Category: Sermon

Three Big Questions

Thames Valley churches of Christ, May 2019

“And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:22 NIV11)

Class One: “Did Jesus Exist?”

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1 Peter 3:15–16 NIV11)

1. Procedure
   1. Ask what they think of Jesus
   2. Ask what kind of evidence they would need
   3. Ask if they would be open to revising their opinion
   4. Clearly, something happened or we would not have 2,000 years of Christendom

2. Tacitus – 55/56-c.118 CE

• Annals: 116-117

• “Neither human effort nor the emperor’s generosity nor the placating of the gods ended the scandalous belief that the fire had been ordered by Nero. Therefore, to put down the rumour, Nero substituted as culprits and punished in the most unsual ways those hated for their shameful acts … whom the crowd called “Chrestians.” The founder of this name, Christ [Christus in Latin], had been executed in the reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius pilate … Suppressed for a time, the deadly superstition erupted again not only in Judea, the origin of this evil, but also in the city [Rome], where all things horrible and shameful from everywhere come together and become popular.”

• QUESTION: WHAT DO WE NOW KNOW ABOUT JESUS?

• Summary
  1. ……………existed
  2. …………….founded the movement
  3. Christus gave his …………. to the movement 
  4. ………….. by ………….. of Judea
  5. During ………………. of P…………….. 
  6. During reign of…………..
  7. ………………. spread to R…..… 
  8. ………………..began in J………

3. Josephus: 37-38-Early 2ndC CE

• Jewish antiquities – Book 20

• “Being therefore this kind of person [i.e. a heartless Sadducee], Ananus, thinking that he had a favourable opportunity because Festus had died and Albinus was still on his way, called a meeting [literally, “Sanhedrin”] of judges and brought into it the brother of Jesus-who-is-called-Messiah…James by name, and some others. He made the accusation that they had transgressed the law, and he handed them over to be stoned.”

• Book 18 quote: 

• “Around this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who did surprising deeds, and a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who in the first place came to love him did not give up their affection for him, for on the third day, he appeared to them restored to life. The prophets of God had prophesied this and countless other marvellous things about him. And the tribe of Christians, so-called after him, have still to this day not died out.” 

• QUESTION: WHAT DO WE NOW KNOW ABOUT JESUS from these two quotes?

• Summary.
  1. Jesus existed as a ……….
  2. He was called …….…
  3. He was known as someone who did ………..…
  4. He was known as a ………………
  5. His ministry was effective with ……….. people and G……………
  6. He was accused by ruling …………. authorities.
  7. Pilot s…………. him to …………..…
  8. His followers continued their ………….…
  9. His followers were called ………….…
  10. He was known as ………….… 
  11. He founded a new …………..… 
  12. It was still ………… at the time of writing.

4. Others

• Lucian of Samosata: c. 125 – after 180 AD – “The Passing of Peregrinus” 
• Celsus: 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity.
• Pliny the Younger: (61 – c. 113), lawyer, author, and magistrate. 
• Suetonius: c. 69 – after 122 AD), a Roman historian 
• Mara bar Serapion: 1stC Stoic philosopher from the Roman province of Syria.

Conclusion

• Early writers; Romans; Rabbinic Judaism

Suggested questions for your friend…

• How does this evidence effect your view of Jesus?
• How does this evidence effect your view of Christianity?
• Would you like to know more?

“Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”  John 7.17

Resources

• https://preparetoanswer.wordpress.com/2018/02/01/why-should-i-believe-in-jesus/ 
• https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/did-jesus-exist/ 
• https://www.douglasjacoby.com/ 
• The Evidence for Jesus (Hodder Christian Essentials), R.T France
• More than a carpenter, Josh McDowell
• The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel 
• https://earlychurchtexts.com/public/pliny_letter_to_trajan_about_christians.htm 

Next week

• “Did Jesus come back from the dead?”

Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community. 

Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send me your questions or suggestions. Here’s the email: malcolm@malcolmcox.org.

If you’d like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God grows His people”, sign up at my website: http://www.malcolmcox.org.

Please pass the link on, subscribe, leave a review.

“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11)

God bless, Malcolm

PS: You might also be interested in my book: “An elephant’s swimming pool”, a devotional look at the Gospel of John

Sermon for the Watford church of Christ

Introduction

Early church certainly thought he was alive: Acts references to resurrection/Jesus raised: Acts 1.3, 22; 2.24, 31, 32; 3.15, 26; 4.2, 10, 33; 5.30; 10.40; 13.30, 34, 37; 17.18; 23.6; 24.21; 25.19

Central message of early church. Jesus is alive and victorious Victorious because alive Because God vindicated his sacrifice

Christianity stands or falls on the fact of the physical resurrection: “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.” (1 Corinthians 15:13–14 NIV11).

Without the resurrection we cannot explain the existence of the early church: “If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”” (1 Corinthians 15:32 NIV11).

When a conspiracy is formed, three motivating factors are behinds such a move—power, greed, and/or lust. Disciples achieved none of those.

What would motivate those early Christians to not only be persecuted for their faith, but to do it asserting that they were confident of a belief in the resurrection which they claimed to have witnessed. Why would anyone die for something they knew was a lie?

How could Paul write to these words if he knew they could be contradicted? “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 Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters 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, as to one abnormally born.” (1 Corinthians 15:3–8 NIV11)

We are left with no other option than that the early Christians truly believed that Jesus was resurrected.

Not a fairy tale but a fact; Paul does not give us the option of allowing it to be metaphorical. The likelihood of them being mistaken about this is beyond fanciful.

What are we to make of this?

The Apostle Paul: Acts 26.1-32
“they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.” (Acts 25:19 NIV11)

Question: “What impact has seeing the living, risen Jesus had on Paul?”

He is: humble, bold, clear, urgent, obedient, courageous, faithful, risk-taking, change belief system, change religion, risk life, risk future, risk livelihood

Application

We’ve seen what the experience of the resurrected Jesus did for Paul. What does the Resurrection do for us?

1. Confidence
a. In Jesus – he predicted this “He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”” (Mark 9:31 NIV11) Therefore we trust him for other things he promised and predicted

b. In God hearing our prayers “…because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:24–25 NIV11)

c. In our eternal destiny. It is why we do not fear death.     “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NIV11)

2. Motivation
a. Following – Motivation for a life of discipleship. “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.     For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.     Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.” (Romans 6:3–10 NIV11)

b. Persuading – Motivation for trying to persuade people. “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:11–15 NIV11)

It is why we do not live for what we have here, and why we do not fret over what we do not have here.

Communion/conclusion

Confidence in Jesus, prayer and our eternal destiny. Motivation to follow Jesus and persuade people to follow him.

“This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:23–24 NIV11)

Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community.

Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send me your questions or suggestions. Here’s the email: malcolm@malcolmcox.org.

If you’d like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God grows His people”, sign up at my website: http://www.malcolmcox.org.

Please pass the link on, subscribe, leave a review.

God bless, Malcolm

PS: You might also be interested in my book: “An elephant’s swimming pool”, a devotional look at the Gospel of John