There are many people trying to convince the world that Christ was not who He claimed, and therefore He is not the Messiah. They argue from many different angles, trying to shack people from believing and professing to be followers of Christ. Why? Christianity becomes meaningless, if Christ never rose from the dead.
Our children’s faith is being attacked at school, by teachers and other students all of the time. They need to know the Biblical truth of who Jesus Christ was, and the rational, logical reason with explanations of our beliefs. Then they can realize for themselves that it is true. Knowing where your beliefs come from is a deciding factor that leads to a long, faithful relationship with our Lord. We believe it, not just because the Bible said so, and not just because our parents told us it was true. We believe because the historical and archaeological facts prove it, and it is the most logical explanation for the way things are in the world.
Many scholars say that Christianity’s truth really boils down to this question. Did Jesus rise from the dead? If He did, than that proves He has power over death, and therefore we can trust everything He said; i.e. He is the Messiah.
The following comes from an Episode in Christ Revealed where Dr. Patrick Gentemp interviews Gary Habermas. I highly recommend the Christ Revealed series to all believes, and those who are skeptics.
Here are the facts which prove Jesus Christ was resurrected No one can honestly deny them, including intellectual scholarly atheists; as non-Christian historical writings and archaeological finds support them.
1) Jesus died via crucifixion. Why is that proof? Well we need a dead body for the resurrection to be true.
2) After Jesus’s death, His disciples had real experiences that they believed were appearances of the risen Jesus.
3) After Jesus’ resurrection, the disciple’s lives were transformed to the extent they were willing to die. People do not willing die for something they know is a lie. The four most influential early Christians were James the brother of Jesus, Paul, John and Peter. Three of them have 1st Century sources that prove they were martyred for their faith. These men and other apostles, put themselves in situations that proved their willingness to die for what they believed.
4) The resurrection was taught early, very soon after the event. Some atheist scholars say it can be traced back to 2 years after Jesus’s death.
5) Paul was an extreme persecutor of Christians. After an encounter with Christ, he totally changed. His whole purpose in life was to proclaim the Gospel to the world.
6) James the brother of Jesus was a skeptic. When Jesus came to town, James was an unbeliever. After he saw the resurrected Jesus, he was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. The verses which show Jesus’ family did not believe are John 7:5, Mark 3:31-35 and Matthew 13:57. James calls Jesus “Lord Jesus Christ” after he sees the resurrected Jesus, proving he became a believer.
My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? James 2:1 NLT
7) Jesus’ body was never found, and the tomb is still empty. The Romans, Pharisees and Sadducees didn’t want the the ‘stories’ of the resurrection, so they did everything they could to stop it. They guarded the tomb prior to the resurrection, and they searched for Jesus’ body afterwards. They hunted down and persecuted believers, trying to get them to recant their belief. Everything they did failed, and were never were able to stop the truth about the resurrection.
We who believe, know the truth, and by God’s firm hand, will not be shaken. When you look at these facts, it is not hard to believe in Jesus’ resurrection. Therefore He is the Messiah!
Please review these things with your children. Make sure they know we don’t believe just because the Bible says so, or because our parents told us it was true. We believe because the facts prove it to be true, and it is the best explanation for the way things are.
