I Can Prove that Jesus Rose from the Dead!

Walking in the Truth

Today's Devotional Thoughts

Can I prove authoritatively that Jesus rose from dead . . . either because of my superior intellectual reasoning powers or undisputed historical records?

No, I cannot . . . 

But do I need scientific or logical proof that Christ rose from the dead?

No, I do not . . . & praise God for that! But before I try to "reason this out," here are some . . . 

Scriptural Truths for Today

"Consequently, faith coms for hearing the message, & the message is heard through the word of Christ."  Romans 10:14

"I know that my Redeemer lives, & that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him w/my own eyes--I, & not another. How my heart yearns within me!"  Job 19:25-27

"For what I received I passed n to you as of first importance:  that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, & that He appeared to Peter, & then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, & last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born."  1 Corinthians 15:3-8

Continued Devotional Thoughts

• Scripture makes clear that one can only come to faith in a crucified & then resurrected Jesus--our Lord & Savior--by hearing or reading the Word of God. [Lutherans & the majority of Christian denominations also believe in the power of God's Word through Holy Baptism to create faith in our hearts.]
• Faith is a gift . . . and that is a VERY, very good thing, because otherwise--from a human point of view--it does NOT make sense that someone could be raised from the dead.
• Therefore, I believe that Jesus died & rose again . . . not because of historical evidence or human logic . . . but because:  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--& this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by by works, so that no one can boast."  Ephesians 2:8-9
• There is an extensive field of study, referred to as Christian apologetics, whereby historical evidence & human logic--put forth by brilliant apologists that are far beyond any ability I have to reason this out--are used to lend credence to the existence of God, the truth of Jesus' miracles,  the accuracy & historicity of the Bible, and the Truth of the Resurrection. [SEE addendum below.]
• Finally, thanks to this God-given gift of faith, I not only have hope for my own resurrection & eternal life . . . I have hope--true hope--for the bodily resurrection of many loved ones who have died "in Christ," & their own eternal life.

A Final Truth from Scripture

"But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the head, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised, our preaching is useless & so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead. But He did not raise Him if in act the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
      "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead . . . "  1 Corinthians 15:12-20  
[I highly recommend that you check out the entire chapter--1 Corinthians 15--which is St. Paul's Holy Spirit-inspired teachings about the Resurrection of Christ, the Resurrection of the Dead, & the Resurrected Body . . . and, no, my finite, human mind, is still incapable of wrapping itself around all the substance & nuances of this text . . . But then, as I stated before . . . it doesn't need to!]

Today's Prayer *

Christ is arisen From the grave's dark prison.
So let our joy rise full & free; Christ our comfort true will be. Alleluia!
Were Christ not arisen, Then death were still our prison.
Now, with Him to life restored, We praise the Father, of our Lord. Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Now let our joy rise full & free; Christ our comfort true will be. Alleluia!
* Source:  "Christ Is Arisen," found in Lutheran Service Book, #459.

Addendum

Check out this link to a thought-provoking devotional, written by  Vince Vitale for "Slice of Infinity,", the daily devotional resource posted on-line by RZIM. I found & read it as part of my THU 4/15 "quiet time," which helped stimulate my thinking about today's devotional. I think I've mentioned more than once that this is a source that I turn to virtually every day, as part of my "quiet time."

Re:  Christian Apologetics .  .  . If you'd like to learn more about the field of Christian apologetics, check out this link. It's anything but exhaustive, but I think it's a fair & balanced description.

Some noted Christian apologists

• C.S. Lewis. Here's a link if you'd like to know more. He's one of my favorite apologists & authors.
• G.K. Chesterton. Here's a link if you'd like to know more. I admit that I have only read excerpts from his writings, found in other writings of other apologists. I intend to check him out!
• Ravi Zacharias.  Here's a link that I think that I've shared more than once.

CAVEATS:  (1) Remember--you & I do NOT need apologetics to "prove" for us that Jesus rose from the dead. (2) You will find some "unorthodox" Christian theology in some of these apologists' writings , , , unorthodox LCMS theology in particular . . . but it doesn't keep these writers & their ideas from being thought-provoking. It does require some mature Christian thinking to read them with a "grain of salt." (3) I have  become very familiar w/the RZIM web site. I just skimmed through the web sites re:  C.S. Lewis & G.K. Chesterton, so I can neither condemn nor endorse these sites. Plus, these sites received no promotional considerations from me . . . and I received no remuneration of any kind for including them in today's devotional.

An Addendum to My Addendum

After finishing this devotional, I checked out a link re:  Ravi Zacharias that had piqued my curiosity. This lead to many other links. Some of them are noteworthy for his apologetic defense of Christianity, but some are highly critical of the man & openly question whether at least some of his teaching is false doctrine. If you Google "Ravi Zacharis," you'll see what I mean.