Video Transcript: The Search for the Real Jesus

Relativism 

Also comes to mind.

Yeah, and also, truth has been used for good things and bad things. People say that they have got the only access of truth. And, frankly, I think that that's not a good approach. 

What would be better approach, SP2that approach is to realize, like Joseph Campbell said that many religions try to offer access to God or to spirituality, but they're basically different masks. And maybe different cultures have their own way of trying to find truth or spirituality. 

But not one is the only access to it. And when any group or culture says, My way is the only way, then you're getting yourself in trouble. He isn't, he who thinks he knows, does not know. But he who knows, he doesn't know. He knows.

Finally come to the end of the study. Now imagine you go away from this week, raving about the ever loving truth. And this guy this Voti Bach wrote in a friend of yours says, Wait a minute, Wow, Voti Bach. You mean? Voti Bach. And you go Yeah, I say, little white guy from Jackson, Mississippi. 

Now, right here, you have two choices. Choice number one, you could say no, that would be a different person. Choice number two, you could say that's your interpretation. Unfortunately, when it comes to Jesus, we choose the latter response. They'll say something completely off the wall, talking about someone who is obviously not the Jesus of the Bible. And our response is merely that's your interpretation. 

Well, who I am is not up for interpretation, who Jesus is, is not up for interpretation. He is who He always has been, who he always will be. Not only did he die for sin, look back with me in 1 Corinthians 15. He died for real verse 4 he was buried, he died percent according to the scripture, and he was buried. Why does he put this reference in here? Jus to make sure that you understand what he's talking about. 

He died and he was buried, He died for real, because there are some who would argue and I just argued against the resurrection. Some would argue that you know, the whole crucifixion thing. Jesus didn't really die your name for it. It's called the Swoon Theory. He didn't really die. What happened was, you know, of course, Jesus comes in he is scores and he is beaten. They whip him with a cat of nine tails. He bleeds profusely. They beat him beyond recognition. 

The day before, he has a condition that would cause him to now have not high blood pressure, but low blood pressure, which would have made his beating even worse and his bleeding even worse, they hang him on a cross. He hangs there and he dies. To make sure that he's dead. They stab him through his side and pierced his pericardium they stab him in the heart to make sure that he's dead. 

They take his dead lifeless body down off the cross, wrap him up, put him in a tomb, but a stone in front of the tomb and soldiers in front of the stone. Smooth theory says he got up, to get out of the wrappings that they put him in, folded them neatly and put them over an aside. Took his beaten, almost lifeless body, move the stone all by himself. Either did some kind of you know magic moto thing on the guards or just worked them all. 

Then stood there in front of his disciples and convinced them that this is what they want after they died. Like the correct theological response to that is not, Christ died for sin. He died for real. He hung and he bled and he died. it for real but he didn't stay did look at the next part of this. And that he was raised on the third day according to the scripture. Psalm number 16 makes it clear God is not going to allow his anointed to taste decay. He rose again from the dead according to the Scriptures, there was a resurrection. Christ died for sin and He died for real, but he did not stay dead. He was resurrected. And there are those who want to explain away the resurrection. 

My favorite explanation for the resurrection is the hallucination theory. I love this. Jesus didn't really resurrect the disciples just thought that he was resurrected. Oh, okay. The women went to the tomb, and they hallucinate. Then the first of the disciples come to the tomb, and they join in the women's hallucination. They go back to the upper room, and all the disciples together, hallucinate. But oh, wait a minute, Thomas missed out. So they start the hallucination all over again. When he gets there, the men on the road to Emmaus they hallucinate as well. And then 500 Witnesses all at one time share in this hallucination of Jesus being resurrected. I got two issues with that. 

Number one, I thought crack was more recent than that.

Number two, here's what I'm wondering. 

How come nobody said, Hey, there's a whole lot of people who's making that they saw this Jesus, why don't we go over to the tomb, move the stone, pick the body out and show him? Oh, I forgot. But he wasn't there. Why? Because there was no hallucination. There was a resurrection. Jesus rose from the grave. 

He's not dead anymore people. He's alive. He is risen. He was resurrected. Christ died for sin, He died for real, but he did not stay dead. And afterwards, he appeared to multiple witnesses. Look at this, he appears to see presidents of the 12 after that up to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James Dan to all the apostles. 

Last of all, as it were to one untimely born, it appeared to me also showed himself to witnesses. You know, what's interesting about this, what's interesting about this is people always say, Well, you believe in the resurrection. But you can't prove it scientifically. Confession time again, that little thing on the inside of me is going off again. 

You know why? Because when people say things like that, you can't prove the resurrection scientifically. I get excited. Because you know what? You can't prove that Abraham Lincoln was our 16th. President, scientifically. You know why? You don't prove historical events using the scientific method. But they hope you don't know that. It's not observable. It's not repeatable. It's not measurable. So you don't use the scientific method. 

To do it all the time. Don't think you can't prove it scientifically. I started listing up a whole bunch of stuff. prove scientifically. Like Civil War, Revolutionary War. It's not observable. It's not repeatable. can't measure it? Can't put it under a microscope. Are there artifacts that you can find? Of course, there are artifacts that you can find. But what you're doing is not the scientific method. This is a more historical observation. 

It's an evidentiary kind of method. What we do is we weigh the evidence. And when you weigh the evidence, the evidence is overwhelming. We have over 500 eyewitnesses to the resurrection. There is no fact in all of ancient history that is more well attested to than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If we are not going to believe the resurrection of Jesus, then we must throw out everything that we know from ancient history, because nothing that we have from ancient history has as much documentary and eyewitness evidence as the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Nothing. So much for the scientific method. One, just put a footnote here. You can't even prove evolution with the scientific method. But scientists will tell you that it's scientific. What's absolutely not, it is a theory based on philosophical presuppositions, it is not scientific fact. And it never will be. Truth of the matter is, there is more scientific evidence against it, then for it

Christ died for sin. He died for real. But he didn't stay dead. Because on the third day, he was resurrected. And when he was resurrected, show himself to our witnesses. So that you and I can know who he is, we was, we always will be, unfortunately, only the change that we don't get to say, I don't like that. Because there are just some things that I don't believe. There's some things that just don't sit right with the way I view the world. I don't think supernatural events can occur. And since I don't believe that supernatural events can occur, then I can't believe that there's a resurrection.

So many people arguing that's an argument based on presuppositions. Those don't work very well. He died for sin, He died for real. He didn't stay dead. And he showed himself to witnesses, so that you and I could know that he paid a price so that you and I could be set free from the sin debt that each and every one of us owes to God. Here's the big deal. What's the big deal? I'll tell you what the big deal is.

There are millions upon millions out there who think that they know Jesus, but they don't believe in the biblical Jesus. And because of that, they are over here feeling good about themselves, feeling secure, about their future secure about their eternity, and they are completely and utterly lost. That's horrible. That's terrible. You know what that's like. It's like somebody's believing that their uncle's gonna pay their tuition. And they're standing in line one day. 

Everybody sweat sweating about the checks that they're writing, and they're saying, Oh, I don't have to worry about it. Michael already paid my tuition. Really? Wow. That's cool. I wish I had an offer like that. Yeah. Well, you don't I do. Get up to the front of the line. Yeah, I'm here to sign my papers. Malcolm already paid my tuition. Oh, about that. Here's your uncle's check. It's not worth the paper it was written on. Oh. Did they believe that their tuition was paid? Absolutely. Matter of fact, they knew that tuition was paid. If you had asked them beforehand, they would have said yes, absolutely. I am certain because my uncle told me he was going to pay my tuition. 

But does the intensity of their faith do anything about the bounce check?

Absolutely not. People who are walking around believing in the wrong Jesus, have a spiritual bounce, check waveform and eternity. That's what the big deal is. Because God does not call us to just believe in a word.

To believe in a person was revealed himself and provided, protected and preserved that revelation for us in the Bible. Jesus and our culture is committed to philosophical pluralism, and religious relativism. It's not gonna change that. It just is, what it is. The only question is, what do we do with and what do we do about it. that Jesus Christ died on the cross, it a gift the Son of God, the only way through which we can attain salvation and make our way to heaven, and it's through his death and resurrection we have we can attain the gift, gift of salvation is free gift. 

And having him as Lord of our lives is really the key to making it in this world or making this life more enjoyable again, or only enjoyable, but what kind of privilege to share this journey with you. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have made an investment in your walk with the Lord. My prayer for you is that you've been enriched through this process that you have grown that you have learned, and that you have become just a little bit better equipped to speak the truth and love to those who so desperately need to hear. 

As you go into this last group session, share those things that God has taught you share the ways in which he's grown you challenged you share the opportunities, perhaps that you've had to share the things that you've learned with other individuals, by all means, continue to pray for one another. Because there are people out there who desperately need to know the truths that you've come to learn.