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Whatās the craziest thing youāve ever seen or heard of? Like, when you finish telling the story, someone looks at you like youāre crazy.
āThereās no way that could happen.”
“How can that be true?”
“I donāt believe you.”
“I have to see it with my own eyes.ā
And you know theyāre right, you almost donāt believe it yourself. But you saw it. And itās real.
One of the craziest things Iāve ever seen is a two-headed snake. It was found in Arkansas and taken to where my husband worked at the time, the Crowleyās Ridge Nature Center.
He told me about what happened and I just couldnāt believe it. I thought, surely it was dead but it wasnāt. It was alive. He said, āItās true, youāll see.ā
He opened his phone and showed me the picture.
Crazy! Questions flooded my mind. How long will it live? Can it survive like this? Do both heads eat? Has one survived like this in the past? How did this happen?
It ended up with the biologists at Arkansas State University, who were better equipped to deal with such a thing.
People traveled from all over the world to try to see this snake. They too just couldnāt believe it.
Luke 24:8-12
āAnd they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.ā
Idle tales. Nonsense. Thatās what the disciples thought about the womenās declaration. They couldnāt believe the tomb was empty and that Jesus was gone.
Peter had to find out for himself. He went to the tomb and saw the stone rolled away, the burial cloths that remained and the questions began to flood his mind.
The women had remembered what Jesus said to them about His death and resurrection when the angels reminded them. They were there. They saw the empty tomb. The evidence was all around them and they knew it was true.
But for Peter and the others, it sounded absurd. It was crazy to think Jesus had just disappeared. His mind was racing with questions and scenarios about what could have happened.
While all of this is taking place, the all-knowing risen Savior was preparing to reveal Himself. He knew their doubts and what it would take for them to believe.
He appeared to two travelers and walked with them sharing all the prophecies about Himself from the scriptures. He sat with them, ate with them and then vanished. The men knew in their hearts it was Jesus and they joined the women as the witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus.
They had to tell the others.
They found the 11 gathered together, probably still contemplating what the women had told them, and began sharing their encounter with Jesus.
And thatās when it happened.
Jesus was there.
āAnd as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.ā – Luke 24:36
He was right there in the room. And yet, some still didnāt believe. Jesus said, look at my hands and feet. And still, some had unbelief that Jesus could be alive. So He took food and ate to show them yet again, He was alive.
āAnd he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.ā -Luke 24:44-48
This is what it took for these men to become His witnesses. Hearing it wasnāt enough, seeing Him wasnāt enough, but when they understood the scriptures, the very Word of God, they believed and became His witnesses.
What did it take for you to believe and become His witness?
Was just hearing that Jesus loved you and died for you enough? Or did you see the work of His hand in someoneās life and thatās what convinced you? That too may not have been enough. But, when the Holy Spirit opened your understanding of the scriptures, thatās when it all falls into place and becomes real. Thatās when you truly know who Jesus is. Thatās how you know why it was so important for Him to die. Thatās how we know history and the future of whatās to come.
The Word of God.
Study it for yourself. Donāt just believe what Iāve told you, go to the Word and search the scriptures. Pray for understanding. And God will reveal Himself to you in a mighty way. These words on the page will become more than just a story.
Youāll see.
And then, youāll become His witness. You wonāt want to hold it in. Youāll NEED to tell others about what youāve discovered.
Youāll see.
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