What was the resurrected Jesus like? Jesus’ resurrection body had “flesh and bones.” He was not a ghost. The disciples were able to recognize Him and to touch Him. He spoke with them.
But could they all have been having a group hallucination? No, because the disciples were not the only ones who saw and touched Jesus. Paul makes a long list of people who claimed to have seen the risen Christ personally, and notes that “most of them are still living” (1 Corinthians 15:6).
Moreover, there has to be some explanation for how the cowardly group of disciples was transformed into a group of leaders. Many of them went on to live sacrificial lives, and were killed for teaching that Jesus had been resurrected.
Jesus had risen, just as He told them He would. After a criminal does his time in jail and fully satisfies the sentence, the law no longer has a claim on the criminal, he walks out of jail free.
Jesus Christ came to pay the penalty for our sins. The sentence upon him was an infinite sentence because of the infinite nature of man’s sin. He must have satisfied the sentence fully because on Easter Sunday He walked out of prison free. The resurrection was God’s way of stamping PAID IN FULL right across history so that nobody could miss it. The sentence was fulfilled. The penalty was paid. ------- Adapted from: King's Cross by Timothy Keller © 2011.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Resurrection is more than a story... Part 2 of 3
The resurrection was inconceivable for the first disciples. It was as impossible for them to believe, as it is for many of us today. Granted, their reasons would have been different from ours. The Greeks did not believe in resurrection. In the Greek worldview, the afterlife was liberation of the soul from the body. According to the Greek worldview the resurrection would never be part of life after death.
As for the Jews, some of them believed in a future general resurrection when the entire world would be renewed, but they had no concept of an individual rising from the dead. The people of Jesus’ day were not predisposed to believe in resurrection any more than we are.
Celsus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the second century A.D., was highly antagonistic to Christianity and wrote a number of works listing arguments against it. One of the arguments he believed most telling went like this: Christianity can’t be true, because the written accounts of the resurrection are based on the testimony of women—and we all know women are hysterical. Many of Celsus’ readers agreed; for them, the fact that the witnesses were women was a major problem. In ancient societies women were marginalized, and the testimony of women was never given legal credence.
Do you see what that means? If Mark and the Christians were making up these stories to get their movement off the ground, they would never have written women into the story as the first eyewitnesses to Jesus’ empty tomb. The only possible reason for the presence of women in these accounts is that they really were present and reported what they saw. The stone has been rolled away, the tomb is empty and an angel declares that Jesus is risen. ----- Adapted from: King's Cross by Timothy Keller © 2011. To be continued next week.
As for the Jews, some of them believed in a future general resurrection when the entire world would be renewed, but they had no concept of an individual rising from the dead. The people of Jesus’ day were not predisposed to believe in resurrection any more than we are.
Celsus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the second century A.D., was highly antagonistic to Christianity and wrote a number of works listing arguments against it. One of the arguments he believed most telling went like this: Christianity can’t be true, because the written accounts of the resurrection are based on the testimony of women—and we all know women are hysterical. Many of Celsus’ readers agreed; for them, the fact that the witnesses were women was a major problem. In ancient societies women were marginalized, and the testimony of women was never given legal credence.
Do you see what that means? If Mark and the Christians were making up these stories to get their movement off the ground, they would never have written women into the story as the first eyewitnesses to Jesus’ empty tomb. The only possible reason for the presence of women in these accounts is that they really were present and reported what they saw. The stone has been rolled away, the tomb is empty and an angel declares that Jesus is risen. ----- Adapted from: King's Cross by Timothy Keller © 2011. To be continued next week.
The Resurrection is more than a story...Part 1 of 3
In the decades before and after Jesus’ life and death, there were dozens of ‘messianic’ movements in Israel. In almost every case the ‘messianic leader’ was killed, in many cases by execution, and after the leader’s death each of these movements invariably collapsed. Everybody went home, and that was it. Of the dozens of move-ments, only one did not collapse after the death of the leader. Not only did the movement not collapse, it exploded—in the course of about 300 years it had spread through the entire Roman Empire.
Of all the messianic movements, what made the Christian faith different? What happened to cause explosive growth in Christianity after its founder’s death?
Jesus died in mid-afternoon and the Sabbath began at sunset. The Jewish law permitted no work on the Sabbath, which meant they could not bury the body of Jesus that night or the next day. So Joseph of Arimathea visits Pilate, hoping to be able to bury the body before the Sabbath begins. Joseph, though a Pharisee, shows enormous courage and independence of thought by asking for Jesus’ body. Mark reports:
“Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.” (Mark 15:44–47)
The way Mark reports the burial is significant: He is “certifying” that Jesus was really dead. Joseph of Arimathea is named here as an identified witness who actually had Jesus’ body wrapped up and sealed it in a tomb. A Roman centurion (who would be an expert) bore witness of Jesus’ death to Pilate (who would be the legal authority on the matter). Finally, two women are cited as eyewitnesses to the burial. So multiple experts and witnesses prove He was really dead. ----- Adapted from: King's Cross by Timothy Keller © 2011. To be continued next week.
Of all the messianic movements, what made the Christian faith different? What happened to cause explosive growth in Christianity after its founder’s death?
Jesus died in mid-afternoon and the Sabbath began at sunset. The Jewish law permitted no work on the Sabbath, which meant they could not bury the body of Jesus that night or the next day. So Joseph of Arimathea visits Pilate, hoping to be able to bury the body before the Sabbath begins. Joseph, though a Pharisee, shows enormous courage and independence of thought by asking for Jesus’ body. Mark reports:
“Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.” (Mark 15:44–47)
The way Mark reports the burial is significant: He is “certifying” that Jesus was really dead. Joseph of Arimathea is named here as an identified witness who actually had Jesus’ body wrapped up and sealed it in a tomb. A Roman centurion (who would be an expert) bore witness of Jesus’ death to Pilate (who would be the legal authority on the matter). Finally, two women are cited as eyewitnesses to the burial. So multiple experts and witnesses prove He was really dead. ----- Adapted from: King's Cross by Timothy Keller © 2011. To be continued next week.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Easter is Two Weeks Away!
I hope that you have been praying and inviting people to join you for our Easter Gatherings. We will have two gatherings at 8:30 and 10:30. Plan to bring family, friends and co-workers with you. There are invitations available in the foyers for you to use. Take as many as you need, as many as you can use! The people in your circle are open at Easter to attending an Easter Celebration so …. Invite them!
Easter is unlike any other event in the year because Easter is the celebration of the One who is unlike any other!
Easter is the culmination of 1000’s of years of God’s toil to arrange for the homecoming of the human race. God was working, around the clock and around the calendar, to return people into a loving relationship with Him.
He sent prophets, kings, leaders and teachers to guide people towards a faith relationship with Him. His hard work accomplished very little. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ - Immanuel – God with us – to live on this earth. Jesus lived a sinless life – the only one to ever do so. Jesus, the only one to have lived an innocent life died a criminal’s death on the cross. Jesus was buried in a borrowed grave and three days later He rose from the dead. Death could not keep Him down. He appeared to the women, the disciples and then to a group of 500 people at one time.
The resurrection of Jesus is what makes Christianity different then every other philosophy or religion. Jesus is the only teacher, the only prophet, the only miracle worker, the only Rabbi … who ever rose from the dead! Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Scientology, Confucianism, Mormonism … you name it – the leader, the prophet, the founder, the seer, the teacher, the Rabbis – they are all dead.
In all of history, Jesus alone, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and is alive today. His resurrection is unlike any other event in history. He is alive! He is alive forever more!
These facts make Easter the greatest day in the calendar. There is no other day that compares.
Pray for those who will be here and invite others to join you!
Easter is unlike any other event in the year because Easter is the celebration of the One who is unlike any other!
Easter is the culmination of 1000’s of years of God’s toil to arrange for the homecoming of the human race. God was working, around the clock and around the calendar, to return people into a loving relationship with Him.
He sent prophets, kings, leaders and teachers to guide people towards a faith relationship with Him. His hard work accomplished very little. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ - Immanuel – God with us – to live on this earth. Jesus lived a sinless life – the only one to ever do so. Jesus, the only one to have lived an innocent life died a criminal’s death on the cross. Jesus was buried in a borrowed grave and three days later He rose from the dead. Death could not keep Him down. He appeared to the women, the disciples and then to a group of 500 people at one time.
The resurrection of Jesus is what makes Christianity different then every other philosophy or religion. Jesus is the only teacher, the only prophet, the only miracle worker, the only Rabbi … who ever rose from the dead! Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Scientology, Confucianism, Mormonism … you name it – the leader, the prophet, the founder, the seer, the teacher, the Rabbis – they are all dead.
In all of history, Jesus alone, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and is alive today. His resurrection is unlike any other event in history. He is alive! He is alive forever more!
These facts make Easter the greatest day in the calendar. There is no other day that compares.
Pray for those who will be here and invite others to join you!
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