JESUS IS RISEN!

by Dr. Hank Lindstrom

     Jesus is either a liar, or He is God who came in the person of Jesus Christ to die for your sins and mine.  In John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, l am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."  Some reject the claims of Christ and at the same time claim that He is a great moral teacher.  If Jesus lied about who He is, then He certainly could not have been a great moral teacher.  Instead, that would have made him one of the greatest deceivers of all time.  If he mistakenly thought that He was God, then He was a lunatic.  Only one answer can be the correct one.  The truth is that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who came to pay for the sins of the whole human race so that "whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE!"

JESUS MADE IT PLAIN THAT HE WAS TO DIE ON THE CROSS!

1. Mark 8:31:  "And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."

2. Mark 9:12:  "And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought."

3. Mark 9:31: " For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day."

4. Mark 10:32-34: " And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid.  And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes. And they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him, and the third day he shall rise again."

5. Mark 10:45: "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

JESUS MADE IT PLAIN THAT HE IS GOD!

     Jesus made His identity the focal point of His teachings.  The all-important question He put to those who followed Him was, "Whom do you say that, I the Son of Man, am?  When Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:15-16)," Jesus was not shocked, nor did He rebuke Peter.  On the contrary, He commended Him!  READ Matthew 16:15-16; "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?  And Simon and Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

     He made the claim explicitly, and His hearers got the full impact of His words.  We are told, "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God (John 5:18)."

     In John 10:30, Jesus said, "I and My Father are one."  Immediately the Jews wanted to kill Him.  They replied, "For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God."

     Jesus clearly claimed attributes which only God has.  When a paralytic was let down through a roof and placed at His feet, He said; "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."  This caused a great to-do among the scribes, who said in their hearts, "Why does this man thus speak blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God only?"  Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, "Whether is it easier, to say to the sick of the palsy, 'thy sins be forgiven thee,' or to say, 'Arise, and take up thy bed and walk?"  Then He said, in effect, "But that you may know that I, the son of Man, have power on earth to forgive sins (which you rightly say God alone can do, but which is invisible), I'll do something you can see."  Turning to the palsied man, He commanded him, "Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way unto thine home (Mark 2:7-11)."

     When His life was at stake because of this claim, He asserted it to the high priest, who had put the question to Him directly: "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"  He said, "I am."  Then he continued, "and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of Heaven."  The high priest tore his clothes and said, "What need we of any further witnesses?  Ye have heard of blasphemy (Mark 14:61-64)."

     So close was His connection with God that Jesus equated a man's attitude toward Himself with the man's attitude toward God.

1. John 8:19:  "Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father?  Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also."  To know Jesus was to know God.

2. John 12:45:  "And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me."  To see Jesus was to see God.

3. John 12:44:  "Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me."  To believe in Jesus was to believe in God.

4. Mark 9:37:  "Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me."  To receive Jesus was to receive God.

5. John 15:23:  "He that hateth me hateth my Father also."  To hate Jesus was to hate God.

6. John 5:23:  "That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.  He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."  To honor Jesus was to honor God.

JESUS MADE IT PLAIN THAT SALVATION IS BY FAITH ALONE IN HIM ALONE

1. John 3:16-18: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

2. John 5:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

3. John 6:39: "And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day."

4. John 11:25-26: "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  And whosoever  liveth and believeth in me shall never die.  Believest thou this?

5. John 14:6: "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life,:  no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

IT IS PLAIN FORM THE SCRIPTURES THAT WITHOUT FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST AS SAVIOR YOU WILL GO TO HELL!

Acts 4:12: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

     If you have not trusted in Jesus Christ as your personal savior, friend, then you need to do so.  The very moment that you trust in Him as your only hope of heaven, God saves you and you receive eternal life.  If you have not trusted Jesus Christ as your savior, friend, then you are living dangerously.  At any moment you could die and then you would be forever lost.  There is no second chance after death.  "He that believeth on him in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18)."

     If you are saved, then you need to proclaim this message and live your life for the Lord, (not to be saved, but because you are saved).