What If?
Brian is a trustee for Networkfour a Birmingham charity caring for vulnerable people
1 Corinthians 15: 12 – 16 (NIV) —
‘But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.’
A few years ago, the British press made quite a fuss about an ossuary that had been discovered in Palestine, marked with the names: Miryam, Joseph, Jacob Judah and… Joshua (Greek = Jesus) i.e. names of the Lord’s immediate family and dating from those times.
An ‘ossuary’ was an ornate box used in the second of the two-stage process of Judeans’ burial customs to store the bones of bodies after a couple of years decaying in a cave, often shared. There they ‘awaited’ their resurrection on the ultimate Day of the Lord.
The headlines, of course, brayed that this disproved the resurrection of Christ. They’ve found his actual bones so… QED. Historians were soon able to point out that all those names were very common back then and there would be many such ossuaries with the same family combinations so no surprise to find one!
However, the point is valid. If, somehow, DNA testing, bones could be proved to be from Jesus of Nazareth, what then? Is that the end of Christianity? Well, actually, yes, it would be!
Our faith is built on historic events that happened in the first century, two millennia ago: ‘Born of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary, made man;…he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered, was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.*
The apostolic teaching (= the New Testament) is all grounded on Jesus being raised to physical life after his wretched death by crucifixion. Much as we love the Christian life - church, worship, ‘knowing God’ – without that resurrection, it would just be ‘useless’: wishful thinking!
So, this week, let’s give serious attention to the most crucial event in the history of civilization.
Prayer - Lord Jesus, you fascinate and awe-inspire me. Dear Spirit, show me more of his beauty, grace and authority. Help me understand his appearing, his death, resurrection and outpouring for then and for now.
*Nicene creed