Last time we talked about the scientific probability that 322 prophecies prophesied in the 39 books of the Old Testament, over a period of more than 1200 years, by more than 30 different writers, are one in 10 to the 84th power. That is 1 followed by 84 zeros!
Yet our faith as followers of Jesus, as important as it is, is not based only on these fulfilled prophecies. It is not even based on everything that Jesus himself taught, how He lived, or what He did, or even that He was crucified.
No, the most important of all important things why we believe in Jesus is because this Jesus rose from the dead!
That is why 1 Cor. 15 says that everything we believe as followers of Jesus stands or falls on whether He really rose from the dead, and whether He still lives!
Listen to what it says in verses 1 to 7:
“I remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and in which you also stand. By this gospel you are also saved, if you hold fast to the message I preached to you. If you hold to something else, you have believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, then to more than five hundred brothers at once, of whom some are dead, but most remain. After that, he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, he appeared to me also, who was born out of time.”
That is why verse 14 says: ‘And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.’
Therefore, most of the attacks on what we believe as followers of Jesus and on the Bible have been aimed at trying to prove the resurrection of Jesus to be a lie.
So, in the 18th century, there was a man named Gilbert West who didn't like that many of his friends had become Christians. He set out to write a book disproving the resurrection, because if you can disprove the resurrection, you can disprove the heart of the Christian message.
Halfway through writing the book, however, he encountered a Living Jesus himself. Instead of disproving the resurrection, he ended up writing a book defending it.
In the 19th century, there was a famous atheist in America named Ingersoll. He was upset that Christianity was growing so rapidly worldwide. One of his friends was the famous general, General Leo Wallace. Ingersoll said to him, "Leo, you have to help me. Why don't you write a book that refutes the resurrection?"
That's how Leo Wallace began writing his book. His wife was a Christian, and she prayed for him while he worked. That's how Leo Wallace also met a living Jesus while writing his book about the resurrection of Jesus. Today, you and I know his book because it became the text of the famous film titled "Ben-Hur".
In the 20th century, a lawyer and journalist named Frank Morrison decided that he would destroy Christianity. He believed the only way to do this was to refute the resurrection. As a journalist, he knew how to do research, and as a lawyer, he knew how to examine evidence. Halfway through writing his book, he found so much evidence for the resurrection that he met a living Jesus himself! Eventually, his book would be published with the title: "Who Rolled Away the Stone?"
So, if you are in a hurry to meet a Living, Risen Jesus, try writing a book to refute the resurrection!
I want to end this section with an image.
Imagine life as this street in front of us, with a road ahead, and this fork in the road. You don't know whether to go left or right. However, in front of you are two men lying in the middle of the fork in the road. One is dead, but the other is alive. Which one would you ask for directions about life ahead?
I am a Christian because Jesus Christ is alive. So His resurrection confirms everything He said and everything He did.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He spent 40 days with His disciples there in Jerusalem and the surrounding area before He ascended to heaven.
During those 40 days, He added nothing new or took away anything He had taught them during the previous three years.
Therefore, we can trust what Jesus said about the past, the present, and the future.
I am a follower of Jesus and a Christian, because I believe there is undeniable logical and historical evidence that everything we believe is true, but especially because Jesus really rose and lives as the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.