N. T. Wright on Death and Tyrants

Posted on September 10, 2013 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

“Death is the last weapon of the tyrant, and the point of the resurrection, despite much misunderstanding, is that death has been defeated. Resurrection is not he redescription of death, it is its overthrow, and, with that, the overthrow of those whose power depends on it. Despite the sneers and slurs of some contemporary scholars, it was those who believed in the bodily resurrection who who were burned at the stake and thrown to the lions.”

N. T. Wright in Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church

To death and beyond . . .

Posted on November 21, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

I find John 12:10-11 very informative on how I should respond to death:

10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

Perhaps it is only my warped sense of humor, but this strikes me as funny. The Pharisees preferred Lazarus dead rather than have him there to challenge their beliefs. The Pharisees, who thought themselves a light to the nation, could not tolerate the presence of one whose very existence was a critique of their life and practice.

The comedy comes in when you consider that the Pharisees are threatening to kill a man who has already experienced death and came back to tell about it. He could wear a tee shirt saying, “Death . . . been there, done that.” Lazarus’ life validated the words that the Apostle Paul wrote years later in Philippians 1:21, “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Lazarus had experienced what happens after death and come back to tell about it. As a result, the Pharisees wanted to kill Lazarus for the effect he was having on the people who heard his story. His experience validated Jesus’ claims of divinity and lordship and many believed.

I learn two things from the example of Lazarus.

First, while I do not know in great detail what it will be like following death, I have enough evidence to know that I should not fear it. Jesus promised to prepare a place for me. Paul, who experienced Heaven in a vision, tells me that what follows death is better than life. Therefore I should live a life free of the fear of death.

If death is not to be feared, what else could be worse? Should I fear rejection, poverty, disrespect or insignificance? Certainly if death is not to be feared, these others should hold no power over me. Yet often they do.

It is not enough to put away the fear of death, I should also live a resurrected life. If I believe with Paul that I have been crucified and raised with Christ (Galatians 2:20), my life should reflect the changes that resurrection brings. Like the Apostle Paul, my life should be lived differently following my encounter with the risen Christ.

My guess is that Lazarus lived life differently than he did before his experience. Were I to have Lazarus’ experience, I suppose the trivialities that now trip me up would have a greatly reduced effect on me, if any effect at all.

Perhaps a good gauge of how well my life reflects the resurrection is whether my impact on others draws them closer to Jesus. As a result of his experience of death and resurrection, Lazarus was used by God to bring people to right belief in Jesus. God wants to do the same with me. I simply need to choose to prevent my fears from getting in the way and live the resurrected life that is promised me.

Four Lessons From the Resurrection

Posted on April 24, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

The four lessons

It is Easter Sunday 2011, the day which commemorates the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. I insert the adjective “bodily” to distinguish myself from those who would understand the resurrection story to be nothing more than a metaphor for renewal and hope.

In 1 Corinthians 15:14, the Apostle Paul tells us that without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, “our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” The Apostle tells us in Romans 1:4 that the resurrection of Jesus is a powerful declaration that Jesus is the Son of God. Belief in the resurrection is foundational to historic Christianity. If you do away with the resurrection, we have nothing to believe.

The question is, what difference does the resurrection make in my life? How can an event that happened close to 2000 years ago affect me? Does it really make a difference?

The answer is yes, it does make a difference and I am writing this post to remind myself and my readers of some ways that resurrection should change our minds and attitudes. Here are four applications that I would like to explore in this post:

Despair is never an option
Sin can be overcome
Renewal is available
The grave is not our final destination

Despair is never an option

I am grateful that Tony Campolo brought attention to a sermon entitled, “It’s Friday but Sunday’s Coming” by African American preacher S. M. Lockridge. The point is that no matter how bleak it looked on that first Good Friday, the events of the following Sunday made all the difference in the disciples’ outlook.

The resurrection demonstrates to me that no matter how bad things might look right now, God has the power to change me and/or change my circumstances. God remains in control and as I look to him, I can be assured that he will arrange the outcome according to his plan. Paul tells us this in Romans 8:28, but a few verses later in that chapter (Romans 8:38-39), he assures us of God’s love for us.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Because of God’s power and love, I should never despair.

Sin can be overcome

One of the best short descriptions of what Jesus accomplished on the cross is found in 2 Corinthians 5:21. Jesus took our sin and gave us his righteousness. The resurrection proves that Jesus has the power to accomplish this. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:17 that “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” The converse is that if Jesus has been raised then we can be freed from our sin.

Ultimately, sin will be overcome when Jesus returns, but until then sin is being overcome in believers. God is working.

I should never think that there is any sin that the cross and resurrection cannot overcome.

Renewal is available

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 tells us that “in Christ shall all be made alive.” Not only can our sins be removed, we can be renewed in our thinking and in our behavior if we are in Christ. The resurrection demonstrates the power of God to bring renewal. In Christ, I have the power available to become what God has intended me to be.

I should always remember this and be doggedly, unrelentingly, seeking from God this renewal.

The grave is not our final destination

In John 14:1-3, Jesus tells the disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them and that “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” This is true for all believers.

The resurrection proves that Jesus has the power to live up to this claim. He will come and take us to himself and we will dwell with him.

I should always live with the knowledge that this life is not all there is and that any struggles now will be forgotten in the glory that is to come.

What lessons have you learned?

An Easter Meditation inspired by Counting Crows

Posted on April 17, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre 3 Comments

Ravi Zacharias tells a story to illustrate western culture is with regard to belief and world view:

Two Australian sailors were on leave in England and decided to go out to the pubs.
After a long night of drinking, they were both very drunk and had to get back to their ship. By this time it was early morning and a heavy fog had settled in.
They got out on the street and between the alcohol and the fog, they quickly got very lost.
They saw a highly decorated English Naval officer approaching and thought they would ask him for directions. They said, “mate, can you help us get back to our ship?”
Seeing their inebriated state and their lack of proper respect for a superior officer, in his disgust he replied, “Do you know who I am?”
The one Australian said to the other. “Mate, were in a mess now, we don’t know where we are and this bloke doesn’t know who he is!”

Our culture has thrown off the bonds of religion in an effort to find freedom. We have broken through the walls of tradition and cultural restraint to find new sources to satisfy our soul hunger. Yet, it seems that many are not finding that satisfaction. Consider this snippet of lyrics from the song “Mr. Jones” by Counting Crows:

Believe in me
Help me believe in anything
I want to be someone who believes . . .
We all want to be big stars, but we don’t know why and we don’t know how
But when everybody loves me, I’m going to be just about as happy as can be
Mr. Jones and me, we’re gonna be big stars . . .

The lines, “help me believe in anything, I want to be someone who believes” jumped out at me as I listened to this song recently. To me this is a clear example of current popular thought. We have made it so that definitive statements of belief are not politically correct, yet have given nothing substantive as an alternative.

Before tearing down a wall, a wise man will seek to understand why it was built in the first place. You may tear down the wall thinking to find freedom only to be confronted by something very nasty coming from the other side. Yet we have torn down the moral and spiritual walls with reckless abandon only to find that the walls were not the problem and that chaos is on the other side.

Honesty requires me to acknowledge that the church holds a large share of the blame for the spiritual and moral chaos that is around us. Too often the church’s message has succumbed to one of two errors.

One error is legalism, where the message becomes a list of do’s and don’ts, which ends up being arbitrary and outdated. No-one wants a god who is like a grouchy father who shouts random commands from the couch as he watches TV. Legalism presents such a god, a god who is not worthy of worship. In fact, one could argue that the legalists worship their rules rather the the god who they claim in support of the rules.

The second error is that of inclusivism, where the love of god is emphasized and nothing is considered out of bounds. In this case god is presented as a doting, perhaps slightly senile, grandfather whose only words are, “that’s nice.” There is nothing that can be done to harm the relationship with such a god. In these churches we have the luxury of having religious expression without the responsibility to modify our desires and behavior. What good is a god who doesn’t affect change in his worshippers? Why bother?

The third option to consider is that there is a loving but holy God who sent Jesus so that he could be in relationship with us.

Today is Palm Sunday, the day when we celebrate Jesus riding into Jerusalem surrounded by the pomp reserved for a king following military victory. He is a king, and he did enter in victory, but not the kind of victory that his followers expected. He came in victory over sin (our moral problem) and death (our ultimate fear).

This week, believers will focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus, events which infuse our spiritual experience with meaning. It is at the cross where we find an answer to our spiritual hunger. It is at the cross where we find a solution to our moral problem. It is at the cross where we find a means of experiencing forgiveness. It is at the cross where we find hope of being new and different. It is at the cross where we find Jesus.

I leave you with one last thought. Contrary to how he is portrayed on many crucifixes, Jesus did not remain on the cross. He rose again to demonstrate his victory over sin and death.

There is your hope for hope for newness. There is your freedom. There is the means of finding meaning in life. It is in the resurrection of Jesus on which we focus this week.

Happy Easter!