The witness of the New Testament is clear.
The central person of the twenty seven books is Jesus the Messiah. All the New Testament is based on eye
witness testimony about the person and work of Jesus Christ including his
resurrection from the dead. In addition
all the particular works of the New Testament: Gospels, Acts, the letters and
Revelation were completed before the end of the first century and all were
written by the Apostles or by men who were under the oversight or direction of
the Apostles.
Those who wrote the texts that form the New Testament claim to be reporting
the truth or the facts about the person of Jesus of Nazareth. In other words what they claimed was open to
scrutiny and investigation. This is
true of all that concerned Jesus Christ: his birth, life, ministry, death and
especially his resurrection from the dead.
For example it is clear that the Gospels and Acts purport to be
historical accounts (no doubt materials were chosen and edited to fit the
purpose of the particular writer) of the origins of Jesus and his life, work,
death and resurrection. They contain
summaries of his teaching and narratives of his miracles and interaction with
his disciples and opponents. All of them
give similar accounts (but no doubt from different eye-witness perspectives) of
his death and resurrection. The point
is that the New Testament will not allow us to pick and choose what we find in
its pages concerning Jesus. Paul goes
so far as to say that if the accounts of Christ's resurrection were merely
fabricated myths then nothing of Christianity or the Gospel can stand or is
worth affirming (1 Corinthians 15).
For example, you can't hold to Jesus' teaching and deny his miracles,
including his resurrection and still have the Jesus of the New Testament. For the writers of the New Testament it is
all of Jesus or none of Jesus and those who are honest will at least admit
this. Christianity is not worth holding
onto or affirming if the BIG CLAIMS about Jesus are tossed aside and such big
claims and affirmations are woven into the fabric of the New Testament texts -
they comprise the fabric of the New Testament!
The post resurrection
accounts of Jesus found in the Gospels, Acts and the Letters report both the
fact of Christ's resurrection and also the theological assessment of its
meaning and importance. These accounts
are based on eye-witness testimony. Of
course these are not accounts where those who include them are cool and
detached from what is being reported.
The purpose of the Gospels (indeed the entire New Testament) is summed
up well by John who gives his readers the reason that he took certain
eye-witness accounts and brought them together to support his opening
declaration that "The Word was God and the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us filled with grace and truth so that all who receive him, who believe
in his name he gives the right to become children of God" (John 1:1, 12,
14). At the end of his account John
says: "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the
disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing
you may have life in his name" (John 20:30-31).
The purpose of John writing his Gospel based on the selected signs (works,
deeds and teachings) that Jesus did in the presence of his disciples (who are
the reliable witnesses) was so that those who read might come to believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and by believing have life in his name. John certainly is not a neutral observer but
neither is he a deluded observer and this is the case of all those whose
witness he included in his Gospel. The
New Testament indeed has an agenda and that is to hold fourth the good news
about Jesus Christ. Nevertheless this
good news according to the New Testament is historical to the core. The New Testament is not calling people to
believe without evidence but to believe because of the evidence.
The object of belief is Jesus Christ.
The New Testament eye witness accounts give you the historical Jesus
Christ and call you to respond to him by faith. Such faith in Christ begins with belief
that all the New Testament presents about him is historically true - even his
resurrection from the dead. Yet, this is
not enough for such belief in the historical validity of Christ and his
resurrection leads to trust in the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Thomas upon hearing that his
fellow disciples had seen Jesus and that this meant that Jesus was raised from
the dead was more than incredulous; he was adamant that he would not be
convinced unless he could see and probe his wounds. Now what John wants his readers to
understand is that this narrative of Jesus appearing to Thomas before the other
disciples is an historical event. Yes,
it is thoroughly supernatural for it is the risen Christ who appears to them
but it is nonetheless a true account - if you had been there you would have
seen the same thing that John now records as testimony to Christ's
resurrection.
Jesus calls Thomas to carry out his desired investigation by showing him
and the others his wounds. In doing
this he urges Thomas to stop doubting and believe. He is doing more than urging him to believe
in the fact of the resurrection but he is urging him to entrust his life to the
Risen one who bears these scars. It is
not enough to believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead or to give assent to
this fact. This will make no difference
in one's life. Jesus died for a reason
and his resurrection made that reason valid.
Paul put it this way: He was delivered over for our trespasses and he
was raised for our justification (Romans 4:25). Thomas' response shows that his belief went
further than the laying aside of his skepticism - "okay, I see that I was
wrong - wow you really rose from the dead - imagine that." Rather his response was an intensely
intimate and personal confession of faith in the sovereign Lordship and Deity
of Jesus Christ: My Lord and My God!
Now all those first witness came to believe that Jesus had indeed been
raised from the dead in the same way - personal investigation. So we must not be too hard on Thomas. Since that time all who have come to believe
that Jesus indeed was raised from the dead and that his resurrection affirms
all that the New Testament claims about him come to such faith on the basis of
credible and reliable testimonies of witnesses - like Thomas. Of course coming to such faith is also a
work of God's grace and the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit. Thomas, by God's
grace, came to believe not only in the resurrection of Christ but in the risen
Christ by means of Christ's historical encounter with him. Now all those who believe do so by God's
grace in the witness accounts of the New Testament.
In other words the New Testament never calls you to believe in what is
impossible apart from evidence - but it does call you to believe in what is
true (what is possible only for God) apart from sight. Yet it is a call to believe both in the facts
concerning the person of Jesus Christ including his resurrection and in the
significance of who he is. It calls you
to trust Christ and to abandon the control of your life over to him. This is why Jesus showed his wounds to
Thomas. The New Testament claims that
Jesus Christ laid down his life for sinners and his resurrection secured the
benefits of his death. To trust in
Christ is to receive forgiveness and life (spiritual life now and eternal life
to come). So what about you? Have you investigated the testimony of the
New Testament witnesses concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the
Risen Christ? You are urged like Thomas
to stop doubting and believe - for Blessed are those who have not seen but have
believed - but have believed on the evidence of the testimony of these
witnesses.
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