The Da Vinci Code. Was Jesus Just a Man? Part II. CA209 LESSON 06 of 08

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1 The Da Vinci Code CA209 LESSON 06 of 08 Our Daily Bread Christian University This course was developed by Christian University & Our Daily Bread Ministries. Dr. Paul L. Maier: It s interesting, you know, one of the things that Christians and their critics agree on is this. The early church preached this as its core message; Jesus is the Messiah who rose from the dead. Now even the enemies of Christianity will say, Yeah that s what the early church claimed. OK, how do we explain that statement? Christians of course say, Duh, because that happened. OK? What does the other side say? Well, usually it s some kind of a variety of this central message: Jesus died on Friday, they claim; Sunday He couldn t possibly have risen from the dead, so some weeks later Peter gathers the disciples along the Sea of Galilee, and he says, Well, fellows, we blew it, we hitched our wagon to the wrong star, wasted three and a half years of our lives. What do you want to do, go back to fishing? [see John 21:3]. And suddenly his face lights up, and he says, Wait a minute. I got an idea. Follow my plans, and someday they ll name churches after us. Yeah, OK. So then he concocted the story of the Resurrection, for example. No way could this have been the case, because Peter would have written the Resurrection account something like this: On the first day of the week, Peter, James and John, the executive committee of the apostles, fully believing that their Lord would rise from the dead, camped outside the tomb. And when on Sunday morning Jesus rose from the dead, He said, Blessed are you Peter, James, John, please tell your brothers that I have risen and I ll see them in Galilee. And so we then hasten from the tomb and tell the other eight disciples, but since they re in the second group, of course they had difficulty in believing. But to the women it seemed like idle tales. Now you notice the Resurrection account in reverse. What really happened was that women were the first witnesses, and there 1 of 6

2 is no way that a first-century writer trying to make his material credible would ever have women as the first witnesses. Dr. William Lane Craig [research professor, Talbot School of Theology]: It is remarkable that the narratives have the tomb discovered by women, and also the first appearance of the risen Christ to women. Because in first-century Palestine, women were frankly second-class citizens whose testimony was not highly regarded. If this were a later, legendary account that arose decades after the death of Jesus, then certainly male disciples would have been made to discover the empty tomb and to see the risen Jesus. People like Peter and John, rather than women, whose testimony was counted as next to worthless in that society. Dr. Paul L. Maier: Back two thousand years ago, their testimony wasn t even admitted in a court of law. So you see how this couldn t have been invented. And besides which, if Peter had invented this, I ll tell you when the whole thing would have crashed he s about to be hoisted on a cross in a Roman arena. The early Christian church historian Eusebius tells us that he did get to Rome and so on. At that point Peter would have blown a whistle and said, OK, a person can get hurt doing this thing. Call the authorities. I m going to turn state s evidence. We ll tell you how we did it, if I come off with my life. He didn t do that because the story was true. That s the difference. Whoever said it first said it best: Myths do not make martyrs. Dr. William Lane Craig: One of the most remarkable facts about contemporary scholarship is that most New Testament critics now acknowledge that after the crucifixion of Jesus, Jesus was seen alive from the dead by various individuals and groups of people under a variety of circumstances and at a number of different places. Jimmy De Young: After the Last Supper and just before His betrayal, Jesus Christ instructed His disciples that, after He rose from the dead, He would meet them here in the Galilee. Matthew 28:16 17 (NKJV) Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 2 of 6

3 Jimmy De Young [in Galilee]: It was also in this same region that over five hundred saw the resurrected Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:3 6 (NKJV) The apostle Paul wrote: For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present. Jimmy De Young [in Galilee, eating]: You know, the basics of the Israeli breakfast haven t changed over the last two thousand years. Well, maybe with the exception of hot tea. But you have your fish, your olives, your bread, and, according to the oldest and most reliable gospels, we have information that Jesus Christ prepared and then served His disciples after His resurrection a breakfast right here on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. John 21:12 14 (NKJV) Jesus said to them, Come and eat breakfast.... Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead. Mart De Haan: You know, a lot of people today look at eating as a spiritual experience. And yet from a New Testament point of view, it was the physical act of breaking bread, of eating fish here on the shoreline of the Galilee that Jesus of Nazareth used to convince His disciples that they weren t seeing a a vision. A lot of those who have doubted the biblical record talk about the disciples of Christ as followers who hallucinated or visualized something that they wanted to believe in. One of the things that Jesus did over and over again was to give them physical evidence that He had risen from the dead to show that He really was the Messiah, the Son of God. And in preparing fish for His disciples, just as Jim and I are eating food, He gave them a memory. They saw His scarred hands, I m sure, and in eating the food, it was as though not only did their spirits enter into 3 of 6

4 what they were believing and seeing, but it was physical, it was material, it was a part of a real world. That s important because there are a lot of people today that point out that millions of people over the years have died for what they believed, but it s just as true that nobody dies for what they know to be a lie. And the important thing about eating fish, eating bread together after the Resurrection, is that it gave the first witnesses of Christ physical, material evidence that Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the dead to show that He was more than a mere mortal. Dr. William Lane Craig: The physicality is a feature of all the appearance narratives. Take, for example, the appearance to the women at the tomb. They fall at Jesus feet and grasp His ankles in worship, which shows the physicality of this appearance [Matthew 28:9]. And in John s version, He says to Mary, Don t cling to Me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father [see John 20:17]. And shows the physicality of His body as they fall at His feet and grasp His ankles in worship and adoration. Mart De Haan: So why did Jesus come here to the Galilee after His resurrection? Because for the better part of three years of public life, He walked these hills, shoreline, with His many friends and disciples. And according to the New Testament, after His resurrection He came back to this area to the people who had followed Him to let them know that He was alive. In the process He let not just a few know, but hundreds were able to see and compare notes and to talk about the fact that they had literally seen with their own eyes the risen Son of God. Here in the Galilee, called by the prophet Isaiah, Galilee, land of the Gentiles. Because according to Christ, according to the New Testament, the good news of His resurrection wasn t just for His Jewish countrymen but for men and women of all nations. Matthew 28:19 20 (NKJV) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Jesus Mart De Haan: Jimmy and I returned to the Mount of Olives, just across the valley from the Old City of Jerusalem, where the final post-resurrection appearance of Jesus was witnessed by those He knew so intimately and loved so dearly. 4 of 6

5 Jimmy De Young: This is Augusta Victoria Hospital, located here on the Mount of Olives. It also is the site of one of the traditional locations for the Ascension. The Church of the Ascension here, commemorating Jesus Christ ascending into heaven. Many many steps, so I figured it would probably be best if we used the elevator here to go to the tower. They say the view is unbelievable. By the time Mart gets here, the elevator should be down. Mart De Haan: You all right? Jimmy De Young: Not as bad as I thought! Worth 144 steps. Mart De Haan: Hey, I don t know if it was worth the climb, but the spot is, the significance. Jimmy De Young: This is beautiful. Temple Mount. Dome of the Rock. That s out toward Mart, this is out toward Bethany. Mart De Haan: OK. Jimmy De Young: Out back toward the Jordan River, Jordan valley. Mart De Haan: All right, and then the Judean wilderness over here. OK. Jimmy De Young: This is the bell tower. I don t know if I ve been in this. Mart De Haan: Hey, you know the good news? This goes off once an hour. Jimmy De Young: Yes. Mart De Haan: You know what time it is? The bad news? We ve got five minutes. Jimmy De Young: Before it goes off? Mart De Haan: Look at the size of those! Jimmy De Young: This is out toward the new city of Jerusalem. Beautiful panoramic view from the Mount of Olives and the Church of the Ascension here at Augusta Victoria Hospital, 5 of 6

6 marking one of the traditional sites that Jesus Christ would have ascended into heaven from. After forty days of spending time with the disciples after His resurrection, He met with them here on the Mount of Olives. He told them to start in Jerusalem, go to Judea, Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. The final act of the life of Jesus Christ here on earth. Mart De Haan: If we accept the records of the New Testament, the truth about Christ lies not with the bones of Mary Magdalene and not with a fictional alternative to the life of Christ, but rather with the accounts of eyewitnesses. Men and women who lived and walked and talked and saw the miracles of Christ, saw the quality of life He lived, a life that ended voluntarily when He said that He had to die for sin. Then three days later, rose from the dead to show Himself alive. Here in this bell tower, these bells here in Jerusalem and around the world are linked to the message of Christ. To the good news that the Messiah has come, that He lived, that He died, that He rose again to offer new life to anyone who would trust in Him. And for me personally, the sound of these bells is much greater, the message that these bells represent is infinitely greater than a fictional account based on bad history that is being whispered around the world as if someone has come up with an alternative story of Christ. Now the truth is found in the bells of the churches and the message of Christ. One who arose from the dead, and from somewhere here on the Mount of Olives literally ascended before eyewitnesses back to His Father in heaven. Acts 1:11 (NKJV) This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. Mart De Haan: If you ve never personally considered the Jesus of the Bible and have questions about His claim to be God in the flesh I would encourage you to read the gospel accounts for yourself, starting in John s gospel, which clearly presents Jesus and God. 6 of 6