WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.520 I'm going to read this morning from Luke's Gospel. 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:10.279 It's a very short reading, and it's just from the beginning of Luke's Gospel. 00:00:10.279 --> 00:00:15.560 The Gospel of Luke is the third of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 00:00:15.560 --> 00:00:22.240 And each of these gospels tell us the story about Jesus from a different angle. 00:00:22.240 --> 00:00:28.560 Luke was a doctor, and so it's slightly shorter, it's slightly more compact, and it's very 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:33.320 factual, as you would expect a medical doctor's account to be. 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:38.320 I guess we'd written it himself, no one would have been able to read it, because doctors 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:40.960 are like that with their writing. 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:45.119 But we're glad that it's been recorded for us. 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:50.920 And I often think when people ask about why the gospels give us different accounts and 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:55.840 different bits of Jesus, I'm sorry I'm going to use this illustration, but if I put four 00:00:55.840 --> 00:01:01.480 people at different ends of a football ground to give an account, or any sporting event, 00:01:01.480 --> 00:01:05.680 to give their own account of that event, you would find that each four of them would be 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:10.200 different, because of the people they were with, the angle they were watching, their 00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:14.920 own background themselves and what they wanted to emphasise. 00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:19.000 So it's no surprise for us that the gospels themselves are very different. 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:25.560 So it's just a very short introductory section from Luke's Gospel chapter one. 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:31.120 Even as much as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:37.079 among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:38.640 have delivered them to us. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:44.359 It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to 00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:50.520 write an orderly account for you, most excellent theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning 00:01:50.520 --> 00:01:52.400 the things you've been taught. 00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:59.280 Amen, we believe this to be the Word of God that He's given to us, which tells us about 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:03.480 Himself and about the gospel. 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:04.480 Thank you, Derek. 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:09.159 We're going to turn to God's Word together, and as we do so, let's just pray for a moment. 00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:15.360 Dear God our Father, as we turn to look at your Word now, we pray that you would draw 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:23.080 near to us and help us to understand more about ourselves and about you, and help us 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:28.440 to see the amazing hope that you give us through your Son Jesus Christ. 00:02:28.440 --> 00:02:40.040 We pray in His name, amen. 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:46.159 Christianity is grounded on the claim that Jesus Christ is utterly unique. 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:53.159 It is all completely and totally about Jesus and His uniqueness. 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:59.039 So when you look at what Christianity says, it says that Jesus is a human, but He's also 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:00.039 divine. 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:01.479 He's a God-man. 00:03:01.479 --> 00:03:08.159 So Christians identify with Him as one of us, and yet at the same time bow down in worship 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:11.400 before Him as God alone. 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:19.840 Jesus is said to have given us teaching that is exclusively true, and yet at the same time 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:22.879 universally authoritative. 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:28.079 And for that reason, He gives Christians a worldview that shapes every single part of 00:03:28.079 --> 00:03:29.719 our lives. 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:35.120 Jesus is said to have performed miracles which attested to His mission and His status. 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:40.800 He said to have died on a cross on a Friday and then the following Sunday to have risen 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:41.800 again. 00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:52.200 He's claimed to be the only savior of a broken humanity, and one day He will return. 00:03:52.200 --> 00:03:59.719 Absolutely no one else has made the same sort of claims and gone on to have the same impact 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:02.480 upon the world. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:12.759 And yet for a lot of people today, these claims seem very hard to believe. 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:16.519 And that's the question we're going to look at together over the next three weeks. 00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:19.519 Is it all unbelievable? 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:24.039 And today we're going to focus in particular on one question. 00:04:24.039 --> 00:04:28.920 Is Jesus real? 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:32.879 So in order to do that, we're going to start with that preliminary question. 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:36.640 And that first question is, was Jesus real? 00:04:36.640 --> 00:04:39.680 In other words, did Jesus actually exist? 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:43.759 Now that probably seems like a wee bit of a strange question, particularly because I 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:49.480 think it's safe to say that the entire Western civilization of the world for the past 1700 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:55.800 years or so has been profoundly shaped by the belief that He did exist. 00:04:55.800 --> 00:05:01.439 But despite this, there are a lot of people today who will argue that Jesus is a kind 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:03.920 of mythical figure. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:10.720 And you just have to do a quick Google search to find a sample of this kind of view. 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.879 And the general gist of that argument is as follows. 00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:17.000 They will say that the New Testament writers were biased. 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:22.800 So Derek was talking about Luke who wrote this Gospel from which we read. 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:25.120 That argument is, well, these guys are biased. 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:28.199 So you can't believe them. 00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:32.319 Alongside the biblical record of Jesus, there are also non-biblical references to Jesus. 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:36.319 So there's a Jewish historian called Josephus. 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:38.120 He lived in the first century. 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:39.759 He mentions Jesus. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:44.680 There are two Roman historians, one called Tacitus, one called Suetonius. 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:46.480 They also mentioned Jesus. 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:52.480 But the argument that you'll find on Google is that these references to Jesus are fakes. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:55.680 They're forgeries that have been added. 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:58.800 And the kind of whole argument, by the way, that should say one, two, three, not one, 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:00.560 one, one, but anyway, never mind. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:03.240 One, two, three, just use your imagination. 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:08.879 Number three should say, if there's no evidence, then there's no existence. 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:13.160 So that's the general gist of what you'll find in the wonderful world of Google. 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:19.960 Now, these arguments can seem convincing at first glance, but they're really not academically 00:06:19.960 --> 00:06:21.439 strong. 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:24.279 The question of bias is a really interesting one. 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:27.600 It's true that the New Testament was written by Christians. 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:29.680 We shouldn't really expect anything else. 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:34.879 But you have to ask, does having a bias or a connection to something mean that everything 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:38.839 that you are going to write about that topic is a lie? 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:42.720 So if that was true, it would be a bit like saying, if you had a historian who worked 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:47.000 at Edinburgh University who wrote a history of Edinburgh University, you'd say, well, 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:50.000 you can't trust him because he works there. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:51.000 He's connected there. 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:53.120 It doesn't really work. 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:55.079 You can't really say that. 00:06:55.079 --> 00:07:01.560 A bias or a connection doesn't make you write, but it most certainly does not make you wrong. 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:08.399 If you look at what should be number two, and if you say that any evidence against your 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:14.240 conclusion is just made up, then you can pretty much say whatever you like. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:18.639 Interestingly, a similar approach is used by people who deny the Holocaust. 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:23.839 A similar approach is used by the people who claim that the earth is flat. 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:30.039 Again, you can go to Google to find some wonderful examples of these. 00:07:30.039 --> 00:07:32.159 The third point is also very interesting. 00:07:32.159 --> 00:07:37.360 The idea that if there's no definite evidence for someone's existence, then you should assume 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:38.360 that they don't exist. 00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:41.959 That's what you'll see in some of these claims about Jesus. 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:47.439 They'll say, well, if there's no definite evidence, then we assume that the person doesn't exist. 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:53.160 Now, I don't think that that works. 00:07:53.160 --> 00:08:00.439 Because for example, it's estimated that in the year zero, 2019 years ago, the world's 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:03.279 population was 170 million. 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:06.920 That's the general assumption estimate. 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:13.600 Now, ask yourself the question, how many of these 170 million people do we have cast iron 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:15.720 evidence for? 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:21.120 Maybe maybe 100, maybe 1,000, maybe 10,000. 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:26.120 Supposing it was even a million that we had absolutely cast iron evidence for, that would 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:31.440 still leave 169 million people for whom we don't have cast iron evidence for their existence. 00:08:31.440 --> 00:08:34.879 Do we conclude that they didn't exist? 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:37.000 Of course we don't. 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:39.399 These arguments are not strong. 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:45.240 What's even more interesting is that there are historians who are openly not sympathetic 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:51.159 to Christianity, who still argue very strongly that Jesus was a historical figure. 00:08:51.159 --> 00:08:56.200 An example of that is Bart Ehrman, who is a professor in the religious studies department 00:08:56.200 --> 00:08:59.600 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:02.080 He wrote the following. 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:06.960 He's not a Christian and not that sympathetic towards Christianity. 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:12.560 He wrote, with respect to Jesus, we have numerous independent accounts of his life in the Sorceress 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:17.839 line behind the Gospels and the writings of Paul, sources that originated in Jesus' native 00:09:17.839 --> 00:09:22.959 tongue, Aramaic, and that can be dated to within just a year or two of his life before 00:09:22.959 --> 00:09:27.479 the religion moved to convert pagans in droves. 00:09:27.479 --> 00:09:33.119 Historical sources like that is pretty outstanding for an ancient figure of any kind. 00:09:33.119 --> 00:09:38.039 Moreover, the claim that Jesus was simply made up falters on every ground. 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:42.519 One may well choose to resonate with the concerns of our modern and postmodern cultural despisers 00:09:42.519 --> 00:09:45.279 of established religion or not. 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:49.960 But surely the best way to promote any such agenda is not to deny what virtually every 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:56.199 sane historian on the planet, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, pagan, agnostic, atheist, what have 00:09:56.199 --> 00:10:03.720 you, has come to conclude based on a range of compelling historical evidence. 00:10:03.720 --> 00:10:09.840 Whether we like it or not, Jesus certainly existed. 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:14.360 So was Jesus real, the answer has to be yes. 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:23.320 But the bigger and more important question is, is Jesus real? 00:10:23.320 --> 00:10:28.680 If Jesus wasn't a historical figure, then Christianity falls down. 00:10:28.680 --> 00:10:35.800 But Christianity also falls if Jesus is just an historical figure. 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:41.679 Because as we said at the start, the claims of Christianity are far, far bigger than simply 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:45.240 saying that Jesus existed. 00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:47.519 Christians claim that Jesus is not simply a human. 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:52.959 They say that Jesus is and always has been the Son of God. 00:10:52.959 --> 00:10:57.839 And so Christians are not claiming that Jesus was real. 00:10:57.839 --> 00:11:01.879 We are claiming that Jesus is real. 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:06.600 And the great message of Easter is that Jesus is alive. 00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:12.120 The Christian claim is that he rose from the dead and is now in heaven, actively ruling 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:16.159 over the universe and caring for his people. 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:20.080 So that's why Christians will talk to Jesus when they pray. 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:23.320 Christians gather together on the first day of the week, the day that he rose again to 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:25.759 worship him with their praise. 00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:30.279 Christians see themselves as a family who are united together through the connection that 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:32.439 they have to Jesus. 00:11:32.439 --> 00:11:37.639 And Christians seek to base their lives on their relationship with him. 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:40.399 That's what we do as a church here. 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:43.600 That's really what we're all about. 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:51.720 And so Christians will say absolutely, Jesus is real. 00:11:51.720 --> 00:11:57.600 You might want to ask yourself the question, how do they know that? 00:11:57.600 --> 00:12:02.680 Well, I think there's three ways that we can answer that question that we're going to look 00:12:02.680 --> 00:12:04.000 at together. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:11.279 The first is historical, second is philosophical, and the third is personal. 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:14.279 And we'll just go through these one by one briefly. 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:17.120 So first of all, historical. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:22.080 The Bible's record of Jesus' life that we can read in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:24.200 the first four books of the New Testament. 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:27.360 They don't just tell us that Jesus existed. 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:32.080 These books also tell us that Jesus did certain remarkable things. 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:33.159 He performed miracles. 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:34.279 He healed people. 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:36.720 He even rose from the dead. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:40.800 We talk about these things, and yet we have to ask ourselves, how do we know that these 00:12:40.800 --> 00:12:44.440 things happened? 00:12:44.440 --> 00:12:49.879 Well that brings us back to the passage of the Bible that Derek read for us in Luke's 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:50.879 Gospel. 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:57.279 As Derek said, Luke was a doctor, and he traveled around with some of the early Christian leaders 00:12:57.279 --> 00:12:58.399 in the Jewish Church. 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:05.559 And in doing so, he gathered a lot of information, and he used that information to write two books 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:08.879 that make up part of the New Testament. 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:13.399 The whole Bible, although it comes in one book, it's divided into 66 books. 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:15.839 First half, or first two thirds is in the Old Testament. 00:13:15.839 --> 00:13:18.279 The final third is the New Testament. 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:20.720 New Testament is made up of various books. 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:24.519 Two of them were written by Luke, the one called Luke, and then the one that comes two 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:26.679 books later, the Book of Acts. 00:13:26.679 --> 00:13:31.599 And in many ways, these are kind of like a two-part series. 00:13:31.599 --> 00:13:37.039 In the book called Luke, we are told all about Jesus' life. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:42.000 And then in the book called Acts, Luke records for us the key events in the first 30 years 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:48.679 or so of the Christian Church after Jesus' death and resurrection. 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:53.079 We just read four verses at the beginning, which are Luke's introduction. 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:58.360 And in these verses, he tells us something that I think is incredibly important. 00:13:58.360 --> 00:13:59.360 Let's just read them again. 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:04.040 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished 00:14:04.040 --> 00:14:08.680 among us, just as those who from the beginning, what I witness and ministers of the Word, 00:14:08.680 --> 00:14:13.400 have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely 00:14:13.400 --> 00:14:19.080 for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent theophilus, that you 00:14:19.080 --> 00:14:24.440 may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:29.080 Now we don't know 100% who theophilus was, but it was likely that he was a prominent 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:34.280 figure somewhere in the Mediterranean world in the first century. 00:14:34.280 --> 00:14:42.520 And Luke is writing to him and then by implication to others in order to give this account of 00:14:42.520 --> 00:14:43.680 Jesus' life. 00:14:43.680 --> 00:14:48.960 There's a key word in that section. 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:53.560 And that's the word, eyewitnesses. 00:14:53.560 --> 00:14:59.879 Luke's whole purpose was to carefully gather together the various eyewitness statements 00:14:59.879 --> 00:15:03.240 that have been made about Jesus. 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:08.480 And when you study the book of Luke, you can actually trace out some of the work that he 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:10.200 has done. 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:16.560 You can see that he's used different eyewitness sources in order to figure out what has happened. 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:24.799 As Derek said, people can view a football match from different angles, although if you 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:32.079 were a Hartz fan yesterday, whatever angle you were at, it was a disaster. 00:15:32.079 --> 00:15:35.919 Luke uses these different sources. 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:41.359 He probably used the Gospel of Mark, which is the book before this. 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:47.600 He probably also had a material that Matthew had access to as well, and he also had access 00:15:47.600 --> 00:15:52.919 to some sources that only he himself was able to use. 00:15:52.919 --> 00:15:56.399 That's why if you read Matthew, Mark and Luke, some bits are virtually identical, some bits 00:15:56.399 --> 00:16:00.960 are very similar, and some bits are unique to each one. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:08.480 The key point is that Luke is not actually trying to write a religious document. 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:12.240 He is trying to write history. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:18.920 And whether you believe him or not is up to you, but you cannot deny his intention. 00:16:18.920 --> 00:16:25.879 He is aiming at writing down an accurate, permanent record of what the eyewitnesses of 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:29.440 Jesus actually saw. 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:34.120 And the eyewitness record of Jesus' life points us to the conclusion that he is far, 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:39.200 far more than just a mere man, because if you read through the rest of Luke, if you don't 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:44.360 have a Bible, you can download one for free at the App Store, and you can read through 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:48.399 Luke and you can see that Jesus did astonishing things. 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:50.519 He cured people who were blind. 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:52.039 He healed those who were sick. 00:16:52.039 --> 00:16:53.759 He restored people who were crippled. 00:16:53.759 --> 00:17:02.039 He even raised the dead, and all Luke is trying to do is say, here's a record of what happened. 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:05.639 Here's a record of what people saw. 00:17:05.639 --> 00:17:09.599 This reminds us of an incredibly important thing regarding Christianity. 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:18.399 From day one, Christianity has been exposed to historical scrutiny. 00:17:18.399 --> 00:17:20.519 Christianity is not a mystery religion. 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:25.279 It's not based on some mysterious revelation that just appeared to an individual. 00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:30.319 It's not as though Jesus appeared from nowhere and said, oh, here's this book, this complete 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:34.079 book that I have written, and that's God's message to humanity. 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:38.599 If he appeared like that with this book, you'd have no way of knowing whether his claim was 00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:39.599 valid or not. 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:40.599 You might believe it. 00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:42.039 You might not. 00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:47.599 Many of the world's other religions are based on that kind of source or approach. 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:54.240 Christianity is not like that, because the whole of the Bible is grounded in history. 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:58.919 It's real people, real events, real eyewitnesses. 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:04.880 And that means that it is completely open to public scrutiny. 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:10.120 And the fascinating thing is that when you look at the remarkable events surrounding 00:18:10.120 --> 00:18:18.160 Jesus' life, even his opponents did not deny that he did remarkable things. 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:22.720 If you read later on through Luke, you'll come to chapter 11, and there Jesus is accused 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:25.039 by his opponents of being a servant of the devil. 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:27.560 They were saying, that's how he's doing these miracles. 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:32.200 He's a kind of demon evil spirit's kind of person. 00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:37.039 In other words, those who opposed Jesus, they didn't say these miracles never happened. 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:42.279 They said, even though these miracles are taking place, even though Jesus is doing these amazing 00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:49.440 things, we still don't trust him or believe that he is the Son of God. 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:56.240 And behind all this lies the wider question, which is, how do you account for the unique? 00:18:56.240 --> 00:19:00.880 We said at the start that Christianity is grounded on the belief that Jesus Christ is 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:03.000 utterly unique. 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:08.480 But if something or someone is unique, if it's the only one in the whole of history, 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:12.880 how do you realistically account for that? 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:20.440 If something happened in here that was utterly unique, how would you account for that? 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:29.400 Well, you would want eyewitnesses, you would want a written record, you would want historical 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:38.600 evidence, and you look at the Gospel of Luke, that's exactly what you have. 00:19:38.600 --> 00:19:43.480 Jesus did many astonishing things to show us that he is real. 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:48.200 Now, you might say, well, these miracles don't happen now. 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:50.559 These miracles are impossible. 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:53.799 Ultimately, that's not a question of history. 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:56.559 It's a question of philosophy. 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:01.559 And so we have to ask the question again, is Jesus real in terms of philosophy? 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:04.840 Now when we say that word philosophy, it can sound very complicated. 00:20:04.840 --> 00:20:06.480 It's not really. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:10.400 Philosophy is just basically the name that we give to the process of trying to figure 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:11.519 out life. 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:16.559 Trying to work out what it's all about. 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:20.079 So philosophy is looking at the whole world, trying to make sense of it. 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:23.679 It asks questions like, how do we know anything? 00:20:23.679 --> 00:20:25.879 What's right and wrong? 00:20:25.879 --> 00:20:28.480 What's life all about? 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:32.679 What is the ultimate explanation of the universe? 00:20:32.679 --> 00:20:37.319 And throughout history, philosophers have given us lots of different answers. 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:40.279 So some will say that life is all about matter. 00:20:40.279 --> 00:20:43.679 It's the material around us where we find meaning. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:47.960 So look around and find your place in the world. 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:52.920 Others will say that the explanation of reality is really all about the mind. 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:56.039 So it's our thoughts and our feelings that define reality. 00:20:56.039 --> 00:21:01.960 So look within and find your identity. 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:05.200 Others will say that life is all mechanical. 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:10.160 So the universe is like a machine in a box, and there's nothing outside the box. 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:16.880 And within that box, everything just grinds along in a relentless, orderly process. 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:19.800 And we're just bits of that machine. 00:21:19.800 --> 00:21:24.360 Others will say that life is mystical. 00:21:24.360 --> 00:21:28.880 And so true reality is kind of out there somewhere. 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:34.960 There's something bigger, something real, something meaningful, and we're all on a quest 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:37.240 to find it. 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:43.400 And others will say life's just a myth. 00:21:43.400 --> 00:21:45.120 The universe is meaningless. 00:21:45.120 --> 00:21:46.120 Life is pointless. 00:21:46.120 --> 00:21:53.120 There's no order, no purpose, no value in anything. 00:21:53.120 --> 00:21:57.440 And the fascinating thing about philosophy is that you can never prove which one of these 00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:00.000 is right. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:03.759 You go down the Royal Mile, you see a statue of David Hume. 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:06.359 He lived about 300 years ago. 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:10.599 And that was the great truth that he told to the world. 00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:13.879 You can't be sure of anything. 00:22:13.879 --> 00:22:19.559 So is this universe all that exists? 00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:22.079 Maybe. 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:26.039 Is your mind reliable? 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:27.919 Maybe. 00:22:27.919 --> 00:22:32.719 Is it possible for there to be something else out there? 00:22:32.719 --> 00:22:33.719 Maybe. 00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:39.839 If I tip this glass over, will it make a mess? 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:42.839 Maybe. 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:47.120 I better not try. 00:22:47.120 --> 00:22:57.039 Is your life a completely pointless dot in the vastness of time and space? 00:22:57.039 --> 00:22:58.039 Maybe. 00:22:58.039 --> 00:23:06.240 We can't prove the answers to any of these questions, which is why philosophy is fascinating 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:10.240 and head doing at the same time. 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:16.079 And the result of that is that everybody, absolutely everybody, has to take a philosophical 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:19.319 gamble in their lives. 00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:26.359 In other words, whether you realise you're doing it or not, you have to make a choice 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:30.319 about how you understand the world. 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:33.799 And on your own, you can never be sure if you've made the right choice. 00:23:33.799 --> 00:23:40.039 So whether we realise it or not, we are constantly making these philosophical gambles when we 00:23:40.039 --> 00:23:43.199 try to explain life. 00:23:43.199 --> 00:23:44.879 So I'll give you a couple of examples. 00:23:44.879 --> 00:23:47.039 One example is attraction. 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:51.839 So you see somebody who you really like. 00:23:51.839 --> 00:24:01.679 Is that just about matter, their shape, their form, their size, their appearance? 00:24:01.679 --> 00:24:08.159 Is it all about the mind and emotional and intellectual connection? 00:24:08.159 --> 00:24:16.000 Is it just mechanics, the need to procreate and to satisfy chemical impulses? 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:22.519 Is it mystical, is she the one? 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:29.599 Or is it just a mess, meaningless and pointless? 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:34.880 Another really relevant example today is gender. 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:36.319 How do we understand that? 00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:38.400 Is it just about matter? 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:42.559 Is it just anatomy and chromosomes? 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:50.039 Is it about the mind, a sense of identity that is more real than anything physical? 00:24:50.039 --> 00:24:53.879 Is it about mechanics, just nature's way? 00:24:53.879 --> 00:24:59.960 Is it mystical, a kind of indefinable spectrum? 00:24:59.960 --> 00:25:05.440 Or is it a mess, just meaningless and pointless? 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:12.920 In all of these different areas, you might be very, very sure of your own views, but 00:25:12.920 --> 00:25:24.000 ultimately behind those views lies a philosophical gamble. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:28.200 Christianity gives you another choice. 00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:37.880 Christian philosophy says that the ultimate explanation for reality is that life is made. 00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:43.720 At the core of the biblical worldview is the claim that God is our Creator and we are His 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:45.720 creation. 00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:50.559 You might argue that that's a gamble too, it's no more or less provable than any of the other 00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:53.880 philosophical propositions. 00:25:53.880 --> 00:26:02.280 But the reason why I think you should make that your choice is because if you view God 00:26:02.280 --> 00:26:08.560 as our Creator, being the ultimate explanation for the world, then all of the other philosophical 00:26:08.560 --> 00:26:12.040 positions make sense too. 00:26:12.040 --> 00:26:16.760 Because the reason there is matter in this world is because there is a God who made it 00:26:16.760 --> 00:26:19.920 and He has the power to do so and He did so. 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:26.080 The reason your mind is real is because you're made in the image of God with a consciousness 00:26:26.080 --> 00:26:30.720 and a rationality that reflects a wise and logical God. 00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:35.680 The mechanisms that we see in the universe around us reveal the order and design and 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:38.240 intention of our maker. 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:44.800 The mysticism that we are all drawn to, one way or another, comes from an awareness that 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:50.759 there has got to be more to reality than just atoms and molecules. 00:26:50.759 --> 00:26:59.680 And the mess of life comes from the fact that we're pushing back against God and we're 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:04.440 turning away from the one who made us. 00:27:04.440 --> 00:27:08.159 Christian philosophy is grounded on the view that God is our Creator. 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:15.519 That brings a meaning, a value, an order, a coherence and a purpose to life. 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:18.759 You might choose a different philosophy that's up to you. 00:27:18.759 --> 00:27:20.759 You might want to gamble somewhere else. 00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:31.720 But before you do so, all I would ask is that you stop and think. 00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:35.480 What does any of this have to do with Jesus? 00:27:35.480 --> 00:27:44.200 The claim of Christianity is that in Jesus Christ, God, our maker, has come alongside 00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:46.720 us. 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:49.920 That's why Jesus can perform miracles. 00:27:49.920 --> 00:27:52.920 That's why he can speak authoritatively. 00:27:52.920 --> 00:27:55.000 That is why he is utterly unique. 00:27:55.000 --> 00:28:04.799 That's why it makes perfect sense for us to say that Jesus is real. 00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:11.519 But perhaps the most amazing thing of all is that the reason Jesus, our God, our maker, 00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:18.919 came alongside us is because he cares about us. 00:28:18.919 --> 00:28:27.519 And that leads us to the personal answer to this question, is Jesus real? 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:32.759 Historically the Bible shows us an eyewitness record telling us that everything that Jesus 00:28:32.759 --> 00:28:34.759 did is real. 00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:37.200 The Bible also shows that Jesus is real philosophically. 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:41.240 He's the one in whom we can make sense of reality. 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:47.799 But I also want to say that the Bible shows us that Jesus is real in the sense that he 00:28:47.799 --> 00:28:55.480 meets us in the reality of life and all of its struggles. 00:28:55.480 --> 00:29:02.400 That's the amazing thing about this book that Luke wrote, and this is true of the whole Bible. 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:07.320 Luke doesn't give us an airy, fairy story about how life is wonderful for everyone who's 00:29:07.320 --> 00:29:08.820 a Christian. 00:29:08.820 --> 00:29:13.720 Luke doesn't give us some kind of elitist program for self-renovation. 00:29:13.720 --> 00:29:18.000 He doesn't come across as all idealistic and perfectionist. 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:20.680 Luke and the rest of the Bible doesn't do any of these things. 00:29:20.680 --> 00:29:27.440 Instead, Luke tells us how Jesus came along to help people who are broken, confused, hurt, 00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:29.440 lost, and struggling. 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:38.559 In other words, it's 100% real to what life is actually like. 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:43.799 So Jesus went and spoke to people who were outcasts from the rest of society. 00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:48.880 He helped people who were living with chronic disabilities. 00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:53.240 He challenged people who were cruel to others. 00:29:53.240 --> 00:29:59.340 He ate with people who had made a total mess of their lives. 00:29:59.339 --> 00:30:07.480 He taught people who were bewildered and confused, and he was incredibly compassionate towards 00:30:07.480 --> 00:30:11.000 people who were broken. 00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:14.359 So when we say that Jesus is real, we're not just saying that in history God walked on 00:30:14.359 --> 00:30:19.159 this earth, and we're not just saying that in philosophy he's the ultimate explanation 00:30:19.159 --> 00:30:20.159 of reality. 00:30:20.159 --> 00:30:25.679 We're also saying that Jesus makes a massive difference to real life. 00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:31.240 It's because he meets people right where they need him, right in the middle of the 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:38.560 pressure, stress, loneliness, and brokenness of life. 00:30:38.560 --> 00:30:41.560 And the reason he can do that is because if you read through the rest of Luke, or Mark, 00:30:41.560 --> 00:30:46.680 or Matthew, or John, you will discover that Jesus himself experienced all the pain and 00:30:46.680 --> 00:30:52.840 sorrow and hurt and battering that life can bring. 00:30:52.839 --> 00:31:01.679 And that's why wherever you are today, whatever real life is like for you today, Jesus will 00:31:01.679 --> 00:31:04.480 meet you there. 00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:08.279 He is real. 00:31:08.279 --> 00:31:10.679 So was Jesus real? 00:31:10.679 --> 00:31:12.319 Yes. 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:14.319 Is Jesus real? 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:16.240 Yes. 00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:20.319 Last question, what difference does it make? 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:29.200 Well, to answer that question, I want us to go back again to the passage that we read. 00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:32.599 Luke is undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that were accomplished among 00:31:32.599 --> 00:31:34.200 us. 00:31:34.200 --> 00:31:39.000 He's gathering together information from eyewitnesses, from people who have spoken about 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:42.960 what took place, and delivered them and passed them on. 00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:48.599 And because he's followed all things closely, he is going to write an orderly account. 00:31:48.599 --> 00:31:55.240 And then in verse four, he tells us why he's done that. 00:31:55.240 --> 00:32:01.480 To give theophilus and everyone else certainty. 00:32:01.480 --> 00:32:06.599 And that's a brilliant word. 00:32:06.599 --> 00:32:12.240 It's an absolutely brilliant word, because right now we live in a world that is full 00:32:12.240 --> 00:32:13.599 of uncertainty. 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:22.359 Well, that's uncertainty about Brexit, uncertainty about our work, uncertainty about our health, 00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:24.959 uncertainty about what this week is going to bring. 00:32:24.959 --> 00:32:33.159 Life is full of uncertainty, and that is such a hard thing to live with. 00:32:33.159 --> 00:32:41.000 And over all of these different uncertainties that we face, there's a shadow over every 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:50.160 one of our lives that is simultaneously both the greatest certainty and the greatest uncertainty 00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:51.720 that we will all face. 00:32:51.720 --> 00:32:57.039 Do you know what that is? 00:32:57.039 --> 00:33:00.039 It's death. 00:33:00.039 --> 00:33:03.160 It's an absolute certainty that it's going to happen. 00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:10.000 It's a complete uncertainty as to what lies beyond it. 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:17.319 And that is what Jesus has come to change. 00:33:17.319 --> 00:33:21.920 Jesus has come to give us hope of eternal life. 00:33:21.920 --> 00:33:29.279 Jesus died and rose again so that he could give eternal life to all who trust in him. 00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:36.519 And he has promised to love us, to defend us, to protect us, and to be with us forever. 00:33:36.519 --> 00:33:41.480 Ultimately, that is what Christianity is all about. 00:33:41.480 --> 00:33:46.480 Jesus has come to give us a new certainty, a certainty that we are safe, a certainty 00:33:46.480 --> 00:33:51.759 that we are loved, a certainty that we're secure, a certainty that we are precious to 00:33:51.759 --> 00:34:01.960 him, a certainty that death will be the doorway to eternal life. 00:34:01.960 --> 00:34:09.400 I spoke about how the fact that one of our dear friends, Dorin, passed away this weekend. 00:34:09.400 --> 00:34:13.840 About two months ago, Dorin had a big heart attack, but she recovered from it really well 00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:16.360 and she was back in church last week. 00:34:16.360 --> 00:34:21.880 But while she was recovering, I went to visit her and she said, was talking about how she 00:34:21.880 --> 00:34:25.320 had had this heart attack and how she'd been resuscitated. 00:34:25.320 --> 00:34:30.039 And she said something absolutely astonishing. 00:34:30.039 --> 00:34:36.519 She said, why did they have to resuscitate me? 00:34:36.519 --> 00:34:42.360 I was quite happy to go and be with the Lord. 00:34:42.360 --> 00:34:49.639 That is certainty. 00:34:49.639 --> 00:34:59.800 And to have that certainty in your life, all Jesus asks us to do is put our trust in him. 00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:03.240 So it's not about keeping commandments. 00:35:03.240 --> 00:35:07.440 It's not about earning God's favor and trying to work your way up to him. 00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:09.480 It's not about sorting yourself out. 00:35:09.480 --> 00:35:14.320 It's not even about being a good person. 00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:18.400 None of these things are what Christianity is about. 00:35:18.400 --> 00:35:23.080 It is simply about trusting Jesus Christ. 00:35:23.080 --> 00:35:27.680 And that means saying to him, Jesus, I'm sorry that I've pushed you away. 00:35:27.679 --> 00:35:33.159 I need you to save me and I want to follow you. 00:35:33.159 --> 00:35:40.559 I trust you to save me because I can't save myself. 00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:53.639 And the Bible's promise is that everyone who comes and asks him to be saved will be saved. 00:35:53.639 --> 00:36:02.920 You might think that that's unbelievable, I think it's absolutely amazing. 00:36:02.920 --> 00:36:06.000 Let's pray. 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:16.400 Dear God, our Father, we thank you so much for your Son, Jesus Christ, for everything 00:36:16.400 --> 00:36:26.119 that He is, our Savior, our King, our teacher, our friend. 00:36:26.119 --> 00:36:38.079 And we pray that for every one of us, we would see that Jesus is unique and that He gives 00:36:38.079 --> 00:36:41.320 us a hope that no one else does. 00:36:41.320 --> 00:36:45.880 And we pray that every one of us would hear your voice calling us to come to you and to 00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:48.240 trust in you. 00:36:48.240 --> 00:36:53.960 We pray that we would all have that certainty in our lives that only you can bring. 00:36:53.960 --> 00:37:16.599 Amen.