Who will you trust your eternity to?
Jesus told His disciples – “’I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.’” (John 14 18-21) Jesus’ death by crucifixion was recorded in all four of the gospels. The references to His death can be found in Matthew 27: 50; Mark 15: 37; Luke 23: 46; and John 19: 30. The historical accounts of Jesus’ resurrection can be found in Matthew 28: 1-15; Mark 16: 1-14; Luke 24: 1-32; and John 20: 1-31. The disciples could trust Jesus. He would never completely leave them or forsake them, even after His death.
After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples over a period of forty days. Ten different appearances to His disciples are recorded as follows: 1. To Mary Magdalene (Mark 16: 9-11; John 20: 11-18). 2. To the women returning from the tomb (Matthew 28: 8-10). 3. To Peter (Luke 24: 34; 1 Cor. 15: 5). 4. To the Emmaus disciples (Mark 16: 12; Luke 24: 13-32). 5. To the disciples (except for Thomas) (Mark 16: 14; Luke 24: 36-43; John 20: 19-25). 6. To all the disciples (John 20: 26-31; 1 Cor. 15: 5). 7. To the seven disciples beside the Sea of Galilee (John 21). 8. To the apostles and “over five hundred brethren” (Matthew 28: 16-20; Mark 16: 15-18; 1 Cor. 15: 6). 9. To James, Jesus’ half-brother (1 Cor. 15: 7). 10. His last appearance before His ascension from Mount Olivet (Mark 16: 19-20; Luke 24: 44-53; Acts 1: 3-12). Luke, the writer of one of the gospel records, as well as the book of Acts wrote – “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” (Acts 1: 1-5)
Jesus does not want any of us to be orphans. When we trust in His finished and complete sacrifice for our salvation, and turn to Him in faith, we are born of His Holy Spirit. He takes up residence in us. No other religion in this world offers such an intimate relationship with God. All other false gods must be continually appeased and pleased. Jesus Christ pleased God for us, so that we could come into a loving relationship with God.
I challenge you to read the New Testament. Read what the eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ’s life wrote. Study the evidence of Christianity. If you are a Mormon, Muslim, Jehovah’s Witness, Scientologist, or follower of any other religious leader – I challenge you to study the historical evidence about their lives. Study what has been written about them. Decide for yourself who you will trust and follow.
Muhammad, Joseph Smith, L. Ron Hubbard, Charles Taze Russell, Sun Myung Moon, Mary Baker Eddy, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, Margaret Murray, Gerald Gardner, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Gautama Siddhartha, Margaret and Kate Fox, Helena P. Blavatsky, and Confucius as well as other religious leaders have all passed away. There is no record of their resurrection. Will you trust them and what they taught? Could they be leading you away from God? Did they really want people to follow God, or follow them? Jesus claimed to be God incarnate. He is. He left us proof of His life, death, and resurrection. Please turn to Him today and partake of His eternal life.
