leader' who can claim that, which is why he is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6).

But there are lots of folks who find this fact just a little bit unbelievable. After all, how often does anyone come back from the dead? Maybe you are a little bit skeptical yourself, so why don't we take a hard look at some hard facts that make a certain case for Jesus coming back from the dead.

As I mentioned before, the body of Jesus was in the tomb Friday, Saturday, and some of Sunday. But just a little while later, the Roman seal was broken, the 4000 lb stone was rolled uphill and away, and the tomb was empty. So the first question is: who moved the stone? The Roman guards? Not likely. If the seal was broken for any reason they could kiss their lives goodbye. I doubt if 4 squads of 16 soldiers were all completely suicidal. How about the disciples? Sure, they came out of hiding, overpowered the best trained fighters in the world and rolled a 2 ton stone up an incline. Nope, any other theory besides the truth comes off about as reasonable as a wacky UFO story on the Sci-Fi channel.

Who moved the stone? The answer is in Matthew 28:2-4:

"Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint."

Why did the angel roll away the stone? Simple- to show the world that the body was gone and Jesus was back from the dead. So the next question becomes: where did the body go?

Maybe the enemies of Jesus took it? That way they could secretly help 'fulfill' the prophecy Jesus made that they hated so much- right? Wrong. Besides, if Jesus' enemies did take the body, then why did they remain silent when the disciples' started telling everyone about the resurrection of Jesus? All they would have to do is parade Jesus' dead body and it would totally destroy the story of Christ's resurrection.

Maybe the friends of Jesus took it? Again, picture the scene: untrained fishermen and tax collectors overpower trained killing machines, roll away the stone, steal the body, hide it, then go on to preach lies and DIE for something they knew wasn't true.

If you examine all the options, there really is only one option: Jesus came back from the dead, and he's alive and well even as you are reading this. He appeared to the disciples and then to over 500 people (I Corinthians 15:6). Many of them were still alive when the story of the resurrection made its way around the world, so if you thought it was a lie all you had to do was go ask someone who saw Jesus alive!

Bottom line: people who don't believe in the resurrection of Christ simply don't want to believe. They remind me of the person whose life motto is: "I've made up my mind, so please don't confuse me with the facts". The fact is that if you accept the resurrection for the fact it is, you have no choice but to choose heaven or hell, and most people are more comfortable choosing not to choose.

What does the resurrection means to us? In a word: victory. Death has been defeated. The way to heaven has been made open to us because Jesus proved who he was by busting out of the tomb. The only finality you need to think about is that one day, because Jesus rose from the grave, you will FINALLY be with him forever!

For more study on the evidences for Jesus resurrection, check out Josh McDowell's books Evidence That Demands a Verdict and More Than A Carpenter.

Head: What you need to know about this truth

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Heart: What you need to feel about this truth

How should the resurrection of Jesus make us feel? Well, for, one it should make us incredibly grateful. Write a letter of gratitude to Jesus for his victory over the grave. Also, the resurrection is a guarantee that one day we will rise from the dead as well (I Corinthians 15), so we should also feel very hopeful. When we die, it won't be the end - actually only the beginning of our lives in eternity. Complete these sentences in your mind or in your journal:

Because Jesus came back from the dead, I feel...

Because Jesus came back from the dead, I won't be afraid of...

My hope is founded in the fact that...

Hands: What you need to do about this truth

The fact that Jesus rose from the dead and offers eternal life is the greatest news of all time. What is really cool is that the empty tomb is not some fairy tale on par with the Easter Bunny. It is a historical fact that is backed up by evidence and logic- so what are you waiting for? Go out and start some conversations with your friends and family about the empty tomb. You may not convince everyone, in fact you might not convince anyone - but at least you were faithful to what God has asked you to do.

If you are not really the conversation type, try writing some e-mails or getting into some chat rooms with the information from this Soul Fuel and the other resources we mentioned.