PROOF FOR THE MUSLIMS IN JAVA, INDONESIA
PROOF FOR THE MUSLIMS IN JAVA, INDONESIA
“If Jesus is alive, He will do what He did before they killed Him.”
— T. L. Osborn
T. L. and Daisy Osborn traveled to Java, Indonesia, where approximately 95 percent of the population was Muslim.
Some Christians were afraid.
They wondered whether it was wise to stand in a public field, call thousands of Muslims together, preach about Jesus Christ, pray for the sick, and expect miracles to demonstrate that Christ was alive.
What would happen if nothing happened?
This was one of the first times that T. L. and Daisy preached directly to Muslims while expecting miracles to demonstrate the reality of the risen Christ.
T. L. did not believe that Muslims were somehow different from other people when it came to the Gospel.
His conviction was simple:
“If Jesus Christ is alive, He can still do what He did before His crucifixion.”
Otherwise, Christianity would be nothing more than a religion—a ritual, a tradition, or a ceremony.
But if Jesus Christ had truly risen from the dead—
HE WAS ALIVE.
THE MUSLIM TEACHER WHO HAD NEVER HEARD
On the first night in Java, T. L. asked the crowd if anyone was deaf in one ear.
A number of people responded.
One after another, they came forward for prayer.
Among them was a Muslim teacher, approximately sixty years old.
He had been completely deaf in one ear from birth.
He had never heard a sound through that ear in his entire life.
Before the enormous crowd, T. L. made a bold declaration:
“If this man's ear does not open, you will know that I am a false teacher—and that Jesus Christ has not risen from the dead as the Bible claims.”
More than one hundred pastors were on the platform.
Later, they admitted that they were frightened.
They wondered what the crowd might do if the Muslim teacher was not healed.
Some viewed T. L.'s challenge as too radical.
Too dangerous.
Even irresponsible.
But T. L.'s reasoning was simple:
“If Jesus is alive, He will make Himself known.”
“If He is dead, He can do no miracle.”
“But if He is alive—His Name still has power.”
HE DID NOT EVEN TOUCH THE MAN
T. L. stretched his hand toward the Muslim teacher.
But he did not touch him.
He wanted the people to understand that there was nothing mystical about his hands and nothing magical about his touch.
He wanted everyone to know that the power did not belong to him.
JESUS CHRIST WAS PRESENT.
Daisy later pointed out something else about that moment.
T. L. did not close his eyes.
Normally, he would bow his head and pray with his eyes closed.
But not this time.
He wanted everyone watching.
He wanted the Muslim teacher—and the entire multitude—to see that nothing mystical or secret was taking place.
Looking directly at the man, T. L. declared:
“In the name of Jesus Christ, whom God has raised from the dead according to the Scriptures—Jesus who is the Son of the Living God—I command your ear to hear now, so that all here may know that the Bible is true, that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He is risen from the dead to be the Savior of the world.”
TOTAL SILENCE
When the prayer ended, according to the testimony, the entire field became silent.
You could hear a pin drop.
Then T. L. pulled the man closer.
He covered the man's good ear.
Then he faintly whispered into the ear that had been deaf since birth.
THE MAN JUMPED.
He had heard.
The Muslim teacher repeated every word that T. L. whispered.
Then T. L. told him:
“Say what I say, and say it out loud.”
T. L. said:
“Jesus is the Son of God.”
The Muslim teacher repeated:
“Jesus is the Son of God.”
Then T. L. said:
“He must be risen from the dead.”
The Muslim teacher repeated:
“He must be risen from the dead.”
By this time, Daisy later reported, the man was weeping.
The crowd erupted into applause.
And, according to the account, the pastors on the platform were greatly relieved.
Then T. L. turned toward the thousands gathered in the field and asked:
“NOW—IS JESUS CHRIST ALIVE, OR IS HE DEAD?”
Thousands were called upon to make a decision.
According to the testimony, thousands raised their hands to receive Jesus Christ.
THE MIRACLES CONTINUED
T. L. and Daisy remained in Java for several weeks.
Day after day, they preached, taught, and prayed for the sick.
They often conducted two or three meetings each day.
According to the testimony:
- Someone who had been unable to speak for four years was healed.
- Someone who had been unable to walk for fifteen months was completely healed.
- Someone who had been totally deaf for many years was miraculously healed.
“LEPERS ARE BEING HEALED!”
One man heard an extraordinary report spreading through the streets and marketplace:
“Lepers are being healed! Blind people are seeing! Cripples are walking at the airfield!”
The man himself was suffering from leprosy.
For years, he had lived with the shame of being considered unclean.
His body had become severely infected.
Running sores covered his hands and feet.
His nose, ears, upper lip, hands, feet, and limbs had been affected by the disease.
But he decided to go to the meeting.
As he approached the grounds, he saw other sick people everywhere.
Some were being carried.
Some were being led.
Others stood alone at the edge of the multitude.
According to the account, on the very first night he attended, he was instantly and completely healed.
The testimony says:
- The sores dried up.
- The swelling disappeared.
- The deadness left his body.
- He was clean and whole.
THE MESSAGE WAS SIMPLE
Christianity is not merely the story of a man who once lived.
It is the proclamation of a Savior who:
- Died for our sins.
- Shed His blood for our redemption.
- Was buried.
- Rose from the dead.
- And is alive forevermore.
The message T. L. Osborn brought to Java was built upon one powerful question:
IF JESUS CHRIST IS ALIVE—WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
It means that Christianity is not merely the memory of a dead religious teacher.
IT IS FAITH IN THE LIVING CHRIST.
As T. L. Osborn believed:
IF JESUS IS ALIVE—HE IS STILL JESUS.
And if He is still Jesus—
HIS NAME STILL HAS POWER.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
— Hebrews 13:8
SOURCE
Legacy of Faith — T. L. Osborn
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