They're at it again! Those who despise the message of Jesus, crucified and risen Lord, Son of God, are trying hard to sow doubt. The DaVinci Code, the best-selling novel and soon to be released movie, though fiction, is being treated by many as a work based on good scholarship. The book, if you don't know, is created around the theory that Jesus didn't really die, was married to Mary Magdalene, and left heirs on earth! The author gets most of his facts completely wrong. Last night on NBC's Dateline, an author, Michael Biagent, who wrote The Jesus Papers, claimed that the Vatican possesses documents that prove Jesus' death and resurrection were concocted events, parts of an elaborate hoax. When pressed for details, he dodged and weaved, looking like he had more to cover-up than the Vatican! I guess it happens in every generation. When I was college-age, the big 'scandal' in Christianity, the book by Dr. Hugh Schonfield that 'proved' the faith to be based on a lie, The Passover Plot, swept the country, was turned into a movie, and disappeared after generating tons of media exposure and making its author wealthy!
The Truth is that He lived, He died, and He rose again. Billions have believed it and the resulting transformation of their lives is proof enough for me of the veracity of the Greatest Story ever told. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John base their accounts on either their own experience, or the first-hand reports they received. They weren't piecing together fragments of conspiracy theories, from scraps of information derived from whispers in dark places and documents no one has ever seen. They related stories from their own time, writing of a Man that they knew, telling us what they knew to be true.
So why do books that deny that Jesus is Who the Scripture says He is get written?
I imagine a primary reason is greed. The subject grabs an audience and has the potential to create best-sellers.
But, there is a more sinister reason, too. The Evil One does not want men and women to know the life-changing Truth. So, he finds those who worship their own wisdom and uses their pseudo-intellectualism to tear at the amazing story.
The wonder of Christianity is the Resurrection! Take away the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for sins and was raised by the power of God, and all you're left with is a story of Jewish teacher whose radical ideas about God and human relationships got him killed. Christianity does not exist apart from the Resurrection. It isn't just a pastor from the 21st century, reflecting over 2 millennia of the faith who makes that claim. Paul, writing about 25 years after Jesus' death and resurrection knew the importance of that pivotal truth. He writes-- ".... if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ have perished!" (1 Corinthians 15:16-18, NLT)
We, who are Believers, are not just implementing a new code of ethics given to us by a Teacher. We are not just trying out a different philosophy left to us by a hopeless Idealist. We are receiving Life by the Presence of the Living Spirit of God, because Jesus Christ settled the old debt with God, the Father, that kept men and women apart from Him. "But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries. There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:20-22, The Message)
The old hymn says, "you ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!" Perhaps it strikes you as somewhat disingenuous that I would appeal to my own experience. Maybe you're inclined to say, "But, Jerry, what if you're just self-deceived?" If I am, I am in very good company, tricked right along with billions of people by a 'lie' (Biagent's word, not mine!) that has managed to survive rigorous inquiries for 2000 years! No, I am not deceived. I am not the victim of wishful thinking. I've believed a true report, experienced the power of the Spirit of God, and live in the sure hope of Life eternal.
Take this word from the Word with you this week!
"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart." (1 Peter 1:18-22, NIV)
1 comment:
Post a Comment