“After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3)
I never blame anyone for doubting that Jesus came back from the dead. It takes real faith to believe that the impossible happened. But you must believe it to be a Christian, and you must be convinced about it to be willing to lay your own life on the line.
The disciples didn’t have to just believe it; they saw Jesus alive again with their own eyes. And He didn’t just appear to them briefly in a vision or floating in a dim mirror. They didn’t need high-tech ghost hunter tools to catch a glimpse. He wanted them to be convinced that he was dead and then all the way alive again – to give them the courage to give their own lives for him.
So he kept appearing to them for over a month. He kept letting them confirm his real, physical life with their eyes and touch and even watching him eat.
And in case they would one day worry that it was some kind of grief-induced hallucination among the 11 of them, Paul tells us that Jesus showed himself to over 500 people at once after he was dead and alive again. (See 1 Corinthians 5:3-8.) They could always confirm that lot of other people saw him, too.
Think: How does believing that Jesus was raised from the dead change the way you live your own life for him? How should it change the way you think about death?
Pray: As a Christian, thank God for helping you to be convinced in the reality of Jesus’ resurrection from death. Ask him to help you live like you believe that you’ll be resurrected, too.
Do: If you haven’t, yet, read 1 Corinthians 5:3-8.