Easter and the Secular Mind...Continued from page 2

Ray Pritchard

 

You're Out Of Your Mind

Agrippa is a different sort of fellow. He understands the Jewish law and he also knows quite a bit about the story of Jesus. In fact, he was born about the time Jesus began his public ministry. So he says, "I would like to hear this man myself." And Festus says, "Tomorrow you will." (25:22)

Tomorrow comes and it turns out to be a great occasion. The Romans were always good at pomp and ceremony and they did it up right this time. The hearing was held in the splendid Hall of Audience in Caesarea. In come Agrippa and Bernice dressed in their royal purple robes. In comes Festus in the scarlet dress of the Roman governor. In come the Roman Legionnaires, in come the lictors, in come the civic officials, in come the interested onlookers. It is a vast and impressive sight.

Finally, lastly, in comes the Apostle Paul, a slight, stooped, unimpressive man wearing a threadbare tunic. Chains dangle from his gnarled hands. But his look is magnetic, his eyes flash with power. From the moment he speaks, it is Paul who holds the stage.

What follows is the greatest defense of the Christian message in the New Testament. It is in many ways the climax of the book of Acts. The record of what Paul said to Agrippa is found in Acts 26.

And as the hearing proceeds, an amazing fact becomes apparent: It is not Paul who is on trial, but Festus and Agrippa. Paul retells the story of his conversion and proclaims the power of the Resurrection. These are his words in verse 7: "Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?" That is the question of the ages. Is it incredible to think that God would raise the dead?

Then he adds these words in verse 22: "But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen?that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."

At this point Festus has heard enough. He interrupts Paul and shouts, "You're out of your mind, Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane." (26:24)

You see, Festus reacts the way all secular men react. First, it's visions and revelations, then prophets, and finally a resurrection. It's just too much to take. No sane man can talk that way. It is the final verdict of the secular mind. Festus simply has no other category. Truth or the possibility of truth doesn't enter in because everyone knows that dead men stay dead. No, there simply was no category for this strange doctrine. And Festus, the Roman governor, reluctantly concludes that Paul, who is obviously a well-educated, brilliant man, has quite simply gone nuts. Crazy as a loon. Two bricks short of a full load. His study of the prophets has driven him bonkers. There is no other charitable explanation.

The Horns Of A Dilemma

Please understand. Festus doesn't really think Paul is literally insane. You don't shout at someone you think is crazy. You speak softly and pat them on the head. Maybe you turn to the King and wink. And you would never send a lunatic to the Emperor's court in Rome. That's a bad career move. No, Festus doesn't literally mean it. But he can't think of anything else.

For Festus, only two alternatives are possible. Unless he is ready to become a Christian, he must say Paul is nuts. If Paul is right, Festus is wrong. He would not, could not, dare not admit that. Festus rightly senses that madness is in the air. But if it's not Paul, it must be him. But it can't be him so it must be Paul. That's all there is to it. Paul is crazy.

Thus the secular mind confronts the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the greatest question of life, the question of Jesus Christ and my relation to him, there are only two possible answers. Either I believe him for who he is. Or I reject him and his claims. Yes or no. Life or death. And a man, depending on his answer, is either wise or a fool.

Acts 25

He takes the question Jesus asked, "Who do men say that I am?" and comments:

This is the most resonant question in the New Testament. It is the question, it seems, of a man who wishes to understand but who is also himself disturbed, of a man who finds himself in deeper waters than anticipated, of a man at once baffled and intrigued by a destiny that he may have begun to glimpse but of which he is not fully sure. (p.37)

It may be that Jesus went to his death not knowing quite who he was, regardless of what other men thought. He certainly went to his death with public opinion sharply divided and with his own disciples profoundly confused. There is obviously no consensus?even today?even among Christians?as to what the real message of Jesus was and how it should apply to our lives, if at all... Despite the creedal affirmations of the mainline churches, there is no consensus?not if one looks at what real people actually believe?as to the identity of Jesus. (p.38)

And Cullen Murphy lists the possibilities: 1. He was God and man?the Word made flesh. 2. He partook of the divinity in some lesser sense. 3. "Was he simply another of those charismatic leaders who appear from time to time, destroy some complacency, do some good and bequeath to the human race the example of an exemplary life?" (p.38)

With that introduction, Cullen Murphy begins his survey of what can be known of Jesus in the light of modern historical research. He says of himself: "It would be fair to describe me as a person who wants to believe." (p.38)

He starts with the Gospels and says they have limited value as historical documents and were almost certainly not written by the men whose names are attached to them. There is truth in them, he says, but you have to rely on modern scholarship to dip it out.

Of Jesus' birth, he simply says, "No one really knows when he was born." (p.51) He says we can't rely on the record of Matthew 2 and Luke 2 because they were inserted later to teach certain truths about Jesus. He was probably the son of a carpenter named Joseph." (p.51)

Finally, the Resurrection. He notes first that there were no eyewitnesses. Then he says there is nothing to justify the common idea of the stone rolled away and Jesus, clad in a winding sheet, bursting forth in glory from his grave. He even suggests the early church simply picked out an empty tomb and showed it to visitors as a devotional aid. And that is why the empty-tomb tradition was later incorporated into the Gospel accounts.

What about the appearances of Jesus? They can't be taken at face value. They were more like visions or apparitions. Not, he says, actual sightings.

Only one thing bothers him. All the disciples were profoundly convinced that Jesus who died had come back from the dead. And all save one went to a violent death for that belief. How do you account for that?

He simply has no credible answer. Something happened. Something converted those grieving, guilt-ridden disciples into flaming missionaries ready to die for their faith. What happened between Friday night and Sunday morning?

And when you get right down to it, these are Cullen Murphy's exact words: "Precisely what happened, of course, one can't describe." (p.56)

Haven't we heard that before? "A dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. I was at a loss how to investigate such matters."

It's been 2,000 years but Festus is still with us. Secular man has an answer for everything, but he is still baffled by the empty tomb.