Unbelievable! Incredible!

Uplifting Moments Column
By: 
Gary Novak
Monticello Baptist Church

 "Oh really?" is often a response to an account that we find hard to believe.  It might be true, it may even be tragic, or it may be made up, and it may be intentionally humorous. The examples of that are too numerous to mention, and since I only have so much space and a little of your time, I'll ask: Do you find the death and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Creator of the universe, believable? Credible?  Your eternity depends upon it.

The last chapter of Mark's Gospel is similar to the response of most people today: "I don't believe it!" Listen to these immediate responses to the empty tomb: "they were alarmed, they trembled, they were amazed, they were afraid, they did not believe" (16:5-11), and again, "they did not believe" (v. 13).  Jesus Himself "appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen" (v. 14).

What changed their minds?  The evidence.  What would change their unbelief to belief?  The evidence.  No one was expecting to find the tomb empty on that resurrection morning.  Jesus had told them He would rise from the dead (Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34) but they did not really hear what He was saying.

So what will convince you?  If you are reading this as an unbeliever, what will change your unbelief to belief?  There are two answers to that question: 1) The Bible and, 2) talking to and listening to someone who knows the power of Christ's resurrection and the truth of the Bible.  Every believer is on a path that leads all the way back to the empty tomb.  You see, someone told them (either by personal witness or through a written word) and they believed.  And each has believed on the basis of the written Word of God, the Bible -- century after century.  What at first seems unbelievable is believed.  What at first seems incredible is accepted as credible -- based upon the written Word of God.  God oversaw what is written in the Bible and each of those who wrote were either witnesses of the risen Christ or knew those who had seen Him.  They had seen unbelief become belief.  Fables, hearsay, myths, nonsense, and "idle tales" (Luke 24:11) do not miraculously transform lives --  the risen Lord Jesus does.

If you are not a convinced believer in the risen Lord Jesus read the Gospels in the Bible. See what they and others saw that day at the empty tomb and even afterwards, as Jesus appeared to many for forty days before He ascended to heaven, promising to come again (Acts 1:3, 9, 11).  We might say to certain stories we hear, "That's incredible!" (which actually means "not credible").  We might say, with a grin, "Oh really?"  We might say, "Unbelievable!"  That was the initial response of those on that first Resurrection Sunday.  But they became convinced believers.  Faith is being convinced that what God has said in the Bible is absolutely true. Yes, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a miracle of God; but that does not mean it is impossible.  Jesus said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27).  Jesus took your place on the cross bearing the punishment for sin that you and I deserve.  His bodily resurrection assures us that eternal life is ours -- only through faith in the risen Lord Jesus.  You can live life knowing God and His full forgiveness with the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ in you (John 14:19-20, 17:3). Why not believe in Him today?  Remember, this is an Uplifting Moment that lasts for eternity.  

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