Light-work

Much Ado Over Gabriel's Revelation

Time reported this week that a first century BC tablet, according to an Israeli scholar, "announces the raising of a Jewish messiah after three days in the grave." Dubbed "Gabriel's Revelation," you can check out the full article on the three foot high tablet by clicking here. Reporters David Van Biema and Tim McGirk seem to think this tablet constitutes another piece of vital evidence debunking the authenticity of the resurrection of Jesus.

Let's assume for the moment that the reported translation of the tablet is correct - this is no small assumption, by the way. How damaging is this revelation? Biema and McGirk think it is serious: "This undermines one of the strongest literary arguments employed by Christians over centuries to support the historicity of the Resurrection: the specificity and novelty of the idea that the Messiah would die on a Friday and rise on a Sunday."

I find it hard not to smirk at the logic of this. Suppose someone living before Jesus did indeed pen a literary work that mentions a third day resurrection. Does this have any value as a denial of later historical events as reported by dozens of corroborating witnesses? Let me illustrate the logic of this: On 9/11 many eye-witnesses observed two planes flying into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. What would you think of someone's claim that it is all an invention, a contrivance, and offers as proof a book (that predates 9/11) in which events that are eerily similar are described? He proposes that the idea was suggested to people through the book and that's where they came up with idea. It didn't really happen.

Would you find such an argument convincing? Me neither. If you have already concluded that the resurrection is an invention, if you can make a statement like this - "this could mean that Jesus' followers had access to a well-established paradigm when they decreed that Christ himself rose on the third day" - then I suppose Biema and McGirk's spin on Gabriel's Revelation might seem compelling. I'm not buying it.

Is Faith a Requirement?

"Where does God say that man is required to have faith and why?" That was the query recently posed to my friend. The question can be construed to represent God as a hard nosed stickler. If you're not bringing faith to God's table, don't bother coming.

I find it helpful to think of faith as a privilege not an obligation. It is true that unleashing the power of the Gospel cannot be accomplished apart from faith. BUT, God forces Himself on no man! God does not compel belief, He invites it; He respects us enough to allow us to make our own decision. Think of “faith” as God’s declaration: “I am NOT going to compel you to believe the Gospel. Yes, it makes sense. Yes, it holds within it the power for salvation. And yes, that power will be unleashed when you, by faith, choose to apply it to your life. But I am giving you the power to choose what you will do – I am allowing you to believe or not believe. Now, don’t get me wrong. There will benefits and consequences depending on what choice you make. Not all decisions are created equal. Rejecting the Gospel is the worst possible decision you could EVER make. But it IS your decision to make."

Let’s say that you are selling some sort of agricultural product to Farmer Brown. This product will revolutionize his farming enterprise. So you make your pitch and FB seems thoroughly impressed with your field studies, charts, and cost projections. But the power of your product is not unleashed until it is applied to his cropland. He must purchase it and then act on the “application instructions” to see the results.

So is it with the Gospel. Someone can be quite impressed with the evidence for the Gospel. He can even appreciate how it has been helpful to others. But the power of the Gospel is not unleashed until that someone ACTS on it. He doesn’t have to purchase it (Jesus already made full payment for as much Gospel as a man could need). He merely signs for delivery and applies the product to his life. This is “faith in the Gospel,” choosing to apply the Gospel to his thoughts, words, actions, and aspirations. When a man does this, the power of the Gospel is unleashed.

God is not forcing anyone to use His product. But it happens to be the only product on the market that works. It's the smart choice.