THE EMMAUS WALK PRESENTS:

"Resurrection Reasons:

Why We Believe Jesus Rose from the Dead"

If Jesus did not rise from the dead, the Christian faith is a foolish fantasy. However, if the resurrection of Christ did occur, it confirms His life, message, and atoning work. It is the basis of our hope of life beyond the grave.

1. Jesus predicted His resurrection (Matt. 16:21; Mark 9:9-10; John 2:18-22).

2. The Old Testament prophesied it (Psalm 16:10:24); compare Acts 2:25-31; 13:33-37).

3. The tomb was empty and the graveclothes vacant. If those who opposed Christ wished to silence His disciples, all they had to do was to produce a body, but they could not (John 20:3-9).

4. Many people saw the resurrected Christ. They looked on His face, touched Him, heard His voice, and saw Him eat (Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 24:13-39; John 20:11-29; John 21:1-9; Acts 1:6-11; 1 Cor. 15:3-8).

5. The lives of the disciples were revolutionized. Though they fled and even denied Christ at th time of His arrest, they later feared no one in their proclamation of the risen Christ (Matt. 26:56, 69-75). 6. The resurrection was the central message of the early church. The church grew with an unwavering conviction that Christ had risen and was the Lord of the church (Acts 4:33; 5:30-32; Rom. 5:24).

7. Men and women today testify that the power of the risen Christ has transformed their lives. We know that Jesus is alive not only because of the historical and biblical evidence but also because He has miraculously touched out lives.

For myself, and I suspect for most people, Number 7 is the best reason I would claim for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. I know it is true because I have seen Jesus living in Christians I know personally and very well--Christians such as my mother, father, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, not to mention loved friends, and not to mention innumerable acquaintances. Jesus radiated from them, and transformed their lives so that they were not like other people around them. But even beyond this overwhelming proof of the resurrection and that Jesus lives today is that He lives in me. I know it for a fact. He has transformed my life. He has touched me and changed me beyond anything else in my life. I never intended to become a Christian again after rejecting him about five years after my born-again experience--yet He came back so powerfully into my life, blessing me despite my terrible, sinful, backslidden state, that He proved irresistable. I saw his mighty miracles in my own life and how he set me free from sinning and living for the Devil--and am amazed by His deliverance to this day. Nothing in this world compares to Jesus in my life--you can have the world, it is a cheap, passing show instead of the real thing, being a child of God, an heir of Christ, looking toward His coming and a glorious, joyful, pain-free, sorrow-free eternity spent with the Lord and the saints and angels.--Ed.

This is a reprint of the entire piece sent to me by a dear Christian friend several years ago. It is being passed on to you here, without any change.--Ed.

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