When a couple hears that they are going to have a baby they are filled with hope. The anticipation of new life that will burst on the scene fills parent’s hearts with celebration, joy and hope. And so the parents wait, prepare, and check ‘under the hood’ with ultrasound and heartbeat to see that life.
The central reason that the Gospel is life for today, is because the Gospel announces victory over death through the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus is a promise of new life for us- just like new life of an expectant baby. In fact, Paul in his letter to the Corinthians states it this way:
I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, …. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, … and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)
This is what makes the news of the gospel pregnant with hope – Jesus has conquered death and this new life of his can infuse us with this same new life. The gospel is a promise of Good News that we can become ‘pregnant’ with new life today that will be birthed. Now this life is hidden or masked to the naked eye just like that of a woman in her first month of pregnancy; though she carries a new life, it is not outwardly visible.
Resurrection Examined
But one can take a hard look ‘under the hood’ so to speak on whether Jesus actually – in a physical and historical sense – did rise from the dead? This hope was never meant to be accepted on blind faith, or by cultural custom, or just by taking it for granted. Just like a couple who wants to see an ultrasound or hear a heartbeat of the life within the woman’s body, the gospel invites us all to consider through history and reason whether in fact Jesus did rise from the dead. If so, we can have a solid assurance of this same new life given to us if we want it – we would have a firm hope.
So here is a short video of a community presentation that a friend of mine did a few years ago in Westdale. In it he asks what is the case, or the evidence, for the resurrection of Jesus. In a short 17 minutes the case for the Jesus rising from the dead is laid out – surely time worth investing in exploring such an important question.
[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/63393362[/vimeo]