Sunday, January 22, 2012

Acts 1:3--"Many Infallible Proofs"

God has never asked us to believe anything without evidence.  Yes, there is an element of trust, but that does not mean a blind leap in the dark, contrary to evidence.  In Acts 1:3, the historian Luke--and that's what he was, an historian who had done his research (Luke 1:3)--affirmed that Jesus being alive after His death was confirmed by "many infallible proofs."  Two thoughts here.

"Many" proofs.  Not just one.  Jesus did not make just one appearance after His resurrection, He made several, and some of them were prolonged interviews.  Enough to convince the honest heart.  More appearances wouldn't convince those who have no intention of believing, regardless of the evidence.

"Infallible proofs."  This translates one Greek word, a form of tekmerion.  It is found only here in the New Testament, but it common in ancient Greek.  It means something that is "surely and plainly known; an indubitable evidence, a proof.  Aristotle, Herodotus the historian, Galen the medical writer, Aeschylus the poet all use this word in the sense of "proof."  Luke is asserting, in no uncertain terms, that there is no doubt that Jesus was raised from the dead, and the evidence infallibly supports it. 

People do not reject Christianity because there is no evidence in support of it.  People reject Christianity for the simple reason that they do not like what it teaches.

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