REMEMBERING THEIR SACRIFICE

One of the most iconic memorials in Washington D.C. is the Marine Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial. The memorial pictures the five Marines who placed the American flag atop Mount Surabachi at the Battle of Iwo Jima. James Bradley, in his book, Flags of Our Fathers, tells the moving story of each of the five men who were on the mount that day, February 23, 1945. One of those men was his father, John “Doc” Bradley. Though he won the Navy Cross for his heroism, John Bradley to his dying day would tell his children, “I was no hero. The real heroes died fighting the battle.” All of the war memorials in Washington D.C. are about that truth.

May is a month in which we remember the heroes, living and dead, who died to preserve the liberties we so enjoy in our country. Jesus once said, “Greater love has no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.” True heroism does that…and much more. The men and women we will remember this month not only gave their lives for friends but in a much broader sense, gave their lives for people they did not know; they gave their lives to preserve a nation of friendships that can truly be free and unhindered by race, color, religion, or economic and societal barriers.

As you and I pause to remember the sacred nature of Memorial Day, may we give thanks to the friend of sinners, Jesus Christ, who gave his life that we might become his friend forever. Then let us pause to give thanks for those brave and selfless men and women who died to give us the freedoms that make it possible for us to discover the only peace that lasts. May they rest in peace and may we rest in His peace. Pastor Mike

 1.       What facts about the disciples’ lives after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension argue for the truthfulness of the record concerning Christ’s life?

2.       How is the martyrdom of the apostles different from the martyrdom of Muslims and other religious fanatics and their followers?

3.       Characterize the change that took place in the life of Saul of Tarsus following his Damascus Road encounter with the risen Christ.

4.       What were the five Jewish social structures that were changed by the first Jewish followers of Jesus?  Which one impresses you the most and why?

5.       What is the background of baptism?  How is Christian baptism different from what Judaism had practiced?

6.       How would you define the impact that Christianity has had upon history?

7.       What, to you, is the most compelling circumstantial evidence for the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

8.       What has been the most significant truth that you have learned in this Case For Christ series?

 1.       Compare Mark 6:3; John 7:5; and Acts 1:12-14.  What do these verses suggest about the family of Jesus having seen the resurrected Jesus?

2.       Discuss the matter of the “five hundred” witnesses that Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 15:6.  Who were they and why haven’t we heard more about them?  (pp. 232-233)

3.       Of the many women that Pastor Mike described as having seen the resurrected Christ, which one did you find the most interesting and why?

4.       What would you say to someone who alleges that the resurrection was dreamed up sometime in the second century and added to the life of Jesus?  (pp. 234-235)

5.       How would you answer someone who said that what people saw was an hallucination and not a resurrected Jesus?  (pp. 238-240)

6.       How does the change in people who have met Christ down through the centuries, validate for you that the resurrection is true? (pp. 255-256)

 1.       What was the common practice in Jesus’ day after a criminal died upon the cross?  How was it different for Jesus?  (pp. 208-210)

2.       Describe the tomb in which Jesus was placed and how it was secured.  How does this argue against Jesus body being stolen?  (pp. 211-212)

3.       What evidence suggests that guards were present at the tomb?  Do you think they were Roman or Jewish?  Why or why not?  (pp. 212-213)

4.       Compare the statements made by Michael Martin on p. 214 and Michael Grant on p. 215.  What is the problem with Martin’s position and how does Grant shed light on the seeming inconsistency in the gospel accounts of the resurrection and its witnesses?  (pp. 214-215)

5.       Show how some of the seeming inconsistencies in the gospel accounts of the resurrection can be harmonized.  (pp. 216-217)

6.       How does the social standing of women in the first century argue for the genuineness of the resurrection account?  (pp. 217-218)

1.       Explain what is meant by the “Swoon Theory” and the “Conspiracy Theory” as they relate to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  (p. 192)
2.       Describe the events leading up to the actual crucifixion.  How are these significant in arguing against some kind of “swoon theory?”  (pp. 195-196)
3.       Jesus is said to have sweated great drops of blood in Gethsemane.  Is there a medical explanation for this?  What impact might this have had on his beating and crucifixion?  (pp. 194-195)
4.       What happens when someone is crucified?  Where did the word “excruciating” originate?  (pp. 196-198)

5.       What most likely was the cause of death for Jesus?  (pp. 198-199)

6.       What is wrong with the suggestion made by some critics that Jesus was not really dead and that the Romans simply made a mistake in determining that he was dead?  (pp. 201-202)

7.       Comment on the idea that Jesus was revived in the cool of the tomb and then appeared to the disciples.  What effect would this have had upon them?  Would they have believed that he was resurrected?  (pp. 201-202)

 1.       Having read Louis Lapides’ testimony, what did you find the most interesting and why?  From his story, what advice could you give a Jewish friend who is searching for spiritual answers to life?

2.       How likely is it that by mere coincidence Jesus fulfilled all of the OT prophecies about the Messiah?  What is the significance of Acts 3:18?  (pp. 182-183)

3.       Some people suggest that the gospel writers fabricated their accounts of Jesus’ life so as to fit with the OT prophecies.  What would you say in response to that idea?  (pp. 183-184)

4.       Some critics assert that Jesus himself deliberately maneuvered his life so as to fulfill the OT prophecies. Then he deliberately got himself crucified so as to become a martyr. How do you respond to this idea?  What is the significances of Daniel’s prophecy about the 70 weeks (Dan 9:24-27) in terms of Jesus’ birth and crucifixion?   (pp. 184-185)

5.       Three men, Stan Telchin, Jack Steinberg, and Peter Greenspan, are mentioned at the end of the chapter. What is their story and how are their lives significant? What did you learn from their lives about witnessing to a Jewish person?    (pp. 185-186)

6.       Does the average Jewish person know much about the prophecies of Messiah? How can this be important in witnessing to a Jewish person? What, to you, is one of the most significant OT prophecies about the Messiah?

1.       What does the word “incarnation” mean?  What does it mean in relationship to Jesus’ deity and humanity?  (pp.158-160)

2.       Explain the meaning of the words “begotten” and “first-born” as they relate to Jesus’ identity.  Do they suggest that he was not eternal?  (pp. 161-162)

3.       In Mark 10:17,18 a man calls Jesus, “Good Teacher” and Jesus tells him that “only God is good.”  What did Jesus mean and why did he say this if he, himself, was God?  (p. 162)

4.       What is meant by “omniscience”?  In Matthew 24:36 Jesus says he does not know the hour of his return.  Is this a contradiction? Explain how Jesus can make this statement and yet still be God.

5.       What is meant by “omnipresence”?  What does Matthew 28:20 and 18:20 say about Jesus in relationship to omnipresence?  What about John 11:21?  How would you reconcile your answer with this attribute of God?

6.    What is meant by the word “omnipotence”?  Does Jesus claim omnipotence in Matthew 28:18? Read Matthew 13:53-58. Does this imply that Jesus was not omnipotent? How might what Jesus says to Peter in Matthew 26:53,54 explain this seeming inconsistency?

STUDY QUESTIONS FOR THE CASE FOR CHRIST
Chapter 8

    The veracity of a witness’ statement hinges on the state of mind of the witness.  Some critics will allow that Jesus, in some sense, did claim to be God.  But they argue that this simply demonstrates that Jesus was either deluded or crazy.

1.       How can we show that Jesus’ claim of deity is different from the mentally deranged individual
who believes that he is God?  (pp. 145-147)

2.       How would you answer people who say that Jesus was demon-possessed?  (p. 148)

3.       What about the allegations that Jesus’ healings weren’t really miracles but simply healings of psychosomatic illnesses through Jesus’ power of suggestion?  How would you respond to this idea?  (pp. 148-149)

4.       Some critics say that Jesus was a master hypnotist.  For instance, he did not really change the water into wine but simply induced people through hypnosis to believe it was wine.  How do you answer this theory?  (pp. 149-151)

5.       What about Jesus casting out demons? Could some of that have been nothing more than mental illnesses? Were some people healed of demons simply because they thought they had a demon and when Jesus told the demon to be gone, they simply believed they no longer had a demon?  Discuss this allegation and give some biblical examples that show that something more than just a mistake belief about being possessed was truly present.  (pp. 152-153)

It is hard to believe that Easter is soon to be upon us. This year it comes early—March 31. It seems only weeks ago that we were observing the inauguration of our President and the celebration of Presidents Day. Of course, with these observances came the usual spate of editorials comparing Presidents and ranking their greatness. Abraham Lincoln gets my vote. One of the stories I most appreciate about our sixteenth President involved his attendance at the Wednesday night services of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. Lincoln enjoyed listening to Pastor Phineas Gurley’s sermons and usually sat in the Pastor’s Study with the door open so that he could hear the sermon without causing a distraction in the service.

On one such night, he was walking back to the White House after the service when an aide, who had accompanied him, asked what the President thought of the sermon. Lincoln replied that he thought it logical, eloquent, and powerfully delivered; but he also felt it failed on a most crucial element:

Dr. Gurley did not call us to do something great.” Lincoln, lawyer that he was, was used to arguing his case and then passionately calling his jury to make a verdict.

In a matter of weeks Easter (March 31^st ) will be upon us. It will be day of celebration but also a day that calls each of us to do something great—to make verdicts that are life changing. First, it calls us to renew our verdict that, “Indeed, He is risen” and, more importantly, that He continues to reign in our lives. It demands our decision to, as Paul put it in Romans 10:9, “Confess with our mouths, Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead.” “Acts 4:19-20.         cont pg 3

The second verdict we must render is that which Peter and John stated as they stood before the Sanhedrin, threatened with torture and death:

“Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.  For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:19-20

That is the greatest verdict of Easter—not simply that Jesus rose and the tomb was empty, but that we will not remain silent. Easter is not so much a holiday as it is an election day—a day in which we elect within the depths of our hearts to speak of the greatest victory ever forged in history—the day that God elected to die for our sins and rise again, thus opening the door to His royal residence. Jesus calls us to open the door of our hearts to His knocking hand. Having done that, He bids us now to enter the doors of His kingdom. Unlike the secure and guarded gates of the Presidential residence, He who is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and President of Presidents, bids us, in the name of King Jesus, “Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt 25:23).

This Easter, if you haven’t done so already, inaugurate Christ as Lord in your life and then. “Be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you for the reason for the hope you have (I Pet 3:15). Pastor Mike

 1.       Read Matthew 7:28,29.  What does this say about Jesus and how people saw him?

2.       Read Matthew 19:27,28.  Comment on how Jesus viewed himself in relationship to the disciples.

How did he view the disciples in relationship to Israel?  What does this say about his identity?

3.       In light of the many Levitical laws on what Jewish people could and could not eat, what does Jesus say in Mark 7:17-23?  Why is this significant in terms of how he viewed himself?

4.       The Romans placed a sign over his cross that read, “This is the King of the Jews.”  Why did they do this?  What was Jesus role in causing them to put such a sign upon his cross?

5.       List and comment on statements and actions in Jesus’ life and ministry that show he was aware of his deity. Read through the chapter and discuss as many as possible. Which statement seems most important to you in identifying Jesus as God?

6.       Jesus used the term, “Abba” when referring to God.  What does this say about how he viewed his relationship with the Father?