A wise mind would go find some wisdom over at Proverbial Thought!
To keep up to date, do not forget to go back and read the first two Core Facts that show why Christianity is based on truth and reason: Jesus’ death on the cross and the despair of the Disciples. I give my usual reminder that this is not meant to be an exhaustive study of the arguments, but these posts are primers to get you thinking. If you are interested in a more in-depth look at these points, look up my wonderful youth pastor, Jesse Bollinger, at Fervent Youth.
Now for the third of The Four Core Facts:
The Change in the Disciples’ Willingness to Die
I feel I must first verify for everyone that there were indeed more than 11 or 12 Disciples as evidenced by Jesus appointing 72 to go on a short-term mission (Luke 10) and 120 meeting in “the upper room” between Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost (Acts 1:15). You see, the Twelve Disciples were Jesus’ inner circle, His closest friends entrusted with leading the fledgling Church after His ascension.
And now, we should start with the obvious: Why were the Disciples willing to die?
They firmly believed they had seen the Risen Lord.
Jesus was not just another man. He made the impossible claim that He is God (John 10:30). Jesus backed up this claim through various miracles …
… the ultimate miracle being that He was beaten, crucified, died, and buried, and rose back to life.
The Disciples were convinced they saw Jesus risen from the dead, and that gave them the confidence they needed to willingly face death for the sake of the Gospel.
This change is more than just a willingness to die. This needs to be understood.
People of many beliefs are willing to die for what they believe. That cannot be denied. September 11, 2001 is enough evidence for Americans, and many nations around the world see evidence of this deadly devotion many times a year if not every day.
There are a couple of differences with they young Church. The Disciples had a passion to share the news that Jesus had risen from the dead. They taught a radical message that required change in all who believe.
Just like the Western world today, people in the Roman Empire had an understanding that you could believe anything you wanted, just do not try to tell anyone they are believing wrongly. If you did, you were clearly wrong and must be stopped.
The Disciples started a new revolution of love for all people, no matter how old or young, rich or poor, color, nationality, or societal stance. But it was also a revolution of needing to change yourself: your habits, your thoughts, and especially your beliefs; in other words, that everyone was essentially wrong.
They knew the consequences: Deny your teachings or risk imprisonment, torture, and even death.
This means the Disciples went from a group of cowards who ran away from punishment to not shying away from the threat of suffering and death.
As I said two weeks ago in my fourth point, it would have been easy to stop the early Church from growing beyond several dozen or several thousand people.
If the Disciples had stolen Jesus’ body, most if not all of them would have cracked under torture and the threat of death and admitted to the removal of the body (which Jews would not do, because touching a dead body made you ceremonially unclean … very non-kosher).
If the Disciples had suffered from mass hallucination, all the authorities would have had to do is open the tomb and show them the body and snap them back to reality … or at least stop new converts rather handily.
If the Jewish and/or Roman authorities had stolen the body … THEY COULD HAVE PRODUCED THE BODY!
Did you notice a trend?
The Disciples becoming so bold in the face of the most powerful forces in the known world is not a trivial matter.
The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth can not be credibly denied.
The Disciples despairing after Jesus was led away is and understandable truth.
The change in the Disciples to endure pain and death for a belief that Jesus was who He said He was and had risen from the dead only helps to prove that Jesus really is the risen Son of God.
It also helps explain the fourth of the Four Core Facts: The Conversion of Saul/Paul
Are there any other thoughts? Is there anything to add?