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Jesus received a rich Jew's burial, thanks to Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea: "Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen." John 19:39-40 Seventy-five pounds, the Bible's "talent," of spices embedded in those linen strips would have created the first century equivalent of about 3" of fiberglass, with three days to harden and cure. It became a rock-hard cocoon or shell for Jesus' body, with a hole just large enough for his neck: Jewish custom was to cover the head with...

There are very few questions on which more depends than the question of whether or not Jesus Christ rose from the dead 2,000 years ago. If the Christian claim that He did is true, then there is good reason to believe that Christians truly know God. If Jesus did not rise, however, then more than 2 billion people are living a lie. To raise the stakes even further, most religions would agree that there is nothing more or less than billions of souls at stake given that the question of whether or not Jesus was resurrected ties directly into the...

These are very trying times. There is an enemy out there at the microscopic level, wreaking all kinds of havoc in people’s hearts and minds and lives. The economic consequences alone of the coronavirus could possibly be felt for years to come. The big problem in life, of course, is the threat of death. But the coronavirus is not going to cancel Easter – though it may cancel our traditional celebrations of it. But Easter hope defangs the threat of the coronavirus because Jesus has taken the sting out of death. After a bee stung a boy one day, his...

If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have wrought from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If any have come at the third hour, let him with thankfulness keep the feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; because he shall in nowise be deprived thereof. If any...

April 12 2020 Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord Reading 1 Acts 10:34a, 37-43 Peter proceeded to speak and said: "You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This...

When The Passion of the Christ opened in theaters on February 25th, 2004, it not only gave us the rawest, grittiest glimpse into the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ, but it would leave a lasting impression that would forever change the way we look at the events that transpired in human history, and get a stronger glimpse of the price that was paid for us so that we would not stay forever stuck in the habits, mindsets, condition of heart, and the consequences that all of them inevitably leads to. Isaiah 53:5--700 B.C. But He was wounded for our...

One of the longest chapters in the New Testament is 1st Corinthians 15 where the apostle Paul sets forth a series of arguments to teach his wayward church in Corinth about the reality of the resurrection of the dead. Written from Ephesus (16:8) in roughly 56 A.D., 1st Corinthians is one of the few letters that have not been questioned with regard to its authenticity. Even the primary guru of German radical historical higher criticism, F. C. Bauer (1792-1860), who superimposed Hegel’s (1770-1831) philosophy of history as an interpretive grid over the top of the New Testament documents to rearrange...

I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.(Psalm 22:22-23)We are suddenly transported into an entirely different scenario. The righteous servant had just been hanging between heaven and earth, or perhaps even heaven and Hell. His enemies have been jeering, exulting over and mocking Him. He has called out to the LORD on whom He has long relied to save His soul from the savages who encompass...

Today being Good Friday for Christians around the world, it is a fitting time to look at one of the most enigmatic and widely debated relics of history: The Shroud of Turin. While there have been no end of scientific attempts to determine what this fascinating image might be and how it was made, I find the historical attempts to trace its provenance to be more interesting. The earliest reference to a shroud associated with Jesus may be found in Sacred Scripture. In the Gospel of Saint John we find the following passage: "Then cometh Simon Peter, following him, and...

Many things about Christianity are counterintuitive but none more than this: God the perfect Father sent Jesus the perfect Son to Earth as a human being to suffer and die for the sins of imperfect human beings so that those who believe in the Son would receive the perfect Holy Spirit and live in eternal love with God. Scripture makes all this clear. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). "In your relationships with one another, have the same...

It was after the crucifixion of the Messiah of Israel that Satan and godless Israelites rejoiced in their demonic triumph of unrighteousness. They thought that they had done away with “This Man”, this Miracle Worker, this Preacher of RIGHTEOUSNESS, this violator of the Sabbath, the "messiah", this One who claimed to be Almighty God the Son; and it was exhilarating to their godless mind (Matt. 27, Luke 23). As the Sabbath day was about to begin these godless men made their preparation to finish “their” Feast of Passover and partake in “their” man-made traditions (Matt. 15:7-11, 23, John 18:28). Satan...

What Man is This? Song and Lyrics set to Greensleeves What man is this that hangs and dies, on Calvary’s cross is bleeding? Forsaken by a world of men, for their souls is pleading. This, this is Christ the Lamb, the sinless One, the Son of Man Weep, weep for your sins, for you He gives His life. Why does He go to Calvary, when He caused the lost and blind to see? Oh, wretch for thee He takes your stead that you through Him may live! Nails, thorns shall pierce Him through, the cross He bears, for me for...

Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil/Easter Day are all important, even essential, to the Christian faith. The church encourages all Christians to participate in all the liturgies of this weekend, because only then do we hear the whole story; only then do we remember and reconnect [“re-member”] emotionally, mentally, and spiritually to the fullness of God’s love for humanity through Jesus Christ.A focal point of our liturgical journey through the weekend is when the presider proclaims at the Easter liturgies, “Alleluia. Christ is risen.” and the people respond, “The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.” To make that joyful proclamation even more joyful,...

With coronavirus death toll in the U.S. rising to 19, people are becoming increasing afraid of contracting the disease. To date, there are 3,803 reported deaths with 109,835 confirmed cases worldwide. Also a total of 60,694 people have recovered from the virus. As the fear of coronavirus continues to spread, there are a growing number of reports of empty shop shelves as people rush to stock up on basic products such as hand soap, sanitizers, tissue papers, and many more. It got so bad that some stores are now limiting purchases of these products, more due to coronavirus fears. The...

Scalfari: Pope Francis Denies Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Italian journalist doubles down on Francis' alleged denial of Jesus' divinity ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) - In a new series of troubling revelations, Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari has quoted Pope Francis as denying the bodily resurrection of Jesus in stating that the crucified Christ emerged from the tomb as a spirit rather than as a body. In a front-page article in Tuesday's La Repubblica, Scalfari expands on his earlier quote from Pope Francis, where the Holy Father is interpreted as rejecting the divinity of Jesus while on earth, and dovetails that statement with Francis’ alleged denial...

I analyze Surah XXIII: The Believers, and explain Mohammed's erroneous view of the Resurrection. I also explore the difference between Islam's idea of mercy and the true mercy displayed by Jesus.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.(Isaiah 53:12)The Last verse of this fourth Servant Song has always struck me as anti-climatic. But this is because I believe the King James version confuses the meaning somewhat, for it reads as though the Servant takes his place among other great and strong ones. But the according to evangelical scholar Alec Motyer,...

As I do every year, I wrote my Holy Week column about Easter. Major historians, even atheists, recognize that the execution of a man named Jesus around A.D. 33 is one of the most -- if not the most -- significant events in human history. Christians go a step further. They believe Jesus rose again from the dead. And therein lies the problem. Last week, I noted that "there are many who call themselves Christians, but only those who actually believe in the physical resurrection of Christ are truly Christian." It is not a controversial statement, or at least, I...

Posted on April 23, 2019April 23, 2019 by Msgr. Charles Pope Why Was the Resurrection Such a Hidden Event? There is something of a hidden quality to the resurrection appearances that has always puzzled me. St. Peter gives voice to this when he says to Cornelius,God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commissioned us to preach to the people and to testify that...

At the end of a long day when I was abnormally busy, and cutting back on my coffee intake, I did a 2 hour debate review video. Haha. I may be a bit tired but I think the content here is valuable and I'm looking forward to getting some feedback on it.