Well, not really. First of all atheists say that there weren’t any eyewitnesses to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. And if you give them five or even five hundred they say, “Well, that doesn’t matter because you can’t trust what eyewitnesses tell you.”
John 1:14 - [God the Son] became flesh and pitched His tent among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and only Son who came from our Heavenly Father, Creator God, full of grace and truth.
1st John 1:1-3 - That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. This Life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal Life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
John said the following regarding the intense three years he spent as a disciple of Jesus.:
. I have seen Jesus in the morning when He awoke
. I have seen Jesus as He slept
. I have seen Jesus when He was hungry
. I have seen Jesus when He was sad and crying
. I have seen Jesus when He was irritated and angry
. I have seen Jesus handle debates like a pro
. I have seen Jesus intimidated only once, just before His arrest
. I have seen Jesus handle crowds of 12 to 15 thousand people
. I have seen Jesus sneaking off to get by Himself and be alone
. I have seen Jesus content even though He owned nothing but the clothes on His back
. I have seen Jesus protect little children, hold them and play with them
. I have seen Jesus protect women, even foreign women from a harsh patriarchal system
. I have seen Jesus love and accept society’s outcasts just as if He belonged with them
. I have seen Jesus fast and pray
. I have seen Jesus confound and challenge the wisest and most educated people
. I have seen Jesus standing on a mountain dazzling like the sun
. I have seen Jesus heal people that I’ve known to be blind and crippled for, well, for all of my life
. I have seen Jesus lowly and humble riding on a donkey on the day of what we thought would be His coronation, just like that guy Maccabees, a Jewish hero from long ago
. I have seen Jesus let women, even prostitutes show Him great respect. He showed no nervousness at all when they did this.
. I have NEVER seen Jesus treat women like a sexual object
. I have NEVER heard Jesus tell a lie or deceive or manipulate people in any way
. I have seen Jesus hug drunks and tax collectors even Roman collaborators of all people
. I have seen Jesus be called a son of satan. He got pretty serious then and warned the people sternly that they were treading on dangerous territory.
. I have seen Jesus teach and teach and teach for hours on end, sometimes for a whole day
. I have seen Jesus heal so many people I wouldn’t even be able to estimate how many there were
. I have seen Jesus praised and worshipped and He accepted worship as though nothing unusual was happening
. I have seen Jesus, God incarnate, the Creator of the universe wash not only my feet but the feet of Judas just a couple hours before Judas betrayed Him. Maybe you already know this but washing someone’s feet is something that we’d only allow gentile servants to do. I mean this is the lowest job on the planet and my King, my Saviour, my Lord did that for me.
. I have seen Jesus allow Himself to be arrested like a common criminal
. I have seen Jesus allow people to tell lies about Him
. I have seen Jesus allow people to punch Him in the face
. I have seen Jesus allow people to pull out His beard
. I have seen Jesus allow people to kick Him in the groin and butt Him with the blunt ends of their spears.
. I have seen Jesus beaten and bloodied with a crown of thorns rammed down on His head
. I have seen Jesus carrying His own cross, beaten so badly that He could hardly walk; beaten so badly in fact that if I hadn’t known it was Him I wouldn’t have been able to recognise Him.
. I have seen Jesus hanging on a cross while the religious people mocked and insulted Him
. I have seen Jesus forgive those who were killing Him
. I have seen Jesus’ love for His mother in that He asked me to take care of her after His death
. I have seen Jesus run through with a spear and water and blood gushed out of His side.
. I have seen Jesus dead
. I have seen Jesus buried
. I have seen Jesus alive again three days later. This was no vision like some people have after losing a loved one. Not a chance. This was no apparition. I ate with Jesus after He rose from the dead. I walked with Him and talked with Him and hugged Him. At one point more than 500 of us were gathered around as He was giving us His final teaching about the Kingdom of God. Some have said that we were hallucinating. They don’t know what they’re talking about. People don’t SHARE hallucinations. But what else can they say? They don’t want to accept Jesus as God in human form. They say it couldn’t happen, Him rising from the dead, but I know it did. A lot of us know it happened, and Rome and the Pharisees be damned, we’re going to tell the whole world about this. No one is going to stop us.
They had no right to kill Jesus. Yes it was prophesied a thousand years ago that it would happen. And yes this was the whole reason that He came to earth, to die in our place. But Jesus was a good man. He did not deserve to die as a criminal. This was a man who never lied - not once. He told the truth whether it would disappoint people or even if it would get Him into trouble. He didn’t care. Jesus was the living definition of TRUTH. This guy was born into poverty. His dad died when Jesus was hardly more than a boy, but you know what? Not once did I see Jesus complain about how hard life was back then. When it was His time to begin His ministry, Jesus turned the carpentry business over to His brothers. Why? Because telling people about God was more important to Jesus than making money. He didn’t even have a place of His own. Nothing. He didn’t care. God and the kingdom of God was the most important thing in Jesus’ life.
I knew Jesus better than I’ve know anyone and I can tell you that He literally never hurt anyone, not even those who hurt Him. After His resurrection Jesus forgave His sisters and brothers and welcomed them into God’s Kingdom. This, even though they’d thought He was insane and treated Him like He was insane. They’d been really harsh, mocking Him and treating Him like the village idiot, but He didn’t care. He still accepted them. Jesus didn’t ignore people either. If they came to Him for help, He helped them. If people want an example to live by to make their way through life or even to God, well Jesus IS the WAY. He’s the example to follow. That Man changed me forever. The transformation that Jesus has brought about in me is phenomenal. I used to be so angry. I was such an “in your face” kind of guy. My brother was the same. Some people even called me and my brother The Sons of Thunder. But now? I love. I actually love people. Some people, especially atheists think I’m weak when I say this kind of stuff but I don’t care. I couldn’t have made these changes in my character without Jesus. If you want to know life and how to live it, follow Jesus for He is the LIFE.”
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