Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

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, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters 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 15:3-8

“Proof of Jesus Christ – The supposition that the apostles were imposters is very absurd. Let us think it out. Let us imagine those 12 men, assembled after the death of Jesus Christ, plotting to say that he was risen. By this time, they attack all the powers. The heart of man is strangely inclined to fickleness, to change, to promises, to gain. However little any of them might have been led astray by all these attractions, nay more, by the fear of prisons, tortures, and death, they were lost. Let us follow up this thought….
“The apostles were either deceived or deceivers. Either supposition has difficulties; for it is not possible to mistake a man raised from the dead… While Jesus Christ was with them, he could sustain them. But, after that, if he did not appear to them, who inspired them to act?”

• Blaise Pascal, Thoughts (thought numbers 801 and 802)

Blaise Pascal, in his book, Thoughts (Pensées), is making arguments here that many modern investigators have made. 

In The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel studied the Gospels as eyewitness accounts and he was convinced that they sounded as such, although Luke is reporting about his research using eyewitnesses.  Thus, while Matthew and John were eyewitnesses, Mark is assumed to have written his gospel as dictated by Peter.  But if Mark was the young boy who ran away naked at Gethsemane, Mark might have some eyewitness recollections himself.  Then, Luke did his research, talking to eyewitnesses, and his book would be like what a reporter on the scene might be saying today.

Then Rev. Strobel’s book looks into the deity of Jesus and the resurrection.  He says that if any of the martyrs had said that the resurrection never happened, their life may have been spared, but they would not recant.  One or Two martyrs, maybe.  But all of them becoming martyrs points to a truth that they could not recant.

Pascal sort of touches on this.  Pascal points toward no collusion which feeds into the idea that they were all imprisoned, beaten, and martyred, except maybe John escaped martyrdom.

While Rev. Strobel speaks of martyrdom, Pascal mentions bribery, in a way.  They had little means.  They had a lot of people to feed and yet none accepted a bribe to be silenced.

And as Paul gets around to saying in 1 Corinthians 15, that without the resurrection, our faith is rather empty.  Sure, our sins are forgiven, but to what end?

Jesus Christ gained victory over sin on Good Friday, but He gained victory over death on Easter morning.

I have never found a recording of He Arose, sung to a calypso beat, like we sang in Germany back in 1978.  The other tenor in the choir and I called it “Low in the Gravy” due to the syncopation, and to get the goat of the LTC’s wife who was directing the choir. But to our defense, with the syncopation, we were struggling with the timing and with that timing, enunciation of “grave He” was difficult. But I have mentioned several times that I love a good echo refrain.  This choir does a great job.  They are from University of Nairobi – Kenya (Advent Harmony Choir of the Seventh-day Adventist Church).

As the chorus starts, the men have a soft echo refrain, but it swells.  By the end of the chorus, they are belting it out.  “He arose!  <He arose!> He arose!  <He arose!> Hallelujah, Christ arose!”

I have joked about singing that odd arrangement (that everyone loved) ever since 1978, but the memories of all the years flood back while listening to this choir. Don’t give me the hymnal, I have the tenor, with the echo refrain, mesmerized (memorized). I usually play it through once completely and then spot check two or three times, but I have replayed the entire song multiple times. I guess one of my favorite songs, ever.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.