In today’s Gospel we have another “head slapping” moment for Jesus. We have seen OMG responses from Jesus such as when the Apostles and Jesus were crossing a lake and Jesus told them to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees. Jesus was referring to be on guard against the teachings of the Pharisees. The Apostles? They thought they were being scolded because they had forgotten to bring bread.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus admonishes the Pharisees for their obsession with cleansing the cups with ritual washing. He tells them that only what comes out of a person defiles them…not what goes into the person. The Apostles later asked Jesus what he meant by this. Jesus’ response? Are you so dull that you do not understand? Wow.
And when Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God, they still thought that He meant an earthly kingdom and James and John wanted to be in on the ground floor. They had trouble understanding when Jesus said he was going to the Father or that He was going to rise from the dead.
To be fair, we have over 2,000 years of revelation of Jesus to fall back on. And still many don’t believe or buy into the story of Jesus’ teachings, miracles, death, resurrection and ascension. So, how can we fault the Apostles? But…still. Come on. Phillip in today’s Gospel seems to not have a clue. After 3 years of being around Jesus, he still wants Jesus to show him the Father when Jesus clearly is stating that he and the Father are one and anyone who has seen Him has seen the Father. Now, firmly place the palm of your hand against your forehead in a quick, slapping manner. An exasperated Oy Vey would also be appropriate.
Jesus’ response? If you do not believe my words, then at least believe my works. All the miracles He performed while walking the earth. But then again, I am guessing many, like today, did not believe He really accomplished these miracles. The greatest miracle worked by the Lord, of course, is the resurrection. Without this feat, our faith is empty. Without the resurrection we would have just another Roman execution. So how can we, like the apostles, “see” the Father through the Son’s resurrection? There are a few realities that point to the resurrection as an historical event and an event of our faith.
Early prophesies. I would encourage you to read Isaiah Chapter 53, The Suffering Servant. But here are verses which talk about the disposition of that servant after he has suffered for the sins of the people.
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life[d] and be satisfied[e];
by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
The Jewish historian, Josephus , talks about Jesus in his work, Antiquities of the Jews, which was written in the late first century. In it Josephus discusses the execution of Jesus by Pilate and also talks about the life of John the Baptist. Jesus is also mentioned in the Jewish, Talmud, which is a compilation of rabbinic commentaries on the Torah.
There are over 5800 Greek manuscripts of parts of or complete works of the New Testament, 10,000 in Latin and another 9800 from various other languages. By far the most original manuscripts of ancient works.
The accounts of the resurrection are not flattering for the disciples. They mention his followers leaving Jesus’ side when He needed them most. Them not believing the early accounts of the resurrection when told of the event by witnesses and the first witnesses of the resurrection were women (the accounts of women were not given much credence in Jewish culture. Why would the authors of the resurrection accounts paint themselves in such a bad light if the stories were not accurate?
No alternate account or dispute of why the tomb was empty or countering the testimony of hundreds of witnesses of Jesus after the resurrection. It would be like a false account of the Vietnam War not being disputed if it were written today.
And the best testimony to the resurrection were the Apostles themselves. This group of men were hardly stoic men of valor before encountering the risen Jesus. But afterwards? They could not be stopped shouting in the streets and the synagogues about Jesus the Messiah. All this knowing that they would likely suffer martyrdom as a consequence of their actions, What would cause you to stare death in the face? A lie? A made of story of one who defeats the grave? I know I would not hold onto to a falsehood to the point of giving up my life.
And why would Paul go from Saul, a tyrannical slayer of early Christians to Paul, arguably the greatest apostle of them all. Sacrificing everything, and suffering greratly, to spread the message of Christ to the Gentiles.
So, you decide. If you don’t believe His words, believe His works. His curing the blind and the lame. Healing lepers. Raising Lazarus from the dead. And defeating death with His own resurrection, I close with these words from Rex Ruis who wrote an article on the relationship of faith and belief:
Faith is of the heart and faith comes from God. The Bible says that faith comes from God (Romans 10:17). It comes when the word on a certain subject comes alive in our heart. Now, if it comes, then there must be a time before it comes. One moment one does not have faith and the next moment they do have faith. You have faith or you don’t; it’s that simple. When one has received faith, James 2:22 says that, they must act on that faith by believing, if not it will become nonproductive. Believing requires faith, and faith requires the action of believing.
