30 Days - an Overview of the Bible in Just Thirty DaysНамуна

The Most Important Question in the World

What’s the most important question in the world? Is it 'Where did the earth come from?' Or, 'What happens when we die?' Or is it as simple as 'What should I have for lunch?'

On a radio show back in the 50s, C. E. M. Joad, a Professor of Philosophy was asked: 'If you could meet any person from the past and ask just one question, who would you meet and what would you ask?' He answered: ‘I would meet Jesus Christ and ask him the most important question in all the world – did you or did you not rise from the dead?’

Matthew 28:1 - 28:10

C.E.M. Joad was right, the most important question in all the world is whether Jesus rose from the dead or not. Either Jesus is alive now and we can know him, or he is not and we cannot. So, what is the evidence that Jesus is alive?

First, Jesus was absent from the tomb.

When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb they found the tombstone rolled away. They were told to go and ‘see the place where he lay’ so that they could witness the fact that he was no longer there.

I’d also add that it’s highly significant that the first witnesses of the resurrection recorded in all the accounts were women. Women’s testimonies at that time were widely seen as unreliable, and not even admissible in most Jewish courts. And yet in appearing first to them, Jesus affirms the importance and role of women in his new community. And it gives the story the unmistakable ring of truth as an eyewitness account, because there would have been no benefit for the early church to have invented this detail of the story.

The second piece of evidence is the presence of Jesus with the disciples.

These women actually saw Jesus. They met him and he spoke to them. They ‘clasped his feet and worshipped him’.Later on, many others saw Jesus. In fact, more than 500 people saw him on 11 different occasions over a period of six weeks.

The third piece of evidence is the birth and growth of the Christian church.

These women were utterly changed. They must have been devastated by Jesus’ death, but here they were ‘filled with joy’, and they rushed off to spread the good news. Nothing other than the physical resurrection of Jesus can explain the utter transformation of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, and then of the disciples, which resulted in the explosive growth of the church.

The final piece of evidence is the experience of Christians down the ages.

These two women were the first to experience an encounter with the risen Jesus Christ and since that day countless millions of Christians have had the same experience. It has been said, ‘A Christian believes in Jesus not because he finds him by laboratory methods, but by actual contact with him. A Christian is something like the electric eel, which knows more about electricity than all the electrical engineers put together.’

It was on the basis of all this evidence that Professor Joad came to faith in Jesus Christ in the last years of his life. His final book, in which he told of his new found faith, was called Recovery of Belief.

The implications of the resurrection are far-reaching. Think about these three extraordinary facts:

1. You can be confident about your past.

God raised Jesus from the dead. You can therefore be confident that the cross was effective and forgiveness is possible.

2. You can be confident about your future

By his death and resurrection, Jesus defeated sin, evil and death. This means you can be forgiven, set free from guilt, anger, shame, addictions. You can be confident of the ultimate triumph of good over evil and you need not fear the future because death itself has been defeated.

3. You can be confident about your present.

You can be confident that Jesus is alive today and that he is with you right now. You can hear Jesus speak to you, primarily through the Bible, and you can speak to him as you pray.

Thank God now for the life that the resurrection has made possible.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for the resurrection of Jesus. Thank you that, through Jesus, it is possible to have the assurance of forgiveness, a secure future and to experience the presence of Jesus with me each day.

References

© Nicky Gumbel, 2024

This reading plan is adapted from the book 30 Days by Nicky Gumbel. It is published by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK, and by HarperCollins Christian Publishing in the USA.