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It is good to remember those that died for us

Regular Network Norwich & Norfolk columnist James Knight remembers the heroes who have given their lives in conflict.

Because Christ was resurrected and defeated death others were not afraid to face it.

Not only were many of them eyewitnesses to the resurrection, they were given special privileges in martyrdom and taught by Jesus not to deny Him, as they were sacrificed and put to death as criminals (Philippians 2:17). They made sacrifices of declaration, to acknowledge the honour of God, and His truth and cause. They were positive of the historical fact of the resurrection of Christ, and that this demonstrated without a doubt that Jesus was the Son of God and the one and only saviour of the world (2 Corinthians 4:5).      

As we remember those who gave their lives on their missions to disseminate the good news of salvation, we must remind ourselves that any who deny that the resurrection is a historical fact and suggest that it is a theological myth are denying the sacrifices that the early Christians made for them – sacrifices that caused them pain, torture, dispossession, incarceration, and in many cases, death.  

The information propagated by the early church was always centred on the historical fact of the resurrection, and sometimes it was very costly. And it is with the words and actions of Christ that we see why these early Christians were willing to be slaves to His glory – they were following His example – hoping that their oppressors, tormentors and killers would see the Christ that was in them. For that alone they are worthy of our praise, reverence, respect and, most importantly, our sincere thanks. As we look back at the historical circumstances, we see that they were more than willing to face a multitude of worldly dangers, not allowing the dust to settle. They did not start to disseminate the information twenty or thirty years after the events, it was a message proclaimed immediately beginning with the morning of the third day. It was a message based upon incontrovertible evidence(Acts 10:39-41 and Acts 13:29-39). The message is conveyed similarly in Acts 1:1-3, Acts 17:30-31 and Acts 26:22-23. 

Of course, as St Paul says, if Christ had never risen from the dead their efforts would have been futile. The resurrection is the key that links them to us and us to them – the risen Christ unites all who are in Him. From the beginning there have been those who have rejected the resurrection as a myth, hoax, a lie or fiction. Sceptics have propounded a number of theories in an attempt to disprove the resurrection, but all of these have been strongly and logically discredited by one historical scholar after another. Jesus confirmed His claims to be God by rising from the dead. He openly pronounced that as God He had authority over life and death. He states in John 11:25:

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and he who believes in me will never die".  

Many sceptics have presented alternative theories to the resurrection, and some of the most famous include: the theory that the disciples hallucinated the resurrection, or the disciples stole the body, or the disciples went to the wrong tomb, or Jesus did not die but went unconscious on the cross. Yet clearly these arguments have been shown to be severely flawed and could not account for all the facts that surround the events of the resurrection. The New Testament accounts of the resurrection were being circulated within the lifetimes of men and women alive at the time of the resurrection, and those people certainly could have confirmed or denied the accuracy of such accounts. If Jesus had not really risen from the dead, they could have easily provided evidence to prove it. The disciples had every possible motive to meticulously analyse the grounds of their faith and the evidences of the sublime facts and truths that they asserted. 

Christ's enemies and detractors were silent, and put forward no contrary events, which is substantiated by the fact that there is absolutely no alternative argument or evidence supporting any propounded theory that the resurrection was a hoax. Also, look at the personal appearances of Christ following His resurrection; they are another overwhelming historical attestation. The women and the disciples saw, heard, and even touched Him; in fact, five hundred saw Him at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6-8).

There were not only eyewitnesses to the events, but also eyewitnesses to the actual writing of the events (1 John 1:1-3). The transformation of the disciples in correlation with the silence of the Jews and their inability to produce the body of Christ or any evidence to the contrary creates a firm argument in favour of the truth of the resurrection. St Peter preached the doctrine of the resurrection only fifty days after Christ’s death and resurrection, and thousands gathered to hear him. But the important point is he was preaching to people who had access to the tomb. The resurrection was not a new fact, and he was apprising them of its meaning from the Old Testament Scriptures (Psalm 16:8-11). No one discredited him, and the Jews were silent. It was a silence as significant as the valiance of the speech of the disciples. Three thousand people who were presented with the facts about the resurrection of Christ believed and were saved. (Acts 2:41, Acts 4:2-14). The resurrection is the basis of our sanctification (Romans 6). By being identified with Christ, we are able to subjugate sin and death, just as Christ did (Acts 17:31). While the resurrection provides us with the assurance of salvation, it also provides assurance of final justice because the resurrection distinguishes Jesus Christ as God's Son and God's provision of grace for our sin (1 Peter 3:18). 

It was Christ’s dying that laid a pattern for own activity – we are called to be crucified with Him. Thus the death of Christ and His resurrection are the two central points for all the great acts of human altruisms in the world. It is Christ’s willingness to serve that engenders in others the desire to imitate Him - the same is true of His giving, His loving and His dying. And just as we never forget what Christ did for us on the cross, let us never forget what many other good men and women have done for us because of the cross, and because of the resurrection. We owe them a great debt and a great deal of thanks.