We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

Transcription

1 1 Corinthians 15:51 58 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. There is little doubt that crime fiction dominates modern entertainment. From movies to TV to books, murder is epidemic. In fact, it is so pervasive that even the Hallmark Channel has gotten into it with a series of made for TV murder mysteries. Debbie and I have recently discovered these and they include: Garage Sale Mysteries, Fixer Upper Mysteries, Librarian Mysteries, Flower Shop Mysteries and Murder She Baked. Interestingly, they are all rated G! These are not the gritty, realistic and often bloody crime shows like CSI, NCIS or Law and Order. In fact, these are referred to as Cozy Mysteries; a subgenre of crime fiction in which violence is downplayed or treated humorously, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community. The focus here is on the detective and the solving of the mystery. This genre started with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle s great detective, Sherlock Holmes. 1

2 This character is so beloved by readers everywhere that today there are 2 active series featuring a modern-day version of the pipe smoking, violin playing, deerstalker hat wearing sleuth. The outcry was so great when Sherlock Holmes was seemingly killed by Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had to resurrect him. Inspector Morse was so popular throughout the UK and the world that when he died in the episode, The Remorseful Day, production immediately began on a series featuring his Sergeant Robby Lewis. And that series was so popular they went back in time to a young Morse in the series Endeavor. All of these detectives have in common ingenious deductive reasoning. Sure, they use forensics, but they solve the mysteries using the old gray matter. An unfortunate, unintended consequence of the popularity of forensic crime shows is that many jurors have come to expect DNA, fingerprints and all kinds of irrefutable scientific evidence. The problem is that in some cities, fewer than 10 percent of the homicide cases involve fingerprint or DNA evidence. The result is that jurors aren t convinced even by the kind of eyewitness testimony that used to nail down convictions. For example- an 11-year-old girl pointed at the person on trial and said, That s the man who shot my father. The jurors found him not guilty, and one explained, I would have liked to see some evidence! Sounds a little like the Apostle Thomas doesn t it? 10 men whom he had traveled with for the last three years and the women who first encountered Jesus at the 2

3 tomb all tell Thomas they have seen the Lord. His response was much like that juror s. Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it. Thomas says, show me the DNA, the fingerprints, the ballistics, the autopsy report! The testimony of many people who had proved to be reliable witnesses meant nothing to him. You see, the scientific method is very limited. In order to prove a hypothesis something must be shown to occur repeatedly under controlled conditions. Most of what we accept as true is proven by the historical-evidential method. For example, George Washington s existence cannot be proven by the scientific method but there is plenty of historical evidence to show that he existed, led the Revolutionary Army and was the first president of the United States of America. We know these things because some of his words have been written down. Others who knew him wrote about him. He have paintings and sculptures of him. Our nation s capital is named after him. etc. Paul says concerning the resurrection: 1 Corinthians 15:14 & 17 If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 3

4 We cannot prove by the scientific method that Jesus was raised from the dead but there is a tremendous amount of historical evidence to show that is exactly what happened. John 20:29-30 Then Jesus told him, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. The historical evidence for Jesus resurrection can be divided into three categories: the first is the resurrection appearances. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also. Paul is quoting here an old Christian Formula that dates to 5 years after the death of Christ. These witnesses of the resurrection were still alive and were called upon to give testimony as the Christian faith expanded rapidly throughout the first 4

5 century. We even have in the testimony of Paul that of a hostile witness. Let's take the more than 500 witnesses who saw Jesus alive after His death and burial, and place them in a courtroom. Do you realize that if each of those 500 people were to testify for only six minutes you would have an amazing 50 hours of firsthand testimony? Add to this the testimony of many other eyewitnesses and you would well have the largest and most lopsided trial in history. #2: EMPTY TOMB The disciples of Christ did not go off to Athens or Rome to preach that Christ was raised from the dead. Rather, they went right back to the city of Jerusalem, where, if what they were teaching was false, the falsity would be evident. The empty tomb was "too notorious to be denied." Paul Althaus states that the resurrection "could have not been maintained in Jerusalem for a single day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb had not been established as a fact for all concerned." Both Jewish and Roman sources and traditions admit an empty tomb. Those resources range from Josephus to a compilation of fifth-century Jewish writings called the "Toledoth Jeshu." Dr. Paul Maier calls this "positive evidence from a hostile source, which is the strongest kind of historical evidence. In essence, this means that if a source admits a fact decidedly not in its favor, then that fact is genuine." Gamaliel, who was a member of the Jewish high court, the Sanhedrin, put forth the suggestion that the rise of the Christian movement was God's doing; he could 5

6 not have done that if the tomb were still occupied, or if the Sanhedrin knew the whereabouts of Christ's body. Paul Maier observes that "... if all the evidence is weighed carefully and fairly, it is indeed justifiable, according to the canons of historical research, to conclude that the sepulcher of Joseph of Arimathea, in which Jesus was buried, was actually empty on the morning of the first Easter. And no shred of evidence has yet been discovered in literary sources, epigraphy, or archaeology that would disprove this statement." #3: THE DISCIPLES' LIVES The most telling testimony of all must be the lives of those early Christians. We must ask ourselves: What caused them to go everywhere telling the message of the risen Christ? Had there been any visible benefits accrued to them from their efforts--prestige, wealth, increased social status or material benefits--we might logically attempt to account for their actions, for their whole-hearted and total allegiance to this risen Christ. As a reward for their efforts, however, those early Christians were beaten, stoned to death, thrown to the lions, tortured and crucified. Every conceivable method was used to stop them from talking. Yet, they laid down their lives as the ultimate proof of their complete confidence in the truth of their message. 6

7 When Thomas was confronted with the risen Christ he stopped short of touching the wounds of Jesus, fell to his knees and confessed Jesus as his Lord and His God. Thomas took this message all the way to India where he was martyred. John 20:29-30 Then Jesus told him, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. We have not seen yet have believed. We are blessed. Will we be faithful to our calling? Will we go to the world with the saving message of the Risen Christ? Will we live as the first disciples did showing by word and action that God our Father wants all to believe in Jesus and be saved? 1 Corinthians 15:51 58 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. 7

8 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 8