Hi friends,
 
            Last week I talked about Jesus’ passion in clearing the temple. He was bold and gutsy and unafraid of any power or opposition He might have faced.
 
            When He was done, the Jews were naturally ticked off at Him.  Here’s what they say in John 2:18…
 
            What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?
 
            Jesus responds with a statement that is even more gutsy than His clearing of the temple. He says,
 
            Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days!
 
            Listen to what He is saying.
 
He is talking about His physical body here.  He is saying that if they were to destroy His body (i.e. kill him) He would come back to life in three days. And He would be the One raising Himself up again (thus equating Himself with God).
 
            If this didn’t come true, then the entire Jesus story falls flat on its face. If He doesn’t come back from the dead, then He isn’t a prophet (or He is a false prophet) and He most definitely isn’t God (He’s just another dead guy). Quite a bold statement, indeed.
 
            We talked about this recently in a sermon. There are four basic facts that almost everyone believes about events around Jesus’ time on earth.
 

1. Jesus died on the cross and was buried in the time of Pontius Pilate
2. Jesus’ tomb was found empty after his crucifixion
3. Jesus’ disciples believe that they saw Jesus resurrected from the dead.
4. Jesus’ disciples were transformed following their alleged resurrection observations.

 
The only explanation that makes sense and that sufficiently fits all these facts is that Jesus actually did rise again from the dead. He proved that He was who He said He was.
 
You can be confident in your faith in Jesus. You can put your trust in Him and hang your life on Him.
 
May God grant us the courage and strength to live in the reality of His true identity and in the fact that there is nothing that He cannot do.
 
            This weekend, Pastor Michael will be preaching on the fifth part of our six-part series on the Armor of God. He will be talking about the Helmet of Salvation. I am eager to hear what he has to say from God’s Word.
 
            I hope you have a great weekend, and we will see you on Sunday.
 
            I love being your pastor.
 
Pastor Tim