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PROVING THE DINGO DID IT

It was one of the most wrenching court cases in modern history — and I guess in Australia they still call it “the trial of the century.” Back in August of 1980, a young Christian couple named Michael and Lindy Chamberlain were camping at Ayers Rock, probably the greatest natural wonder in the whole country. And it was around eight that evening that the family’s newborn infant daughter, Azaria, suddenly disappeared. Lindy, the young mother, claimed that her baby had been taken from the family tent by a dingo, a wild dog. Very likely you remember the story; it inspired several bestsellers and a film starring Meryl Streep, entitled A Cry in the Dark.

But today I want you to just envision yourself on that jury. The baby is gone, of course, so you don’t have her to use for evidence. The dingo is gone. There are no eyewitnesses; nobody saw a dog take the baby and, conversely, no one saw this young mother take her own baby girl into the family car and calmly cut its throat either, which was what the State or the Crown alleged was what had really happened. But you as one of the 12 jury members have to listen to the witnesses, weigh the testimony about dingo prints in the sand and blood stains on a baby’s little jumper . . .and then render a verdict.

It’s hard to be a jury member when so much is riding on the outcome. Here in Ventura County, California, there was recently a homicide/death penalty case where a young woman butchered the wife of her lover. It was an awful spectacle — and twelve people had to sit in judgment and decide if Diana Haun should live or die.

As we continue with a very important week of Bible study here on the radio, we have this jury-sounding topic: PROVING THE RESURRECTION STORY. The anniversary of this huge, huge case — a murder, the alleged theft of the corpse, a coverup — is this Sunday as millions of people think about the resurrec-tion of Jesus Christ. But is it possible to prove, to the satisfaction of you, the juror, that this murder victim, Jesus Christ, actually came out of Joseph’s tomb? Can it be demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt? Can we know that the verdict of the Gospel writers and people like the Apostle Paul, and millions of Christians today around the globe is a correct one?

There are so many wonderful books about this court case, and it’s interesting that in just about all of them, the lawyers’ transcripts reveal the same three blockbuster proofs. I’d like to share just one of them with you today, but before I do that, let me also state for the record what this modern-day author says is at stake. The book’s entitled Christianity In Crisis — and of course, it would be if this great religion were based on a faulty jury verdict. But Hank Hanegraaff makes this marvelous assertion:

“The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest feat in the annals of recorded history. Through the resurrection, Jesus demonstrated that He does not stand in a line of peers with Buddha, Mohammed, or any other founder of a world religion. They died and are still dead, but Christ is risen!”

That brings to mind the ringing testimony of the evangelical scholar John Stott, who thrills me with this line:

“Jesus is not ‘The Great’; He is the Only!”

But back to Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man on the radio, as he then tells us what’s at stake. And of course he’s simply echoing Paul again, who says exactly the same thing in First Corinthians 15. But Hanegraaff states:

“The resurrection is the capstone in the arch of Christianity; if it is removed, all else crumbles.”

Isn’t that clear? But this is why we’ve been so baffled in our study these last two days, to read about theologians who shrug and say, “Well, I don’t believe in the Resurrection . . . but it doesn’t matter. I’m still a happy Christian.” Paul informs us that if the Resurrection is a lie, we have no Christianity left! It’s over! The whole building has collapsed!

But now on to the proof. And again, we find over and over these three huge arguments that should persuade any good jury in the world that Jesus Christ is a risen Lord and Savior here in the year 2003.

Argument Number One: the empty tomb. On Sunday morning there was no body in that grave. It was there on Friday night; it was there all day Saturday, or Sabbath. But on Sunday, the tomb was empty and the stone was rolled away.

I mentioned John Stott, who, like a good lawyer, takes us through two scenarios. First of all, did either Roman or Jewish authorities purposely take the body of Christ, and place it in some other safe place, in order to prevent the disciples from starting just such a rumor about a resurrection? Well, if so, then it would have been a very simple thing, Stott points out, for them to immediately sabotage or “scotch” the infant Christian movement by then producing that body. And of course, both the Romans and Jewish leaders had all the motivation in the world to crush the new church.

On the other hand, did the disciples themselves steal the body, hide it, dry their tears, and then make up a wild story about resurrections? We’ve dealt with that scenario here before, but two huge barriers stand in the way. First of all, there was the Roman guard standing right there with a death penalty hanging over their own heads should anything go wrong. But the more important point is this: nobody ever DIES for a cause which they know is a lie. People engage in coverups all the time; we see that on the news every night. But nobody ever willingly goes to the gas chamber or the lethal injection gurney or the guillotine or the arena with the hungry lions if they’re defending a Jesus they secretly know was a dead-and-gone failure. No way. It just doesn’t ever play out that way and any reasonable juror knows it.

Here’s Proof Number Two. And yesterday we mentioned how the eleven disciples all saw Jesus AFTER Easter Sunday. The two men on the road to Emmaus walked with Him, talked with Him, and even had supper with Him. Mary Magdalene saw Him. All the disciples saw Him again at the beach and had breakfast with Him. As many as 500 saw Him at one time, we read in First Corinthians 15. Paul saw Him. And in many of these cases, the witnesses were solid, stand-up guys like Peter and John. They’d been through all sorts of tough times and turmoil, and they weren’t the type to suffer from hallucinations. In Acts it’s the core message a man like Peter proclaims: “You killed Him, God raised Him, and I’m a witness. I was there and I saw it.” So if you’re a juror and you want eyewitnesses before you cast your vote, the Christian faith’s team of lawyers can offer up what we call “an embarrassment of riches.” And especially a witness like Paul, who was still alive to be cross-examined when the pros and cons of the resurrection story were being hotly debated.

Well, that’s two reasons. But don’t close up this case just yet, because our lawyers still have their best card to play. And every book I read on this subject gives this as probably the biggest reason to believe in the Resurrection. Here’s how Hank Hanegraaf describes it: Transformed disciples. John Stott puts it this way: the emergence of the church — which basically says the same thing. Philip Yancey, another author who writes compellingly on this topic, gives reason number three this way:

“That Jesus succeeded in changing a snuffling band of unreliable followers into fearless evangelists, that eleven men who had deserted Him at death now went to martyrs’ graves avowing their faith in a resurrected Christ, that these few witnesses managed to set loose a force that would overcome violent opposition first in Jerusalem and then in Rome — this remarkable sequence of transformation offers the most convincing evidence for the Resurrection. What else explains the whiplash change in men known for their cowardice and instability?”

Stott points out that before Calvary, these eleven losers were “(quote) heartbroken, confused and frightened.” Two months later, they “came out of hiding, full of joy, confidence and courage.” And then he adds:

“From that bunch of disillusioned nobodies has grown a universal community numbering one third of the population of the world. It would take a lot of credulity, even of cynicism, to believe that the whole Christian edifice had been built on a lie, since Jesus Christ never rose from the dead.”

In Hanegraaff’s book, Christianity in Crisis, he also comments on this third proof, these transformed disciples. Notice the contrast again:

“Before the crucifixion they were scattered, disappointed, and without hope. After the resurrection, however, they united to change the world, confident and secure in the FACT of the resurrection. From them emerged the greatest movement in history.”

You know, it’s possible as a juror to vote wrong, to make a huge mistake. In the Lindy Chamberlain trial, this young Christian mom was first convicted and sent to jail for three years before finally being cleared when new evidence turned up. So it’s important to pay attention to the case. I can just picture that black-robed judge leaning over his bench to talk to the twelve of us. In the Chamberlain case, he even had on that white wig and the lawyers or barristers called him “Your Worship.” But the judge says to each of us, “You have to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt . . . before you vote with your LIFE that Jesus Christ is a risen Savior and Lord.” And here we’ve been given that proof: the empty tomb, the eyewitnesses, and the changed lives which gave us the worldwide Christian church of today. Is that proof enough? I’m ready to mark my juror’s ballot — how about you?