Bobby Leach

Posted on April 24, 2023 by russellmckinney

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:12-13, N.K.J.V.)

Englishman Bobby Leach lived an interesting life. On July 25, 1911, he became the second person to pull off the stunt of going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Of course, the feat didn’t come without some injury. He spent the next six months in the hospital recovering from two broken kneecaps and a broken jaw.

Upon his recovery, Leach, who had once been a performer with the Ringling Brothers & Barnum Bailey circus, toured as a celebrity throughout Canada, England, and the United States. He made a good living speaking in the vaudeville shows and lecture halls of the day. For his act, he would show off his steel barrel, talk about his experience at Niagara Falls, and pose for pictures.

In 1920, Leach attempted to boost his declining fame by swimming Niagara Falls’ whirlpool rapids. He made several attempts to pull off the feat but was unsuccessful each time. What made those attempts all the more incredible was the fact that, by then, Leach was his sixties.

Then came 1926. While on a publicity tour in New Zealand, Leach slipped on an orange peel, took a bad spill, and broke his leg. Infection set in, and eventually the leg became eaten up with gangrene. The leg was amputated in an attempt to save Leach’s life, but it was to no avail. He died two months afterward.

Isn’t it ironic that Bobby Leach survived his daredevil attempts at Niagara Falls but saw the end of his life begin when he slipped on a simple orange peel? In Knight’s Book of Illustrations, Dr. Stewart Anderson uses Leach’s life as an illustration of spiritual truth. He says:

Some great temptations, which roar around us like Niagara, may leave us unharmed. But a little, insignificant incident may cause our downfall simply because we are not looking for it.

The truth is, each of us runs the risk of getting into trouble anytime we drop our spiritual guard up, stop paying attention, and assume we’ve got everything under control. That’s just when some “little” temptation will bring us down. Keep this in mind as you move through life, and be sure to watch out for those orange peels!

Posted in Backsliding, Personal Holiness, Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rejoicing in the Lord Always

Posted on April 21, 2023 by russellmckinney

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4, N.K.J.V.)

Many years ago, in Germany, a young man was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. The prognosis was that the cancer would spread unless the tongue was completely removed. Only by removing the tongue could the young man have any chance of living to an old age.

On the day of the surgery, a group of students gathered around the operating table to observe the procedure. Before the surgeon began, though, he bent down over the patient and said to him, “My friend, if you wish to say anything, you now have the opportunity. But I must warn you that your words will be the last words that you will ever utter. So, think well about what you wish to say.”

The young man did take considerable time before speaking, and those moments of silence hung heavy in the air as the surgeon and the students waited. Finally, they heard the young man utter four simple words. He said, “Thank God, Jesus Christ.” That response brought tears to the eyes of everyone in the room.

I have to question if I would express such devotion at such a time. My last words could well have been: “Why, Lord?” or “I don’t understand, Lord.” Of course, I could be underestimating myself. Then again, maybe I’m not.

The New Testament book of Philippians is a letter the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians of Philippi. It is a short book, just four chapters long. Nevertheless, over the course of those four chapters, Paul uses some variation of the word “rejoice” no less than eleven times. Furthermore, he uses the word “joy” six times. What makes these words all the more amazing is the fact that Paul wrote the letter while he was under house arrest in Rome. This explains his references to “the palace guard” (1:13) and “Caesar’s household” (4:22).

How could a man talk so much about rejoicing and joy when he was chained to a Roman soldier twenty-four hours a day? (The guards operated in six-hour shifts). How could he say, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (4:4)? Obviously, Paul had learned that inner joy isn’t dependent upon outward circumstances. He understood that he had been granted spiritual life by Christ, that his sins had all been forgiven, that God could use him no matter what his circumstances were, and that even his death would merely be his promotion to heaven. This explains the joy that was bubbling up from inside him.

Christian, I don’t know where you find yourself today, but I do know that you can have joy there. Even if your earthly circumstances aren’t all that pleasant, you can focus on your eventual entrance into heaven, that glorious place where there will be no more sorrow, pain, sickness, shame, or regret. There, you will be eternally wedded to Jesus as a part of the church, His bride. And, there, you will surely have never-ending reason to say, as that young man in Germany once said, “Thank God, Jesus Christ.”

Posted in Adversity, Attitude, Complaining, Contentment, Depression, Disappointment, Heaven, Joy, Perseverance, Praise, Reward, Salvation, Thankfulness, The Tongue | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Wise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves

Posted on April 19, 2023 by russellmckinney

In Matthew chapter 10, we find Matthew’s account of Christ’s commissioning of His chosen twelve. It’s a marvelous chapter to study in terms of basic ministry, bold evangelism, and preaching for a decision. With that said, I’d like to draw your attention to a single verse from the chapter. I’m referring to verse 16, where Jesus says:

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” (N.K.J.V.)

Notice that Jesus begins by describing Christians as sheep. That’s the good part. But then He says that we are sent out into a world filled with wolves. That’s the bad part. It’s because of that bad part that we can’t be just regular sheep. We must simultaneously be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.

Picture a flock of sheep in the midst of a ravenous pack of wolves. That mental image doesn’t foretell a pretty outcome, does it? Oh, but wait, these aren’t regular sheep. These sheep are as wise as serpents. And how wise is a serpent? Well, going all the way back to the garden of Eden, the serpent is described as being more cunning than any of the other creatures (Genesis 3:1). Based upon that description, a sheep as wise as a serpent wouldn’t be easy pickings for the wolves. That’s exactly the point Jesus is making.

A Christian who is as wise as a serpent will exhibit good sense, prudence, and tact when it comes to evangelism. He will not go out into the world wild-eyed, ignorant, and hopelessly naive. He will not be of the world, but he will be in the world, and he will understand how the world works. Charles Spurgeon described the situation as follows:

He sends them, not to fight with wolves, nor to drive them out of their haunts, but to transform them. The disciples were sent to fierce men to convince them, and therefore they must be wise…The Christian missionary will need to be wary, to avoid receiving harm; but he must be of a guileless mind, that he do no harm…we are to be simple-hearted, but we are not to be simpletons.

Is it a tough balancing act to stay wise but harmless? Yes, it is. Whereas wisdom is typically associated with power, and power is often associated with the ability to inflict harm, that’s just not how Jesus expects His followers to wield their wisdom. Do you remember the story where James and John learned this lesson? It’s found in Luke 9:51-56. When Jesus and the chosen twelve came to a certain village in Samaria, the citizens wouldn’t let them enter the village. James and John, being as wise as serpents in the racial hatred that existed between the Jews and the Samaritans, understood the roadblock for the insult that it was. Accordingly, they responded by wanting to strike like cobras and exact revenge. Their question to Jesus was, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But Jesus rebuked them by saying, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” He might as well have said, “Calm down boys, I need doves not cobras.”

And so, Christian, I’ll ask you to assess how you are doing with your balancing act. Are you a sheep that has either too much dove or too much serpent about you? Neither imbalance is good. If you are too gullible in worldly matters, you need to develop more of an edge because you have too much dove about you. Conversely, if you are too quick to strike, you need to develop more of a calm, peaceable nature because you have too much serpent about you. Think of it this way: Too much dove will make you easy pickings for the wolves, but too much serpent will keep you from converting any of the wolves into sheep. And, at the end of the day, turning wolves into sheep is why we’re called to go out in the first place, right?

Posted in Adversity, Anger, Attitude, Balance, Character, Discernment, Discipleship, Evangelism, God's Work, Ministry, Missions, Revenge, Service, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nibbling Your Way Into Real Trouble

Posted on April 17, 2023 by russellmckinney

Here’s a good word from Mike Yaconelli, who writes for The Wittenburg Door:

I live in a small, rural community. There are lots of cattle ranches around here, and every once in awhile a cow wanders off and gets lost…Ask a rancher how a cow gets lost, and chances are he will reply: “Well, the cow starts nibbling on a tuft of green grass, and when it finishes, it looks ahead to the next tuft of green grass and starts nibbling on that one, and then it nibbles on a tuft of green grass right next to a hole in the fence, so it nibbles on that one, and then goes on to the next tuft. The next thing you know, the cow has nibbled itself into being lost.”

Yaconelli then applies his illustration to the problem of Christian backsliding. He writes:

…Backsliders keep moving from one tuft of activity to another, never noticing how far we have gone from home or how far away from the truth we have managed to end up.

Tell me, Christian, when was the last time you looked around and got your spiritual bearings? Could it be that you have nibbled yourself right through a hole in the fence and are currently a long, long way from where God would have you to be? Maybe you didn’t start out with the intention of leaving your God-appointed pasture. Nevertheless, that’s what happened as you continued to nibble your way through life.

I especially like what Yaconelli says about the backslider not noticing how far away from the truth he has managed to end up. Isn’t it amazing how we start to rationalize our sin or explain it away the further we get from walking with Christ? The backslider begins to see scriptural truth more as a dull gray rather than as black and white, and once that rationalizing and explaining away begins, all bets are off as to where that person might end up in life. That’s how a simple case of backsliding becomes a full blown case of rebellion and catastrophe. So please, Christian, take this post as your warning. Stop your nibbling and get back to your pasture today.

Posted in Backsliding, God's Will, Rebellion, Repentance, Sin | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Old Bearskin

Posted on April 14, 2023 by russellmckinney

Notre Dame football has had a long and successful history, but it stood the tallest when Knute Rockne was the head coach. From 1918 to 1930, the team’s winning percentage was .881. They lost only twelve games during those thirteen years and won six national championships. And the unprecedented success would no doubt have continued had Rockne not been killed in a plane crash on March 31, 1931. He was just 43 years old.

During Rockne’s tenure at Notre Dame, a football column regularly appeared in the school newspaper. The column’s writer would say incredibly mean, nasty, insulting things about the team as a whole, and he would pointedly criticize individual players. But the writer always remained anonymous by merely signing his name as “Old Bearskin.”

What was most shocking about the column was that the writer seemed to have inside information concerning the team. He knew which players were lazy, which ones were ladies’ men, and which ones kept scrapbooks to read their own press clippings. As you might expect, every player on the team hated “Old Bearskin.” When a player would come to practice and complain about something that had been written, Coach Rockne would sympathize and say that no one should write such things. Then he would say to the team, “Boys, let’s get out there and show ‘Old Bearskin’ that the things he writes aren’t true.”

It was only after Rockne’s death that “Old Bearskin” was revealed to be none other than Rockne himself. His purpose in writing the column was to keep his players humble and hungry as opposed to egotistical and content to rest on their laurels. Obviously, Rockne understood the pitfalls of pride and went to the extreme of writing the column to keep his players from succumbing to those pitfalls.

I trust this illustration will help us all understand why God sometimes allows us or even causes us to experience humbling setbacks and defeats. We don’t like such experiences any more than Knute Rockne’s players liked that newspaper column, but how can we argue that we don’t, at times, need these experiences? Actually, God either allowing or causing these experiences is nothing less than an act of love on His part. You see, He understands Proverbs 16:18 far better than we do, and that’s why He faithfully does His part to keep us from becoming a victim of its warning:

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Adversity, Balance, Character, Criticism, God's Love, Humility, Pride, Problems, Prosperity, Sports, Trials | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

When the Stick Breaks

Posted on April 11, 2023 by russellmckinney

Here’s a true story. A man caught a large rattlesnake and kept it in a cage. One day he decided to use the snake to jokingly give his wife a good scare. He opened up the cage, firmly placed a stick directly behind the snack’s head, caught the snake, and put it into a bag. Then he carried the bag into his living room and dumped the snake out onto the floor in front of his wife. Naturally, she shrieked in horror and fled the room as the man enjoyed a hearty laugh.

Now it was time for the job of getting the snake back into the bag. The man took his stick and again placed it behind the snake’s head as the rest of the snake’s body writhed and twisted. Everything was going as planned until the man made the mistake of pressing down too hard on the stick. The pressure caused the stick to suddenly snap and break in the middle. This freed up the snake’s head and with lightning speed the snake turned and bit the man’s index finger. As the deadly fangs plunged deep into the finger, in rushed the poison.

So, how did the story end? Well, thanks to good medical treatment the man’s life was saved. The finger, however, had to be amputated. For the rest of his life, whenever someone would ask the man how he lost his index finger, he would say, “A snake bit me.” And when he was asked, “How did a snake bite you?” he would answer, “The stick broke.”

Alright, now let’s move to the spiritual application of this story. Just as that fellow had a pet rattler, you have a pet sin. This is the sin to which you are most vulnerable and susceptible. I promise not to ask what your pet sin is if you promise not to ask what mine is. But what I will do is implore you to resist the temptation to play around with your sin. Don’t trust whatever “stick” you’ve got that you think enables you to enjoy the sin while avoiding its poison. Believe me, sooner or later that “stick” will break and your pet sin will bite you. And when it does, you’ll inevitably pay a high price because of it.

Posted in Addiction, Backsliding, Choices, Personal Holiness, Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Addiction

Posted on April 10, 2023 by russellmckinney

A group consisting of linguists and animal trainers set about to train a chimpanzee to talk. For years they pampered the chimp and taught him different sounds. Finally, the day came when he was to verbalize his first words. With anxious anticipation the group gathered around the cage to listen to anything he might say. And, sure enough, the chimp did say something. He said, “Let me out!!!”

No matter how nice a cage is, it’s still a cage. Sadly, many people find themselves trapped right now in one of life’s cages. These cages all get filed under the general heading “Addiction” and they have specific names like “drugs,” “alcoholism,” “gambling,” and “pornography.” Perhaps these people enjoy fleeting moments of happiness in these cages, but a cage will always be a cage, and it will never be the way that God intends for the person to live.

I don’t mean to undermine or devalue the good work that is done by anyone who helps people deal with addiction. With that said, however, a personal relationship with Jesus will always be the best way to conquer an addiction. And to any addict who might say, “I don’t need Jesus to be my crutch,” my response would be, “You’ve already got a crutch; you just need to trade it in on a far better one.”

In John 8:34, we read the following:

Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” (N.K.J.V.)

Take special notice of those words “whoever commits sin.” While that rendering of the New Testament’s original Greek is accurate, it doesn’t capture the full bloom of what Jesus said. As evidence of this, Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest’s Expanded Translation of the New Testament translates the words as “everyone who habitually commits sin” (emphasis mine). Likewise, the English Standard Version renders the phrase as “everyone who practices sin (again, emphasis mine).

You see, this more precise translation of the Greek takes us into the realm of addiction. Jesus isn’t talking about the man who sees a scantily clad woman on t.v., lusts for a moment, and then changes the channel — even though that moment of lust is surely a sin (Matthew 5:27-28). No, He’s talking about the person who lives his life eaten up by lust and actively seeks out scantily clad women on t.v. or the internet so that he can stare at them for long periods of time and fantasize about them. Do you see the difference?

The good news is that right on the heels of talking about those who are such slaves to sin, Jesus gives the cure. He says:

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36, N.K.J.V.)

You ask, “But how can Jesus offer such sure liberation from the addiction?” He can do it because He alone has the power to change the addict’s nature rather than just the behavior. In John 3:1-21, He explains how those who place their belief in Him as Savior are “born again,” and to be “born again” is to have God the Holy Spirit literally take up residence inside your body (Romans 8:9).

Once the Holy Spirit is dwelling inside your body, He will not obliterate your inborn, sinful, addictive nature. But what He will do is bring to you a contrasting nature, a nature which is nothing less than the nature of God. As 2 Peter 1:4 says, believers become “partakers of the divine nature,” and that nature of God can provide you with both the incentive and the power to resist your addiction. In this way, you become what 2 Corinthians 5:17 calls “a new creation.”

So, do you find yourself in some type of cage right now? Is some addiction getting the best of you? Do you feel helpless to break free from its grip? If you answer “Yes” to these questions, let me urge you to turn to Jesus. Maybe you need to genuinely place your belief in Him as Savior and become “born again.” Then again, maybe you’ve already done that but your fellowship and daily walk with Jesus have grown so anemic that you are severely limiting the indwelling Holy Spirit’s influence upon your life. Whatever your case may be, just know that your addiction is not bigger than Jesus. And that’s not just some cutesy little sound bite that a preacher is supposed to say. Jesus really does stand ready right now to set you free from your cage, but the question (one that only you can answer) is: Will you let Him?

Posted in Addiction, Alcohol, Backsliding, Belief, Change, Desires, Gambling, Gluttony, Homosexuality, Lust, Personal Holiness, Repentance, Restoration, Salvation, Sex, Sin, Slavery, Temptation, The Holy Spirit | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Be Sure to Get All the Message

Posted on April 7, 2023 by russellmckinney

But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” (Matthew 28:5-6, N.K.J.V.)

Before the invention of electric telegraph machines and Morse code, messages were sent long distance by means of semaphoring. England’s version of semaphoring involved signalmen using coded visual imagery to spell out messages (letter by letter, word by word) to sentries who sat with telescopes in hand atop high buildings. The sentries would then relay the messages to those who were awaiting the information.

As one often-told story has it, in the wake of the great Battle of Waterloo in which Napoleon’s French troops took on the English troops of The Duke of Wellington, a signalman on board an English ship semaphored the first word, “Wellington,” to a sentry who was sitting atop England’s Winchester Cathedral. Then the signalman sent the next word, “defeated,” just before an eerie fog settled upon the whole area, The fog was so thick that the sentry atop Winchester Cathedral couldn’t even see the ship, let alone any visual signals being sent from it. And so, as the fog continued to disrupt communications for the next few hours, the message “Wellington defeated” spread throughout England like wildfire. That, of course, was terrible news for the nation.

At some point, however, the fog lifted just as suddenly as it had appeared, and the signalman was able to finish sending his message. And what was the entirety of the message? It was: “Wellington defeated the enemy.” With that news, England’s gloom was turned to joy.

Okay, so is this famous old story true? I have no idea. All I know for sure is that it makes for a powerful illustration in relation to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Symbolically speaking, we might say that when the dead body of Jesus was laid in that tomb after His crucifixion, a fog settled upon the land, and that fog prevented the rest of the message from being heard.

Ah, but on the third day, the fog lifted as Jesus arose victorious from the grave. That’s why, every Easter Sunday (and, really, every Sunday), we Christians celebrate the lifting of the fog and the completion of the message. Needless to say, we must never leave Christ’s body hanging dead on the cross or decomposing in the tomb, and we must always make sure that the world hears ALL the message.

Posted in Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Easter, Evangelism | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Christ’s Resurrection: Study the Facts, I Dare You

Posted on April 5, 2023 by russellmckinney

A group of lawyers once met in England to discuss the Biblical accounts of Christ’s resurrection. They were curious as to whether or not there was sufficient information regarding the resurrection to make a case that would hold up in an English court of law. When they had finished their research, they published the results of their investigation. Their conclusion was that Christ’s resurrection was nothing less than one of the most well-established facts of history!

Along the same lines, noted Christian apologist Josh McDowell came to Christ by way of some of Christian friends in college challenging him to intellectually examine the claims of Jesus. In his book, Christianity: Hoax or History?, he writes:

Finally, I accepted their challenge. I did it out of pride, to refute them. But I didn’t know there were facts. I didn’t know there was evidence that a person could evaluate.

The point I’m making is that you becoming a Christian doesn’t require you to check your brains at the door. You don’t have to believe in Santa’s flying reindeer in order to also believe that Christ rose from the dead. One is fantasy, the other is history. If you doubt the historical veracity of the resurrection, I challenge you to dive into the same serious, academic study into which those lawyers and Josh McDowell dove. I mean, after all, if the claims about Christ can’t stand up to a little honest scrutiny, they aren’t worth much anyway.

But what you’ll find is that they can stand up to such scrutiny, and that simple fact will bring you face to face with a risen Savior. At that point, the decision will be yours. Will you make Him the Lord of your life or will you reject Him? Even if you do reject Him, you won’t be able to change the fact that He really was who He said He was, and He really arose just as He said He would.

Posted in Belief, Christ's Resurrection, Easter, Salvation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

7 Evidences for Christ’s Resurrection

Posted on April 3, 2023 by russellmckinney

Certain legal experts have studied the case of Christ’s resurrection and concluded that an honest jury would reach the verdict that Jesus really did arise from the dead. It is with this in mind that I present to you seven evidences for His resurrection. I wouldn’t call this an exhaustive list, but I do believe it’s a good one.

Evidence #1: The actions of the Roman soldiers who guarded Christ’s tomb: Scholars say there could have been as many as sixteen soldiers in the Roman guard that was assigned to Christ’s tomb, and Roman soldiers were the best in the world. They were highly trained and incredibly disciplined. The only thing they feared was the penalty that would befall them if they were negligent in their duty. And yet, on the morning of Christ’s resurrection, that group of Roman soldiers shook with fear (Matthew 28:4), fainted (Matthew 28:4), and abandoned their posts (Matthew 28:11). Roman soldiers simply did not act that way. How convinced were those soldiers that something miraculous and supernatural had happened at that tomb site that morning? They were convinced enough that it took nothing less than bribery to get them to say that Christ’s disciples had stolen His body (Matthew 28:11-15).

Evidence #2: The tomb’s broken seal: The Bible says that Christ’s tomb was “sealed” (Matthew 27:66). A Roman seal of this sort wasn’t very impressive in appearance. It was basically just two globs of wax and a cord. One glob was placed upon the circular door to Christ’s tomb, and the other glob was placed upon the tomb itself. One end of the cord was fastened into the first glob, and the other end was fastened into the second. It’s likely that a signet ring was used to make an impression in the wax. So, what was it that made such a seal so intimidating? It was the fact that the seal carried with it the authority of the Roman government. The penalty for anyone breaking such a seal was upside-down crucifixion. Nevertheless, the seal upon Christ’s tomb was broken.

Evidence #3: The stone door was rolled away: Jesus was buried in a very expensive tomb. It had been constructed for Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man who had become a follower of Christ (Matthew 27:57-60). The tomb was a small cave that had been cut out of the rock. Just in front of the tomb’s opening was a trench. In this trench sat a massive circular stone that served as the door to the tomb. The stone weighed over a ton. According to an ancient note that has been discovered, it took more than twenty men to move the stone. Remarkably, however, the apostle John used the Greek word airo to describe what happened to that stone (John 20:1). This specific word speaks of much more than the stone being merely rolled backward inside the trench. What airo actually indicates is that the stone was literally picked up and moved quite a distance. How could such a stone have been moved in this way? The Bible says that an angel descended from heaven, rolled the stone away, and sat down on it (Matthew 28:1-2). That angel is what scared those Roman soldiers to the point of causing them to faint.

Evidence #4: Jesus, in His resurrection body, appeared alive to hundreds of witnesses: Early on resurrection Sunday morning, a handful of devout women saw the risen Jesus (Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10; John 20:11-18). Later that same morning, He appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5). That afternoon, Cleopas and another unnamed believer saw Him (Luke 24:13-32). That night, He appeared to a gathering of ten of the apostles — Judas Iscariot having committed suicide, and Thomas not being present that night (1 Cor. 15:5; John 20:19-23). The following Sunday night, He appeared again to a gathering of the apostles, with Thomas being present this time (John 20:24-29). Several days later, He appeared to a group of seven of the apostles on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and had breakfast with them (John 21:1-14). Sometime shortly after that, He appeared to the entire group of apostles at a mountain site in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20). That same appearance might also have been the time when over 500 people saw Him at once (1 Cor. 15:6). Additionally, He was seen at some unspecified time by His earthly half-brother James (1 Cor. 15:7) and by approximately 120 believers just before His ascension back to heaven (Acts 1:1-12). Imagine a trial in which over 500 reputable people each took the witness stand and said, “I know that Jesus arose from the dead because I saw Him in His resurrected body.” You talk about compelling evidence!

Evidence #5: The coming of the Holy Spirit: Before Jesus was crucified He said to His disciples, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (God the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7, N.K.J.V.). Later, in Acts 2:1-13, the Holy Spirit’s coming is described in detail. Consequently, the obvious indication is that Jesus resurrected, ascended back to heaven, and kept His promise to send the Holy Spirit.

Evidence #6: The change in the chosen twelve: Immediately following Christ’s crucifixion, the eleven apostles (minus Judas Iscariot) went into hiding. Evidently, they were operating under the assumption that the same authorities who had arrested Jesus and executed Him would be coming for them next. But something happened that emboldened those eleven men to come out of hiding and start fearlessly proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. What was it? It was their experience with the risen Christ. The change that came over them simply cannot be explained any other way. They knew that Jesus was alive! Those men even began their proclaiming of Christ’s resurrection in Jerusalem of all places, with Christ’s tomb being located just outside the city. That was the last place they would have begun if they had known that His resurrection was a lie.

Evidence #7: The fact that Christ’s body was never discovered: Although a popular tourist site is strongly considered to be the tomb of Christ, there is still some debate about the actual location. However, the people of Christ’s day knew exactly where He was buried. It was common knowledge to them, which meant that any of them could have paid a visit to the opened tomb and checked it for a body. But no body was ever recovered. Think about this: All that was required to stamp out the fledgling religion of Christianity was the decaying corpse of Jesus, and yet no such corpse was ever produced. That in itself is incredibly strong evidence that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead.

Well, there they are, my seven evidences for Christ’s resurrection. And as long as I’m on the subject, let me give you one more just for free: Jesus has changed my life. I’m like the fellow who said, “I know that Jesus is alive because I talked to Him this morning.” Even more than talking with Him each morning, I try to walk with Him each day. By doing so, I can report that He has made me a new creation by causing old things to pass away and all things to become new (2 Cor. 5:17). You see, that simply wouldn’t have happened in my life if death had been able to hold Him. Therefore, that is my own personal evidence for knowing that Jesus is alive.

Posted in Christ's Resurrection, Easter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment