Saturday, March 22, 2008

The dead don't come back to life -- with one exception

By DR. BILLY GRAHAM

DEAR DR. GRAHAM: Do you think they'll ever find Jesus' grave with His bones in it? I respect my Christian friends who say this can't happen because Jesus came back from the dead, but I'm studying to be a doctor, and I know that once someone is dead, nothing is going to bring them back to life. -- Z.J.

DEAR Z.J.: It might surprise you to discover that one of the Gospels that tells us about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead was written by Luke -- who was a medical doctor.
If anyone knew from personal experience that dead people didn't come back to life, it was Luke. And yet he was absolutely convinced the words of Peter he later recorded were true: "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact" (Acts 2:32). In fact, the Bible says hundreds saw Jesus after His resurrection, including more than 500 at one time (see 1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Years later, those witnesses were still bearing testimony to the reality of Jesus' resurrection.
Not only that, but they were willing to die for their belief. People don't willingly die for what they know is a lie -- but they were, because they knew beyond doubt that God had raised Jesus from the dead. They knew too that His resurrection proved death and Satan had been conquered, and eternal life is available to all who put their faith and trust in Christ.
This Easter I invite you to take a new path in life -- Christ's path. He alone gives us hope -- hope for God's presence now, and hope for life beyond the grave. No, they'll never find Jesus' bones, because God raised Him from the dead, and because of that "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul" (Hebrews 6:19).

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!

Contact the Rev. Billy Graham c/o Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201, phone 877-247-2426, or see the Web site billygraham.org.

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