The other day I was speaking to a young lady who questioned the resurrection of Jesus. “Other than the first four books of the Bible, you have no proof.” Well, mentioning the “First four books” gave her knowledge of the Bible away, so I asked her if she had ever read the Bible. She said she had and that she actually carried it in her car somewhere. After she retrieved it, I realized someone had given her a New Testament-only Bible, so it was clear why she thought the Gospels were the first four books. I asked if she would meet me at the church the following day, and she agreed. She agreed and duly met me there the next day.
I began by explaining the difference between the two testaments to her and then asked if she knew of any other resurrection in the Bible. “I have skimmed the book and don’t believe I saw any,” she replied. I had done some homework the previous night and showed her that there were several resurrections. They are mentioned in the Bible in 1 Kings 17:17–24 – Elijah raised the widow’s son; 2 Kings 4:32–37 – Elisha raised a child; 2 Kings 13:20–21 – a dead man whose body touched that of Elisha was restored; Matt. 27:52–53 – tombs were opened, and bodies of saints were raised; Mark 5:35–43 – Jesus raised Jairus’s daughter; Luke 7:11–17 – Jesus restored the widow’s son; John 11:39–44 – Jesus raised Lazarus; Acts 9:40 – Jesus raised Tabitha, and Acts 20:9-10 – Paul raised Eutychus.
That intrigued the young lady, and she began to listen intently as I spoke of a book that I have called, “Who Moved the Stone” by Frank Morrison. We read a few excerpts, and then, with an air of excitement, we returned to the question at hand, “Proof of the resurrection of Jesus.” Before going any further, I asked her to answer several questions. “Do you know who invented Penicillin?” With some prodding, she remembered and said, “Alexander Fleming.” “Good, and who was the first person to fly?” I asked. “I know that one. One of the Wright brothers,” she confidently blurted. “Close enough,” I replied. “Now, how do you know that?” She looked puzzled as she said, “I read it in books.” I continued with my questions, “You read it, but you weren’t there yourself, right?” “Duh, of course not!” she replied snarkily.
“Ok, just remember that as we go forward because you are saying you trust the eyewitnesses who were there at the time.” I will give you all the internal evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus, witnessed by people who were there or knew those who were. Moreover, I will prove to you another day that the Bible is authentic. If I can do that, will you then admit that the Resurrection of Jesus actually happened and is not a fanciful fable of deluded people who call themselves Christians? “I think I would, but we will see.” “Good enough for me,” I replied. Once again, I referred to the information I had studied and previous night and listed for her the evidence contained in the Bible for Christ’s Resurrection.
The resurrected Jesus is recorded as appearing in Judea (Mt 28:9; Lk 24:31, 36) and in Galilee (Mt 28:16–20; Jn 21:1–23), in town (Lk 24:36) and countryside (Lk 24:15), indoors (Lk 24:36) and outdoors (Mt 28:9,16; Lk 24:15; Jn 21:1–23), in the morning (Jn 21:1–23) and the evening (Lk 24:29,36; Jn 20:19), by prior appointment (Mt 28:16) and without prior appointment (Mt 28:9; Lk 24:15,34,36; Jn 21:1–23), close (Mt 28:9, 19; Lk 24:15,36; Jn 21:9–23) and distant (Jn 21:4–8), on a hill (Mt 28:16) and by a lake (Jn 21:4), to groups of men (Jn 21:2; 1 Cor 15:5,7) and groups of women (Mt 28:9), to individuals (Lk 24:34; 1 Cor 15:5,7–8) and groups of up to five hundred (1 Cor 15:6), sitting (Jn 21:15 implied), standing (Jn 21:4), walking (Lk 24:15; Jn 21:20–22), eating (Lk 24:43; Jn 21:15), and always talking (Mt 28:9–10, 18–20; Lk 24:17–30, 36–49; Jn. 20:15-17, 19-29; 21;6-22.)” Courtesy, Peter Williams. That was enough for her, and she has returned several times to study the Bible with me.
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