First Presbyterian Church
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Akron, Ohio 44304-1684
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Food for Thought: Reality or Myth?

April 8 , 2007

Dr. Mark Ruppert

I Corinthians 15:17-20

It was Easter Sunday morning at a church in East Texas.  The Call to Worship had just been said, the organist began playing the processional hymn, “Up From the Grave He Arose” and the choir began to march down the center aisle in perfect step.  The last woman in the choir was wearing stiletto shoes, you know, those high heel shoes with the slender heels.  Without thinking about her fancy shoes, she marched toward the grating that covered the hot air register in the middle of the aisle when, all of a sudden, the heel of one shoe sank into the hole in the register grate.  Instantly she realized her problem and not wanting to hold up the whole processional, and without missing a step, she slipped her foot out of her shoe and continued marching down the aisle.  There wasn’t a hitch.  The processional moved along like clockwork.  The first man after her saw what had happened and without losing a step, reached down and pulled up her shoe, but the entire grate came with it!  Surprised, but still singing, the man kept right on walking down the aisle, holding in his hand the grate with the shoe attached.  Everything was still moving forward.  Still in tune and still keeping step, the next man in line stepped into the open register and vanished from sight.  The service took on new meaning that Sunday, for just as the choir ended with “Allelujah!  Christ arose!” a voice was heard from under the floor shouting, “I hope all of you are out of the way ‘cause I’m coming out now!”  And the little girl closest to the aisle shouted, “Come on, Jesus!  We’ll stay out of the way.”

Well, today is Easter Sunday, 2007.  It is the day when all throughout the world Christians will be celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ roses from the grave- “Up From the Grave He Arose.”  There have been signs of Easter everywhere- just last weekend there was the Egg Guild Show in our fellowship hall with magnificent, beautifully painted eggs.  There were the advertisements for new Easter clothes in the newspapers; there were Easter cards and Easter candies in the stores.  Easter was/is everywhere.  But “so what?” you maybe saying to yourself.  Easter comes every year.  “So what?”  For some people the Easter celebration, along with Christmas, is the highlight of their year as they seek, as they attempt to follow Jesus Christ every day of the year.  And yet, for others, it is the time to come with family to church, just like Christmas, and hear about this Jesus who rose from the dead, a similar sermon to what they heard last year.  And for others, Easter is somewhere in between these two extremes.  And so maybe we have or are asking the question, “So what?”  In his book entitled, “The Challenge of Jesus” written by British scholar N. T. Wright he says this in the chapter entitled: The Challenge of Easter. “The question of Jesus resurrection lies at the heart of the Christian faith. 

There is no form of early Christianity know to us- though there are some that have been invented by ingenious scholars- that does not affirm at its heart that after Jesus’ shameful death God raised him to life again.  Already by the time of Paul, our earliest written witness, the resurrection of Jesus is not just a single, detached article of faith.  It is woven into the very structure of Christian life and thought, informing (among other things) baptism, justification, ethics and the future hope both for humans and for the cosmos….  Why did Christianity arise, and why did it take the shape it did?  The early Christians themselves reply: we exist because of Jesus’ resurrection.”  (p.126). 

And yet, let’s be honest, there have been and there are those who say that the resurrection of Jesus is nothing more than a myth.  A great story, they say but, well, it never happened.  What is their conclusion?  Well, first, some say Jesus never died. 

Barbara Thiering suggests that Jesus and the others crucified with him did not die, despite the two others having their legs broken.  She says that one of them was actually Simon Magus, who was a doctor and had some medicine with him, which he gave to Jesus in the tomb so that he revived and was able to resume his career, traveling around with Paul and the others, not to mention getting married and having children. (p. 127)  This is a modern day version akin to a hypothesis called the swoon theory that was made popular a few centuries ago by Venturi that said that Jesus fainted and was mistaken for dead.

Another theory is that the body of Jesus was removed from the tomb by the orders of the Jewish high priests so that the apostles couldn’t steal his body and pretend that He had, in fact, risen.  And yet if this is true, then those same religious leaders should have been able to produce His body and could have proved that He did not rise but was deader than a doornail. 

Another theory is that those who said they saw Jesus where suffering from hallucinations.  Interesting, then how could so many people, over 500 the scriptures tells us, have had the same hallucination? 

And then, of course, there is the most recent news, just a few weeks ago that they have, in fact, found The Jesus Family Tomb and, argues Simcha Jacobovici, a well-known TV producer, the bones of Jesus, Mary and Mary Magdalene, along with some of the lesser known relatives, who were once entombed in this cave. 

There are other theories that have been suggested but I think you get the picture- and the debate continues.  Now there might be some in this sanctuary today who have a difficult time with the whole notion that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.  Can I stand here today and provide for you, in a scientific way the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ?  NO.  And can you today provide, in a scientific way that Jesus Christ did not resurrect from the dead?  NO. 

Would science say that dead people usually stay dead?  Yes.  But does science say that dead people always stay dead?  I don’t think so.  Science focuses on percentages.  It watches over time that things happen a certain way, and, if over the long haul there is no deviation, it establishes a law, otherwise known as “natural law.”  But good science will say that there might come a day when there could be an exception to what has been previously observed that will change that law.  Science can give us a road map for our day-to-day activities but is science capable of dealing with God?  No, because God is above science and human nature.  I mean, if there truly is a God, and I totally believe there is, then God is capable of breaking into the natural order that He has created and does so in a supernatural way.  That is what happened at Easter. 

And if you are a skeptic I invite you to turn your doubts over to God and invite Him to verify what science cannot prove or disprove.  Give God a chance and pray, “God, if you really exist, reveal yourself to me.  God, if Jesus Christ truly is your Son, then reveal Him to me.  God, if Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, then confront me with this reality.” 

Let me just say this, I think it takes a lot to believe there is no God.  Let me give just one of many examples.   Scientists say that if the crust of the earth was a bit thicker, there could be no life because there would be no oxygen.  In the same way if the atmosphere were a bit thinner, the millions of meteors now burning themselves out in space would beat at the earth until it was no more.  And that is why there are scientists, who look at some of these, and other issues and says, “This is why I believe in God.” 

Let me just put it bluntly- If Jesus resurrection is nothing more than a myth then let’s just stop right here, pack it in and go home.  Let’s board up the doors of churches and do something else on Sunday mornings. 

The disciples didn’t close up shop a few months after the death of Jesus.  Something unbelievable must have happened that caused them to give up their very lives for the spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ.  Something, like a resurrection?  Precisely, and that is what the Apostle Paul says in our passage today.  What triggered his writings is the fact that some of the Corinthian Christians said, in verse 12, “… there is no resurrection of the dead.”  And what they were struggling with was the whole notion of the bodily resurrection.

The Apostle Paul gives 4 insightful conclusions on the issue of Jesus’ resurrection.  First, in verse 14, if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain. 

Next Sunday, there will be no preaching from this pulpit, as a matter of fact all Christian pulpits will be shut down from here on out if Jesus has not been raised.  But there is something to say and that is that everything that is tied to the Christian faith runs through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Second, Paul says in verse 14, if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is futile. I mean, if Christ is not raised from the dead let’s drop the name Christian.  I don’t know about you but I don’t want to give my all, my heart, my time, my sweat, my life to a dead Jesus.  I got better things to do.  Friends, either Jesus is whom He claimed to be- the crucified and risen Lord or He was a liar and a lunatic.  As hard as I might look I could never find lasting, abiding peace in any person or thing in this world, but in Jesus, that is another thing.  Only Jesus can bring peace to the human soul.  Third, Paul says in verse 17, if Christ has not been raised, we are still in our sins.  Do you ever feel guilty for the things you have done wrong?  Do you ever wish you could replay some tapes and do things differently because, well, you messed up?  Try as I might, there is no way I can save myself.  I can never do enough good works to amend for the things I have done wrong.  Friends, I desperately need a Savior, don’t you?  If Jesus is not risen, we are left in our sins and heaven help us.  And fourth, Paul sums it up saying if Jesus is not risen there is no eternal life. It was up till New Testament times that the whole notion of life after death was very fuzzy in the Jewish religion.  The religious leaders, known as the Pharisees, believed in the resurrection of the body while the Saducees, the opponents to the Pharisees did not. It was the resurrection of Jesus Christ that laid a firm claim to the whole notion of the resurrection of the body and life after death.  Friends, if Jesus is not raised from the dead there is no eternal life. 

So is the resurrection of Jesus Christ myth or reality?  If you say myth then we need to work through the evidences for Christ.  If you say reality then the next thing we need to ask is what then, are the implications for my life?  What difference does it make in my personal life and my day-to-day living?  If the resurrection of Jesus doesn’t have any impact on who I am, what I do, how I live my life then it might as well be a myth.  The resurrection of Jesus makes a difference for otherwise our preaching, our faith, our forgiveness of sin, our eternal life would be meaningless. May we let Jesus resurrection become a reality in all of our lives and may we experience the joy, the peace, the transformed life as we grow in the knowledge and love of Christ.  Amen.

Key Points

Introduction: It was Easter Sunday morning at a church in East Texas…

Easter comes every year- SO WHAT?

Some say that the resurrection of Jesus is nothing more than a myth.  What is their conclusion?

        First, some say Jesus never ________

                   The _________ theory

          Another theory is that the body of Jesus was removed from

          the tomb by the orders of the Jewish High Priests

          Another theory is that those who said they saw Jesus where

          suffering from _______________

          Most recent news, they have found the Jesus family tomb

Science and “natural law”

          God is above human nature

        I think it takes a lot to believe there is no God

The Apostle Paul gives 4 insightful conclusions on Jesus’ resurrection

First, if Christ has not been raised, then our____________ is in vain       vs. 14

Second, if Christ has not been raised, then your ______ is futile      vs.14

Third, if Christ has not been raised, we are still in our ____  vs. 17

Fourth, if Christ is not risen there is no ______ ______

Conclusion: Myth or reality?  What do you say?

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)