A while back I was watching the evening news when the news-anchor offered the teaser for the upcoming news after commercial: “There is a report that the bones of Jesus have been found in a tomb near Jerusalem; stay tuned.”
“Stay tuned?” Do they have any idea what they just said? “All hope for heaven has ended. Stay tuned for more after a word from our sponsor.” “You’ll never see your deceased loved ones again, more after this break.” The consequences of finding Christ’s bones would mean the end of hope for eternal life, the end of eternal consequences for evil behavior, the end of any morality governed outside of our own conscience. Finding Christ’s bones would mean that Jesus did not rise from the dead and if He didn’t rise neither have the millions and millions of believers who have died. It would also mean that every believer deceased and living would have to be officially counted among the misguided and confused; wayward people duped by religion and fooled by the society they had trusted. Do we need to be concerned? Not at all.
The story was that roughly 30 years ago archeologists discovered a ‘coffin’ which they confirmed to be 2000 years old and an inscription was engraved on it, that when translated read, “Jesus son of Joseph.” Next of that coffin was another which bore the inscription “Mary” and next to that one was a third. The inscription on that coffin read “Judah son of Jesus.” So there we have it, the whole happy family buried together and after the discovery civilization would be on the brink of moral disaster.
But before you make plans to sue the Vatican for perpetuating a lie, let’s consider some additional facts. 2000 years ago, Jesus, Joseph, Judah and Mary were among the most common of all names. An example for today would be a crept that read, “Here lays Robert, son of Donald, his wife Mary and their son James.” Though the names of Jesus and Joseph may raise an eyebrow, it simply cannot be given much credence. Also Jesus’ ministry was to the poor, His mother was poor, His brother Judah was shot full of arrows that doesn’t sound like a family that’ll be buying a big crypt to me.
But how can we know that Christ’s bones won’t be found? Can we be certain that Christianity isn’t just a big elaborate hoax? To answer that, we have to delve into the world of philosophers and critical thinkers. Since our eyes can play tricks on us and our memories can fail, how can we be certain of anything? To answer that question philosophers analyzed the system we use to separate truth from fiction. They found that knowledge is learned when we process it through five categories: 1. sensory data; 2. authority; 3. reason; 4. intuition and 5. revelation.
Sensory Data is when you use your senses to determine what something is. For example, if I handed you a sheet of blank paper and asked you “what is this?” you would look at it and say, “paper.” If you touched it, listened to it as you crumpled it, you would be more convinced it was paper. Suppose I tried to tell you, “It’s not paper, it’s a handkerchief.” You might respond, “No, all the authorities in my life have told me this is paper. My dad, my mom, my teachers, everyone I respect have always called this stuff, paper.” If I persisted and said, “Oh they were misguiding you.” You may begin to reason with me by using your knowledge of the product, “Hand-kerchiefs are made from woven cotton or linen and paper is made from a pressed pulp product. So we must conclude this is paper, it is the reasonable conclusion.”
At this point in the conversation, your intuition or “gut -feeling’ is probably beginning to tell you that I am the one who is misguided, misinformed or simply lying. Because now you have put into action four of the five means for finding truth. These four means are all generated by our personal experience, research, life experience and inner (often-unexplainable) feelings. The fifth way we can know the truth about something is through revelation.
Revelation goes beyond anything we can learn or do. To have something come to us through revelation, is to figuratively have our heads opened up and have information poured into it. Revelation is something that only God can do. So to go back to our example of the sheet of paper, imagine that while we were having our conversation, God spoke to your heart and mind and said, “You’re right, it’s paper.” Will there be anything I can say that will persuade you that the paper is a handkerchief? Even if I blow my nose on the paper, it won’t make it a handkerchief.
So when we hear on the evening news or even if we watch a special on the Discovery Channel that the bones of Christ have been located, we need to process the information through our knowledge base. As for me, I have seen, heard and touched people, including myself, whose lives have been completely changed through believing Christ was resurrected from the dead. I have also listened to the people in my life that I trust the most tell me that they believe Christ has raised from the dead. As I have reasoned through the Bible’s claims that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, I have concluded that He was. After weighing all the evidence my gut also tells me that it’s true. So by the time I add the fact that God spoke to my heart and flooded me with hopes and dreams and a cause worth living, fighting and dying for, I am absolutely, positively, beyond any doubt, convinced that whoever’s bones they found in that tomb, they weren’t Jesus’. Because as the angel said, “He’s not here, He is risen.”
Don’t let the Devil, your television or critical friend steal your joy or peace. Have a Happy Easter and let the fact of Christ’s resurrection and the empty tomb make your heart sing with joy and hope eternally!
-Pastor David
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