- Date posted
- 1y
God
If you haven’t heard the gospel, here’s it is: Jesus, the only son of God, was born as a baby—fully human and still fully God. He lived a sinless life on earth, something no human could ever do. When he was 33 years old (we guess), he accepted that he would be put to death, even though he hadn’t done anything to deserve that. He accepted his imminent death because it was actually part of God’s plan (which God had envisioned even before the fall of mankind). He was put to death by being lifted up upon a cross, which had been foreshadowed in the Old Testament. Just as in Numbers 21, when a snake had been lifted up in the desert, and all who had looked upon it had been healed, so the Son of God was lifted up, so that all who look to him will live (John 3:14-15). Jesus died on that cross, taking upon him all the sins of all the people, both in the past and in the future. His death removed the need for animal sacrifice, which in the past was needed to atone for the sins of God’s people. Jesus was in the grave for three days. The authorities were aware of a prophesy that Jesus would rise the dead, so they commanded that the grave would be guarded and the tomb sealed. (The authorities were concerned that the disciples might come and steal the body and falsely claim that Jesus had risen). But Jesus really did rise from the dead. The stone at the entrance to the tomb was rolled away, and Jesus was alive. The men guarding the tomb were afraid to the point of seeming like dead men. At first, Jesus was seen by the women who had followed him closely in his life. Then Jesus appeared to Peter, then the disciples, then to over 500 Christians at a time. Most of these people were still alive (and able to testify to what they saw) during the time that some New Testament books were written. During a period of forty days, Jesus presented himself alive and spoke to many people. Then, in the presence of his followers, he was lifted up to heaven in a cloud. As his followers were looking up into the sky, not able to see Jesus anymore, two men (angels) dressed in white suddenly stood beside them. They said, “Why are you looking into heaven? This same Jesus, whom you saw taken into heaven, will return in the same manner that you saw him taken into heaven” (Acts 1:11). This is the gospel. I can’t tell you how much God has shown up in my life. And I have a huge story about how God has helped me get incredibly better in my OCD. Discussion welcome:):) Have a great day!! 😀😀