Come and See
Pastor Larry Crawford, Open Arms Church

[March 26, 2024]  What is Easter really all about? Growing up in Southern Indiana, Easter was a very special time of the year. It included waking up to an easter basket full of candy (my favorite was and still is the Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg), coloring hard boiled eggs, hunting easter eggs full of candy, dressing in our new easter outfits and going to church, and then having a huge meal with extended family.

Great memories but the most impactful, which still impacts me daily, the reality and power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Lee Strobel lived his life as an atheist (one who does not believe in God). When his wife got saved, he went on a two-year mission to convince her she was wrong. As an investigative journalist, he knew what to do. He did everything he could do to prove the resurrection of Jesus Christ was just a story people told. But instead, he experienced the truth and the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Let me briefly share the four things that he discovered in his investigation and then let me invite you to a fifth, an opportunity for you to do your own investigation and discover the true meaning of Easter.

1. Jesus was Executed
He found there is absolutely no dispute among scholars that Jesus was dead after being crucified. The famous atheist New Testament scholar Gerd Ludemann says it is historically indisputable that Jesus was dead. The Journal of American Medical Association says that based on the medical and historical evidence that Jesus was clearly dead even before the wound in his side was inflicted.

2. Early Accounts
We have early reports of the resurrection of Jesus Christ that come so quickly you cannot just write them off as being a legend. In fact, we have one report of the resurrection of Jesus including eyewitnesses that has been dated back by scholars to within months of the death of Jesus. Lee says this is historical gold.

3. The Tomb is Empty
We have an empty tomb that everyone agrees was empty. The opponents of Jesus even agree the tomb was empty.

4. Eyewitness Accounts
We have nine ancient sources inside and outside the New Testament confirming and collaborating the conviction of the disciples that they encountered the resurrected Jesus.

And we have seven ancient sources inside and mostly outside the New Testament that confirm that the disciples lived lives of deprivation and suffering as a result of their proclamation that Jesus had risen. Why were they willing to do that?

Because they were there. They were touched by Him, they ate with Him, they talked with Him, they knew the truth and knowing the truth they were willing to proclaim it, even despite the suffering they endured.

5. An Invitation to Experience Easter (Jesus).
The historical proof is there, but none of that matters to you unless you experience this…Him. This is not about religion; it is about an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. Once you experience, not just hear about, Him…everything changes for the better. Lee Strobel says,

“Friends, I spent two years investigating this evidence and it came down to one day when I reviewed it all and I thought, ‘You know what? Based on the historical data my verdict is that Jesus not only claimed to be the Son of God he backed up that claim by returning from the dead.’ And that’s a moment that I decided to confess my sin to turn from that to receive this free gift of forgiveness and eternal life that Jesus purchased for me on the cross. And at that moment I became a child of God.”

Don’t take Lee’s or my word for it, COME & SEE for yourself. Please accept this personal invitation to Come and See this Easter (Sunday, March 31 @ 10:00 am) at 1321 State Route 10 (Open Arms).

This One Day can change everything for the better…best!