You don’t really believe that stuff do you?
It’s a real question you will have to answer if you haven’t had to all ready. It might come in a real conversation about religion but more than likely it will be just a quick comment and the conversation will move on to something else. Maybe you don’t know what to say or maybe you want to say something but don’t have time but either way you feel like you got attacked. Don’t feel too bad because you are not alone. A lot of Christians have a hard time defending their beliefs. Many will get frustrated and some will even get mad if you ask them to explain why they believe. They need a plan.
The apostle Peter wrote two letters to followers of Jesus that are in the Bible before he was killed by the Romans. He said Christians needed to be prepared to explain why they believed. He didn’t say you needed to be able to explain everything in the Bible but just why you believe. Peter explained why he believed. He was there. He saw Jesus perform miracles. He saw him die on the cross. He looked at his dead body and saw it placed in the tomb. He look in the empty tomb. He saw Jesus alive and had breakfast with him on the beach. He saw the nail prints and marks from crucifixion. He was changed forever by what he saw.
I think we would like Peter. He was a commercial fisherman. He was in business with his Dad and brother Andrew. Probably had a commercial license from the Romans. We know he had a boat and nets. Apparently he fished naked according to John 21-7. Ancient people were not prudish. If you grew up in a one room house and you parents had 10 children or more you knew a lot by the time you left home! Peter was the one that would speak up first when Jesus asked a question. He was out in front. Jesus named him Peter which when translated from the Greek meant rock. When we look closely at his life we see a huge transformation in Peter after the resurrection. He was afraid when Jesus was arrested and denied he knew him. He went into hiding as did the other disciples when Jesus was crucified. After the resurrection he openly preached the gospel till he was crucified himself. According to history Peter told the Romans he wasn’t worthy to die like Christ. The Romans having a sick sense of humor said “we can take care of that for you” and crucified him upside down. Peter lived up to the name Jesus gave him and became the “rock” the Christian church was built upon.
But was Peter the only one? No, not by a long shot! Look at the transformation of Paul. He was a Christian hunter that hunted down Christians for persecution and destruction. In one day he completely changed. He didn’t moderate his life he totally reversed it. It wasn’t like when someone joins the church and starts trying to cuss with less offensive cuss words he really completely changed. Try to imagine a hard line Democrat. Drives a hybrid car with Obama and Biden stickers all over it. Hates big business, oil fired power plants and anybody that would cut down a tree. Next morning he is a registered Republican and wants more off shore drilling and coal mining. That was the kind of change that happened in Paul.
Anybody else? The list is long but another is James the brother of Jesus. Now if it would be hard to convince anyone you were the Messiah it would be hard to convince your brother. Before the resurrection James mocked Jesus when he said he was the Messiah. I can assure you if I tried to convince anybody in my family I was the Messiah I would be laughed off the porch. Imagine if you had grown up with this person and then all of a sudden he is telling people he is God and saying “when you see me you have seen the father”. Yea, that wouldn’t have worked for me. Mama would have beat the health out of me with a damp stick if I had tried that. But after the resurrection James became an ardent preacher of the gospel of Jesus. He believed Jesus was the Messiah in spite of seeing him grow up in his home.
How about his Mom? I have often heard it said that if anybody knew Jesus was the Messiah it was Mary. She alone knew the truth about the virgin birth. Imagine how hard it was to tell that story knowing everyone would think it was a lie. I can just imagine the eye rolling and looking away she experienced. Look at the silence of Mary at the crucifixion. Jesus was killed for saying he was God. If Mary thought he was anything else she would have cried out against the judgement but she was silent. My mother would have said “he is just crazy, don’t kill him for that”! Mary knew the truth.
The list goes on of people that experienced Jesus and totally changed. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Even John the Baptist who was already famous and had lots of people coming to him for baptism. He didn’t get to see Jesus after the resurrection but he instantly knew Jesus was the Messiah when he saw him approach before Jesus was well known and said “behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”. Botton line is there were lots of others that reported seeing Jesus after the resurrection. Lots of witnesses equals lots of proof.
For me compelling evidence comes from the story of the resurrection itself. If it was a carefully constructed lie fabricated by the disciples it might have sounded like this. Jesus was crucified like he said would happen. We knew he was dead but our faith was solid and we knew he would rise on the third day just like he said. We were sorry to see him suffer so badly but we were ready to celebrate his return on that morning at the tomb. At sunrise we were all gathered at the tomb and watched as the angels rolled back the stone and Jesus walked out.
The real story just has the fabric and context of people telling the truth. “We were shocked that he died. We thought he was the Messiah and couldn’t be killed by humans. We were devastated that our world had disappeared and the Jesus movement was over. We didn’t believe it when women said the tomb was empty. That sounded impossible. Most of us wouldn’t even go look for ourselves. Peter went and saw some strips of burial cloth but couldn’t find the body. We thought the body had been stolen or moved. We started hearing reports of people seeing and talking to Jesus but we still didn’t believe it till he came to us in person”. People just don’t make up stories like that.
Then we have the proof of how the Jesus movement spread from such a small group to become not only the dominate religion but a way of life that shaped the western world and changed the rest of the world in such short time.
So what do you say to the person that ask why do you believe? Or maybe the statement will be “You don’t really believe that stuff do you”? You will have to decide for yourself but I like something quick like: “I believe Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead”. Then one of two things will happen. They will be silent for a couple of seconds and the conversation will move on or they will simply ask why? The hope is always that they ask why and you can start telling some of the stories that prove the resurrection. But even if it is the moment of silence a seed has been planted. It might be a seed that doesn’t produce but it might be a seed cast in just the right spot. Just remember to cast lots of “seeds”!