If you had checked the real estate section of the Jerusalem Reporter that week, you might have seen the following ad:

Hand-chiseled tomb for sale.  Beautiful garden setting.  Condition: excellent.
Used: only three days.

Jesus’ battered body had been prepared for burial.  Then He was laid in a borrowed tomb.  But He wasn’t there long.  Just three days.  Then miraculously He was raised from the dead.  Mary didn’t recognize Him at first; Thomas demanded proof of His identity.  Then He appeared to His disciples and more than five hundred believers at once.

Josh McDowell, a Christian apologist and author, said, “After more than 700 hours of studying this subject and thoroughly investigating its foundation, I have come to the conclusion that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted upon the minds of men, OR it is the most fantastic fact of history.”

The resurrection is not merely important to the Christian faith; it is essential.  Without the resurrection, there is no basis for Christianity. It is the one fact that distinguishes Christianity from all religions of the world. All other religious leaders who have died are still in their graves.

Jesus is alive!  He has risen!  A simple fact that changed the world for all eternity!

 “For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received – that 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. Then he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also.” (Corinthians 15:3-8 NET Bible).

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Historically, kings ride horses.  But this King rode an unbroken donkey—a symbol of humility and peace (Matthew 21:1-11).  Jesus rode into Jerusalem, not as a conqueror on a white stallion—that would come later–but as a humble King “endowed with salvation.”

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). 

One week before His crucifixion, Jesus formally presented Himself as the Messiah-King of Israel.  The crowds were celebrating.  They were laying down palm branches on the roadway for Jesus.  They were singing Messianic psalms.  “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD” (Psalm 118:26).  To them, Jesus represented a kind of prosperity and freedom from Roman rule.

In contrast to this scene, in Revelation 19:11-16 at the end of the tribulation period, Jesus is seen coming out of heaven riding on a white horse.  In Revelation 20:16, the words, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS were written on His robe.  He will no longer ride in humility on the back of a donkey.

In His First Coming, Jesus came to die; in His Second Coming, He returns as a conquering King to reign on His Millennial Kingdom on earth.  On Palm Sunday, Jesus presented Himself as King to the Nation Israel.  But later they rejected Him and demanded that He be crucified.

He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of  Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you” (Genesis 22:2)

I don’t know of anything that would require more faith.  God had promised Abraham a nation through this son, Isaac.  But now God was asking Abraham to sacrifice his son of promise. It is amazing that Abraham obeyed God to the point that he was in the very act of sacrificing his son Isaac when God stopped him.  All of this was a test.

God does not ask for human sacrifices, but He does ask for faith.  The Bible says that Abraham believed God.  He evidently believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead after he was slain.  His faith was evident when he told the men who had accompanied them, “We will worship and return to you” (Genesis 22:5)   God did provide a substitute, an animal sacrifice—a prototype of God’s provision of the lamb of God, His son Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Abraham was human, he loved his son.  But he loved God…more.  You see his test was a matter of priorities.  Jesus said that if we loved a family member more that Jesus, we are not worthy of Jesus.

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37).

Why do you think it is so hard to trust God for our children?

Isn’t it often a challenge to live a life characterized by truth and integrity.  Do we sometimes compromise, even a little, when making decisions?  Maybe we think a little compromise is not  important.  It won’t really matter that much. Yet we must remember that what we do has an impact on others–especially those who are close to us.  But more importantly, what we do affects God.  He is honored when we live a life of integrity; He is grieved when we sin.

But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy (1 Pet. 1:15-16).

Why is it sometimes difficult to make the right decision–one that would honor God?

Meanwhile, unknown to him a confrontation was taking place in heaven between the God of the Universe and the god of this world.  The issue was the motivation for this man’s godly life.  The accusation was that anyone would live godly if you paid him off.  So the god of this world was given the right to remove all the “things” that made the man rich.  All of his possessions were destroyed or removed.  Even his children were taken from him in a single instant.

As a result, the man’s wife strongly advised him, “Curse God and die.”  That might be the normal reaction to such a tragedy.  Interestingly, he did just the opposite.  He thanked God.  To paraphrase him, “I came into this world with nothing, I will leave the same way—taking nothing.  Praise God.”  You can read more about this man in the first chapter of Job.

Why do you think it is so hard to let go of things, or even people, that God takes away?

You have about a 14 million to 1 chance of winning the Texas lottery, regardless of how many tickets you buy.  Games of chance are just that–games of chance.  Feeling lucky?  Want to win some easy money?  The temptation can be great, but the addiction is real.  The odds are poor.  The results are often devastating.

What do the Scriptures say about gambling?  Is it always wrong?  Read more …

No, you didn’t miss the rapture.  Although times are rough, we are not in the tribulation.  Earthquakes abound.  Wars erupt.  Disease and hunger are rampant.  But what does the Bible say?  Is the rapture yet future?

Interestingly, Matthew 24 is not about the rapture, which was yet to be announced (1 Thes. 4:14-17; 1 Cor. 15:51, 52).  It is those “in Christ” who will be raptured.  This refers to the church, which began on the Day of Pentecost.  The events in Matthew 24 take place during the Great Tribulation.  The phrase in verses 40 and 41, “one will be taken and one will be left” is compared to the days of Noah.  The context is judgment, not rapture.  This passage of Scripture is frequently taken out of context and is therefore misunderstood.

We hope the Time Line of the Bible, as well as the prophecy Charts and Diagrams, will help in distinguishing these events.   Or, are you still confused?  What questions do you have?

We were on vacation driving along a mountain road in Colorado in a rented car–with no GPS. We were totally, completely lost. Finding our way back seemed hopeless.  Then we saw a car stopped at a row of mailboxes. So we pulled up next to the car and asked the driver for directions.

The Widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17)

As Jesus neared the gate to the city of Nain, a funeral procession was making its way out of the city.  A dead man was being carried through the city gate, accompanied by his widowed mother and a sizeable crowd of mourners.  He was her only son.  Now he was dead.   The Greek word, μονογενής, translated here only son, is the same word used in John 3:16, in reference to Jesus being the only begotten son of God. 

The widow’s grief was obvious to all, but especially to our Lord, whose own mother was probably a widow at this time in His life.  Jesus’ great capacity for love is revealed in this passage. “He felt compassion for her.”  His heart went out to her in sympathy.  Perhaps her grief foreshadowed that of his own mother in the near future as she would watch her son die on the cross.

“Stop weeping,” He told her.  She may have wondered why anyone could be so insensitive, not even permitting her to cry over her lost son.  But then he walked over to the coffin and touched it.  The funeral procession abruptly stopped.  Jesus spoke to the dead son, saying, “Young man, I say to you arise!”   As the creator-God of the universe, Jesus told the young man, “be raised.”  At His command, the soul and spirit of this young man were reunited with his lifeless body.  To the amazement of the onlookers, the corpse sat up.  His mother‘s tears of mourning turned to tears of joy.  She saw her son sit up; then he began to talk.  He probably said, “Hi, mom.”  Then, seeing her tears, perhaps he spoke compassionately to her, saying, “Please stop crying, mom.  I’m okay now.   I’m not even sick any more.”  All because the Savior of the world happened to come across a funeral procession in the city of Nain. 

What impresses you about the account of the widow of Nain? How have you experienced God’s love?

These kids were at a stage of life when they were about to make some life-changing decisions. They were deciding where to go to college? They needed to select a major which would lead to a desired career. Many would soon be selecting a mate. Each of us has times in our lives when major decisions need to be made. But to a lesser degree, we need to determine God’s will in the everyday matters of life.

The implication is that if we sincerely desire to know God’s will, He will lead us in the way He wants us to go. What are some evidences that a believer is in the will of God? Some say that it is easier to know the will of God than it is to do the will of God. Read more about how to know God’s Will.