Myth or Reality?

5/20/18         Russell   (video)       late 20's

What is the central message of the Bible?  For those who haven’t been exposed much to it since childhood, it often seems like a random collection of moral stories with little connection between them.  For many, it doesn’t even seem to matter whether they were true or not, putting them on the level of, say, the mythology of the Greek gods.  

But in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul cuts through all the confusion to remind us of not just the central figure of the Bible – Jesus- but also the central event of His ministry; His crucifixion and resurrection.  “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…”

Paul reminds us that all this was “according to the Scriptures” – that it is part of the Bible’s overall story of our sinful separation, redemption and restoration into a right relation with God.

And Paul lets us know that this is no mere myth but that it is rooted in historical fact: “…he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living…”

In fact, the historicity of Jesus resurrection is so important that our faith is in vain without it – “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile.”  Disprove Jesus’ resurrection and you disprove Christianity.

I was talking with Russell, late 20’s, who had grown up Lutheran and exposed to the Bible as a child but moved on to study Greek mythology, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and a belief in reincarnation as an adult.  Concerns about an afterlife are not a driving force in his life, and for good reason – reincarnation means there is always another chance.

But if Jesus actually did die for our sins – not just in mythology but in   Jesus won a very real victory over sin and death and the grave, and what was written really will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  Amen!

historical fact – then the implication is that our sins are not just theoretically bad but actually do lead to death, that heaven and hell and judgement are real, and that we really do need a real Savior who died a real death and really was resurrected from the grave.

PS – I invite you to “sit in” on my conversation with Russell.  Watch it on YouTube HERE