THE RESURRECTION OF
JESUS CHRIST, IF IT HAPPENED, HAS TO BE CERTAINLY
THE CENTRAL EVENT OF
HISTORY IN SO MANY WAYS. ANNOUNCER: WHAT JESUS SAID
ABOUT RESURRECTION, AND WHY IT MAKES SENSE
TO DOUBT OR BELIEVE, ON THIS DAY OF DISCOVERY. MART DE HAAN: ACCORDING
TO THE GOSPEL ACCOUNTS, JESUS OFFERED LIFE
AFTER DEATH, A CLAIM MANY
FIND HARD TO BELIEVE. I THINK PROBABLY THE REASON
PEOPLE STRUGGLE WITH... RESURRECTION LANGUAGE
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, RESURRECTION OF JESUS
IN PARTICULAR, IS BECAUSE THEY
DON'T SEE THAT KIND OF A WORLD. I MEAN, I HAVEN'T
SEEN IT HAPPEN MYSELF AND
I'M SURE YOU HAVEN'T EITHER. THEY'VE BEEN TO A LOT OF
FUNERALS BUT THEY'VE NEVER SEEN
ANYBODY SIT UP IN THE CASKET. THERE IS SUCH A NATURALISTIC
BODY OF KNOWLEDGE IN OUR
TIME, IN THIS DAY, THAT WE DON'T SEEM TO BE...
MYSELF INCLUDED, WE DON'T SEEM
TO BE AS OPEN TO SUPERNATURAL. NOT EVERYONE WHO HEARS
JESUS' CLAIMS AUTOMATICALLY
EMBRACE THEM. IN FACT, SOME PEOPLE HAVE TERRIFIC DOUBTS ABOUT... THE TYPES OF THINGS
THAT JESUS IS CLAIMING, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY BECOME
AS GRAND AS, "I'M GONNA SIT AT
THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER," OR, "I AND THE FATHER
ARE ONE," OR, "IF YOU
SEE GOD, YOU SEE ME." THESE ARE NOT NORMAL CLAIMS. MART: LOCATED LESS THAN
TWO MILES FROM JERUSALEM, ON THE EAST SLOPE OF
THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, THE ARAB PALESTINIAN
COMMUNITY OF BETHANY... DRAWS VISITORS FROM ALL OVER
THE WORLD FOR A REASON. HERE, THE BIBLE SAYS
JESUS RAISED A MAN NAMED
LAZARUS FROM THE DEAD. TODAY THE TOMB OF LAZARUS
LIES WELL BELOW GROUND LEVEL. THE ORIGINAL ENTRANCE
IS SEALED. ACCORDING TO A
LONG-STANDING LOCAL TRADITION,
THIS IS THE GRAVE OF LAZARUS. HE HAD BEEN DEAD FOR FOUR DAYS
AND NOBODY BUT... BUT JESUS BELIEVED THAT HE WOULD
EVER WALK OUT OF THIS TOMB. ACCORDING TO THE GOSPEL
OF JOHN, LAZARUS CAME
BACK FROM THE DEAD. NOW REALISTICALLY, WHAT DO
WE SAY TO THOSE WHO SAY, "I'M NOT ONE OF THESE WHO
ARE GOING TO VISIT THIS TOMB, "BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH
FAITH TO BELIEVE... "THAT ANYBODY CAN
LIVE AGAIN AFTER DYING, "WHETHER WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT LAZARUS OR JESUS
OR ANYBODY ELSE." MART: SHORTLY AFTER
THE REPORTED RAISING OF LAZARUS
FROM THE DEAD IN BETHANY, JESUS MADE A PREDICTION
OF HIS OWN RESURRECTION. THE PREDICTION OCCURRED
DURING HIS TRIAL BEFORE
JEWISH RELIGIOUS LEADERS... JUST A FEW HOURS
BEFORE HIS CRUCIFIXION. AND THE PREDICTION WAS,
"WHEN THAT TOMB GOES EMPTY,
I'VE GIVEN YOU MY ADDRESS. "MY ADDRESS IS THE RIGHT
HAND OF THE FATHER AND I SHARE
THE GLORY AND PRESENCE OF GOD, "AND THAT MEANS
YOU'RE ACCOUNTABLE
NOT ONLY TO THE FATHER, "YOU'RE ALSO ACCOUNTABLE
TO THE SON. THINK ABOUT THAT." ONE PROBLEM PEOPLE HAVE WITH
BELIEVING IN THE RESURRECTION... IS NOT THAT THEY CAN'T
BELIEVE IN THE SUPERNATURAL, BUT THEY KNOW THAT
THAT PUTS JESUS IN
A UNIQUE PLACE OF AUTHORITY, AND IN A WORLD
FILLED WITH RELIGIONS,
AND THAT SEEMS INTOLERANT. MART: ASSUMING THAT NO ONE
COULD POSSIBLY PLAN THEIR
OWN DEATH AND RESURRECTION, SOME HAVE SUGGESTED
THAT JESUS' DEATH... MUST HAVE RESULTED FROM
A MISCALCULATION ON HIS PART. AGAIN, SOME HAVE OBJECTED THAT
JESUS REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO DIE, AND THAT HIS CRUCIFIXION
WAS A... A BAD DEVELOPMENT
IN HIS CASE, KIND OF ACCIDENTAL, BUT YOU
HAVE TO REMEMBER IN JESUS' CASE, NOBODY PLANNED HIS OWN DEATH
MORE ACCURATELY THAN JESUS DID. AT LEAST HALFWAY THROUGH
JESUS' MINISTRY, HE STARTED
ADVERTISING THE FACT THAT... THERE WOULD BE AT FIRST
THE TERRIBLE END TO HIS LIFE, APPARENTLY TERRIBLE END,
BUT THAT HE WOULD RISE AGAIN. HE ALWAYS PROVIDED
THAT COMFORTING CLAUSE. NOW, TO THE DISCIPLES, AT FIRST
THIS SEEMED LIKE JESUS WAS... PROBABLY SPEAKING IN TONGUES
OF SOME KIND. IT REALLY MADE
NO SENSE TO THEM AT ALL. THEY COULDN'T CONCEIVE
OF THIS HAPPENING. BUT THIS WAS JESUS' WAY
OF SAYING, "NO, THIS IS
PART OF THE DIVINE DESIGN. "THIS IS WHY I CAME
INTO THE WORLD, "AND THIS IS HOW IT'S GONNA GO AND HOW IT'S GOING TO END." AT LEAST THREE MORE TIMES... JESUS GIVES A PROPHECY
OF GOING TO THE CROSS, AND OF BEING RAISED
FROM THE DEAD AFTER THAT. AS A MATTER OF FACT,
NOT ONLY JESUS, BUT THIS HAD BEEN PREDICTED
700 YEARS IN ADVANCE... BY THE PROPHET ISAIAH
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, WHO TALKED ABOUT
THE SUFFERING SERVANT OF GOD, WHO'S GOING TO GIVE HIS LIFE
AS A RANSOM FOR THE PEOPLE. MART: THIS PROPHECY OF ISAIAH
THAT MANY LINK TO JESUS... IS FOUND IN THE 53RD CHAPTER
OF HIS BOOK. HERE THE PROPHET PREDICTS
A COMING DELIVERER... WHO WOULD SAVE HIS PEOPLE
NOT BY CONQUEST, BUT BY SUFFERING
AND DYING FOR THEIR SIN, BEFORE HIS LIFE WAS
MYSTERIOUSLY PROLONGED. IF THESE WORDS OF ISAIAH 53
STILL STIR IN US A SENSE
OF WONDER AND CURIOSITY, IMAGINE THE MYSTERY THAT
WOULD HAVE SURROUNDED THIS
PROPHECY IN ANCIENT ISRAEL. PRIOR TO JESUS' ENTRANCE
INTO HISTORY, NOBODY COULD REALLY QUITE FIGURE
OUT HOW THAT COULD COME ABOUT, SO JESUS SHOWS THEM NOW
THAT AS THE GOD-MAN WHO WOULD
SUFFER AND DIE FOR THEM, AND WOULD THEN BE RAISED
FROM THE DEAD IN A DECLARATION
THAT HE IS VICTORIOUS, NOBODY COULD UNDERSTAND THAT. MART: LATER, ON THE NIGHT
BEFORE THE CRUCIFIXION, THE GOSPEL WRITER MATTHEW
TELLS US THAT JESUS TOOK
THE OCCASION... OF AN ANNUAL PASSOVER MEAL
TO HAVE A LAST SUPPER
WITH HIS DISCIPLES. ONCE AGAIN HE TALKED
ABOUT HIS COMING DEATH. THIS TIME, HOWEVER,
HE ANTICIPATED A SACRIFICE... THAT MERGED WITH
THE STORY OF ISRAEL'S
DELIVERANCE FROM EGYPT. TOGETHER WITH HIS DISCIPLES,
JESUS REMEMBERED THAT
FIRST PASSOVER, WHEN EACH FAMILY
KILLED A LAMB AND PLACED
ITS BLOOD ON THE DOORPOSTS... AS PROTECTION FROM
THE DEATH ANGEL. ACCORDING TO MATTHEW,
IT WAS AT THIS TABLE THAT JESUS
LINKED THE CUP OF PASSOVER... TO THE SACRIFICE THAT
HE WAS ABOUT TO OFFER. C. S. LEWIS IS FAMOUS FOR
SAYING, YOU KNOW, ONLY... HE'S EITHER CRAZY OR HE'S
EXACTLY WHO HE CLAIMS TO BE. THOSE ARE THE ONLY
TWO OPTIONS THAT YOU HAVE. AND SO THE QUESTION IS,
TO SOMEONE WHO'S
LEGITIMATELY ASKING, HOW CAN SOMEONE EVEN THINK
IN THOSE KINDS OF TERMS? HOW'S THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?
WHAT KIND OF EVIDENCE
DID JESUS GIVE... TO SUGGEST THAT THIS
EVEN SHOULD BE THOUGHT ABOUT
OR CONCEIVABLE AS PLAUSIBLE? MART: TODAY PEOPLE STILL
COME HERE TO AL-AZARIYYA
FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD... TO SEE THE TRADITIONAL SITE
OF THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. LOOKING BACK IT'S CLEAR THAT
JESUS USED THIS MIRACLE, ACCORDING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT,
FOR MORE THAN REUNITING HIMSELF
WITH HIS DEAR FRIEND. AS JESUS APPROACHED
BETHANY, HE TOLD LAZARUS'
GRIEVING SISTER MARTHA... THAT EVEN IF A PERSON WAS DEAD,
HE COULD MAKE HIM LIVE AGAIN. HE TOLD HER THAT HE HIMSELF WAS
THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE, WHICH IN THAT
MOMENT WAS PROBABLY AS
DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE... AS IT HAD BEEN FOR JESUS'
DISCIPLES TO HEAR HIM SAYING... THAT HE HAD TO GO TO JERUSALEM
TO SUFFER AT THE HANDS
OF THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS, AND DIE AND RAISE AGAIN
ON THE THIRD DAY. THE IMPORTANCE OF JESUS'
RESURRECTION IS THIS: JESUS WAS MAKING
SOME VERY RADICAL CLAIMS
WHILE HE WAS ON EARTH. HE WAS CLAIMING TO BE
GOD'S UNIQUELY DIVINE SON. HE WAS CLAIMING
THAT HE HAD THE AUTHORITY
TO FORGIVE OUR SINS. HE BELIEVED THAT
HE WAS GOD'S AGENT CHOSEN
TO USHER IN OUR KINGDOM, AND THAT OUR ETERNITY
WAS BASED LARGELY, IN FACT EXCLUSIVELY,
ON WHAT WE DID WITH HIM, WHETHER WE WAS... WE WERE
WILLING TO BUY INTO HIS PROGRAM. NOW, WHEN HE SAID
THESE THINGS, HIS CRITICS
ASKED HIM FOR SOME SIGNS, SOME EVIDENCE, THAT WHAT
HE WAS SAYING IS TRUE. AND JESUS SAID,
"I'LL GIVE YOU ONE SIGN:
MY RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD." YOU'VE GOT TO ASK YOURSELF,
HOW'D THAT TOMB END UP BEING
EMPTY AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THERE IS SOMETHING
VERY UNUSUAL GOING ON, AND IT MAY BE THAT SOMETHING
VERY UNUSUAL IS GOING ON... BECAUSE JESUS IS
A VERY UNUSUAL PERSON. A REASON THAT PEOPLE MAY HAVE
A HARD TIME WITH JESUS AS
BEING MORE THAN JUST A MAN... IS BECAUSE THERE IS A THEORY
OUT THERE THAT JESUS, THE STORY OF JESUS,
IS A COPY OF A PAGAN MYTH. THAT THERE ARE OTHER SORT OF "CHRISTS" THAT PRE-EXIST
THE STORY OF JESUS CHRIST, SUCH AS OSIRIS OR MITHRAS,
AND SO PEOPLE MIGHT BUY
INTO THE FACT THAT, HEY, THIS STORY
IS NO DIFFERENT FROM
THE STORY OF OSIRIS OR MITHRAS. THERE WERE A FEW
POTENTIAL PARALLELS OF
DYING AND RISING FIGURES, SUCH AS GODS AND HEROES,
IN THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD
THAT PREDATES CHRISTIANITY. HOWEVER, JUST BECAUSE
YOU HAVE THOSE, SOME SIMILARITIES WITH THE
ACCOUNTS OF JESUS' RESURRECTION, DOESN'T MEAN THAT
THE LATTER IS FICTION. FIRST OF ALL, WHEN YOU
COMPARE HIM TO A GOD THAT WAS
ARBITRARILY KILLED OR MURDERED, AND THEN GOES DOWN INTO
THE UNDERWORLD, AND THAT'S
WHERE HE'S RENEWED... AS SOME KIND OF SPIRIT BEING
THAT WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE
WHAT THAT MEANS, HOW DOES THAT WORK OUT
FOR A PERSON, FOR THEIR LIFE? WHAT... WHAT WOULD THAT
DO FOR A PERSON WHO'S
A FOLLOWER OF OSIRIS? I'M NOT ACTUALLY SURE THAT
IT WOULD PROVIDE THEM
WITH ANY KIND OF HOPE, LIKE THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS WOULD, BECAUSE JESUS' DEATH IS SPECIFICALLY FOR... PROVIDING A WAY OF DEALING
WITH SIN IN A PERSON'S LIFE, AND BRINGING A PERSON
TO A PLACE WHERE THEY COME... THEY'RE ABLE TO COME BACK
TO GOD AND HAVE A PERSONAL
RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. THERE'S A GOAL OF
REACHING OUT TO HUMANS AND
BRINGING THEM BACK TO GOD, AND THAT'S WHAT HIS DEATH
AND RESURRECTION ENTAIL,
AND SO IT GIVES MANKIND A HOPE. THE MERE FACT THAT
YOU HAVE SIMILARITIES
BETWEEN TWO STORIES... DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN
THEY'RE TIED IN ANY WAY. FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE ALL FAMILIAR
WITH A... A SHIP THAT... A PASSENGER SHIP THAT
WAS REGARDED AS UNSINKABLE
ABOUT 100 YEARS AGO. IT BEGAN WITH THE LETTER T,
THE NAME IN IT WAS. IT SAILED OUT
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC,
ABOUT 200 MILES ON AN... IN AN... ON AN APRIL NIGHT. ABOUT 200 MILES OFF
THE COAST OF NEWFOUNDLAND IT
HITS AN ICEBERG AND IT SINKS, AND BECAUSE IT DOESN'T HAVE
ADEQUATE LIFEBOATS, MORE THAN HALF OF
THE PEOPLE ON BOARD DIE. NOW WE ALL KNOW
WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, RIGHT? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE BOOK,
THE NOVEL CALLED THE WRECK OF
THE TITAN, WRITTEN IN 1898. 14 YEARS PRIOR TO
THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC. SO THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE
THESE VERY SIMILAR DETAILS
DOESN'T MEAN, BECAUSE THIS ONE WAS A NOVEL, THAT THE LATTER ONE WASN'T TRUE. WE KNOW FOR A FACT
IT WAS A TRUE STORY. IT'S JUST THAT WE HAVE SOME REALLY INTERESTING DETAILS... THAT ARE VERY SIMILAR
BETWEEN THE TWO STORIES. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS
CHRIST, IF IT HAPPENED, HAS TO BE CERTAINLY
THE CENTRAL EVENT OF
HISTORY IN SO MANY WAYS. IF YOU BELIEVE
IN THE RESURRECTION, THEN YOU HAVE
NO TROUBLE BELIEVING
THE REST OF THE PACKAGE, THAT JESUS WAS BOTH GOD
AND MAN, AND SO ON. WHEN JESUS SUFFERED,
HE SUFFERED A HORRIFIC DEATH. IT WAS UTTERLY HUMILIATING.
IT WAS EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL. IF YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT
WAS ACTUALLY DONE TO JESUS, AND YOU HAD NO RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE AT ALL, AND YOU THOUGHT GOD HAS
NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS,
MAYBE GOD DOESN'T EVEN EXIST, YOU WOULD PROBABLY
THINK THIS IS ONE OF
THOSE INEXPLICABLE EVILS. THERE'S JUST NO POINT. THE STRANGE THING IS THAT
GOD HIMSELF, THROUGH JESUS,
HAS EXPLAINED THE SUFFERING. HE'S TOLD US
THE POINT IT SERVES. HE'S EXPLAINED TO US
THAT IT'S NOT POINTLESS,
THAT IT DOES MATTER, THAT IT ACCOMPLISHES
A GOAL AND IT TURNS OUT
THAT THAT GOAL IS OUR GOOD. WE WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT
THERE'S NO PURPOSE SERVED... ARE ACTUALLY THE BENEFICIARIES
OF THE PURPOSE IT DOES SERVE, AND THAT IS THE POSSIBILITY
OF EVERLASTING LIFE
THROUGH FAITH IN... FAITH IN THIS
RESURRECTED JESUS. MART: FOR NEW TESTAMENT
PROFESSOR MIKE WILKINS, IT TOOK YEARS TO MOVE
FROM DOUBT TO BELIEF. MY PERSONAL INTEREST
IN JESUS CAME ABOUT
WHEN I WAS 19 YEARS OLD. MY MOTHER HAD ALLOWED ME TO
NOT GO TO CHURCH ANY LONGER
WHEN I WAS ABOUT 13, AND I... I JUST DIDN'T SEE
ANY RELEVANCE TO IT. BUT AT 19 I FOUND MYSELF IN
VIETNAM AS A YOUNG PARATROOPER
AND THAT ROCKED MY WORLD. WHO AM I THAT I CAN DELIGHT
IN KILLING ANOTHER HUMAN BEING? I JUST SAW SUCH
EVIL IN MYSELF. YEAH, I THINK... I THINK THAT
WARS ARE NECESSARY AT TIMES, BUT WAR IS HORRIBLE AND IT
BRINGS OUT THE EVIL IN PEOPLE, REGARDLESS WHETHER OR NOT
IT'S A JUST CAUSE. IT TAKES US TO THE DEPTH
OF WHO WE ARE, AND IT WAS WHILE
I WAS THERE THAT I HAD... I JUST...
I HAD THE INTENSE DESIRE TO
SEE WHAT WAS REAL IN LIFE. WHAT IS...
WHAT IS TRUE ABOUT LIFE? I STARTED LOOKING
IN A LOT OF PLACES
IN PHILOSOPHY, PSYCHOLOGY. I LOOKED IN THE DRUG
CULTURE OF THOSE DAYS, YOU KNOW,
I LOOKED AT ROCK AND ROLL
STARS AS HAVING THE ANSWERS, AND THEN JANIS JOPLIN
AND JIMMY HENDRIX DIE.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY ANSWERS. BUT IT WAS ABOUT THAT TIME,
THE LATE '60S EARLY '70S, THAT I RAN ACROSS SOME
PEOPLE FROM THE JESUS
MOVEMENT OF THOSE DAYS. THEY WERE LIKE HIPPIES
WHO HAD BECOME CHRISTIANS,
AND I WAS STRUCK BY THE FACT... THAT THEY WERE SO CONVINCED
THAT JESUS WAS THE ANSWER, AND SO I LISTENED TO THEM
AND I SPENT, OH, I DON'T KNOW, PROBABLY SIX MONTHS WITH MANY OF
THEM, JUST TALKING IT THROUGH. AND I BEGAN TO READ THE BIBLE. READ THE GOSPELS IN PARTICULAR. I READ EACH ONE OF THEM
SEVERAL TIMES, AND I... I BEGAN TO BE CONVINCED
THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING
DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS JESUS, BUT I STILL WASN'T READY
TO MAKE A COMMITMENT TO HIM. AND IT WASN'T UNTIL SOMEBODY
CHALLENGED ME TO LOOK DEEPLY... AT THE HISTORICAL EVIDENCE
FOR THE RESURRECTION THAT
MY EYES BEGAN TO OPEN, BECAUSE JESUS' RESURRECTION
WAS UNIQUE IN JEWISH HISTORY. IT WAS UNIQUE IN HUMAN HISTORY. JESUS WAS UNIQUE AND AS
I LOOKED MORE DEEPLY INTO IT, AS I LOOKED AT THE EVIDENCES
FOR THE RESURRECTION IN THE... THE EMPTY TOMB, THE WITNESS
OF WOMEN THAT WAS NOT ALLOWED, THESE MANY POST-RESURRECTION APPEARANCES OF JESUS, I WAS STRUCK BY, THIS CAN'T
ALL JUST BE ONE GIANT HOAX. AND I CAME TO THE CONVICTION,
AS PAUL DID, THAT JESUS' RESURRECTION FROM
THE DEAD WAS THE DECLARATION
THAT HE WAS THE SON OF GOD. AND... AND THAT'S
IN ROMANS 1:1-4, AND WHEN I CAME TO THAT POINT,
I WAS JUST BLOWN AWAY. THAT RESURRECTION AFFIRMATION
WAS WHAT CONVINCED ME
THAT JESUS WAS REAL, AND HE WAS
WHO HE SAID HE WAS. I REMEMBER IN THE DAYS PRIOR
TO MY ASKING JESUS TO COME
INTO MY LIFE AND CHANGE ME, I REMEMBER SAYING
TO SOME FRIENDS, I SAID, "YOU KNOW, THIS IS EITHER
REAL OR IT ISN'T REAL. "THIS IS ALL JUST A GAME
OR IT'S THE TRUTH, "AND IF I MAKE A COMMITMENT
TO THIS, IT'S ALL OR NOTHING." WHAT A GROWTH!
WHAT A GROWTH FROM... ME BEING THIS
VERY ANGRY, VERY STRUNG OUT,
VERY CONFUSED YOUNG MAN... TO JESUS AS... AS...
AS HE TOOK CONTROL OF MY LIFE, HE TOOK CONTROL OF
EVEN THE LITTLE THINGS. MY WIFE WOULD SAY THAT I HAD
THE FOULEST MOUTH OF ANY PERSON
THAT SHE HAD EVER KNOWN, AND... AND JESUS JUST TOLD ME
VERY CLEARLY, "YOU DON'T HAVE
TO HAVE A FOUL... FOUL MOUTH, "AND LET ME HELP YOU
TO SPEAK WITH PURITY
INSTEAD OF WITH FILTH." IN EVERY WAY JESUS HAS
CONTINUED TO ADDRESS MY LIFE, TO BRING ME TO THE POINT
WHERE I AM NOW. SURE, THERE
WERE DOUBTS ALL ALONG THE WAY. I REMEMBER ONCE WHEN I WAS
A PASTOR AS I WAS PREPARING
FOR AN EASTER MESSAGE, AND I HAD THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT WAVES OF DOUBT
ABOUT THE REALITY OF ALL THIS. "MIKE, YOU STILL
JUST INTO WISHFUL THINKING?
ISN'T THIS STILL JUST A GAME?" AND WHAT IT DID, AND I THINK
THAT EVEN IN SOME SENSE
GOD HAD ORDAIN... ORCHESTRATED THAT, IS IT DROVE
ME BACK TO THE VERY BASICS, THE BASICS OF WHO JESUS
CLAIMED TO BE, THE BASICS OF
THE REALITY OF HIS RESURRECTION. AND I WENT INTO THE PULPIT
THAT NEXT DAY JUST FIRED UP, GRIPPED BY THE REALITY
OF THE RESURRECTION. SO IT'S... IT'S... IT'S
AN EVER UPWARD WALK WITH JESUS. IN MANY WAYS I...
WE USED TO TELL MY DAUGHTERS
AS... AS I WAS RAISING THEM, "YOU KNOW, GIRLS, YOU'VE NEVER
BEEN 13 YEARS OLD BEFORE. "I'VE NEVER BEEN THE FATHER
OF A 13-YEAR-OLD BEFORE.
I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I'M DOING, "BUT YOU DON'T HAVE ANY CLUE WHAT YOU'RE DOING EITHER,
SO LET'S DO THIS TOGETHER." AND THAT'S KIND OF THE WAY
THAT JESUS SAYS IT TO ME. "YOU'VE NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE.
DON'T FEEL LIKE YOU
HAVE TO KNOW IT ALL. "DON'T FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE
TO HAVE OVERCOME ALL OF THE
STRUGGLES OF YOUR PERSONAL LIFE. "AND EVEN YOUR
INTELLECTUAL FAITH LIFE.
I'M HERE TO TAKE YOU ALONG." IT'S... IT'S BEEN A WONDERFUL,
WONDERFUL JOURNEY. MART: NOW, ADMITTEDLY
THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE
WHO ARE CONVINCED... THAT IT TAKES MORE FAITH
THAN REASON... TO BELIEVE WHAT JESUS
SAID ABOUT RESURRECTION, BUT WE'VE ALSO HEARD TODAY,
THOUGHTFUL MEN AND WOMEN... WHO ARE CONVINCED IN THEIR
MINDS THAT THE EVIDENCE, THE CONVERGING LINES OF EVIDENCE
FOR THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS... IS SO COMPELLING THAT
IT MAKES FAITH THE MOST
REASONABLE RESPONSE, AND THAT THEREFORE WHAT
HAPPENED HERE IN AL-AZARIYYA,
THE RAISING OF LAZARUS, WOULD ALSO THEN BE A PREVIEW
OF WHAT JESUS WANTS TO DO FOR
ALL WHO BELIEVE IN HIM.
