Thoughts for Holy Week
We are in the midst of Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, which is the most precious time for Christians. It is a time to contemplate the suffering and sacrifice of our Lord on our behalf, a time to contemplate just how miraculous God’s gift of his Son was, and continues to be. To that end, I have been thinking about two separate issues that have been discussed recently at a Bible study I attend on Monday evenings. I am in awe of the truth Jesus brings to my life and the lives of so many others; yet I am equally in awe of those who refuse to accept that truth.
The first issue at hand is Jesus himself. The vast majority of non-Christians and skeptics in the world acknowledge that Jesus, the man, did in fact exist and that he was a good and moral person. They acknowledge that his teachings of love, compassion, service and forgiveness are exemplary lessons we should all strive to live by. Where the skeptics stop agreeing, however, is on the point of Jesus’ deity. He was a good man, but only that – a man. He was not the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer that his followers claim him to be. All truth and evidence aside, there is one fundamental problem with this view of Jesus: Jesus repeatedly identified himself to be the Son of God, the Savior and the Redeemer. We know this not just because the Bible says so, but because both his disciples and his enemies used these claims as justification for following or destroying him. If Jesus was just a man and nothing more, then he could not possibly be characterized as a good and moral person whose teachings were exemplary. If Jesus is not the Son of God, then he was a habitual liar, a deceiver, a blasphemer, and an instrument of evil for leading so many people astray. Either Jesus was exactly who he said he was, or he was a complete and total fraud. There is no middle ground.
The second topic of discussion is miracles. Based on the definition provided in the book we are reading in our study, a miracle is defined as an event orchestrated by God that falls outside the scope of natural law. The author asserts that God created natural law – predictable, orderly patterns in our world – so that we are able to recognize miracles when they happen. And the ultimate purpose of miracles is to affirm our faith. Assuming these things, there are two schools of thought on the presence of miracles in the current world. Some in our Bible study believe that miracles still occur in the world. By this, we mean singular, miraculous events (not generalizations, such as “the miracle of birth,” or “the miracle of life”). The purpose of these miracles is the same as it has always been – to affirm our faith. Others in our study believe that miracles stopped with the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus dying, rising from the dead, and ascending to Heaven was collectively the largest and most profound miracle that ever occurred. This miracle is the foundation of the Christian faith, and the Scriptures provide all the information, evidence and affirmation we need to trust in it. So, if the skeptic asks why it appears that God does not perform miracles today, perhaps the answer lies in another question: If you are unable to believe the greatest miracle God has ever performed, what is the likelihood that you would believe, or even recognize, a miracle that occurred today?
Like many Christians, I have often thought of my faith in Christ as being based on the Word of a God I trust unquestioningly. That certainly still holds true, however as I gradually mature in my understanding of Christ, I realize that scientific and logical reasoning has a strong place in an honest discussion of the faith. In fact, logic and science do much more to support faith in Christ than they do to refute it. Upon careful consideration of the facts, those who have declared science and logic as their religion will, in turn, prove the truth of Jesus Christ - how ironic, and sweetly divine!
