What if everything you believed in and everything you trusted in turned against you? Most kids believe in the “Easter bunny,” the tooth fairy, and santa clause. Yet, after some time, they finally learn the truth about these mythical creatures. What if it were time to learn the truth about the death and burial of Jesus Christ? Would you be prepared to learn that they may have found his tomb or even that He married Mary Magdalene? Don’t automatically throw away the ideas without first viewing the evidence. What would you say to someone who thought they had found the tomb? How about the idea that the disciples stole the body of Jesus? What if Jesus was not resurrected?
Last week we witnessed the most fiendish act of Satan himself, the death of Jesus Christ. Satan has not stopped his attack on Jesus’ credibility since that day. Satan has tried to lower the life of Christ to nothing more than a mere man. Every time a new reason for why Jesus wasn’t God comes out, the headlines say that it will “shake the foundations of the Christian faith.” There have been hundreds of claims over the years from archaeology to theology about how Jesus slowly realized he was God or how Jesus realized how he could act like God and get away with it. Paul speaks about this idea in 1 Corinthians 15. He says, “…if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot.” (The Message)
With each new attempt, I gain a little more hope in the truth of scriptures. Why? Because each attempt proves that another one failed. Every time they have to come up with something new to discredit Christianity, they prove that they still haven’t gotten it figured out. I find hope in the failure of these ideas. The very first failure can be found in the scriptures. Let’s briefly look at this one and the two most recent opponents to Christianity.
The Stolen Body – Matthew 28:11-15
“Meanwhile, the guards had scattered, but a few of them went into the city and told the high priests everything that had happened. They called a meeting of the religious leaders and came up with a plan: They took a large sum of money and gave it to the soldiers, bribing them to say, "His disciples came in the night and stole the body while we were sleeping." They assured them, "If the governor hears about your sleeping on duty, we will make sure you don’t get blamed." The soldiers took the bribe and did as they were told. That story, cooked up in the Jewish High Council, is still going around.” – From The Message Bible
This is very first attempt to disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The high priests knew that Jesus claimed that He would be raised from the dead in three days. There was no mistake on how long it would have taken Him. So these men decide to set up a guard unit over the tomb and make sure the disciples didn’t steal the body. They even rolled a several ton stone over the entrance and sealed it so that if anyone tried to get in, they would know. Okay, it would take half of an army to get this stone out of the slot it stood in. Yet, the soldiers even admit to the leaders that a flash of light came down and when they awoke, the stone had been moved and His body was gone. I’ve got it! The disciples had a giant laser beam on the moon and they shot the tomb with the laser to blow away the boulder in front of the grave. Okay, maybe that one is not plausible. Maybe they threw a flash grenade at the soldiers and then knocked them out in the confusion. No, that probably isn’t feasible either.
The Jews really do argue the same way about this. They say the disciples made up the story about the light and the plot of the Jews. They say the disciples stole the body of Jesus. The soldiers would die for failing in their duty. So, since the soldiers needed their help they would protect the soldiers. That’s their story. This was all a plot by the disciples to cover up the death of Jesus. This doesn’t make much sense when you look at Luke 24 and the story of the road to Emmaus. Jesus began traveling with a man named Cleopas but Cleopas didn’t recognize Jesus. Cleopas explains the events that have just occurred in Jerusalem; about how Jesus was a great prophet and was killed by the Jews, how some women had just been to the empty tomb, and how they hoped He would save Israel. They believed Jesus was dead for good. They didn’t understand the resurrection part apparently. So why would they go and steal the body. It just doesn’t pan out logically.
The Da Vinci Code:
One of the newest opponents to the truth of Christianity, the Christian faith shaking Da Vinci Code comes next. “While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. Solving the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci…clues visible for all to see…and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter. Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion—an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others. The Louvre curator has sacrificed his life to protect the Priory’s most sacred trust: the location of a vastly important religious relic, hidden for centuries.” The important religious relic is a reference to the Holy Grail.
Here is the basic layout of the secret they uncover; 1) Mary Magdalene and beloved disciple John are actually the same person. John is just a cover for Mary Magdalene. Jesus really had a marital loving relationship with her but everybody tried to cover it all up. They discover this because “John” looks like a woman in the painting “The Last Supper.” 2) The Holy Grail isn’t actually a chalice or cup but Mary herself. The carrier of the blood of Christ is Mary. She carries Jesus’ son in her womb and so becomes the bearer of the blood of Jesus. 3) Mary was pregnant at the crucifixion and once Christ had died she fled to Gaul to begin the Merovingian dynasty in France.
Okay, now for the crushing reproof of these ideas. This is a 13th century myth created in France to get the papacy moved to France so that they would hold power over the church. Even some of the most liberal scholars in the world will not touch this myth with a ten foot pole. They have no interest in using such a weak and useless argument against Christianity. This book and the subsequent movie are both just works of fiction to thrill everyone and make money. They have no basis in reality or in real research being done on the origins of Christianity. It’s just another murder mystery wrapped in a religious wrapper so that it gets more media attention and in the end more money.
The Jesus Family Tomb:
Finally, let’s look at the latest and “greatest” evidence against Christianity. The Jesus Family Tomb has been found in India. They state on their official website (www.tombofjesus.com) that Jesus physically survived the crucifixion and decided he should visit the scattered tribes of Israel from India. He headed to India using the name Yus Asaph and moved to Kashmir. He lived out his life, getting married and even having children until he would die at the ripe old age of 120 years old. His tomb can be found in “the Mohala Kan Yar district of the capital city of Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, Northern India, and is called the Roza Bal ("The Site of the Honored Tomb").”
First, they claim that Jesus survived the crucifixion. They cite as proof that survival is possible a text from Josephus. Supposedly, Josephus claims that one of his friends was crucified but after care from a doctor, the man lived. I have a couple of problems with citing Josephus as proof. 1) He has proven that he is not infallible and yet they quote him as though his word were absolute. His history of one of his friend not dying must be right according to them or their argument fails. 2) He was a Jewish historian and although he mostly wrote correct, he was definitely against Christianity.
Not only does quoting Josephus not help their cause but most people are crucified for days before they die. However, Jesus died in around six hours according to the gospels. So they shoved a spear into his heart. How do you survive that in an age where an infection can kill you? They couldn’t use machines to keep him alive. How do you survive something like that? It just doesn’t make logical sense.
Secondly, they claim they have found his tomb in India. The tomb in India only stems from myths in their culture about a plethora of gods and a connection between the idea that Jesus, Buddha, and Shiva are all one god. They even have documents in both Hindu and Buddhist languages with stories that say just the same thing. However the Jesus in those stories says that we have to work for salvation. The Jesus in the New Testament says that salvation comes by grace. Okay, first, this argument comes as the same as the movie coming out very soon; “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” You see they also argue that they have found His tomb in Talpoit, Jerusalem. These tombs were discovered in 1980 by famed Jewish scholars and were ignored because they were so inconclusive. You see they found ossuaries, boxes that held bones, with the names “Jesus, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Judas (the son of Jesus), and Joseph His brother.” There is one problem. Those have about a 30 percent chance of being the correct translation of the text used and they are all very very common names in the first place. This is why the tomb was dismissed in the first place.
The Easter Bunny:
Just one short note should be made on one last enemy of Resurrection Sunday; The Easter Bunny, commercial holiday number 1001. Many of you enjoy the eggs and kids love finding candy. However, the idea of a rabbit that goes around dropping eggs and baskets all over the world for the sake of the happiness of little children is just another cop-out for not believing in the resurrected Christ. This gives people the opportunity to focus on something else rather than Jesus at this time of year. It is yet another ploy of Satan himself trying to destroy Christianity. Note, the eggs and such aren’t necessarily evil but the idea of the bunny is!
You may not totally see why these give me hope but I hope you will begin to see. They just keep having to try to disprove Christianity. You don’t see everyone attacking Buddhism or New Age ideas, or Taoism. You don’t even see them attacking Islam, just heretical groups and extremists. Why? Because we have the truth. You can find Mohammed’s grave and you can even find Buddha’s. Their people have them marked. You can’t however find the tomb of Jesus. Jesus didn’t stay dead. They did. He died on that cross and he rose on the third day. Let their arguments come; Christ will conquer each one! This gives me hope. Christ is the only one who promises to wash away our failures in life. Christ is the only one who promises hope in an eternal life with God. Other religions promise earthly things like 70 virgins or owning your own planet but Jesus promises heavenly rewards. You can find the graves of Mohammed and Buddha but you cannot find the grave of my God!
