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Some have said that Jesus was a liar; but, as imperfect as Jesus’ followers have been, no liar ever could have inspired so many to turn from practicing evil to doing good. Some have said He was a lunatic, but an insane man never would have said the kinds of things Jesus said—words that have brought to people an immeasurable amount of peace, comfort, and motivation to do right. Others have said He was a legend, but the writers of the New Testament were eyewitnesses; they could not have written what they wrote and gotten away with it if their claims about Jesus originated in their imaginations.
What other alternative exists concerning Jesus’ identity? The only other option available to us is that He was who He claimedto be—God’s only Son who came down from heaven to live among us, to show us what God is like, and to be executed on a cross on a Passover Friday in our place, for our sins. Then, the following Sunday, He rose from the dead, proving that God had accepted His atoning sacrifice.
When an individual comes to God in sorrow for his or her sins and asks Him to credit Jesus’ death to his or her own account, God hears that individual, forgives that person’s sins, and gives that individual new—and eternal—life.
Jesus made a bold claim in John 11:25-26 and then asked a penetrating question of a close friend: “I am the resurrection and the life,” He said. “He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (emphasis added).
I am the resurrection and the life,” He said, “He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?
—Jesus to His friend Martha in John 11:25-26—
This question confronts each one of us. No better time exists than right now to respond to Him, answering Him sincerely and with a resounding yes!
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Copyright © 2019 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
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