Jesus Offers Proof
Jesus said, "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear (My) voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28,29). That’s a pretty amazing claim to make. Why should we believe Him?
There are several ways to approach the question. We can examine the evidence and draw a reasonable conclusion concerning questions of God’s existence, the inspiration of the Bible as God’s word, and the identity of Jesus.
Jesus made use of evidence as He challenged the people to use their reasoning abilities to discover whether He spoke the truth as God’s Son or not. In the context immediately after His claim to one day judge the world, He listed five reasons to believe Him. He said if His own words were the only testimony, then don’t accept His statements (John 5:31-32). But it wasn’t just Him alone giving the testimony.
First, there was
also the prophet John (vs. 33). John had announced who Jesus was. Second, there
were the miracles that the people had all seen (vs. 34). Third, the Father
Himself had borne witness through these miracles done by Jesus as well as by
announcing “This is My beloved Son.” (vs. 37). Fourth, the Old Testament
Scriptures had spoken of Jesus in prophecy (vs. 39). Finally, Moses had foretold
of Him (vs. 46). And that is why we should believe!
