Once Jesus was resurrected from the dead and later made several appearances to the early apostles, these men who once fled in fear for their lives from Jesus just days before he was crucified, became bold proclaimers of the gospel. These eleven former cowards not only were transformed into bold witnesses for Christ but were willing to suffer humiliation, torture, and even death for their resurrected Savior. The only rational explanation for this incredible change in behavior was the apostles sincere belief that Jesus was their Messiah who died on a cross and rose from the grave three days later.
As I have attempted to show in earlier devotions most biblical scholars, including the rather skeptical ones, accept the fact that Jesus was a real historical person, that Jesus died by crucifixion, that the tomb was empty, and that His disciples believed that he rose from the dead and appeared to them.
Sadly, those who don’t believe in the reality of the resurrection, which is the key doctrine on which Christianity either rises or falls, believe that the early disciples made up the entire Christian story and thus the story of what happened to Jesus is really based on a colossal lie. The question before us is simply this could the early apostles and disciples of Jesus have made up the entire gospel story including His resurrection from the dead.
Since we know from early independent extrabiblical sources, both Christian and non-Christian, that many of Jesus’ apostles and early disciples suffered intense persecution and even death for preaching that Jesus was Lord and had risen from the dead, I find it highly unlikely that they made up this elaborate lie.
Consider the following lines of reasoning:
Peter Kreeft said it well when he commented: “Why would the apostles lie? Liars always lie for selfish reasons. If they lied, what was their motive, what did they get out of it? What they got out of it was misunderstanding, rejection, persecution, torture, and martyrdom. Hardly a list of perks!”1
We know that Muslim terrorists are willing to die for Allah today – September 11 proved that. Thus, it is true that some will die for a false cause that they believe in. However, if Christ’s earlier followers were willing to be martyrs for a known lie – that’s insanity.
What would be the motivation for the early disciples to lie? What benefits could they receive? Normally we lie to get out of trouble or gain some benefit. But the disciples by lying got into trouble. As I sated earlier what they received was humiliation, persecution, torture, and death. I can’t believe that they would make up a lie in order to bring on all the suffering they often knew they would receive.
Again, Josh McDowell offers us something to really think about when he stated: “If the Resurrection had not happened, obviously the disciples would have known it. I can find no way that these particular men could have been deceived. Therefore, they not only would have died for a lie—here’s the catch—they would have known it was a lie. It would be hard to find a group of men anywhere in history who would die for a lie if they knew it was a lie.”2
Atheists are quick to try to poke holes in the above logic but for what purpose? If they were to succeed what could they hope to gain? You see the
atheist must indeed lead a lonely life since he does not believe in a divine Creator. By definition they must believe that they have no soul and no immortality. Since they came into existence by chance, and not divine design, any meaning they find in life is but a by-product of random occurrences. Even the great mysteries of our universe that cause us to ponder just who we are and why we are here, are a closed corridor of thought, to those who place God as something that exists only in one’s imagination.
If the atheist can show that the disciples were lying and the whole Christian story is a fabrication, then he must conclude that he came into existence from nothing and when he dies he will go back to nothing. And somehow in between these two states of nothingness he is supposed to find meaning in life!
Since the atheist has no god to believe in he places himself as the supreme person in his universe and spends the rest of his life searching for a reason for his existence. Searching every pathway, every byway, overturning every stone, examining every philosophy, and experiencing every feeling, as he comes to the end of his journey, the answer he finds is that none exists!
Christianity offers us the peace and joy that come with living a life for Christ; not to mention eternal life when we die. What does the life of an atheist offer its followers but a life of no meaning, no accountability, and no hope for a life to come. And in the last analysis if there is no God then the atheist can enjoy his sin since he doesn’t have to worry about being accountable to a holy God. Thus, he can do what is right in his own eyes. So, who would die for a lie? The Christian is betting his eternal destiny on Jesus. The atheist if he is right loses big time. My friends I know that Jesus is who He says He is because He transformed my life. Jesus is no lie – He is the way, the truth, and the life!
2 Apologetics: 10 Quotes on the Resurrection of Jesus – The Poached Egg Christian Worldview and Apologetics Network
AHMEN and AHMEN!