From Cowardice to Confidence
This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Acts 2:23-24 If life were a compilation of random snapshots placed side by side, our lives wouldn’t always make sense without some knowledge of the backstory. Consider the Apostle Peter. If you took a snapshot of him the dark night he denied Christ and placed it beside a snapshot of him boldly preaching Christ on the Day of Pentecost roughly fifty days later, some explanation would be needed. What changed in Peter? The answer: Peter became thoroughly convinced of the resurrection of Jesus. This conviction gave birth to a new confidence which enabled him to boldly proclaim Christ. Authors, Gary Habermas and Michael Licona in their book, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (p.57) said “The disciples were so strengthened by seeing the risen Jesus that they preached without a thought for their earthly fate because they knew immortality awaited them.” In a world of skeptics, the story of Peter’s transformation continues to serve a strong evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. If anyone knew Jesus died, Peter did. If anyone knew the tomb was empty, Peter did – he visited it Easter Sunday morning. If anyone knew Jesus was alive – Peter did. This knowledge coupled with the filling of the Holy Spirit made all the difference in Peter’s life and future ministry. If you find yourself overcome by fear and regrets from past failures, Peter would understand. If you long to stand for Christ in the midst of opposition, Peter’s story offers hope. It’s well worth you time to revisit the Gospel accounts. Read of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Look closely at the post-resurrection appearances of Christ. Review the snapshots of the transformed disciples in the book of Acts. Above all, ask the Christ who met Peter to meet you. Transformation awaits as you see and know the living Lord! From Enemy to Friend “They only heard the account: The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” Galatians 1:23 What would it take to turn an enemy into a friend? More than a friend, what would it take to make an enemy a devoted follower of Christ? Well, if you are a high-ranking Pharisee like Saul (later Paul) it would take a lot to turn you from a Christian-persecuting, Christ-denying religious zealot into a Gospel-preaching church planter. What would bring this same man to one day die for this Christ? Although there were credible eyewitness accounts to the resurrection of Jesus, Paul remained skeptical, even hostile to this new religious sect called Christianity. Others heard and believed but not him. The one thing that did convince Paul of the truth of the resurrection of Jesus was an authentic encounter he had with the living Christ on the road to Damascus. That encounter not only convinced him of the error of his ways, it also transformed him into was is likely the most effective Christian witness in history. Paul would spend the remainder of his life spreading the Good News of Christ and willingly facing persecution himself for what he knew to be true – Jesus Christ is indeed risen from the dead! Paul would later claim that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important proof of the viability of the Christian faith. Like Paul, in more recent times a journalist and former atheist, Lee Strobel, testifies, “I became a Christian because the evidence was so compelling that Jesus is the one-and-only Son of God who proved his divinity by rising from the dead.” The truth claims of the resurrection of Jesus Christ are compelling as evidenced by those who have seen and believed and been transformed by that knowledge. It’s likely all of us know someone who is hostile to Christ and his church. We long for the conversion and transformation of all who pose as enemies of Christ. Thankfully, we have hope for their salvation because of the resurrection. The facts are on our side as we witness. It may be that God will use the genuine pursuit of truth to gradually soften and awaken a heart or he may choose to reveal himself more personally and dramatically as he did to Paul. Even now, story after story of the resurrected Jesus appearing to individuals in their dreams are being told by many, especially Muslims who live in a country closed to Christian witnessing. The risen Lord is still calling and revealing himself to seekers and enemies as well. Let us pray and be ready to share the Good News of Christ. There is hope for all in him! From Skeptic to Servant Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. I Corinthians 15:7 It’s been said that you can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family. Some of us know the greatest pain we have experienced in our life has come from our own family. At times, our harshest critics are our own flesh and blood. Jesus dealt with unsupportive family members as well. His half-brother, James, was known to be skeptical of Jesus’ claims to be the Son of God. Apparently, none of the profound teachings or miracles of Jesus could move James into the believer’s camp. You can imagine how painful this must have been for Jesus and how useful James was to the Enemy (Satan) and the enemies of God. Something changed in the heart and mind of James that convinced him that Jesus was the Christ. And just like God loves to do, he turned the tables and the useful skeptic Satan had in James became a powerful witness for Christ. Lee Strobel, in his book The Case for Christ, (p.248) records the early historian, Josephus, verifying that James, the brother of Jesus, who was a leader in the Jerusalem church, was stoned to death because of his belief in his brother. It was a visit from the resurrected Jesus that changed James from a skeptic to a servant of Christ. We have reason to believe that every lingering doubt that James had about Jesus was obliterated when he personally witnessed the risen Christ. Just like Paul and Peter, James was so thoroughly convinced of the divinity and victory of Christ over death that he willingly faced his own death rather than denying his Lord. Familiarity can rob us of the wonder of great truths. James’ familiarity with Jesus may have been a cause for his original skepticism and unbelief. If your zeal for Christ and eagerness to witness for him has been hindered by the familiarity of the Gospel, it may be helpful to look again at the greatest miracle in Christianity – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. After 2,000 years of scrutiny, case for the resurrection of Jesus has only been strengthened. Some of the brightest minds have examined the evidence and only grown in their conviction that God raised Jesus from the dead on the first Easter. What a blessing confident and courageous servants of Christ are and have been to the world. The world waits for another living witness to the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. BIBLIOGRAPHY Habermas, Gary and Michael Licona. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2004 McDowell, Josh, and Don Stewart. Reasons Skeptics Should Consider Christianity, San Bernardino, 1981 Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998 Strobel, Lee. The Case for Miracles, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018 Wright, N.T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003
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