![]() The entire known world was turned upside down with the message of the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. And whoever believes in me shall never die” ( John 11:25-26). Life could be lived with the assurance of sins forgiven and a new way of living established: with the certainty that “whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live. The light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, his crucifixion and resurrection, not only illuminated the plight of human beings but magnified the power of God. Just years after the resurrected Christ ascended into heaven-again, with witnesses observing-the light of God’s truth that Isaiah had prophesied was going to the ends of the earth. I have stood in the underground stone cages built for ferocious bears and seen how the cages were transformed to chapels, with Bible stories embedded into the walls with still-luminous mosaics, and baptismal fonts, and Communion Tables of stone. The Roman empire had built its fortunes on the cult of the Roman emperor, but within years, despite unprecedented persecution, the amphitheaters constructed to kill Christians for bloodthirsty sport became magnificent stadiums-veritable giant pulpits and sanctuaries- to proclaim the risen Christ. While under house arrest, he heard the gospel and brought the Christian faith and its beautiful message of the resurrection back to the British Isles. Celtic traditions tell of a Welsh king who was captured by Román soldiers and brought to Rome. Other extra-biblical literature of the day would say that Joseph of Arimathea went to Britain. Mark went to Egypt and died while preaching eternal life in Christ. Thomas would go to India and be martyred at modern-day Chennai. The Resurrection of Jesus Was a Cause to Die ForĪll of the Apostles would die for the message of the resurrection except for John, who would suffer for it, and die as an old man in the parish of Ephesus. To the utter dismay of violent antagonists, lengthy imprisonments following kangaroo court trials were but leisurely catechetical periods resulting in faith in Jesus by the highest officials in the realm. Dispatch the most highly-trained and loyal palace guards, and the captors became Christians. Bind them with chains and shackles and their prisons became parishes. ![]() Imprison the Apostles and their cells became chapels. Instead, “the Way” grew by leaps and bounds. There would have been profit in doing so, for the message of the resurrected and living Jesus was wrecking entire economies built on archaic, sensual religions of mythology and mirth. These witnesses could have unmasked Paul, Peter, James, and the others as mad-men had they another story to tell. Over five hundred people saw Him, many of whom would live to the twilight of the first century. There is no question about whether this resurrection of the Nazarene is metaphorical or physical. Was the Resurrection of Jesus Real or Just a Story to Push an Agenda? And even more astounding: because He lives, all who die with faith in Him will also rise body joined to the soul. The corporal person of Jesus of Nazareth exists today. ![]() The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the undeniable centering point of Christianity, the defining doctrine of our faith, and the most audacious claim in the history of the world: a God-Man, sent from heaven, crucified in the most public way, dead and buried in a rich man’s tomb, which sepulcher was sealed with inscrutable security by the mighty military powers of the Roman Empire, and then-a dead man who called Himself Almighty God-lives.
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