It was Carl Sagan who popularized an idea that was formulated hundreds of years ago, probably in an effort to refute the claims of Christianity by scientists who also happened to be atheists. Sagan wrote: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence!” in his book: Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980). This is certainly a ‘high sounding’ claim, and one to which a number of folks, with whom I’ve discussed my faith, held to in an effort to detract from the witnesses, whose testimony is found in the Gospel narratives. Nevertheless, such ‘high sounding’ claims are nothing more than elitists’ bias formulated against the claims of the common man.
In other words, if you aren’t educated and an acclaimed scholar, you can’t be recognized as a valid witness of extraordinary facts. My allegation proves true in that they, themselves, do not adhere to their own formula for truth. For example, they would have us believe that the universe suddenly exploded into being by itself and out of nothing, and life arose eons later out of non-living substances! Moreover, long ago, and for no apparent reason, fish flopped out of the ocean and onto the shore to eventually become birds. So, truth is what it is, and one becomes convinced of it, because the witnesses for truth, whether educated or not, present a reasonable and logical case.
Mark tells us that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9), which is also supported by comparing John’s testimony with that of Matthew. John tells us that Jesus did, indeed, appear to Mary (John 20:16-18), but warned her not to touch him. Why would he tell her not to touch him, when a short while later he permitted the group of women returning to Jerusalem from the burial site to cling to his feet (Matthew 28:9-10)? The reason for this oddity would have to be that Jesus was to ascend to the Father at the time of the Wave Sheaf Offering, which was waved on the day of Firstfruits at sunrise (Leviticus 23:11-12). Not only couldn’t any fresh fruit of the land be eaten until this offering was made (Leviticus 23:14), but neither could the harvest begin until this particular offering of firstfruits was waved before the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:9).
Jesus had to fulfill everything that was written about him in the scriptures. Once the sheaf of barley was waved before the Lord, the spring harvest could commence, and folks could receive of the fruit of their labor. What this means is, Jesus is our Wave Sheaf Offering or our Firstfruits. He was resurrected first, before anyone could be harvested (cp. 1Corinthians 15:20, 23), meaning raised from spiritual death (cp. Ephesians 2:1-6). Therefore, Jesus’ appearance to Mary at the sepulcher (John 20:16-18) was prior to the offering of the Wave Sheaf at the Temple, but once it was offered at the Temple, which signified Jesus had ascended to the Father as the Wave Sheaf of the harvest (cp. Judges 13:19-20), Jesus could allow himself to be held by the women on their way to Jerusalem (Matthew 28:9-10). Therefore, after Mary had seen and had spoken with Jesus, she hurried to Jerusalem to tell the disciples. Nevertheless, they wouldn’t believe her (Mark 16:10-11).
Moreover and later in the day, Mark recorded that two men had also seen Jesus (Mark 16:12), probably the same two that Luke mentions in Luke 23:13-31, but neither did the disciples believe them (Mark 16:13). Surprisingly, the Apostles, who were arguably Jesus closest friends and associates, were the last to see him alive on the day of his resurrection (Mark 16:14). In other words, witness after witness came and told them they had seen Jesus alive, but none of the Apostles believed them, not one. Moreover, Jesus, when he finally appeared to them, expressed his dissatisfaction over their unbelief. Why? After all, as some folks like to express it today, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. How could Jesus expect the Apostles to believe he arose from the dead, simply because they were told by a few friends and associates that they had seen him alive?
First of all, on several occasions Jesus told his disciples that he would rise from the dead (Mark 8:31; 9:9; 14:28), but this didn’t fit their worldview. Rising from the dead had no place in the Apostles’ understanding (Mark 9:10), because they firmly believed the false doctrine that the Messiah couldn’t die (John 12:34). On one occasion Peter even went to Jesus, telling him that he was wrong, that Jesus, the Messiah, couldn’t die (Mar 8:32; cp. Matthew 16:22)! Imagine, a disciple telling the teacher what the text means. Of course, Peter was solidly rebuked at the time by Jesus, his Teacher (Mark 8:33). Nevertheless, false doctrine once believed will not allow the person, held in its power, to believe the truth. Truth becomes a lie, so the lie could be the truth for folks under the sway of falsehood, and it is difficult to break through this stronghold of the mind. Remember, Jesus even permitted his friend, Lazarus, to die. This was done purposefully, so Jesus could resurrect his friend (John 11:43-44) in the presence of his disciples in an effort to get them to understand his power over death (John 11:14-15). Therefore, one is able to see, that extraordinary evidence isn’t enough to support or prove extraordinary claims, because extraordinary evidence is simply too weak in the face of unbelief, where its adherents cannot or will not change their worldview to agree with what would, in fact, destroy everything they hold as true. The lie is easier and less troublesome to believe than the truth (cp. Corinthians 1:20-24).
Finally, Luke’s testimony tells us that even after Jesus appeared to his Apostles, they still didn’t believe. First, they thought he was a spirit (Luke 24:37). Moreover, even after Jesus proved he wasn’t a spirit by telling them to handle him, for spirits aren’t composed of flesh and bone (Luke 24:39-40), they still couldn’t believe, because they assumed this was too good to be true (Luke 24:41). Therefore, Jesus ate a fish, consuming real matter right before their eyes (Luke 24:42-43) – a very scientific thing to do! Yet, even seeing this they couldn’t believe, until Jesus healed their lack of faith by opening their minds and taking them through the scriptures that spoke of him (Luke 24:44-46). Therefore, nothing, absolutely nothing by way of physical evidence will prove Jesus’ resurrection to anyone, because it is powerless against a false worldview. False doctrine is a stronghold of the mind that can be breached only by the Lord opening one’s mind to the scriptures that speak of him (Luke 24:44-46; cp. John 6:44).
Smoodock's Blog 