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Core Assumption…. We all want to be a part of a movement…. Core Conviction…. The movement we are made to be a part of is God’s Gospel movement…. Stories from long ago…. Why would people live like that? …Die like that?. Individuals choose their actions rationally….
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Core Assumption… We all want to be a part of a movement…
Core Conviction… The movement we are made to be a part of is God’s Gospel movement…
Individuals choose their actions rationally… “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” - Paul in Philippians 1:21
Is resurrection hope weird or the highest form of rational choice? Mark 15:37-4737 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” 40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other womenwho had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there. 42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached,
Is resurrection hope weird or the highest form of rational choice? 43Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Josephsaw where he was laid.
Is resurrection hope weird or the highest form of rational choice? Mark is certifying that Jesus really did die. • Roman centurion was an expert executioner & knew how to tell if people were dead • Pilate the governor was the legal authority on the matter of a criminal’s death • Joseph of Arimathea was a respected leader among the Jews & he certified Jesus was dead • Mary Magdalene & Mary the mother of Joseph (along with many other women)
Is resurrection hope weird or the highest form of rational choice? Mark 16:1-31 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
Is resurrection hope weird or the highest form of rational choice? Mark 16:4-84 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” 8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Is resurrection hope weird or the highest form of rational choice? Mark is certifying that Jesus really did rise from the dead. • The testimony of two women
Is resurrection hope weird or the highest form of rational choice? • “Celsus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the second century A.D., was highly antagonistic to Christianity and wrote a number of works listing arguments against it. One of the arguments he believed most telling went like this: Christianity can’t be true, because the written accounts of the resurrection are based on the testimony of women – and we all know that women are hysterical. And many of Celsus’s readers agreed: For them, that was a major problem. In ancient societies, as you know, women were marginalized, and the testimony of women was never given much credence.” • -Tim Keller in King’s Cross Mark is certifying that Jesus really did rise from the dead. • The testimony of two women
Is resurrection hope weird or the highest form of rational choice? Mark is certifying that Jesus really did rise from the dead. • The testimony of two women • A group of despairing, disbelieving disciples • The resurrection was just as hard for them to believe as it is for us today! • Remember that Mark is writing to people who knew who these leaders were…discrediting or building support? • The tomb was empty!!!
Is resurrection hope weird or the highest form of rational choice? Many saw the resurrected Jesus. Acts 1:3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
Is resurrection hope weird or the highest form of rational choice? Many saw the resurrected Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15:3-83 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundredof the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
Is resurrection hope weird or the highest form of rational choice? People bought into the resurrection immediately. “It ordinarily takes years of discussion and argument in which various thinkers and writers debate the ‘nature of the resurrection’ until one side wins. That is how culture and worldviews change. However, the Christian view of the resurrection, absolutely unprecedented in history, sprang up full-blown immediately after the death of Jesus. There was no process or development.” -Tim Keller in The Reason for God
Is resurrection hope weird or the highest form of rational choice? Many Jews began worshipping Jesus. One of the reasons Jesus was killed was because of the outrage from Jews over his acceptance of the worship of people. Jews worshipped one God, and to consider worshipping a human was blasphemy (this is what got them in trouble with Rome over emperor worship).
What difference does the resurrection make? It is the hinge of history…and your life… 1 Corinthians 15:13-1913 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More 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. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
What difference does the resurrection make? It gives real hope now and forever… • Jesus’ resurrection shows us that this life is not all there is…more to come… • Jesus’ resurrection shows us that this life is but a corrupted shadow of things to come (for those who believe in Jesus) • Jesus’ resurrection shows us that that which is to come is going to be what this world was meant to be…all that we deeply long for AND MORE!!!
