Christmas is a good time to be prepared to answer the skeptics who gladly point out the celebration of the birth of Christ lacks significance if the facts about Him are not true. The faith of many would be futile “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; you are still in your sins. Furthermore, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished” 1 Corinthians 15:17
If Christ had not concluded His earthly ministry dying on the cross and being raised from the dead, this celebration would have no foundational substance and no consequence. Skeptics through the ages have tried to disprove the reality of Jesus Christ and many have come away with a more confident faith than most believers.
In the recent film “The Case For Christ” Lee Strobel’s journey from skeptic to believer is skillfully portrayed. His story affirms that Christians have a reasonable faith. The film is based on Strobel’s book about his investigative journey into the heart of the Christian faith. Setting out to save his wife from what he saw as a cult, Strobel found himself confronted with a reality that changed his life forever.
His training and success as an investigative journalist allowed him to pursue evidence in support of the objections raised for the resurrection of Jesus. An associate reminded him that the Christian faith rests upon the fact that Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead. The resurrection of Christ is the glue that holds it all together.
With that in mind, Lee Strobel set out to find evidence to bolster these objections.
- The Gospel accounts are not reliable.
- Jesus did not die on the cross.
- Jesus did not appear to people after His death.
What he discovered moved him to confront the truth and respond with a decision.
Are the Gospel accounts reliable?
The closer the account is to the actual event the more reliable it is.
https://carm.org/manuscript-evidence
The earliest manuscripts of the Gospel account date to within 25 to 40 years of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. In comparison, the earliest copies of Homer’s Illiad are 500 years from the original. There is no doubt among scholars as to the integrity of the Illiad as well as many other works of antiquity.
https://carm.org/when-were-gospels-written-and-whom
The apostles and countless others have died for their beliefs. It is courageous and noble to die for one’s belief, however, it would seem foolish for anyone to die for something they know to be a lie.
Sean McDowell writes “there is the highest possible probability that Peter, Paul, James (the brother of Jesus), and James (the son of Zebedee) died as martyrs.”
http://www.equip.org/article/apostles-really-die-martyrs-faith/
In 2014 Christian History Institute published an article summarizing the total number of believers who have died for the Christian faith.
“Church statistician David Barrett defined martyrs as “believers in Christ who have lost their lives prematurely, in situations of witness, as a result of human hostility.” He estimated that around 70,000,000 Christians have been martyred since the church began.”
https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/father-forgive-them
Did Jesus die on the cross?
In an article by “The American Journal of Medicine”, medical experts reviewed what Jesus had suffered during His crucifixion and have determined that the “Modern medical interpretation of the historical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead when taken down from the cross.” According to the evidence, Jesus suffered severe blood loss and hypovolemic shock from the scourging He received from the Romans. His hands and feet were nailed to the cross and He suffered exhaustion and asphyxia. No one is likely to survive this type of execution. The spear to the side which released blood and water ensured Jesus death.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/403315
http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?article=145
Did Jesus really appear to many people after His death?
The first eyewitnesses to testify of the empty tomb were women. It would be foolish for the apostles to use the testimony of women in their fabrication of an incredible story. The testimony of women held no value in the courts at this time in history. Being the first to hear the women’s story, Peter and John raced towards the tomb to confirm the fact that Jesus was not there.
Shortly after this Jesus appeared to the Apostles and many others and by over 500 hundred believers at once.
Skeptics claim these appearances were the product of hallucinations and or hypnotic suggestion.
According to phycologists, group dreams or visions are not possible.
J. Warner Wallace speaks of the numbers of individuals who have seen the risen Christ and concludes that a great number of people seeing the same vision is not likely or reasonable.
Some argue that this was a spiritual resurrection and not a physical resurrection. The Gospel accounts point clearly to the fact that Jesus appeared in a physical body.
Matthew 28:9 states the Apostles “took hold of His feet and worshipped Him”
John 20: 24-28 says that Thomas placed his finger in the nail marks of Jesus’ hand and the wound mark at His side. Thomas then declares “My Lord and my God”
Luke 24:42-43 details the breakfast they had with Jesus “and they gave Him a piece of broiled fish and He took it and ate before them.”
John 20:29 describes how Thomas rejoiced when seeing Jesus Christ in the flesh and Jesus responds “Thomas because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/jesus_resurrection.htm
A reasonable faith will strengthen your belief
The evidence is abundant, the experiences of witnesses and followers through the ages is overwhelming. The blood of confessors, saints, and martyrs cries out to this day. The resurrection of Christ proves there is a loving God who reaches out to us to redeem us to Himself to become the children of God. He is a God of justice and mercy and grace.
Our sin and rebellion have separated us from God. God came to us in the flesh as Jesus. He laid down His life for us.
“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:18
“It is rare indeed for anyone to die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
At one point Lee Strobel is advised that blind faith works both ways. Some will refuse to believe because of a prejudice or bias to one belief system regardless of the evidence presented. In order to believe in the Gospel accounts and have faith in their validity, you must choose to believe the facts presented as a reasonable account of the reality of Christ. Some refuse to believe because it means being accountable to a higher authority. Many have yet to learn that the promise of Christ is a new life of liberty from the emptiness of sin and His spirit is a source of peace, strength, grace, and joy.
Lee Strobel was overwhelmed by the evidence answering his objections to belief. He realized he had to make a decision.
The Lord calls us to examine the evidence, and to engage our reason.
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
The child we celebrate at Christmas is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29
He laid down His life and is now risen alive in power to show us the way to a life eternal with Him.
I pray that you will receive the gift of Christmas, open it and believe Jesus is the way the truth and the life?
https://carm.org/manuscript-evidence
https://carm.org/when-were-gospels-written-and-whom
http://www.equip.org/article/apostles-really-die-martyrs-faith/
https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/father-forgive-them
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/403315
Momeaning 