Gospel

Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead? He is Risen; He is Risen Indeed!

Every year my wife and I cast aside the suburban shackles and do something that in our world is truly adventurous: a six hundred mile road trip to GeeGee’s house with an SUV full of kids. From the windows of our traveling roadshow we enjoy the skyscrapers of Dallas, the Cracker Barrel of Abilene, the windmills of Sweetwater, the corny dogs of Post, and of course the aliens of Area 51, Roswell, NM. Ever been to Roswell? There are t-shirt shops, hotels, souvenirs, alien burgers, all based on a tale that ET landed and the USA covered it up.

Every year around this time. My mailbox fills up with postcards inviting me to easter egg hunts, walkthrough adventures, iPad giveaways, and church services. There are musicals, movies, parties, dresses, bonnets, baskets, waxy eggs with hardened sugar inside and chocolate rabbits with creepy little edible eyes. All of this activity is based on the tale that 2000 years ago a man named Jesus died and rose again.

It leads me to a simple question: Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

Christian or not, it’s a question with which we all must grapple. Jesus is easily the most influential man who’s ever lived. His impact on government, art, education, social justice, architecture, healthcare, law, and faith are indisputable. Impactful? absolutely! But the greatness of Jesus hinges on the question of Easter. Did Jesus really rise from the dead? After all, Jesus’ big claim to fame was that he is the Son of God and that he would prove this by dying and rising again.

Let’s consider some of the common “conspiracy theories” about the resurrection:

The Swoon Conspiracy—believes that Jesus passed out on the cross and in the coldness of the tomb he was revived. Essentially, he broke out, killed the Roman soldiers, and appeared to his followers. As loony as this sounds, many have fallen for the swoon. But, if there was one thing that Rome did really well it was kill people. Furthermore, how could a man who was whipped and crucified move a massive stone and overcome armed soldiers?

The Directionally Challenged Conspiracy—believes that the women who reported the resurrection went to the wrong tomb. Now this may be more believable if it had been men and not women who discovered the empty tomb. Everybody knows, men are usually too stubborn to stop and asks directions when they get lost!  But had the empty tomb been the result of poor navigating, the Romans could have easily produced the body; interesting, no one has ever produced the body.

The Every Body’s Tripping Conspiracy—believes that all the people who saw Jesus were hallucinating. Perhaps, the feast had a Woodstock theme that year or something? Had it been one or two people that claimed to see Christ then maybe. But over 500 people at different times claimed to have seen Christ. People touched him and talked to him over a 40-day period of time.

The Thieves Conspiracy—believes that someone stole the body and started a rumor that Jesus rose from the dead. Well, this is more conceivable than the others conspiracies. But still it is vastly lacking. Who would want to steal Jesus’ body? The Jewish leaders and the Romans had no motive. The apostles had lacked courage: from Gethsemane through the cross they were running for their lives. Yet, these are the men who are supposed to have found the courage to overcome the guards, steal the body and begin the church movement?

Now, let’s consider some evidence that Jesus really did rise from the dead:

The tomb was empty—this was no small feat. After all there were Roman soldiers guarding the tomb and a seal protecting it. To this day no one has ever produced the body or remains of Jesus.

Hundreds of witnesses—I Corinthians 15:3-8 relates that over 500 people saw Jesus and many of these continued to share their testimony for years to come.

Radical change in the disciples lives—Following the horrific crucifixion, the natural thing for the apostles to do was go home, keep a low profile, and get back to fishing. Instead they went all over the world preaching the resurrection. Their testimony dramatically changed the Roman world and was foundational in the establishment of the church.

The disciple’s deaths—History reveals that most of the disciples died torturous deaths. They were crucified, boiled in oil, and torn to pieces. Look, there is only so far you take a lie. When the threat of nails and a crossbeam comes your way, if you’re telling a lie, you back away. But the disciples died proclaiming the resurrected Jesus until their final breath.

Is it reasonable to believe that Jesus really did rise from the dead? Absolutely! Now I realize that not everyone will believe. But that doesn’t change the fact that there is ample evidence to believe. It also doesn’t change the reality that Jesus has impacted the world to such a degree that anyone with intellect must wrestle with the veracity of his claims.

Millions of people over thousands of years have surrendered their souls and believed in Jesus Christ as savior and Lord. Christians believe that Jesus is the eternal son of God, born of a virgin, perfectly revealed and without sin. Christians believe that Jesus died as a substitute for sinners, making atonement for sin, and providing redemption for all who believe. Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead, appeared to his disciples, ascended to heaven and will one day return to judge the world and complete his redemptive mission.

Easter is a celebration of life. Not just any life but eternal life that is found in Jesus Christ.

He is Risen!
There are a lot of good books on reasonable reasons to believe in Christianity (apologetics).  One, easy to read, apologetic on the resurrection is Josh and Sean McDowell’s book Jesus is Alive!

The Collision of the Cross

Tonight our church gathers for Good Friday. We will remember what Jesus did for us through His atoning death on the cross and celebrate the new life that is found through His resurrection. I’ll be preaching on Philippians 2:8, “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross,” As I meditated on Christ’s humility, I was reminded of the collision that is the cross:

The ringing of Calvary’s hammer is a collision of pride and love. The cross is necessary because of my pride, but it also necessary because of God’s love. The cross is a clumsy display of my hideous pride and a graceful display of God’s forgiving grace. On the cross, love is pierced by pride and grace is crowned by evil. On the cross pride drains the veins of love: drop by drop pride’s antidote puddles below. When His head bowed in death, pride raised his head in victory. But when the earth stood still and the tomb stood opened, it was pride that had died and love that was alive.

The antidote to pride is the cross. When I look upon the humility and love of the cross, I see the magnificence of His love for me and I have nothing left in which to boast. From the cross the purity of His righteousness shines into the corners of my heart exposing the darkness of my sin and contempt is poured on my pride. From the cross the glories of money, power, and fame lose their allure and my richest gain I count but lost. At the cross, my broken dreams, my manipulated relationships, my cold soul collide with love. When my pride surveys His love, I bow beneath the cross, my faith is transferred from me to Him, and the drops of grace cleanse me and make me fully whole. At the cross, pride dies and love comes alive.

Inspired by my favorite hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” by Sir Isaac Watts

Join us for Easter worship at 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00.  Details and directions at murphychurch.com 

When Good News Gets Twisted

I’m currently leading a Bible-study on the book of Galatians.  Galatians is one of my favorite books in the Bible, because it teaches us what it means to find freedom in Christ. Ultimately, our freedom is anchored in the gospel, and so Paul begins Galatians with a passionate plea to never twist the gospel or “good news” of Jesus.

Christ has rescued us from the world by giving Himself for our sins according to the will of God. Those who repent of sin and believe in Christ, receive the grace and peace of God and live for His glory forever and ever. This is the heart of the true gospel that Paul describes in Galatians 1:3-5:

3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. 5 To whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The gospel of Christ is the most uniting force on earth because it answers our universal problem of sin and our most basic need of forgiveness. The gospel empowers me to live a life of true significance where success is measured by eternal rather than earthly means. The gospel causes me to lose control and discover the joy of life beyond the box. It demands that I take the risk of faith and get beyond my sanitized world of control and power. The gospel frees me from the prison of self. To be God’s means that I no longer have to spend all of my energies trying to be God. “I do because I am not in order to be.” I pursue holiness because I am God’s child rather than attempting to be God’s child through my holiness.  Talk about good news!

In Galatians 1:6-7, Paul dropped his jaw in amazement that those who have experienced the liberating power of the gospel, abandon freedom in favor of enslavement to selfishness and pride. Paul wrote:

I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the good news about the Messiah.

False gospels are subtle, because they wear Christ’s robes while stripping His message, they speak Christ’s language without God’s dictionary, embrace Christ’s love while ignoring His holiness, and desire the benefits of the cross but not the savior.

In Paul’s day, the Judaizers were luring the young, Gentile Christians of Galatia to a false gospel that taught Jesus + Judaism = Salvation. Today, the equations of apostasy may read like this:

Gospel of Friendship--Church Activities + Friends = Community
Gospel of Accommodation--Your goodness + Jesus’ love = Success
Gospel of Legalism–Jesus + Rules = Control
Gospel of Self–Jesus + Opportunity = Admiration
Gospel of Exhaustion–Pleasing People + Doing Good = God’s Love

Paul’s response to the false gospel was, to say the least, rather firm in Galatians 1:8 he wrote:

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!

Now, just in case you missed it or thought maybe Paul was just blowing off some steam. Paul and, if you have a high view of Scripture, the Holy Spirit say it again in verse 9: As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

False Gospels are such a BIG deal that they make Paul curse! In Greek, the word translated “curse” is anathema. The root idea is that false gospels should be banned, excommunicated, shunned to extinction. What gets really scary is that if we plunge into our souls there are times when all of us are tempted to settle for a message that only resembles the true gospel. It is often comfortable, encouraging, self-empowering, containable, and rewarding to listen to or communicate. False gospels can win friends, draw crowds, increase budgets, provide comfort, build careers, and elicit cheers. But, in the end, they fail to satisfy, fall short of grace, and enslave you into a prison of works producing a heritage of pride of selfishness.

So Paul brings us to the eternal conclusion in verse 10:

For am I now trying to win the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.

Christ has rescued us from the world by giving Himself for our sins according to the will of God. Those who repent of sin and believe in Christ receive the grace and peace of God and live for His glory forever and ever.

Let us shun to extinction any other gospel.