ON CHRISTIANITY

By BILLY GRAHAM

LITTLE ROCK — DEAR REV. GRAHAM: Was Jesus really dead when they placed Him in the tomb? I can accept most of what Christianity teaches, but to be honest the idea that someone came back from the dead is a bit hard for me to swallow. Maybe Jesus wasn’t really dead, and He just recovered once His body was taken down from the cross.

- P.L.

DEAR P.L.: The hardened Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus and then took His body down from the cross and placed it in a stone tomb were very familiar with death - and they had no doubt Jesus was truly dead. Nor did anyone else on that tragic day.

Later, after the resurrection, the authorities bribed the soldiers to say that Jesus’ disciples had stolen His body (see Matthew 28:11-15). It didn’t even occur to them, however, to claim instead that He hadn’t really died, but had somehow recovered enough strength to move the huge stone blocking the tomb’s entrance and then overcome the armed guards posted outside. They knew no one would believe it - nor should we.

If Jesus were only another human being, then we’d have reason to doubt His resurrection. But the Bible says that He was more than a man: He was God in human flesh, sent from Heaven according to the plan of God to save us from our sins. God raised Him from the dead, and by His resurrection Jesus Christ conquered our greatest enemies: sin, and Satan, and death, and Hell.

Write to Billy Graham in care of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C. 28201 or visit the Web site at

www.billygraham.org

Family, Pages 34 on 11/04/2009