Series Introduction

This Easter season, we are taking the opportunity to explore the significance of Jesus’ resurrection with excerpts from the writing of Dr Nick Hawkes. He asks, “Is the resurrection of Jesus a reality or is it just a myth — something that has meaning only because we give it meaning? It’s worth giving the subject some serious thought.

“The American Episcopalian minister, John E. Large, wrote: ‘The entire character of a (person’s) whole life depends on whether he (or she) answers “Yes” or “No” to the historic fact of the Resurrection’. That’s a bold statement. Whether or not you believe Rev. Large, it highlights the fact that how you respond to the resurrection is a key life decision.”

Reflection: Can we trust the Bible?

We are using this season of Easter to explore the significance of Jesus – in particular, his resurrection – as recorded in Scripture. With this kind of exploration, I’ve discovered that it is not uncommon to be asked the question: “If the Bible is the witness we appeal to when uncovering the Jesus story, how can we be sure that the Bible written all those hundreds of years ago is the same Bible we read today?”

In the early decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the story of Jesus was told by word of mouth, notably by Jesus’ apostles and by Paul. However, as time went on, the apostles knew that their witness to Jesus would end when they died. It therefore became important to write down an orderly account of Jesus’ life.

The resurrection of Jesus is recorded in the New Testament, the Scripture that was written after Jesus came to live amongst us. These writings were written 20 to 80 years after Jesus died. In historical terms, this is very soon after the event.

The Gospel of Mark was the first Gospel to be written (c. 60AD), followed by Matthew and Luke (c. 80AD), both of whom borrowed some of their material from Mark. John’s Gospel was probably written about 90-100AD. Each of the four Gospels told the story of Jesus to a different audience. Each therefore has a slightly different emphasis and perspective. (Incidentally, it is these very differences that lend authenticity. Fictitious accounts would not have them.)

But the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life were not the first books of the New Testament written. The first were the earliest letters of the apostle Paul. His letters were copied and circulated amongst the early church and were very quickly held in high esteem. The apostle Peter even referred to them as “Scripture” in his second epistle (2 Peter 3:16).

Paul’s letters display a deep understanding of the significance of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. At one point, he quotes what most theologians recognise as an early creedal statement that summarises Jesus’ ministry (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). Paul makes the claim that he ‘received’ his revelation directly from Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12). This may have been by direct revelation, but it may also mean that he received the words of Jesus from Jesus’ disciples. He speaks of ‘receiving’ this truth and of passing it on (1 Corinthians 11:23). Paul was at pains to point out that his teaching did not differ from that of the apostles (Galatians 2:6). He even travelled to Jerusalem twice and stayed with some of the apostles to make sure of it (Galatians 1:18; 2:14).

So, when we read the biblical accounts of Jesus and his ministry, we can be very sure that we are looking at something that has both integrity and authority.

Prayer:

Thank you for your Word, the Bible. Thank you that through it, we can know Jesus. Thank you that we can be sure that what we read in the Bible has both integrity and authority.

*Prayers for this series have been written based on Nick Hawkes’ reflections.