Bethlehem, Calvary, and an Empty Tomb
I was playing golf a couple of weeks ago on the 8th hole at Troy when these thoughts came to me in my mind. I was talking to a dear, dear friend of mine, and he wanted to know how I felt called to be a preacher, and he asked an interesting question. He asked me if I did to be accountable for my choices. I thought it was a really great question, and I used that question to share my testimony in Jesus and my calling to the ministry, and as clear as day as I was talking to him, these thoughts popped into my brain, and it affected my putting the rest of the day, Bethlehem, Calvary, and an Empty Tomb. Did you know everything that is important in life is found in those three places. Everything is found in Bethlehem, at Calvary, and in an empty tomb.
We cannot be saved if any part of the birth at Bethlehem, the death on Calvary, and the empty tomb are not true. If those places and events are not true, you and I are in heap big trouble, but praise God, those places and events are true, and we need to talk about the significance of each as often as we can, and that is what my long-awaited return to blogging is about.
I. HIS BIRTH IN BETHLEHEM
Dear friend, can I say this? If you ever grow weary of that birth in Bethlehem, shame on you because the Lord is probably going to send you kidney stones. The birth at Bethlehem is one of the three most important events in the history of the ages.
Matthew 1 : 18-23
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
Unequivocally, let me say this. Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. It had to be. He was born of virgin to save us from our sins. He was born of a virgin to be God with us. It had to be. Adam proved that. You must understand this. Adam was created. He was man. He was perfect. He had no human father. He was just created. He could have lived forever in his perfect state with God, but he sinned and passed down, genetically, to every human being ever born with a human father the nature to sin.
Romans 5: 12, 19
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
Sin entered this world by the sin of Adam, and since he was the father of all humanity, we all became sinners in him. Have you ever heard someone say something like this? “Well, he acts just like a Richardson.” What is that person saying? A person that says that is saying that there is a genetic connection between the Richardsons. Well guess what? In the same way, humanity is linked to Adam, and humanity will make the same choice as Adam did regarding sin. We do what we want to do regardless of what God says. Adam brought the curse of sin and the curse of death onto this planet. It was not the devil that did. It was Adam that brought it. Adam was not tempted to sin by the Devil. If you read Genesis 3, you will see that Adam just took of what Eve offered, and in that moment, he cared not what God said about it. Because of Adam, we all have a date, a destiny with death, but God had a plan, and that plan included a Second Adam.
1 Corinthians 15: 45-49
And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
There have been two men on this planet that did not have human fathers Adam and Jesus. Adam brought death. Jesus brought life. Adam was from dust. Jesus was from divine glory. What the first Adam could not do, Jesus, the Second Adam, did. The question becomes this. How can Jesus give life? To give life, Jesus had to be born of a virgin without a human father, and the Bible, in the earliest chapters, prophesizes about the virgin birth.
Genesis 3 : 15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
Her SEED! Jesus was not Joseph’s son. He was God’s Son. How did the Holy Spirit accomplish that? I do not know, but I know that He did. Jesus was God’s Son. He was Man, and He was God. It had to be. There was no other way. The angels knew how special that night was. They were appearing to everyone as they scurried down the stairways from Heaven trying to get a glimpse of that precious baby, the precious Son of God that came as the Son of Man. He came to save the world.
Luke 2 :7-14
And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Those angels could not contain themselves. They had to tell someone. I think we envision those angels as being a somber lot, but dear friend, they were not somber. They were proclaiming the good news. Jesus, the Son of God come to save man, was born. It was not a mystery. The signs all said it was time for Jesus to be born.
Matthew 2: 1-6
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So, they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
Galatians 4 : 4
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
It was time for Jesus to be born, and the Jews knew it, but they rejected Him. God hung a sign in the stars indicating it was time. That star was so bright that it attracted the greatest astrologers in the world to Bethlehem from Babylon. These astrologers knew what that star meant? How do I know that?
Daniel 5: 11-12
There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.
Daniel was placed in charge of the magi by Nebuchadnezzar, and I have absolutely no doubt in my that Daniel told the magi under his charge what to look for when it was time for Messiah came, and he told them to look for the star to lead them to the King of the Jews. I have no doubt. If Daniel witnessed to Nebuchadnezzar, and he did. Do you not think that he would witness to those under him about the One to come? There are no insignificant details in the Bible about the birth of Jesus, and because of what Daniel had shared with them, the magi did not come looking for the star. What or who were they looking for? They were looking for the One born King of the Jews. You cannot make this stuff up. Friend, if you doubt the Bible, I do not know what to say.
Matthew 2 : 1-2
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
They knew that star indicated the birth of the Messiah, the king of the Jews because they came from Babylon where Daniel had told of the coming Messiah in his prophecies. AMEN!!! The Son of God, the Son of Man was born in Bethlehem to a virgin named Mary. It had to be, and to deny that fact will cause you to go to straight to Hell. How can you believe anything about Jesus if you doubt the virgin birth? Jesus did have a father, but it was not Joseph. His Father was the God of the Universe. Praise God for that little town Bethlehem. Praise God for that Silent Night interrupted by the heavenly hosts. Praise God for we three kings. Praise God for that first Noel. Praise God for His Son born in Bethlehem. AMEN!!!!!
II. HIS DEATH ON CALVARY
Jesus, the perfect Son of God, the perfect Son of Man, was born of a virgin, and because He was sinless and did not have the nature to sin, He became the substitute you and I needed. The principle is established throughout the Bible.
Hebrews 9: 22
And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
All things are purified with blood. Have you ever wondered why it had to be blood that purifies?
Leviticus 17 : 11
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’
God’s Law says that life is in the blood, and it is blood that makes atonement, but that blood must be pure blood. Now, I believe, no I know, there are no insignificant details concerning the death of Jesus on Calvary’s Cross, and we could spend hours cross-referencing Scripture to find all those details. Time will not allow me to do that, but can I point out a few of those significant details that we might miss if we do not see them in the light of the entirety of Scripture? I knew you would say yes and get ready to say AMEN!!!!
A. Matthew 27: 45-46
Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
The Jewish clock, if you will, began at 6 AM, so the 6th hour to the 9th hour would be from 12 PM to 3 PM our time, but Jesus had already been on the Cross prior to this. It was just during these three hours that darkness covered the land. Matthew, Mark, and Luke record this in their gospel accounts. What is the significance of the 9th hour? Is there more to it than Jesus being forsaken by the Father because He was hanging there with the sins of the world on His shoulders? Can I tell you that there is incredible significance in what Jesus proclaimed about God forsaking Him? At the zenith of His suffering, Jesus was forsaken by the Father. At the 9th hour, Jesus was all alone. The 9th hour was incredibly spiritual to the Jewish people. It was the time of the regular evening sacrifice as well as the time of the evening prayers. Can I share some of the spiritual significance of the 9th hour? It was at the 9th hour that Elijah prayed to God on Mount Carmel.
1 Kings 18 : 36-39
And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel, and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
Daniel prayed at the 9th hour for Israel, and God sent Gabriel to answer his prayer.
Daniel 9: 20-21
Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.
God answered Elijah’s and Daniel’s prayer in a wonderful way at the time of the evening sacrifice which was the 9th hour, but when Jesus prayed at the 9th hour, God did not and could not answer. Why? Because Jesus had been separated from the Father by sin. Jesus was hanging there alone covered in my guilt and His shame, and because He assumed my guilt, sin separated the Father from hearing His prayer. The Cross temporarily severed the relationship between the Father and the Son, and that is what sin does. Adam was separated from the Father because of sin. Jesus was separated from the Father because He was hanging there covered with the guilt of all the sins of all the ages. He was separated from the Father temporarily because of our sin.
Hebrews 2 : 9
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
Dear friend, it should have been you and I that tasted Calvary’s cruelty, but we did not have to face it because Jesus faced it for us, and that separated Him from the Father who forsook Him in the hour of prayer. Hopefully, you understand. It was 3 PM, and the Jews were to be praying, and Jesus did, but the Father turned His back on His Son because Jesus became sin so you and I would not experience the condemnation of sin. Blood had to be shed, and the only blood pure enough was the blood of the virgin-born Son of God.
B. MATTHEW 27 : 50-54, JOHN 19 : 30
Matthew 27: 50-54
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
John 19: 30
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!(Tetelestai)” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Jesus bowed His head and proclaimed to God, to the past, to the present, and to the future, “Tetelestai, It is finished!” When He proclaimed that with an exclamation point, His relationship with the Father was restored and some incredible things happened as He proclaimed it finished. Remember, this is at the 9th hour. The entire Jewish religious system rested upon the sacredness of that 9th hour, but Jesus changed that.
1. The veil of the temple was torn in two.
The veil of the temple separated the Holy Place from the Holiest place, the Holy of Holies in the temple. IN the Holy of Holies, there was the Mercy Seat and the Ark of the Covenant, and once a year, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of an innocent sacrifice on the Mercy Seat as a propitiation of sin, and the High Priest would do this once a year on the Day of Atonement. The veil was to hide and keep anyone from entering the presence of God except for the High Priest. When Jesus proclaimed it is finished, the veil ripped in half because man no longer needed a High Priest because by finishing His divine purpose, Jesus made it possible for us to go directly to God through Him. Man, no longer needed a priest to sprinkle blood on the Mercy Seat because God in His mercy and grace spared not His Son whose blood became a perpetual offering for our sin. Behind the veil at the 9th hour, do you know what the priests were preparing to do? They were preparing to offer the sacrifice because at exactly the 9th hour the sacrifice was to be made, but instead of a sheep being the sacrifice, the Lamb of God became the sacrifice, and when Jesus said it is finished and that veil started ripping into shreds, I bet those jokers did not know what to do except to say feet don’t fail me now.
2. It is finished settled the sin issue forever.
Hebrews 10: 14
For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
It is finished is one of the most important statements in all the Bible. The last sign to be fulfilled on the Cross was fulfilled when Jesus drank the vinegar or sour wine. After that everything was finished, and Jesus proclaimed it so. When He said it was finished, He was saying all the Old Testament Scriptures had been fulfilled, and because all Scripture was fulfilled, Jesus completed His own prophecy about His death when He yielded His spirit.
John 10 : 17-18
“Therefore, My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
Jesus laid down His life, gave it up, when everything was finished. That is why the Bible includes in every gospel narrative that Jesus yielded His spirit. No one could take life away from Jesus. He gave it up so we might live. What does that mean for us? PRAISE GOD AND AMEN!!!!! I use these verses a lot, and I hope you fully understand what is being said, but if you do not, you will because I am going to explain them in a little bit of detail.
Colossians 2: 13-14
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
I have told you this before, but when a prisoner in Rome was convicted and sentenced, he would be given a handwritten list of the charges against him as well as his sentence. When he went to prison, he would present that list of charges to the prison officials who would nail them to his prison door as the prisoner was being locked in jail. When he finished serving the sentence, he was given his handwritten list of charges, and he was taken to a judge who would stamp the list and notarize it saying the man had served his sentence. He had paid for his crime. If anyone would try to bring those charges against the man again, he would present the notarized and stamped list showing that he had served his sentence. Do you know what was stamped on that list of charges when the sentence was complete?
TETELESTAI! It is finished! That’s exactly what Christ proclaimed. TETELESTAI! The charges against us had been taken care of by Jesus who took our punishment for us. The Bible says this:
Romans 3: 23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6: 23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We are all sinners, and we are going to die as a result, but Jesus finished the sentence at Calvary so that we could live in Him as a new creation no longer under the condemnation of death because it is finished! Tetelestai!
Romans 8: 1
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
As a born-again believer, I am no longer under condemnation. AMEN!!!!! Praise God for that power in that blood! Praise God for the Old Rugged Cross!!!! Praise God for nothing but the blood of Jesus because it wiped away the list of charges against me!!! Tetelestai! But dear friend, His birth at Bethlehem and His death on Calvary would mean nothing without His empty tomb.
III. HIS EMPTY TOMB
John 3: 16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Titus 2: 11-14
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Dear friend, Jesus came to this earth so that we could have eternal life, and that is our blessed hope. I want you to know Jesus lay down an eternal life on Calvary so that we could have eternal life with Him, and I want you to know without a shadow of a doubt that the tomb of Jesus Christ is empty because He lives today and walks with me along life’s narrow way. Jesus baptized His soul in the grave, in Hell if you will, for three days so that we could live forever. He was sinless, He had perfected the laws demands, and God the Father stamped what Jesus did with His stamp of approval by raising Jesus from that tomb.
Romans 8: 11
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
The Father says I can have eternal life because He raised Christ from the dead. I no longer have to fear death and the grave.
1 Corinthians 15: 54-57
So, when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades where is your victory? ” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ is our pattern. The grave holds no sway over you if you have trusted Jesus as Lord. If you have trusted Jesus as Lord, you are no longer in Adam; you are in Christ Jesus, and because Jesus is not in that empty tomb, you are going to be like Him one of these days, and it is if it has already happened.
2 Corinthians 5: 17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Romans 8: 29-30
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Listen to this. I am a new creation in Christ, and because God, in His sovereignty, knew that I would put my trust in Jesus as Lord, I am not only conformed to be like Christ, but I am justified through Christ and what else? The Bible says these He glorified. It does not say these He will glorify. What does it mean? It means that because that tomb is empty we are already glorified in the eyes of God. We are a new creation. Because that tomb is empty, even if I fall asleep in death on this earth, I am going to rise in resurrection just as Jesus did because I am justified, glorified, and predestined to be just like Him, and if that does not make you want to say AMEN, you better check your pulse. If I die or if I live to see Rapture, I am going to be like Jesus. What does that mean?
1 Thessalonians 4: 13-16
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
1 Corinthians 15: 20-23
But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.
If we die before Christ returns, it is just going to be a little nap for our bodies as our souls will be with Jesus at that last breath. Death came by Adam, man with a small m, but life came with Jesus, Man with a capital M, through His resurrection. Christ is the pattern. He was planted in the tomb but became the first fruit like a seed being planted and sprouting up out of the ground, and Paul says that we will follow in our own order which means that if we are in Christ, we are going to be resurrected as He was, and if you are in Adam, you are going to be resurrected, not to glory, but to judgement at the Great White Throne. I am going to follow the pattern of Christ whether by resurrection or rapture. The Bible gives several picture types of resurrection. Jonah, everyone is familiar with Jonah, pictures the resurrection of Christ. Look at these verses.
Jonah 1: 17 – Jonah 2: 2
Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice.
The belly of Sheol is an Old Testament type of the grave. For three days, Jonah was in the belly of that great fish for three days just as Jesus was in that tomb for three days. Did you know we see a type of future resurrection at Calvary? Only Matthew records it, and the reason for that, I believe, is because Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience, and many of the Jews, especially the Sadducees, did not believe in resurrection, and that is why they are sad you see. LOL!!!!!
Matthew 27: 51-53
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
These were Old Testament saints who had placed their faith in the coming Christ. They had been looking forward to Calvary just as we look back at Calvary, and Matthew says they had fallen asleep echoing the language Paul used in regard to the brethren falling asleep. When Christ said it was finished, these saints were brought out of the grave, I believe, as signs that Christ was indeed the Son of God and of future resurrection. Matthew says they went into the holy city, Jerusalem, and appeared to many, and can you imagine the reaction they received? What happened to these saints? Well, let me tell you what I think. Remember, everything must follow Scripture, and the Bible says this.
Hebrews 9: 27
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
These people did not die again. They were raised in Christ. I believe when Christ ascended to Heaven that these went with Him and received their glorified bodies in a type of rapture. Why do I say that? They were dead, then they were living, they were not going to die again, so when Jesus ascended to Heaven, He took them with Him even though the people around them did not see it. The point is that we are no longer bound by death. I might die before the Lord returns, but my soul will be in Heaven waiting on my glorious body to be resurrected because that tomb is empty.
Praise God for that empty tomb! Praise God for up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph over His foes! Praise God He’s Alive! Praise God for because He lives!
Dear friend, it is finished. The story is complete. Jesus, the virgin-born Son of God/Son of Man died on Calvary so that you could live forever with God in eternity. He has done it all for you, but you must accept and acknowledge Him as Lord.
Romans 10: 9-10, 13
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Matthew 10: 32-33
“Therefore, whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Confess Jesus as Lord and have eternal life in Him; deny Jesus and have eternal death. Jesus came for all; He does not want anyone to experience eternal death. He has done all He can. It is up to you. I want to close with these two passages because some of you might be reading this blog thinking that there is no way that I can possibly know what all I have written about today. Well, I want you to know, what I have told you about Bethlehem, Calvary, and the empty tomb is absolutely, undeniably, verifiably true. How do I know?
John 20: 30-31
And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
1 John 5: 13
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
Dear friend, I know what I have said is true because that is exactly what the Bible says. God does not want us to be uninformed. What is written in the Bible is written so that you can trust Jesus for eternal life. Nothing else is going to be added. What are you going to do?
As we approach Christmas, my prayer for you is that you have made Jesus Christ Lord of your life. He has done everything He could possibly do for you. He died for you to pay a debt that you could not pay. What are you going to do with Him?
If you have questions about salvation, please leave them in the comments of this blog. If I cannot help you, others that read the blog may be able to help.