If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:14)
You are sitting in the locker room enjoying the banter of your playing partners. The back-and-forth among good friends makes your poor play almost tolerable.
Daryl walks in and announces, “You will not believe what happened on 14. I was 155 yards out. I pushed my shot into a tree. The ball ricocheted onto the cart path, bounced off a rake, and flew into the hole. Eagle, baby!”
You are stunned, especially since you had a $10 Nassau with D-man. You pretend to be happy and reluctantly hand over three Hamiltons.
Then your buddies start asking questions: “Did anyone see it?” Offended, Daryl replies, “Yes! Tony, Rocky, and Frank saw it. Are you satisfied?”
The odds of something that bizarre happening are extremely low, but it is possible. Once trustworthy people provided eyewitness testimony, believing Daryl was reasonable. It was also reasonable for the men in your foursome to ask for eyewitness verification.
This far-fetched golf story helps us understand why believing the Bible’s account of miracles is not irrational.
When Christians believe the New Testament eyewitness accounts concerning Jesus’ resurrection, they are not denying what ordinarily happens in nature.
Christians know that dead people do not normally rise from their graves. First-century Christians knew that as well. That is precisely why the resurrection was so astonishing.
When someone says, “The laws of nature teach us that dead people do not rise,” the Christian can answer, “You are right. They do not, at least not ordinarily.”
That leads us to a deeper question: Are we living in a closed universe that cannot be influenced by anyone outside it?
If the universe is nothing more than a closed system of matter and energy, then miracles are impossible. There is no God who can act within it. But if God exists, that changes everything. Since God created matter, energy, space, time, and the laws governing them, it is hardly irrational to believe that the Creator can act within his creation.
Years ago, C. S. Lewis exposed a common error in thinking about miracles. His argument went something like this: If we begin by assuming that nature and its laws are all that exist, we will automatically dismiss every report of a miracle.
That reasoning is viciously circular. The skeptic argues that miracles cannot happen because nature is all that exists. Therefore, every report of a miracle must be a lie, hallucination, or a misunderstanding. But that conclusion was built into the argument before the evidence was ever considered.
We should respond, “Do not rig the investigation before examining the evidence.” Biblical truth claims deserve honest investigation. We are right to ask for evidence, and we are right to expect credible witnesses.
Christianity stands or falls on the historical truth of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The apostle Paul wrote, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”
Paul did not ask people to have blind faith. Christianity does not ask anyone to turn off their mind. It invites us to examine the evidence and consider the testimony of those who saw the risen Christ.
The resurrection is not merely an unusual event, like a golf ball bouncing off a tree, cart path, and rake before falling into the hole. The resurrection is a supernatural act of God. Jesus truly died, was buried, and on the third day rose bodily from the grave in an imperishable body.
Through his death and resurrection, Jesus defeated our greatest enemies: sin, judgment, and death.
“Are miracles possible?” is an important question. But an even more important question is this: “If Jesus really rose from the dead, what does that mean for me?”
Do not believe blindly, but do not blindly disbelieve. Examine the evidence. If Christ has risen, then that changes everything!
Prayer: Lord! Open my mind to seriously investigate the truth claims of Jesus.