The English author Henry Fielding once remarked that the "greatest things in the world are subject to the greatest abuse; and religion is no exception to the instance."
We've all seen news headlines of those who profess to follow God are caught taking people's well intended money and using it to finance their own luxurious lifestyle. We've seen preachers that appear more consumed with their own personal glory than for God's. Jesus said that the Pharisees of his day were guilty of seeking their own glory. They loved for men to call them "Rabbi." They loved having the best seats in the house at weddings and other events. Others throughout history have claimed to be prophets or to have had a special connection to God and used their power and influence to get people to do what they wanted. There's nothing new about "God" being used for financial gain, personal glory and social coercion.
Some skeptics of Christianity have claimed that the disciples and gospel writers simply made it all up. Walking on water, raising the dead, claims of diety, the resurrection--all just a hoax. If this indeed was the case, if Jesus was not really the messiah, if Jesus never performed miracles, if Jesus never raised the dead and himself conquered death, then why did the disciples make up a new religion? What did they gain from such a hoax?
After all, had the disciples and gospel writers benefitted financially from fabricating a new religion, we could see why perhaps they chose to do so. If they were held in high esteem, treated with great honor and able to use their political power to control those around them, we would have reason to be suspicious of their radical claims about Jesus.
Well, you can see where we're going with this. During the time of Christ, his followers gained nothing from a worldly perspective for what they claimed--in fact, just the opposite. Their lives were put in jeopardy. They were persecuted and despised. They gained nothing financially and probably were worse off than what they were before they met Christ (especially Matthew the tax collector). They were beaten, chained and killed for their beliefs. They even went beyond their previously established beliefs--beliefs that not only were sufficient to secure their eternal destiny, but beliefs, if altered, could mean stoning in the present life and hell/separation from God in the next. Why change or alter your faith if it's already working for you? Why subject yourself to the cultural backlash and theological consequences?
The best explanation seems to be that they must have truly seen something amazing.
That is the most logical reason to account for thousands of Jews in Jesus' time deciding to follow and worship him as the Messiah. They must have seen him feed thousands from a single boy's lunch. They must have seen him tell a storm to "stop". They must have seen him beaten and pierced to death, buried, and then...
Considering what the lives of the earliest followers of Christ were like, it's hard to imagine any other reason to account for their claims other than the fact that what they saw was true.
Pastor Adam Barton
Akron, Ohio
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