Phillips: the well-attested fact

Saturday, April 19, 2014
    Holy Saturday
    Commemoration of Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1012
Meditation:
    “What things?” he asked.
    “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.”
    —Luke 24:19-21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I have spoken of the birth of Jesus Christ as a well-attested fact of history, but, of course, it became that, for the most part, in retrospect. For as the Holy Babe grew to manhood it was only here and there that men recognized what they were seeing—God focused in human form. When the final tragedy came and the forces of darkness conspired to put out the Light, probably a mere handful retained their faith. It was the reverberating miracle of the Resurrection, witnessed and vouched for by hundreds of reliable witnesses, which settled the matter, and transformed dispirited disciples into determined heroes prepared to challenge and change the world.
    ... J. B. Phillips (1906-1982), God With Us: a Message for Christmas, London: Epworth Press, 1957, p. 9-10 (see the book)
    See also Luke 24:19-21; Ps. 16:9-11; Jon. 1:17; Matt. 16:16-17; 28:9-10; Mark 16:2-7; Luke 2:27-38; 24:5-7; John 1:4-5; 11:25-26; 20:9-17; Acts 13:30-37; 17:30-31; Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 15:3-8,14,20-21
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have revealed Yourself and Your plan for the salvation of the world. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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