Hard To Believe

Finding the Empty Tomb: Perplexed & Amazed & Doubtful

The Gospel is simple, but it’s not easy to believe

How can a man defeat death?

How can one man redeem another?

Why must the savior die & be raised again?

Why should we believe any of this?

**They did not have the necessary categories to interpret these events/not self-interpreting**

Faith cannot be proven, but it can be supported

Faith is the evidence of things unseen

Faith refuted by evidence is bad faith (caveat)

Truth is supported by evidence, even when not proven (where were you the night of Jan 6th?)

Jesus helps his followers understand and verify his claims

Empty tomb, angelic visitation

Reminders of his own prophecies

Explanation of the OT prophets (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53)

Visual manifestation

**Jesus’ death is not a contradiction, but rather a confirmation of his status as savior**

**Being grounded in Scripture, the death and resurrection of Jesus are marks of God’s approval and his own vindication**

**Jesus death, interpreted by the Scriptures, also serves as an interpretation of the Scriptures**

Honest historical account (women witnesses, appearances to over 500, death sentence for preaching, faltering leaders)

Takeaway:

Even though it’s hard to believe the Gospel, we can have confidence for our own faith and when sharing it with others.