For part one of this post, click here.
In the previous part of this series, we examined how the prophets of the Old Testament are an example to us of faith and caring about God’s Word. Peter writes that they “inquired and searched carefully” concerning this salvation (cf. 1 Peter 1:10). But these historical men and women were not the only ones concerned with this salvation.
And yet Paul writes of the Apostles the following:
“For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.” (1 Corinthians 4:9 NKJV)
Ask yourself this: Would you die for something that wasn’t real? Maybe, if you were mentally ill. Would you and a few friends die for a cause that didn’t matter? Possibly, but the likelihood of it all being a delusion decreases as the number of people involved increases. What if there were a few hundred people who saw what you saw (see 1 Corinthians 15:1-6)? Would it matter that much to you, then?
Even Peter was told that he eventually would die because of his stand for Christ and preaching the Gospel (cf. John 21:18-19). Would such a man be willing to live that life, and pay such a price, only for a delusion? No.
History and “tradition” speak of many early Christians who suffered a similar fate. Reading through the classic Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, one finds that Paul was likely beheaded, Mark was dragged to death, Luke was hanged, Philip was scourged and crucified. The Bible tells us of a few as well. Stephen was stoned while preaching (Acts 7), James, brother of John, was killed by Herod (Acts 12:1-2). Mass hallucination? Not possible.
It must have been real. It must have been real enough that they were willing to pay the ultimate price on this earth. If it is real (and it is), it’s reality demands a response from everyone (Acts 17:30).
If it mattered that much to them, why can’t it matter that much to you and me?
~Daniel Howell
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