“The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” Luke 9:22
Pastor and author Andy Stanley once said, “If a man can predict His own death and resurrection, and pull it off, I just go with whatever that man says.” With this quote, Andy Stanly makes the great point that one of the things that direct us to the truth that Jesus is Lord is that His death and resurrection happened just as He predicted. No one else has, or ever will be able to do that! In fact, I cannot prove this, but I do not believe anyone, even His disciples, actually expected it when Jesus did rise from the grave. It was an outstanding miracle that left no doubt that Jesus was, indeed, Lord.
One of the places where Jesus predicted His death and resurrection was Luke 9. This prediction took place right after Peter confessed faith that Jesus is Lord. “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” Jesus told them (verse 22). “Son of Man” was a name that Jesus often called Himself. He told His disciples that He would ultimately be killed but would be raised from the dead three days after His death. Now, it is one thing to predict your death and resurrection, but being right is completely different. Ultimately, we know from Scripture that is exactly what happened. Jesus was killed, and He rose from the dead three days later. When He rose, He shocked everyone, even His disciples and closest followers! Clearly, this man was exactly who He claimed to be: the Son of God.
For those who wonder whether or not Jesus was Lord, His death and resurrection, which happened just as He predicted, is the strongest argument. A mere human cannot pull that off. Only the Lord could have done something like that. Even more, people saw Him on earth after His resurrection, and they wrote about it in Scripture. So how do we know that Jesus was Lord? Look no further than the death, burial, and resurrection, which ultimately saves sinful humanity if they place their faith in Him.
Do you know someone who is far from Christ? If so, today is a great day to share with them what you learned in your time reading the Bible today. Share with them that Jesus proved that He was Lord by predicting His death and resurrection and then pulling it off. Ask them if they have ever thought that the resurrection of Jesus points to His Lordship. Tell them that if they have any questions about Jesus and faith, they can always ask you.
Luke 9:21-27 (NLT)
Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God.”
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