Messiah: Behold the Lamb of God, Episode 6 Airs Sunday At the very heart of faith stands the resurrection of the Savior. For centuries, countless millions have celebrated the Easter season as one of eternal hope, flowing with the light of life. But many scholars have assaulted this beacon of belief because it seems to be so implausible in the light of modern physical and social sciences. Their explanations range from a hallucination gripping the disciples to outright lying on their part to the effect that Jesus rose from the dead. As early as the nineteenth century, scholars began to recreate-fancifully-what really happened, theorizing that Jewish physicians with extraordinary skills brought Jesus back to consciousness after he had hung on the cross that fateful Friday, allowing him to return and to appear to his disciples. But the New Testament holds a stubbornly bright light on the reality that Jesus rose physically from the dead, appearing to disciples in concrete ways that demonstrated His newness of life. More than any other miracle, Jesus’ act of raising His friend Lazarus from the grave points to his powers over death. Perhaps the most telling of evidences of Jesus’ resurrection is the fact that His closest disciples, including the Eleven, did not initially believe that He had risen from the dead. This lack of faith underscores in bright hues that they did not make up the story since it seemed so farfetched at first. In a word, they came to belief only after they had met Him and touched Him. The exception, as is well known, were certain of his women disciples who believed immediately. Additional holy writ secures the certainty of Jesus’ resurrection. In one of the most compelling of all passages of scripture, the account in Third Nephi in the Book of Mormon recounts the Savior allowing some 2,500 people an opportunity to touch Him and to hear His words in the Americas. After this supernal experience, “they did cry out with one accord, saying, Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God!” (3 Nephi 11:16-17). But this was not all. He then returned for two more full days among these people. Their their witness of Him was full and complete. More than any other fact in their lives, they knew that He was the Risen Lord, “the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and [had] been slain for the sins of the world” (3 Nephi 11:14). No Comments | Post or read comments |