What did Jesus do?  Jesus, who is God's unique Son, and who is Himself God, came to live on the earth about 2000 years ago.  He became a human being.  He is often referred to as the "God-Man," since He possessed fully the aspects of humanity and divinity.    He lived an exemplary life, without sin.  Then He willingly gave up His life for us, as He was tortured and executed.  Somehow He paid for our wrongdoings and ultimately made us acceptable to God by this act, so that whoever responds to His invitation might be given a fresh start, a new life that never ends.  On the third day after His death, He rose again (physically came back to life and walked out of the tomb where He was buried) as both verification of who He is, and as a promise that He is the One who is able to overcome death.  This sounds incredible, almost incomprehensible, but it's true.  Jesus is inviting you now to consider your response to His invitation.

There is no doubt that Jesus existed as a historical Figure. Not only do the writings of historians outside the Bible make reference to Him, the fact that His followers believed Him to be the Son of God is indisputable. The Gospels– Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the biographical accounts of Jesus. Details in these biographies are confirmed by archaeological and other evidence. These biographies were written within the generation of the events which they report to have taken place. This attests to their authenticity (we can be sure the eyewitnesses themselves wrote them). If the events reported had not been true, they could have easily been disproved by skeptics of the day.

The Old Testament of the Bible contains several hundred references to the coming Messiah (a Hebrew term meaning "Anointed [or Chosen] One"). These prophecies, written many hundreds of years before Jesus was born, foretold details of His birth, life and ministry, purpose for coming, death and resurrection (literal rising from death). The probability that even a few of these prophecies could have been fulfilled coincidentally (by accident) is ridiculously low. And the possibility that Jesus could have deliberately arranged to fulfill these prophecies is non-existent, since many of them speak of the place and time of His birth, and the manner of His death– details over which no ordinary person could have had control.

Although Jesus was human, His character was not that of an ordinary man. He was much more than a religious figure. His behavior and personality, His power, His sense of justice, and His deep compassion for people indicate that He was– and is– more than just a man. The Bible tells us: "God created the universe by His Son, and everything will someday belong to the Son. The Son reflects God’s own glory, and everything about Him represents God exactly." (Hebrews, chapter 1, verses 2, 3) "Christ is exactly like God who cannot be seen.... God Himself was pleased to live fully in His Son." (Paul, in Colossians, chapter 1, verses 15, 19)

Jesus’ resurrection (the event in which He literally rose from death) is His ultimate "stamp of authenticity." It is proof that Jesus is who He and others claimed about Him– that He is God’s Son, the Messiah, who came to seek and rescue people who are lost and far from God. There is overwhelming evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For instance, after His crucifixion (execution by being nailed to a cross), no enemy or skeptic was ever able to produce His body and thereby squelch the spreading news that He was alive. If Jesus had not truly risen to life again, it would have been very easy to put an end to His followers’ message. Jesus’ followers were willing to die horrifying deaths for what they had seen and knew to be true. People will not die for something they know to be a lie.

The apostle Paul was once a skeptic, and an enemy of Jesus’ followers. But following his encounter with the risen Christ, Paul himself became one of His most devoted and enthusiastic followers. Here’s what he wrote about the resurrection of Jesus:

Notice not only the large number of people by whom Jesus was seen alive after His death, but also the fact that Paul indicates that "some of these (the 500) are still alive...." By this, Paul seems to invite skeptics among those to whom he was writing to check out the credibility of the account for themselves by seeking out these eyewitnesses and talking to them directly.

Credibility for the resurrection is also seen in the fact that the lives of Jesus’ followers were transformed– when He was nailed to the cross, they grieved His death. They hid for fear of retaliation from those who had conspired against Jesus. They were afraid to be identified with Him. They did not expect to see Him alive again. But after His resurrection, Jesus came to them several times and their lives were never the same. They now had full confidence in Him as their living Leader.