"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...." 1 Peter 1:3
Old Testament prophesies fulfilled by Jesus
1. He would be born of a virgin: “...the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son...." (Isaiah 7:14)
Fulfilled! "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. ... [T]he angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus... and of His kingdom there will be no end.'" (Luke 1:26-33)
2. He would be born in Bethlehem: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)
Fulfilled! "Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.... And she brought forth her firstborn Son..." (Luke 2:4-7)
3. His death would redeem us from sin and judgment: "He was wounded for our transgressions... and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5-7)
"..Christ also suffered for us...Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree..." (1 Peter 2:20-25)Fulfilled!
4. He was rejected by those He came to save: "He is despised and rejected by men... and we did not esteem Him." (Isaiah 53:3).
Fulfilled! "That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him." (John 1:9) See more examples here.
Evidence of the Resurrection
It's not surprising that many doubt or deny His resurrection. On that astounding event rests the ultimate victory of God's eternal purposes! Through the cross, Jesus redeemed us (bore the legal punishment for our sin and freed us from the judgment of the law). Having freed us from legal judgment, He could -- by His resurrection -- raise "us up together" with Himself, so that we might share in His life and victory even as we serve Him here on earth." (Ephesians 2:1-10)?
1. The massive stone had been rolled away!
This was no small miracle. Sealed and guarded by a team of Roman soldiers who would face torture and death if they fell asleep or failed to carry out their mission, the stone is estimated to have weighed well over a ton. In spite of these precautions, the stone was moved -- by an angel. The guards were then bribed by chief priests to spread false explanations."...an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men." (Matthew 28:1-4)
"...some of the guards came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, 'Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.' So they took the money and did as they were instructed...." (Matthew 28:11-15)
2. The tomb was empty -- except for the burial wrappings: If the disciples stole the body, why would they take time to unwrap it before hiding it? They didn't need to do anything! The tomb was empty because Jesus had, indeed, risen!
3. More than 500 witnesses could confirm His post-resurrection appearances: As the apostle Paul wrote:
"...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, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6)
4. The disciples and others who followed Christ would face persecution and death for proclaiming the resurrection:
Before the resurrection, the disciples were too frightened to defend or even acknowledge their Lord. But after the resurrection, they boldly proclaimed what they had seen and heard in spite of the threats against them. They bravely faced imprisonment, torture, stoning and death. What changed them? Only an absolute certainty that Jesus, their King and Savior had indeed risen!"...just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4)
God's Word makes it abundantly clear that there are no alternative pathways -- no other trails up the mountain -- that can bring us to God and open the Door into His eternal Kingdom. Jesus Christ, our Lord is the only Way:
"I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:9-10)
'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" (John 14:6)
If you long to know Him, please see this page: What it means to be a Christian.
The following testimonies illustrate how God changes lives and provides all the wisdom and strength we need to joyfully serve Him. We hope they will encourage you: Guilty as Charged | Living in God's forgiveness | My Shepherd
More archeological data that verifies the Biblical account:
Archaeology and the Old TestamentRead about the amazing number of discovered manuscripts that verify the Bible. For example:
"There are more than 5,300 known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, over 10,000 in Latin and over 9,300 other early versions totaling 24,000+ manuscript copies of portions of the New Testament in existence today, ranking it first in manuscript evidence."
"The Dead Sea Scrolls, uncovered in 1947, included an ancient copy of the scroll of Isaiah. This scroll, dating to approximately 100 B.C. was found to be identical to the Modern Hebrew Bible in over ninety five percent of the text. The remaining five percent consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen or variations in spelling. "Prior to that discovery, the earliest manuscript of Isaiah was the Masoretic Text, dating to 900 A.D. Realize, then, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls moved the dating back more than a thousand years! And that without any appreciable change in the text."[7]
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