|
|
Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. Psalm 95:7-8, Hebrews 4:7 Was Jesus really dead? Was Jesus ever dead? Yes, Jesus was truly and definitely dead. And after He was fully dead, He became fully alive. This is called the Resurrection. Jesus had to be fully dead in order to rise from the dead. Else it is a cruel hoax. Since Jesus was truly dead, His coming to life on His own proves Jesus is God. The proofs that Jesus was truly dead are found in the New Testament in the books of Matthew 27:46-56 and Mark 15:33-41 and Luke 23:44-49 John 19:29-37. The most obvious scientific sign that Jesus was actually dead is found in John 19:31-34. John, the eye witness of this event states: Because the Jews did not want the bodies to be left on the crosses during he Sabbath (their religious time), they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. (The reason they wanted the legs broken was to speed up the dying process so that by sundown they could remove the dead body from the cross.) The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.Any one who has seen a dead corpse knows that the blood coagulates, leaving the water to separate away from the blood. Thus when the soldier pierced Jesus’ side, he was proving that Jesus was truly dead and did not need to have his legs broken. Now the reason that the other men on the crosses next to Jesus did not die is because in the course of nature it takes much longer time to die than it took for Jesus. In fact, in Mark 15:42-47 it states that " Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph." Here were two witnesses to report that Jesus was indeed dead.However, we have yet to find the reason that Jesus died so quickly. In Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15: 34 Jesus refers to Psalm 22 of the Old Testament. It is here where Jesus is bearing the sins of you and me and everyone else in the world. God his father cannot bear to look upon sin, so, for this time, Jesus Christ is carrying the sins of us and is separated from His Father (See Christ, the atoning Lamb of God) In Mathew and Mark and Luke 23:44-46 it is recorded that: It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. (This is about 3 o’clock in the afternoon) Jesus called in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. Matthew 27:50, Mark 15:37, and John 19:30 all report the same thing. You see, no regular man can "give up his spirit". No one can choose when he or she will die. One may try to cause one's own death, but one cannot choose the specific moment of their death without physically harm oneself. However, Jesus was tied to a wooden cross and could not move. He was incapable of physically moving Himself. Jesus Christ was no ordinary man. Jesus was, and still is, God. And only God alone can choose the time of life and the time of death, the time when a soul enters and leaves a body. So, the reason that Jesus died so much earlier than it would take naturally was because His work was finished. He could go to His Father now. He didn’t need to linger, for Jesus was a man of purpose, and his purpose of carrying our sins to the cross on Himself was now finished.It is important to note the proof of Jesus’ work that was done on the cross. The proof is the effect of Jesus’ death. You see, Jesus had to die on the cross for our sins, so that you and I who trust in Jesus’ carrying away our sin would now be able to be in God’s presence. (See Good News or Suggested Prayer) The proof that Jesus’ work on the cross was complete is in Matthew 27:51 and Mark 16:38 and Luke 23:45. "At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." This is crucial since it proves that now there is no separation from us in Jesus Christ and God the Father. The temple curtain separated man and woman from the Holy of Holies, which is God’s dwelling place.The second proof that Jesus is God is that the curtain was torn from the top to the bottom. No man could tear the holy of Holies curtain without fear of being put to death, let alone tear it from the top, many feet above his own head. This proves that God Himself tore the curtain in acceptance of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for our sins. God alone was the one who tore the curtain. The curtain was torn from heavenward (top) to earthward (bottom). This page will be embellished upon at a later date. In the book of Acts, for forty days there were hundreds of eye witnesses of Jesus walking around and eating and speaking after His coming alive again. And after that they watched him rise up into the sky, ascending into heaven. He promised to come back as He had left, on a cloud from the sky. Therefore Jesus said again, " I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep .....I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved...I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep....I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just s the Father knows me and I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep.Bring me to New Creation or Come to Me or Who is God or or to Jesus Christ's Power or Jesus Christ Messiah
|
|
Send Donations To: Billboards for Christ, Inc. P.O. Box 27 Chester, MD, 21619-0027, U.S.A. "Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved." "Todo aquel que invoque el nombre del Señor sera salvo." - Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13, Romanos 10:13 Fair Use Permission is granted for all teachings on this website with one constraint: All printed or verbally read material must note "Copyright of Billboards for Christ, Inc. Found at www.BillboardsforChrist.org". For more extensive use, please contact us. All Bible verses are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright© 1973,1978,1984 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. -- La Santa Biblia, Nueva Version Internacional®, NVI®. Copyright© 1999 by International Bible society®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. -- Verses followed by TEV or CEV are from Today's or Contemporary English Version with copyright permission of the American Bible Society.. NKJV is by Thomas Nelson Publishing. Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy(NBLH)©2005 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California All other writings are used with copyright permission of CSB. Have questions or comments about this web site? Write our webmaster at FEEDBACK Copyright © 2002 Need Hope. For Personal Faith Questions please contact us through our FEEDBACK page. Billboards for Christ, Inc. is not responsible for the content of the links on our website. See also www.NeedHope.net Have questions, comments or problems about this web site? Send e- mail through our FEEDBACK page. Copyright © 2000 Billboards for Christ, Inc. Last modified: October 23, 2001 |
