I try to boil things down to basics. What is the basis, the ultimate foundation of Christianity? To put it another way. What is the single stone that everything else is built on?
There is the physical world…..and there is the non-physical world…….the spiritual world. The physical world is easy. We can reach out and touch it. We can measure it. We can manipulate it (for better or worse). The spiritual world is tougher. Most of us believe that there is something beyond the physical……though we vary widely in the details. But, a growing number of us belief that there is no spiritual world at all…….you die and you’re dirt. The difficulty is the point at which the physical world and the spiritual world intersect. It is really important that we get this right. Our decision to accept the spiritual world or reject it…….or, worst of all……ignore it altogether, will have consequences that will extend far beyond our brief 80 years.
What exactly is at the intersection of the physical world and the spiritual world?
Christianity teaches that at the intersection of these worlds is Jesus…….a being who is fully human (physical) and fully God (spiritual). This is pretty radical. Obviously, this changes everything. What is it that proves that Christ is both man and God? There is solid evidence that Christ lived. There are historical accounts of his crucifixion. I think that the vast majority of people, both Christians and skeptics, can agree on that. We accept that Christ was a man……that he operated in the physical realm. But, is he God? That’s where we get into trouble.
So…… the crux of it all is the resurrection.
This clearly crosses the line from the physical world to the spiritual world. In the physical world, the resurrection simply is not possible. The resurrection proves that Jesus operates in both the physical world and the spiritual world. More importantly, the resurrection gives Jesus ultimate authority. In a word, it means that we have to take what he says seriously. And what he says is the basis of Christianity……love God and love your neighbor.
The resurrection either happened……..or it didn’t. There is no middle ground. Either there is a spiritual realm as Jesus said……or there isn’t. And we have to pick a side…….ignoring the question is to deny the spiritual realm by default. The consequences for you……and for me…..are extreme. We have to get this binary choice right. And the simple fact is that most of us don’t take this critical decision seriously. We spend more time working on our “play list” than on this foundational question.
The resurrection happened. It is a fact…….and it establishes the divinity of Jesus.
Hundreds of people witnessed Christ after the resurrection. They talked to him, touched him, ate with him.
11 ordinary practical working men, men who were there, died gruesome deaths rather than deny the resurrection.
There are multiple texts that support it.
The primary reason for denying the resurrection today is that we don’t want to deal with a supernatural God who tells us what we can and cannot do. A human boss is bad enough; but……for many of us, a divine supernatural boss is intolerable.
So there it is.
There is solid testimony that the resurrection happened.
The resurrection proves that Jesus is God.
When Jesus speaks, God speaks.
We need to pay close attention, because what Jesus tells us to do is far more important than what we want to do.
Fortunately, what he tells us to do is easy.
Love God and Love your fellow man.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light .”
Jesus, NIV