The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
January 18, 2004
In
This Issue:
The
Deity is in the Details
by
Steve Klein
Honest
Study
by
Doy Moyer
The Deity is in the Details
Romans 1:4 tells us that Jesus Christ was "declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." The resurrection of Jesus, more than perhaps any other single event, demonstrates to mankind the Deity of Jesus of Nazareth.
People being raised from the dead, while not an everyday occurrence in Bible times, certainly happened occasionally. Jesus raised Lazarus, the widow's son at Nain, the daughter of Jairus, and perhaps others (John 11; Luke 7:11-15, 22; 8:49-56). None of these individuals are thought to be "gods" because they were raised from the dead.
The case of Jesus is plainly different. As Jesus lies in the tomb, there is no human standing outside calling him to come forth, no one taking Him by the hand and commanding Him to arise. His body lies alone in Joseph's new tomb and the tomb is sealed and closely guarded. No human even witnesses His actual resurrection -- when the angel rolled away the stone the guards "became like dead men" (Matthew 28:4). Jesus' resurrection was accomplished directly by the power of God. The fact that "God raised up" Jesus is declared many times in the Book of Acts (2:24, 32; 3:13; 4:10; 10:40; 13:30, 37). And it is this fact that identifies Jesus as the Divine Son of God.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred in such a way as to leave men with physical and testimonial evidence of it. The details of this evidence give us striking proof of the authenticity of the resurrection, and thus of the Deity of Christ. Consider the following details:
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The tomb was new and no one had been laid to rest there before (Matthew 27:57; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:51). There was no possibility of getting Jesus' body confused with the remains of another, or failing to remember where it had been placed in a tomb that housed many corpses.
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The tomb was sealed with a large stone and guarded. (Matthew 27:60-66). Grave robbers or others could not have taken the body.
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The grave clothes were left neatly in the tomb. When Peter and John went into the tomb after the resurrection, they "saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself." (John 20:6-8). Who would steal a body and take the time to unwrap it and neatly fold up the clothes? Who would not take the expensive grave wrappings if they had been raised from the dead? (Perhaps Someone who knew that He would never need them again!)
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The scars in Jesus' resurrected body were examined. On the very evening of the day He was raised, Jesus appeared to His disciples and "showed them His hands and His side" (John 20:20). While wounds in the hands could be observed on anyone who had been crucified, Jesus' wound in His side was somewhat unique. It offers gruesome evidence not only of His identity, but also of what His now living body had once endured.
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Many saw Him alive. The number of witnesses to Jesus' resurrection makes it all the more credible. In a court of law, facts can be demonstrated on the basis of two or three reliable witnesses. Many, many more than that saw the resurrected Christ, including the apostles, Mary Magdalene, Cleopas, James, 500 brethren at once, and finally the apostle Paul.
The detailed and reliable evidence we have been given for the resurrection of Jesus should make it all the easier to believe that it occurred. And believing in the resurrection of Jesus is the key to our salvation and the cause for our commitment to Him. "Knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus" (2 Corinthians 4:14).
by Steve Klein
Most people are familiar with the parable generally referred to as the "good Samaritan" (Luke 10:30-36). We usually refer to it to show what true compassion is, and how we should be willing to respond to the needs of others. The parable certainly does show this. However, the parable, together with its context, teaches more than just how to be compassionate. It teaches us how to be honest in our Bible study.
A lawyer tested Jesus, asking, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25). A lawyer, in the Scriptures, was one who was skilled in, and taught, the law of Moses. The man knew the answer to the question. Jesus responded with a question: "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" (vs. 26). Whenever we are searching for the truth, the only way to find it is by reading the Scriptures! Today, we might ask, "What does the Bible say?" What better question can be asked when one is searching for truth? Just open the Bible and see what it says.
The lawyer answered correctly by stating the foundation of God's will: Love God with all of your heart, soul, strength and mind, and your neighbor as yourself (vs. 27). Jesus responded, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live" (vs. 28). Again, the man knew the answer. He quoted what the law said. And Jesus told him, "That's right. Now go and do it." This is the essence of doing God's will. Find out what God says in His word and do it. It's just that simple! There is no complicated process involved. You don't need any specialized clergy to tell you what God says. Just read the Bible and do what He says to do.
But here is where the lawyer began to have problems. He knew what God said, but if he did not know how to apply what was said, then he didn't need to do it. "But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'" (vs. 29). This is too much of a problem today. Instead of taking what God says and doing it, we want to find ways to justify not doing what He says. The trouble, in these cases, is not that we cannot understand the will of God. The trouble is that we do not want to bring our own will into submission to God's will. So we find a convenient way to justify our inaction.
It is in response to the lawyer's effort to justify himself that Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan. Jesus' intention was not so much to issue a statement on compassion as it was to illustrate the lawyer's need to be honest with himself and simply do what God says. The parable illustrated the need for honesty when looking into the will of God.
After telling the parable, Jesus asked who the neighbor was. The man said, "He who showed mercy on him." To this Jesus responded, "Go and do likewise" (vs. 37). Again, Jesus was basically saying, "That's right. Now go and do it." He was showing that it is not all that difficult to apply God's will to our lives. We can understand it, and we can do it. It just takes diligence and honesty.
If we are not honest when we study the Bible, then we will not be able to properly do God's will. There have been studies where people refused to open the Bible to a particular verse (such as Acts 2:38). They knew what it said, but they simply did not want to face what it said. In order to justify not being baptized, many will come up with a hypothetical situation to justify their own disobedience. "What about the man who is on his way to be baptized and a rock falls on him and kills him?" This is supposed to negate the fact that they must be baptized. All such efforts are only efforts at self-justification. Wouldn't it be much easier to find out what the Bible teaches and just do it?
Simplified, Luke 10:25-37 teaches us that we need to look into the will of God, find out exactly what is said, and do just that. It takes honest Bible study, as well as honest self-examination (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5). When we know what the Bible says, we need to abandon any efforts at self-justification and submit ourselves completely to the will of God. As we study the Scriptures, we need to hear these words of Jesus: "do this and you will live."
by Doy Moyer