Thoughts on this Easter Sunday
I was watching an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher on Youtube and they were discussing 2 fox news journalists that were kidnapped by Muslim terrorists in Iraq. The terrorists were demanding that the journalists sign a paper that would publicly say they had converted to Islam or else they would behead them. Both reporters signed the paper. One of the panelists was a Christian columnist for Fox News and she said she had gotten a lot of letters from Christian’s saying they would have done the same thing.
This got me thinking about what I would have done if I were in their shoes. Would I have the courage to stand firm in my faith if my life was on the line? As a Christian living in America, it’s hard to imagine being persecuted for my faith. Sure, we get poked at by the media, but we really have no concept of what this means living in our culture of religious freedom. Christians all over the world are giving their lives for professing Jesus as the risen king.
As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of the last supper and the words that Jesus had for Peter.
“Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.” John 13:36-38
What happened later? In fear, Peter denied being a follower of Jesus, just like Jesus said he would. Did any of the other disciples stand up for Jesus after he was arrested? Does this sound like a bunch of guys who were willing to give their lives for Jesus? What changed in their hearts that gave them the courage to die for professing Jesus as king? 11 of the 12 apostles were martyred (John was boiled alive, but he survived) and I think this is an important point to look at when looking at the evidence regarding Jesus’ resurrection. Frederick Buechner, via Mark Nelson' blog, puts it like this:
"Unless something very real took place on that strange, confused morning, there would be no N.T., no church, no Christianity."
I don’t know how else you could explain this except for the biblical account that the resurrected Jesus appeared before them.
“Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and place it in my hands; and put your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my Lord and my God!” - John 20:27-28
These men saw with their own eyes that Jesus was who he said he was. They now knew it in their minds and they knew it in their hearts. This gave them the boldness to stand up to the Pharisees and the Romans. This gave them the courage to die for what they believed in, since they knew that if an earthly death was just the beginning.
The resurrected Jesus not only appeared to the 12 disciples, but he appeared to over 500 people. This is the only explanation for why Christianity took off the way it did in such times of persecution. Would they all have really died for a lie? At one point, wouldn’t one of them have changed their story? Look at the radical transformation of Paul. He used to kill Christians, yet he was one who met the resurrected Jesus and it completely changed his life. He went from Christian killer to Christian pastor.
What would we do if we were in their shoes? I don’t know if this will happen in our life time, but the bible says that before Christ comes again, persecution of Christian’s around the world will rise. Do we really understand what Jesus did on the cross? Do we really celebrate the resurrected Jesus daily? Has it truly transformed our lives?
"If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Mark 8:34
This got me thinking about what I would have done if I were in their shoes. Would I have the courage to stand firm in my faith if my life was on the line? As a Christian living in America, it’s hard to imagine being persecuted for my faith. Sure, we get poked at by the media, but we really have no concept of what this means living in our culture of religious freedom. Christians all over the world are giving their lives for professing Jesus as the risen king.
As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of the last supper and the words that Jesus had for Peter.
“Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.” John 13:36-38
What happened later? In fear, Peter denied being a follower of Jesus, just like Jesus said he would. Did any of the other disciples stand up for Jesus after he was arrested? Does this sound like a bunch of guys who were willing to give their lives for Jesus? What changed in their hearts that gave them the courage to die for professing Jesus as king? 11 of the 12 apostles were martyred (John was boiled alive, but he survived) and I think this is an important point to look at when looking at the evidence regarding Jesus’ resurrection. Frederick Buechner, via Mark Nelson' blog, puts it like this:
"Unless something very real took place on that strange, confused morning, there would be no N.T., no church, no Christianity."
I don’t know how else you could explain this except for the biblical account that the resurrected Jesus appeared before them.
“Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and place it in my hands; and put your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my Lord and my God!” - John 20:27-28
These men saw with their own eyes that Jesus was who he said he was. They now knew it in their minds and they knew it in their hearts. This gave them the boldness to stand up to the Pharisees and the Romans. This gave them the courage to die for what they believed in, since they knew that if an earthly death was just the beginning.
The resurrected Jesus not only appeared to the 12 disciples, but he appeared to over 500 people. This is the only explanation for why Christianity took off the way it did in such times of persecution. Would they all have really died for a lie? At one point, wouldn’t one of them have changed their story? Look at the radical transformation of Paul. He used to kill Christians, yet he was one who met the resurrected Jesus and it completely changed his life. He went from Christian killer to Christian pastor.
What would we do if we were in their shoes? I don’t know if this will happen in our life time, but the bible says that before Christ comes again, persecution of Christian’s around the world will rise. Do we really understand what Jesus did on the cross? Do we really celebrate the resurrected Jesus daily? Has it truly transformed our lives?
"If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Mark 8:34
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