The Empty Tomb.Some say it never happened. Others claim it did. Some say it doesn't matter if it happened or not. They say: "It wouldn't change the fact that Jesus was still a prophet... a good man... a doer of good deeds."
But it does matter!
A dead Jesus would make Him just a man. It would nullify all that we believe as Christians. It would make Christ's teaching, suffering and death meaningless.
The Apostle Paul said it: "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith doesn't mean anything. Your sins have not been forgiven."1Co 15:17 (nirv)
Jesus declared that God would give a sign:"A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."Mat 12:39-40
In the Apostle Peter's first recorded sermon in Acts 2:25ff, he quotes the Psalms regarding Jesus' Resurrection: "Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay." Psalm 16:9-10 /Acts 2:25-312
Tim 2:8"Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead. This is my Gospel."
Jesus said to an unbelieving Thomas:Joh 20:29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen me but still have believed." (nirv)
But it does matter!
A dead Jesus would make Him just a man. It would nullify all that we believe as Christians. It would make Christ's teaching, suffering and death meaningless.
The Apostle Paul said it: "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith doesn't mean anything. Your sins have not been forgiven."1Co 15:17 (nirv)
Jesus declared that God would give a sign:"A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."Mat 12:39-40
In the Apostle Peter's first recorded sermon in Acts 2:25ff, he quotes the Psalms regarding Jesus' Resurrection: "Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay." Psalm 16:9-10 /Acts 2:25-312
Tim 2:8"Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead. This is my Gospel."
Jesus said to an unbelieving Thomas:Joh 20:29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen me but still have believed." (nirv)
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