For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3–4, NIV 1984).
My Musings – “I want you (I want you). I need you (I need you). But there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna love you. Now don’t be sad (don’t be sad, ’cause). ‘Cause two out of three ain’t bad.” (Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad, Meat Loaf). Kind of ridiculous lyrics when you think about it. Who would accept two out of three in a circumstance such as this? That last one of the three is kind of important, don’t you think?
There are many who say, “I believe He lived. I believe He died. But I don’t believe that He rose from the dead.” But hey, two out of three ain’t bad. Right? Wrong! That is the one thing we must believe, or the other two mean nothing. A trapeze artist working without a net, who misses connecting with their partner by a fraction of an inch would not get credit for being close. For it is a case where being close does not count. As the saying goes, it might as well be a mile. Just missing it by “that much” is still a miss. A big miss. There is no net.
One has to get three out of three. The connection must be made. They already believe He lived and died. That’s close, but not good enough. So, how can people close the gap and connect with a 3 point 0? First, note the phrase, “according to the Scriptures,” in the passage above. Everything about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection was laid out in quite specific detail hundreds, even thousands, of years before any of them happened. For, some, this will be enough to make the connection. To believe all three. Others need more. Which they can get from the rest of the text. “And that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” (1 Corinthians 15:5–8, NIV 1984). Pretty compelling testimony in and of itself. But when combined with “according to the Scriptures,” it should be incontrovertible.
My Advice – But there will still be some who will say, “But there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna [believe that].” The problem? There ain’t no other way than that. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV 1984). He would not be “the life” if He stayed dead. So, to those saying “there ain’t no way,” I would say, why do you find it so incredible that God could raise someone from the dead? The One who created life? There ain’t no way you should not believe that.
The Brew Is A Musing 