Jesus is Hard to Believe.

Christians say a lot of ridiculous things. And surely the most ridiculous is this; that Jesus died and rose again. Surely that’s the point where it becomes a bit too difficult to believe. “Sure, Jesus probably had some seriously legit things to say, and people seemed to think he was pretty special. But rising from the dead? That’s ridiculous.” And I reckon you’re right.

That IS ridiculous. Absurd.

But what if?

What if he did?

If Jesus did somehow managed to stop being dead; surely that’s a big deal. Surely that changes the way we look at his life. Surely that changes the way we hear the things he said about life and death. If someone rose from the dead right now claiming to know how to defeat death, I’d want to hear them out. If he claimed to be the Saviour of the world, the only person who could possibly save us from the consequences of our rebellion towards God, and also claimed he would rise from the dead in order to prove he had authority over life and death. Surely you’d want to investigate that claim.

What if he didn’t?

Then he’s just another dude in history who died. Said some cool things, but died. Just like everyone else.

This isn’t something you can possibly respond to with ‘meh.’ It either changes everything or nothing. It either means that Jesus is the Saviour who can save us, has authority over life and death, or he’s just a liar, and is worth nothing. This isn’t something you can respond to with ‘meh.’

But how can we know?

There are a whole bunch of reasons why I’m convinced that Jesus did rise. One of them is that almost all of the disciples who claimed he was alive again were executed for what they believed. Surely at the point where someone threatens to boil you alive in hot oil you concede. You admit to everyone it was just a lie. And YET, most of the disciples were executed. They were killed for what they claimed. This isn’t the kind of thing you do just for a laugh, to try and pull one over your mates. This isn’t the kind of thing you proclaim based on a hunch. They really believed it. So much so that they would die defending it.

Would you die for a lie?

I would love for you to investigate this for yourself. Keep digging. Keep searching. This isn’t something you can respond to with ‘meh.’ If this is true, it might just be the only thing that’s important.

Luke Graham attends the Barrenjoey Anglican Churches