Did it ever occur to you that the first followers of Jesus would have had just as hard a time believing it as you do? They too knew that death is final, and once a person is dead they never come back to life.

And yet those first disciples came to believe Jesus had conquered death and returned from the grave. And not only did they believe it, but they were willing to sacrifice their lives so others could come to believe it also. How do you account for this? Only one answer can account for this change in their lives: They truly believed Jesus had been raised from the dead.

How did they come to believe this? For one reason: They repeatedly saw Jesus–physically, and with their own eyes. On one occasion after His resurrection, Jesus told them, “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). Hope replaced their despair, and their lives would never be the same.

This hope can be yours–and it will be, once you understand who Jesus Christ was and what He did for you. He came to bridge the gap between us and God, and He came to conquer the powers of death and Hell and sin and Satan. Because Christ rose from the dead, we need no longer fear death, for death’s power has been shattered. Don’t let doubt grip you any longer, but open your heart to Christ and discover the joy of His presence forever.