Month: April 2014

The Silence About The Empty Tomb–A Few Responses

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 11, 2014

A few days ago Philip Jenkins posed the question: “Why did the New Testament writers, outside of the four gospels, remain silent about the empty tomb of Jesus?” He asked the question seeking an honest answer because…

Suppose I face an atheist critic, who makes the following argument. Yes, he says, early Christians believed that they encountered the risen Jesus, that they had visions, but these visions had no objective reality. They just arose from the hopes and expectations of superstitious disciples. Even then, Christians saw that Resurrection in spiritual, pneumatic, terms. Only after a lengthy period, some forty years in fact, did the church invent stories to give a material, bodily basis to that phenomenon, and the empty tomb was the best known example.

As I have thought some about this question, I have come up with a few ideas as to why the silence.

Could it be that no mention of an empty tomb was due to the early NT writers not needing it as an apologetic defense? Paul, for example, is writing to specific churches and addressing specific needs. Is it possible that objective evidence of the resurrection via the empty tomb was not a concern?

Along the same thought as the above comment, could it be that the concerns of the early church were not of the miraculous resurrection but of the meaning of it? In other words, the issue was not the empty tomb. Everyone knew the tomb was empty. The issue was why? It might be that the issue was not defending the resurrection as much as defending it’s meaning along with the person and work of Christ.

On the other hand, is not the empty tomb implied? If Jesus is alive and the disciples saw him, does this not indicate an empty tomb? Instead of writing the tomb is empty, they wrote, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—(1 John 1:1-2).

What would an empty tomb prove? It could prove that Jesus was alive, but it could also mean that someone stole the body or moved it. It appears that the proof of the resurrection for the disciples and others was not due to the empty tomb but due to seeing Christ alive. It was this personal testimony along with the early believers die-hard devotion to it, even unto death, that seemed to be the proof that was needed.

The question remains however, as to why after forty years did the gospel writers pick up the empty tomb story? I think this question is especially interesting due to my point above that an empty tomb does not necessarily prove Jesus is alive.

Is it possible therefore, that the mention of the empty tomb emerges not because of needing proof that Jesus is alive but because the empty tomb is part of the story of Jesus. When the women and disciples came to the tomb, it was empty so that’s what Matthew Mark, Luke, and John recorded (Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-10).

The gospel writers were not seeking to invent stories to give “a material, bodily basis” for the resurrection. They were recording the life of Jesus of which the empty tomb is a vital part. They weren’t trying to prove the resurrection, but just writing that it did, in fact, occur.

So what are your thoughts? How would you answer Jenkins question?

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Around The Web

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 10, 2014

Where Everyone in the World is Migrating – It’s no secret that the world’s population is on the move, but it’s rare to get a glimpse of where that flow is happening. In a study released in today’s Science, a team of geographers used data snapshots to create a broad analysis of global migrations over 20 years.

What Americans Like Best About Their Favorite Teachers – What attribute do Americans find most compelling in the teacher they have identified as having the greatest impact on their lives?

Knowledge and Zeal – Zeal without knowledge is dangerous because we can be deeply and sincerely passionate and completely misguided because we don’t know the truth. Knowledge without zeal is equally dangerous. We can become scholastic bookworms who seek to know more and more about God without knowing Him. What is needed is both zeal and knowledge.

Millennials and the false “gospel of nice” – One might argue that young evangelicals aren’t fleeing core conservative institutions, but flooding them. Perhaps the doom and gloom story seems familiar – if also wrong – because we’ve heard it so many times before. As young scholar Matthew Lee Anderson puts it, the “change or die narrative is presented as a perennial problem.”

Distracted From Shepherding a Child’s Heart – At some point, putting the phone down becomes a matter of spiritual warfare.

How To Share Your Faith Without Being A Jerk – Why do we sometimes come off like insensitive jerks when telling others about Jesus? I think it comes down to the too-often “forced” nature of our presentations of the gospel. No one needs the way we present the gospel to be a sharp stick that is poked in their eye.

Tim Hawkins on Multitasking – Tim always helps me to laugh at myself!

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To Do Mission is To Eat Lunch

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 9, 2014

Jesus did evangelism and discipleship around a table with some grilled-fish, a loaf of bread, and a pitcher of wine.

–Tim Chester

Jesus came “eating and drinking.” If there was a party, a dinner, or a wedding, and Jesus was invited, he was there. And such behavior by Jesus baffled the Pharisees. Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! (Matthew 11:19).

When Jesus eats with the “tax collectors and sinners,” his message is clear: “Jesus has come for losers, people on the margins, people who’ve made a mess of their lives, people who are ordinary. Jesus has come for you. The only people left out are those who think they don’t need God” (p. 30).

Tim Chester, in his book A Meal With Jesus, makes this point of who Jesus came for over and over again. Jesus has come for the lost, the broken, and the disenfranchised. And we know he has come for such people because he pulls up a chair, sits down with them, and has a meal.

In the culture of Jesus day, you had to be careful of who you ate with. This was especially true for the religious leaders. They would never eat with someone who was considered “unclean.” But Jesus broke the rules. Why? Because those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick (Luke 5:31).

To those who needed grace, Jesus offered grace. To those who needed hope, Jesus offered hope. To those who needed salvation, Jesus offered salvation. And Jesus offered these around the table. And this is why Chester believes that we need to learn the power of sharing a meal with others.

“Jesus didn’t run projects, establish ministries, create programs, or put on events,” writes Chester. “He ate meals.” So to do mission is to “routinely share meals with others” (p. 89). Meals don’t save people, but they do present an incredible opportunity to know the heart of another. And to know the heart of another sometimes presents moments to speak of the gospel of grace.

But not only does eating a meal provide an opportunity to get to know someone, it also communicates belonging. At a meal you sit as equals. Chester mentions a homeless women who told him at a soup kitchen that “I know people do a lot to help me. But what I want is for someone to be my friend”(p. 83). What this woman is saying is, “I really wish someone would eat with me so I could feel human again.”

The bottom line for Chester in his book A Meal With Jesus is that what God has called us to do in regards to making disciples is not complicated. He writes, “If you share a meal three or four times a week and you have passion for Jesus, then you will be building up the Christian community and reaching out in mission” (p. 16).

I encourage you to purchase a copy of A Meal With Jesus. It has some good practical theology in regards to mission and hospitality and will leave you rejoicing that God is preparing a feast for us in Heaven.

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Why The Silence On The Empty Tomb?

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 8, 2014

Philip Jenkins, who is the distinguished professor of history at Baylor University, posted a couple of intriguing questio ns yesterday.

He writes…

Beyond debate, the Christian church was founded on Christ’s Resurrection. What can surprise though is how interpretations of that event differ even within the New Testament itself. As I think over these ideas, I’d like to state an issue, and ask for a response. And I really am asking: this is not a rhetorical question.

Here’s the question. Outside the four gospels, does any part of the New Testament refer to the idea of Christ’s empty tomb?

All the New Testament writings believe in Christ’s survival beyond death, in some kind of Resurrection. To the best of my knowledge, though, other than the gospels, none refers to that empty tomb story. That does not necessarily mean that they do not know the story, or do not believe it, but they do not use it anything like a modern apologist would. Why not?

Many scholars of Acts believe that these sermons faithfully reflect the content of early Christian preaching as it would have existed in the later first century. But if that’s true, it’s curious that Peter or Paul never ask their audiences how they explain the mysterious empty tomb. Even if they were embarrassed about using the evidence of women, why do those early preachers not cite the male apostles who entered the tomb?

Why the silence?

What do you think? Why do the early New Testament writers not refer to the empty tomb? Wouldn’t it be important to mention it in regards to Jesus’ resurrection?

Jenkins asks these questions seeking some honest answers. And since Easter is in less than two weeks, I thought it would be good to share his questions in search of some answers as well.

I’ll post some thoughts on these questions later in the week, but for now, how would you respond?

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15 Ways To Pray

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 7, 2014

1. Pray for God to be exalted in your family, community, and church.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” -Matthew 6:9

2. Pray to comprehend the love of Christ.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14, 18-20)

3. Pray that God will open your eyes to see wonderful things in His Word.

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. (Psalm 119:18)

4. Pray for yourself and other believers to know God more fully.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9-10)

5. Pray for endurance and patience as you faithfully follow the will of God.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. (Colossians 1:11).

6. Pray to not fall into temptation.

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)

7. Pray for greater faith for yourself and other believers.

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

8. Pray for an overflow of love among believers.

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you. (1 Thessalonians 3:12)

9. Pray for unity among believers.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:20-21)

10. Pray for the desire to share the gospel with those who have never heard and for those who need to hear.

I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation. (Romans 15:20)

11. Pray for the salvation of others.

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)

12. Pray for activeness in sharing your faith.

I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. (Philemon 7)

13. Pray for open doors to share the gospel.

At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison. (Colossians 4:3)

14. Pray for boldness to share the gospel.

And pray also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. (Ephesians 6:19)

15. Pray for the rapid spread of the gospel in your community, state, nation and world.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you. (2 Thessalonians 3:1)

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21).

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Our Insufficiency Invites the Sufficiency of God

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 6, 2014

Insightful words from Kent Hughes…

Those whom God uses have always been aware of their insufficiency and weakness, be it Moses or Gideon or Isaiah or Jeremiah or Ezekiel or Paul or Peter or John. And it was their insufficiency that invited the sufficiency of God.

God is not looking for gifted people or people who are self-sufficient. He is looking for inadequate people who will give their weakness to him and open themselves to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the transforming grace of the new covenant as it is ministered by Christ himself.

If God is calling you, do not hide behind your weakness. I don’t know what he might be calling you to do–it might be a worldwide mission, it may be teaching a Sunday School class, it may be ministering to children, it may be reaching out in your neighborhood, it may be stepping up at work. But if he’s calling you, don’t hid behind your weakness–your weakness is the ground for his calling. Follow God, and he will use your weakness as an occasion for his power.

And if you are felling terrifying stirrings within your soul as he nudges you outside your comfort zone, where you will be out of your depth, give your weakness to him and accept his sufficiency.

God uses people who are weak because of their unique ability to depend upon him.

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Mission is NOT for the Professionals

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 4, 2014

We too readily think of mission as extraordinary. Perhaps it’s because we think God moves through the spectacular rather than the witness of people like us. Perhaps it’s because we want to outsource mission to the professionals, so we invite people to guest services where an ‘expert’ can do mission for us. But most people live in the ordinary, and most people will be reached by ordinary people.

-Tim Chester in A Meal With Jesus

The more I read this quote from Tim Chester, the more I like it. The reason is because I think we forget that making disciples begins with our everyday ordinary lives doing everyday ordinary activities alongside those God has placed in our path.

Paul wrote that we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us (2 Corinthians 4:7). You can’t get any more ordinary than a “jar of clay.” There is nothing special about it. When it breaks, you trash it and get a new one.

The treasure inside however, is priceless. It’s the gospel. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).

How crazy to think that this glorious gospel is contained in an ordinary everyday vessel. But it is. And the reason, according to Paul, is so that God will get the glory. It’s not in our power to save anyone. It all belongs to God. And that’s quite obvious as God uses ordinary people.

John Piper gives some interesting insights into 2 Corinthians 4:7. He writes…

If you feel average or less than average in your sense of fitness to tell the gospel, you are the person God is looking for–a clay pot, who simply shares the treasure of the gospel, not the glitzy intellect, not the glitzy eloquence, not the glitzy beauty or strength or cultural cleverness. God will do his work through the gospel, the surpassing power will belong to him and not to us.

All this is not to say that we should not be trained and equipped in the mission of making disciples. In fact, I think what has been written above argues the opposite. If we understand how powerful and glorious this gospel treasure is, should we not want to become better at making it known to those around us? Should we not desire to learn how to “simply” communicate this treasure as we go about our normal ordinary days?

What I believe Tim Chester has challenged me to think about is how the power of God can be manifested in the gospel as you sit and talk about it with a friend over a cup of coffee. Or how your kindness to a neighbor leads to a conversation about the gospel while pulling weeds in your front yard.

It’s just normal everyday ordinary conversations by normal ordinary folk that God uses to show the greatness of who He is and what He has done. So if you are thinking that you might just be too average to be used by God, think again. You are just the person God is looking for to show the treasure of the gospel.

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Around The Web

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 3, 2014

How To Memorize Entire Books of The Bible – There’s no magic to memorizing long passages of Scripture. It takes hard work, but anyone can do it.

The Church Afraid of Leadership – We find leadership throughout the Scriptures. You can’t miss it.

8 Causes of Spiritual Depression – Most of us go through real times of spiritual melancholy in the Christian life. They can be brief or entire seasons in which, as Gisbertus Voeitus said, a person “fails to feel his or her heart’s delight in God and divine things.”

How Christians Are Responding to the Noah Movie – It’s a movie that’s made waves among evangelicals (pun intended), but let’s be honest: we’re not all in the same boat here. In fact, I struggle to remember any film that has drawn so much praise and criticism from churchgoing Christians.

7 Things a Good Dad Says – I have found myself thinking back to the many models of fatherhood I have seen and admired through the years. What made these fathers admirable? What set them apart? What was it that they said to their children? From these models I have drawn seven things a good father says.

Ways to Restore Zeal When Sharing Your Faith – Hundreds of Christians are martyred every day for their faith. Yet, today, most Christians in the western church will be silent, afraid, or unmoved by the lostness around them.

How Modern Evangelism Creates Consumers

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