You Can Know You Have Eternal Life
#70 King Jesus of Nazareth
King Jesus God, Myth, or Mere Man? (13)
Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? (6)
The Jews Conversion: Crucial Testimony of Jesus Resurrection
by Jim Mettenbrink
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This is the final article considering evidence
as proof of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. One other factor
serves as corroborating evidence that Jesus arose from the dead and thereby,
giving mankind the anticipation of life after death.
Through the 1500 years before Jesus
death, the Israelites (Jewish) national identity was preserved by
their unique socio-religious structure: (1) They sacrificed animals
for the atonement of sins. (2) They taught that obedience to God was
by following the covenant given by Moses on Mount Sinai about 1400 BC. (3)
The Sabbath (Saturday) was a holy day where work for personal gain was prohibited
and violations were punished by death. (4) They believed God was just
one person. (5) The Jews of the first century looked for a political
Messiah to reestablish Israel as an independent nation.
Yet, on Pentecost (a major Jewish feast in
Jerusalem), 50 days after Jesus died, 3000 Jews, who had crucified Jesus,
radically changed their lives, rejecting the Jewish system and adapting
what would be known as Christianity. Within weeks at least 10000 people,
including Jewish priests also became Christians (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7).
(1) They no longer believed in animal sacrifices, but that Jesus died
for their sins. (2) They no longer believed the Mosaic covenant (Old
Testament) was valid, but that they were under a new covenant (New Testament).
(3) Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the dead, was the day to meet
rather than the Sabbath. (4) Although God is one deity (divine essence),
God is three persons, Father, Word (called the Son Jesus when
He was manifested in the flesh [John 1:1, 14, 18]), and Holy Spirit, all
having the same divine essence. (5) The Messiah died to save man and
establish the spiritual kingdom of heaven rather than an earthly kingdom.
What caused so many Jews, in such a short
period of time, to reject the Old Covenant and social structure of their
national identity to become Christians? The only major event just
prior to such a controversial revolution was the claim that Jesus rose from
the dead.
Jesus of Nazareth is the king of His kingdom.
What is the significance of His resurrection for each one of us? What
is the significance of His kingdom?
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