Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2012 13:11:22 GMT -5
…move on.
i’d like to end this season spent here with a post on the subject of Easter – specifically, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. as you might expect, my pastor gave a message titled “why should I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ” yesterday, and I’d like to share my notes with you.
the text being studied is John 20.
point 1: the resurrection of Jesus Christ is told in a credible book.
most of what you believe, you believe because you read it in a book written by a human. at school, at work, at home, in the library – whatever. so it is eminently sensible and logical to consider what has been written by a human in a book potentially believable.
the books in the Bible are no different in this respect.
for ancient texts, the criteria for accuracy – vis a vis the author’s intent as expressed in the original text – is twofold: number of existing manuscripts (mss), and elapsed time of a manuscript from the original text. all things being equal, the closer a copy is to the original, the more accurate it is regarded by scholars. consider the following:
for the New Testament, there are 14,000 mss of all or part of the N.T., the earliest of which is within 40 years of the original.
compare that to the following ancient texts:
Herodotus (480-425 BC) “History”
earliest copy: 900 AD (span: 1300 yrs)
# of mss: 8
Aristotle (384-322 BC) “Metaphysics”
earliest copy: 1100 AD (span: 1400 yrs)
# of mss: 5
Caesar (100-44 BC) “Gallic Wars”
earliest copy: 900 AD (span: 1000 yrs)
# of mss: 10
Tacitus (56-120 AD) “Greek History”
earliest copy: 1100 AD (span: 1000 yrs)
# of mss: 20
Suetonius (70-140 AD) “Roman History”
earliest copy: 950 AD (span: 800 yrs)
# of mss: 8
Pliny (61-113 AD) “History”
earliest copy: 850 AD (span: 750 yrs)
# of mss: 7
more info on the N.T.:
there are a number of manuscripts of the New Testament which, for all practical purposes, eliminates any significant time gap. the john ryland manuscript (john ryland library -- manchester, England), oldest known fragment of the N.T., dated AD 130, span of 40 years from the original; contains fragments of the gospel of John.
other more extensive copies of the N.T.: the chester beatty papyri (major portions of the N.T., dated early 3rd century); the bodmer papyrus (dated late 2nd century); the codex sinaiticus (dated AD 350); and the codex vaticanus (dated AD 325 - AD 350). some of these contain the entire N.T. so regarding the time gap between the original writing of the N.T. and the earliest extant manuscripts, there is no work from the ancient world which can compare to the N.T.
sir frederic kenyon rightly concluded:
“... no unbiased scholar would deny that the text that has come down to us is substantially sound.”
there is one more thing to consider regarding the historicity of the N.T.: quotations of the N.T. text in the personal correspondence of the first generation of Christian leaders (the “church fathers”).
clement of Alexandria (circa AD 150 - AD 212) has 2,406 quotes from all but three books of the N.T. tertullian (AD 160 - AD 220) quotes the N.T. 7,258 times; of these, around 3,800 are from the gospels. other quotes from church fathers justin martyr (330 quotes); irenaeus (1,819); origen (17,922); hippolytus (1,378); and eusebius (5,176) -- making a total of 36,289 quotes of the N.T.
what is interesting and significant is this: you could destroy all the mss of the N.T., and destroy all the New Testaments in existence, and you could reproduce all but 11 verses of the N.T. from these quotes of the church fathers.
when it comes to checking and cross checking the readings of the N.T., it stands as the most historically attested-to work of the ancient world.
point 2: the resurrection of Jesus Christ lacks author embellishment.
don’t know about you, but if I was writing the resurrection account as a piece of fiction, and really wanted to make an impact on the reader, I’d be tempted to jazz it up a bit. but look at John 20:1-2 –
John 20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
John 20:2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
not exactly sensationalized.
they took Him.
we don't know where He is.
hardly supernatural. hardly inspiring.
and not the best piece of fiction ever written, either.
(but there's a very good reason for that...)
point 3: the resurrection of Jesus Christ is miraculously predicted.
for those of us who play a bit of basketball, banking a 3-pt shot off the backboard brings immediate ridicule down on the shooter – unless he calls out “bank” before the shot.
credibility depends upon successful prediction. and without such prescience, there is zero cred.
God shoots the 3 – with cred, every time.
there are 332 times in the Bible where the fact and the details of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are predicted. what are the odds of every one of those predictions coming true through one person?
don’t know. nor, apparently, does anyone else, as to my knowledge either no one has computed the odds, or the odds are so unfathomable that it is pointless to describe them. but there are descriptions available to us that begin to describe how amazing this would be – and how the fact that x number of these predictions coming true would be an overwhelming confirmation of the truth of what was predicted to happen.
for the odds of just 8 of these 332 predictions to be accomplished by one man, visualize this: put a distinguishable mark on a silver dollar. now cover the entire surface of texas with silver dollars – and not just one silver dollar deep, but 2 feet deep. the odds of just 8 of these 332 predictions coming true through one person equals the odds of someone finding the marked coin on the first try.
the number, btw: 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.
let’s bump it up to 9 predictions coming true through 1 person.
remember the Houston astrodome? put a distinguishable mark on a grain of sand (somehow). then fill the astrodome completely to the top with sand, being sure to include the marked grain. the odds of one person fulfilling just 9 of the 332 predictions are the same as a person picking out the marked grain of sand on the first try.
then re-placing the grain into the astrodome, shaking it up, and picking it again on the first try.
and doing all this over again twice more.
4 times picking the correct grain of sand, on the first try each time.
sorry. don’t have a number for that.
God said “bank”. 332 times. and hit every one.
point 4: the resurrection of Jesus Christ paints His followers in a negative light.
John 20:10 Then the disciples went back to their homes,
John 20:11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb
John 20:12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
John 20:13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him."
John 20:14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
John 20:15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
John 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
John 20:17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
John 20:18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.
first, and crucial point: the first witness was a woman (John 20:2) – whose testimony would never be allowed in a legal proceeding because of her gender. it was considered unreliable.
and also, apparently, by the remaining 11 disciples –
Luke 24:11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
so then two males – disciples of Jesus – are the next witnesses at the tomb. one looked in, the other went in, and then the first went in too. then what?
they went home. they locked themselves in a room, fearful for their lives.
and in verse 9, they also confessed their own ignorance.
what is striking here is the honesty of what is being told to us. there is unbelief and disbelief. there is misunderstanding and ignorance.
hardly the work of a fiction writer with an agenda.
you want me to believe some fictional story?
you need to make it exciting. you have to capture my attention to get me interested enough to read it and think about it.
better make it pop.
John didn’t make this pop. at all.
because it’s not fiction.
nor did he make himself or anyone else look good.
because it's honest.
honest truth.
point 5: the resurrection of Jesus Christ transforms doubters into heroes of faith.
the heartbroken, fearful followers of a deceased rabbi were somehow transformed into strong people who became the foundation martyrs of the faith:
Peter (who denied Christ 3x before He was crucified, btw) – crucified head down
Andrew – severely scourged (pls look up what this is exactly), then tied by ropes onto an x-shaped cross where he hung for 2 days to die
James, son of Zebedee – beheaded with a sword
John – thrown in boiling oil but unharmed; threatened with imminent death by mobs on a number of occasions; died of natural causes
Philip – scourged and crucified
Bartholomew – beaten/flayed, then crucified head down
Thomas – thrust through with pine spears, then burned alive
Matthew – axed to death with a halberd
James, son of Alphaeus – thrown down from the temple tower; not dead, so clubbed to death
Jude – crucified
Simon – crucified
Matthias – stoned and beheaded
Paul – beheaded
people do not die for their own half-truths, lies, or fabrications.
for an excellent response to anyone who might be saying “yeah, but the 9/11 terrorists died for their beliefs too, so this is no more proof of truth than that is” – pls scroll down to “An Objection” at this link, read, and consider:
www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog/2010/03/what-happened-to-the-twelve-apostles-how-their-deaths-evidence-easter-2/
last word –
the Bible says that if you confess Jesus is Lord with your mouth, and believe in your heart that He is risen from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).
not “might”; will.
i believe that the 2nd part comes first, and that once you get that truth, the first part is pretty much a given.
i cannot not confess Jesus Christ. and even if i for some reason chose not to do that, all of creation calls out His name anyway.
so now we reach the bottom line.
the enemy of your soul would like nothing better than for you to believe him when he tells you “But did God really say…that He actually resurrected?”.
the disciples, and the early apostles, all got it. they knew the answer to that question.
“yes”.
not only did He say it (“bank”).
He did it.
He died – was scourged and crucified – so that you do not need to pay your sin debt yourself.
and He most definitely and definitively rose again, so that you may have eternal life with Him.
you only need to accept this victory over death that He has already won, by receiving your salvation through His grace.
it is the most mind-opening, soul-shaking, transforming decision you will ever, ever make.
guaranteed…
what will you do about Christ?
i’d like to end this season spent here with a post on the subject of Easter – specifically, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. as you might expect, my pastor gave a message titled “why should I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ” yesterday, and I’d like to share my notes with you.
the text being studied is John 20.
point 1: the resurrection of Jesus Christ is told in a credible book.
most of what you believe, you believe because you read it in a book written by a human. at school, at work, at home, in the library – whatever. so it is eminently sensible and logical to consider what has been written by a human in a book potentially believable.
the books in the Bible are no different in this respect.
for ancient texts, the criteria for accuracy – vis a vis the author’s intent as expressed in the original text – is twofold: number of existing manuscripts (mss), and elapsed time of a manuscript from the original text. all things being equal, the closer a copy is to the original, the more accurate it is regarded by scholars. consider the following:
for the New Testament, there are 14,000 mss of all or part of the N.T., the earliest of which is within 40 years of the original.
compare that to the following ancient texts:
Herodotus (480-425 BC) “History”
earliest copy: 900 AD (span: 1300 yrs)
# of mss: 8
Aristotle (384-322 BC) “Metaphysics”
earliest copy: 1100 AD (span: 1400 yrs)
# of mss: 5
Caesar (100-44 BC) “Gallic Wars”
earliest copy: 900 AD (span: 1000 yrs)
# of mss: 10
Tacitus (56-120 AD) “Greek History”
earliest copy: 1100 AD (span: 1000 yrs)
# of mss: 20
Suetonius (70-140 AD) “Roman History”
earliest copy: 950 AD (span: 800 yrs)
# of mss: 8
Pliny (61-113 AD) “History”
earliest copy: 850 AD (span: 750 yrs)
# of mss: 7
more info on the N.T.:
there are a number of manuscripts of the New Testament which, for all practical purposes, eliminates any significant time gap. the john ryland manuscript (john ryland library -- manchester, England), oldest known fragment of the N.T., dated AD 130, span of 40 years from the original; contains fragments of the gospel of John.
other more extensive copies of the N.T.: the chester beatty papyri (major portions of the N.T., dated early 3rd century); the bodmer papyrus (dated late 2nd century); the codex sinaiticus (dated AD 350); and the codex vaticanus (dated AD 325 - AD 350). some of these contain the entire N.T. so regarding the time gap between the original writing of the N.T. and the earliest extant manuscripts, there is no work from the ancient world which can compare to the N.T.
sir frederic kenyon rightly concluded:
“... no unbiased scholar would deny that the text that has come down to us is substantially sound.”
there is one more thing to consider regarding the historicity of the N.T.: quotations of the N.T. text in the personal correspondence of the first generation of Christian leaders (the “church fathers”).
clement of Alexandria (circa AD 150 - AD 212) has 2,406 quotes from all but three books of the N.T. tertullian (AD 160 - AD 220) quotes the N.T. 7,258 times; of these, around 3,800 are from the gospels. other quotes from church fathers justin martyr (330 quotes); irenaeus (1,819); origen (17,922); hippolytus (1,378); and eusebius (5,176) -- making a total of 36,289 quotes of the N.T.
what is interesting and significant is this: you could destroy all the mss of the N.T., and destroy all the New Testaments in existence, and you could reproduce all but 11 verses of the N.T. from these quotes of the church fathers.
when it comes to checking and cross checking the readings of the N.T., it stands as the most historically attested-to work of the ancient world.
point 2: the resurrection of Jesus Christ lacks author embellishment.
don’t know about you, but if I was writing the resurrection account as a piece of fiction, and really wanted to make an impact on the reader, I’d be tempted to jazz it up a bit. but look at John 20:1-2 –
John 20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
John 20:2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
not exactly sensationalized.
they took Him.
we don't know where He is.
hardly supernatural. hardly inspiring.
and not the best piece of fiction ever written, either.
(but there's a very good reason for that...)
point 3: the resurrection of Jesus Christ is miraculously predicted.
for those of us who play a bit of basketball, banking a 3-pt shot off the backboard brings immediate ridicule down on the shooter – unless he calls out “bank” before the shot.
credibility depends upon successful prediction. and without such prescience, there is zero cred.
God shoots the 3 – with cred, every time.
there are 332 times in the Bible where the fact and the details of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are predicted. what are the odds of every one of those predictions coming true through one person?
don’t know. nor, apparently, does anyone else, as to my knowledge either no one has computed the odds, or the odds are so unfathomable that it is pointless to describe them. but there are descriptions available to us that begin to describe how amazing this would be – and how the fact that x number of these predictions coming true would be an overwhelming confirmation of the truth of what was predicted to happen.
for the odds of just 8 of these 332 predictions to be accomplished by one man, visualize this: put a distinguishable mark on a silver dollar. now cover the entire surface of texas with silver dollars – and not just one silver dollar deep, but 2 feet deep. the odds of just 8 of these 332 predictions coming true through one person equals the odds of someone finding the marked coin on the first try.
the number, btw: 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.
let’s bump it up to 9 predictions coming true through 1 person.
remember the Houston astrodome? put a distinguishable mark on a grain of sand (somehow). then fill the astrodome completely to the top with sand, being sure to include the marked grain. the odds of one person fulfilling just 9 of the 332 predictions are the same as a person picking out the marked grain of sand on the first try.
then re-placing the grain into the astrodome, shaking it up, and picking it again on the first try.
and doing all this over again twice more.
4 times picking the correct grain of sand, on the first try each time.
sorry. don’t have a number for that.
God said “bank”. 332 times. and hit every one.
point 4: the resurrection of Jesus Christ paints His followers in a negative light.
John 20:10 Then the disciples went back to their homes,
John 20:11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb
John 20:12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
John 20:13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him."
John 20:14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
John 20:15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
John 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
John 20:17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
John 20:18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.
first, and crucial point: the first witness was a woman (John 20:2) – whose testimony would never be allowed in a legal proceeding because of her gender. it was considered unreliable.
and also, apparently, by the remaining 11 disciples –
Luke 24:11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
so then two males – disciples of Jesus – are the next witnesses at the tomb. one looked in, the other went in, and then the first went in too. then what?
they went home. they locked themselves in a room, fearful for their lives.
and in verse 9, they also confessed their own ignorance.
what is striking here is the honesty of what is being told to us. there is unbelief and disbelief. there is misunderstanding and ignorance.
hardly the work of a fiction writer with an agenda.
you want me to believe some fictional story?
you need to make it exciting. you have to capture my attention to get me interested enough to read it and think about it.
better make it pop.
John didn’t make this pop. at all.
because it’s not fiction.
nor did he make himself or anyone else look good.
because it's honest.
honest truth.
point 5: the resurrection of Jesus Christ transforms doubters into heroes of faith.
the heartbroken, fearful followers of a deceased rabbi were somehow transformed into strong people who became the foundation martyrs of the faith:
Peter (who denied Christ 3x before He was crucified, btw) – crucified head down
Andrew – severely scourged (pls look up what this is exactly), then tied by ropes onto an x-shaped cross where he hung for 2 days to die
James, son of Zebedee – beheaded with a sword
John – thrown in boiling oil but unharmed; threatened with imminent death by mobs on a number of occasions; died of natural causes
Philip – scourged and crucified
Bartholomew – beaten/flayed, then crucified head down
Thomas – thrust through with pine spears, then burned alive
Matthew – axed to death with a halberd
James, son of Alphaeus – thrown down from the temple tower; not dead, so clubbed to death
Jude – crucified
Simon – crucified
Matthias – stoned and beheaded
Paul – beheaded
people do not die for their own half-truths, lies, or fabrications.
for an excellent response to anyone who might be saying “yeah, but the 9/11 terrorists died for their beliefs too, so this is no more proof of truth than that is” – pls scroll down to “An Objection” at this link, read, and consider:
www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog/2010/03/what-happened-to-the-twelve-apostles-how-their-deaths-evidence-easter-2/
last word –
the Bible says that if you confess Jesus is Lord with your mouth, and believe in your heart that He is risen from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).
not “might”; will.
i believe that the 2nd part comes first, and that once you get that truth, the first part is pretty much a given.
i cannot not confess Jesus Christ. and even if i for some reason chose not to do that, all of creation calls out His name anyway.
so now we reach the bottom line.
the enemy of your soul would like nothing better than for you to believe him when he tells you “But did God really say…that He actually resurrected?”.
the disciples, and the early apostles, all got it. they knew the answer to that question.
“yes”.
not only did He say it (“bank”).
He did it.
He died – was scourged and crucified – so that you do not need to pay your sin debt yourself.
and He most definitely and definitively rose again, so that you may have eternal life with Him.
you only need to accept this victory over death that He has already won, by receiving your salvation through His grace.
it is the most mind-opening, soul-shaking, transforming decision you will ever, ever make.
guaranteed…
what will you do about Christ?
