Good Friday Blog--The Greatest Truth

The Greatest Truth--Blog for April 2009
Logic is a gift that should be used in determining truth. I am asking you to read this blog in a logical way and not with a bias or any predetermined beliefs.
Our courts are built on the premise that if someone catches you committing a certain act and they are willing to testify against you, then you are likely to be convicted. It is even more compelling if there is more than one witness--especially if they are not acquainted, because their testimony would come from different sources. And it is very compelling if these witnesses would risk their safety to testify-- like if they were a witness against a gang member or the mafia.
And if those who testified gave you facts and locations of where this event occurred and those places could be verified, it would hold even more weight in proving the case to be true.
What I am about to share with you is a case verified by history that has established the names, places and dates given by the witnesses. The case has also been established by hundreds of people from many different walks of life, who were eye witnesses to one of the most amazing stories that ever happened in our history! Many were willing to go to their deaths because of what they saw and believed. I think that makes for a compelling case!
So I would like to present this case and I would ask that you tell me your verdict.
2000 years ago, a Man named Jesus, Yeshua, lived in a land now called Israel. He was born in Bethlehem and had an uneventful life (as far as we know) until the age of 30 when He came onto the pages of history. And then He had the most eventful life of anyone that has ever lived! He has had an effect on every person who has ever lived-- even if they do not realize it. And what is even more amazing about this Man, people wrote about Him hundreds of years before He ever lived on this earth!
There are references to the Messiah all through the Old Testament of the Bible that point to This Man. Different men from different time periods gave clues of what to look for and what would happen to the Messiah. Israel was eagerly looking for this Man to come, but surprisingly, many of them missed His arrival.
These men, also called Prophets-- because they had a special gift to hear God’s Voice, told where the Messiah would be born: they gave His genealogy: they told about His great works and miracles--that He would heal the sick and set the captives free; they wrote that many of His own people would reject Him; the prophets told of His trial; and they told of His death--how He would die and what He would say during His execution. And finally, and most important, they told He would not be left in the grave-- that He would rise from the dead!
If you would like to look at more of the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled, check out this website: Click here: Prophecies that Jesus Christ Fulfilled
It would be impossible for one person to fulfill all of these prophecies, something like 1 in the trillions, unless He were the Person they were referring to. And of course, God gave them this information because He wanted people to KNOW that this Man was truly the ONE!
Now many say that they believe Jesus was a good man or a special teacher or even a prophet. Most religions recognize Him in some way or another.
But Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, the Messiah, the Chosen One Who would redeem the world. He went to His agonizing death because He made these claims. And He knew that He would die like this because He often told His disciples about it. Yet He continued His mission on this earth against great odds and evil adversaries.
So Jesus was not Someone you could just pass off as an extraordinary figure in history and let it go at that. He either was or was not the Savior of the world. And if He is the Lord of lords and the Son of God, then it would behoove us all to know what He was about and if there is something we need to do in response!
If you are not too sure about the Bible being true, then look at the historians’ writings of that time period and see that they confirmed His existence as well as His miracles and crucifixion. They also talk about what happened after His death and that thousands of people turned to Christianity, as it was soon called.
Many of the Jewish leaders did not believe He was the One and constantly tried to find something wrong with what He did or said. They even witnessed many of His miracles and tried to attribute them to satan or got angry with Him because He would heal someone on the Sabbath. So they did not deny His miracles even though they would have liked to. But they could not dismiss what everyone saw Him do.
You see, Jesus did not fit their image of who they thought the Messiah would be. They wanted a king and He seemed more like a pauper. They wanted someone who would deliver them from the Roman tyranny but He preached love and peace. He cared about the common people and helped them whenever He could. He hated the religious traditions that were empty and meaningless and often confronted the religious leaders for their hypocrisy.
Often, religion has become a stumbling block to those who really want to know Jesus. HE is not a religion; HE is a Person Who can be known. HE is a way of life-- not a bunch of rules and empty traditions.
Jesus loved people and cared about them. He fed the hungry and healed the sick. He set people free who were in bondage and He gave hope to people who had none. Why would anyone NOT want to follow such a Man?
But there were many who didn’t and they eventually planned His death. He willingly submitted to it even though it was not something He wanted to do. He did it because, through His death, the penalty for sin was satisfied. Sin cannot be left alone. It brings death to all who commit it and we all commit sin. He paid for sin with His death. Now all we have to do is receive His gift. And His gift is eternal life.
Tonight, Christians all over the world remember the death of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. They will commemorate His death by remembering the suffering He willingly endured and the terrible way in which He died.
On Sunday, Christians all over the world will celebrate His Resurrection!!! It truly is the pivotal point of ………Everything! All history of mankind hangs on the fact that, not only did Jesus die for us and pay for our sin, but HE is also alive in a Body that will never die! And that is our hope as Christians that we will one day join Him and live forever with Him! It is the hope which we have.
If you doubt the Resurrection, then know that there were over 500 witnesses who saw the Resurrected Christ after they saw Him die on the Cross. Many of them knew where He was buried because the Bible said what grave He was put in. (This was also talked about in an ancient prophecy.) And the Romans, in order to prevent people claiming that He had risen, put armed guards around the grave because they knew where the grave was, too! Those guards were probably put to death later because they failed their mission.
You see, Jesus was not there a few days later. His tomb was empty! You may ask: someone might have gotten past the guards and stole His body? Well, I doubt that these untrained disciples could have pulled that off but even if they could, then why would they be willing to die to say that they saw Jesus alive? Thousands of people became Christians after this event and many of those same people had been previously chanting for His crucifixion. Now they believed He was the Christ and they were willing to die for Him. And many of them did. This is also documented by secular historians.
There is much more evidence than I have written but these were some of the facts I felt were the most compelling.
So, then, what is your verdict? What verdict do you think a jury would give? What if you were on that jury? One day you will have to give a verdict even if you don’t give one now.
It is my great desire that you will find HIM to be the Truth……….
“For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth hears My Voice.” John 19:37
To cast your verdict write: Carolrtexas2@aol.com