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“Your Word Is Truth
John 17:17

 

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas

Sixth Sunday of Easter—May 6, 2018

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen. 

Our text is today’s Gospel Reading, in which Jesus declares, “Your Word Is Truth.”

In the year 2000, a failed novelist and songwriter named Dan Brown finally struck it rich.  He got the idea for a series of books, collectively known as “The Da Vinci Code.”  So far, there have been five books and three movies, that together have grossed over $2 billion.

The main theme of these books and movies is that the Bible, particularly the account we have in the Gospels of the life of Christ, is a fabrication.  Supposedly, for 2,000 years a vast conspiracy has perpetuated the alleged lies found in the Bible, and suppressed the truth: that Jesus was just a man, who got married and had children.

Dan Brown claims “The Da Vinci Code” is based on secret documents he uncovered, and the Gospels’ portrayal of Jesus as the Son of God is the biggest hoax in the history of the world.  But, actually, “60 Minutes” had an excellent investigative report, which proved that the REAL fraud and fabrication is, ironically, those very supposed ancient documents, on which the books, movies, and conspiracy theory behind them are all based.

It turns out these documents aren’t ancient at all, unless you consider the 1960’s ancient history.  Because, the “60 Minutes” investigation proved conclusively it was all a hoax, made up by a French con-man, who forged those supposed “Da Vinci Code” documents in the 1960’s.  Not only are they forgeries, they’re actually very bad, obvious forgeries. The books and movies might be entertaining, but they are pure fiction, without even the slightest basis in fact.

The sad part is, many people outside the Church took it seriously, actually believing it is the Gospels that have been exposed as a fraud.  Even the faith of some Christians is shaken, by this and similar attacks on the authenticity of the Bible.  How should we respond to these assaults against our faith?

There are many good arguments for the authenticity of the Gospels, and indeed the entire Bible.  You may not realize that libraries and museums around the world have tens of thousands of very ancient manuscripts of the Bible. 

For the Old Testament, one of the most ancient manuscripts is a recently deciphered 2,000 year-old scroll, containing most of Leviticus.  It was discovered by archaeologists back in 1970, but was so fragile it couldn’t be unrolled.  It wasn’t until 2016 that scientists figured out a way to read it using CAT scans, and to their amazement they discovered that even after 2,000 years of being copied and recopied by hand, the text is 100% identical to the text of Leviticus we have today.  “This is quite amazing for us,” the lead scientist said. “In 2,000 years, this text has not changed.”

For the New Testament, the oldest manuscripts are portions of the Gospels, dating back as early as 50 A.D., just decades after the momentous events they record.  Archaeologists have been excavating in the Holy Land for nearly 200 years, but really we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s waiting there to be found, and more manuscripts of the Bible are continually being discovered. Just a few years ago, a new fragment of the Gospel of Mark was discovered that has been dated to 70 A.D.

Jesus once said, “even the very stones will cry out!” and archaeology has indeed shown that the Biblical accounts are astoundingly accurate.  Even the most minute details of the Bible are confirmed by archaeology and other ancient records outside the Bible.

My favorite example is the Bible’s record in 2nd Kings and Jeremiah that when Jehoiachin, the last king of Judah, was taken captive to Babylon, the king of Babylon treated him kindly, as a fellow king, and “Jehoiachin ate regularly at the king’s table . . . and a regular ration was given him by the king . . . for as long as he lived.”

Well, a thousand miles from Jerusalem, and 2,500 years later, German archaeologists in 1915 uncovered a pile of cuneiform tablets in the ruins ancient Babylon.  They weren’t major historical documents, just routine bookkeeping records from the royal palace.  It was a total fluke that they were even preserved, only because they happened to be buried by an earthquake.

One of these tablets lists those who are entitled to receive rations from the

“king’s table,” meaning the royal storehouses.  Using the Akkadian spelling for Jehoiachin’s Hebrew name, exactly as the Bible says, one of those listed in this ancient Babylonian document entitled to receive royal rations from the king of Babylon is, “Yaukin, King of the Land of Judah.”

That’s an amazing example of Jesus’ statement, “even the very stones will cry out!”  Because, there is no possible way that could have been faked.  Even most extreme skeptics and critics of the Bible have to admit: this minute detail recorded in the Bible is exactly confirmed by the royal records of ancient Babylon.  And there are many, many other such examples.  As Jesus declares, “Your word is truth.”

But, although the Bible IS totally accurate in matters of ancient history, that is not the PRIMARY purpose or message of the Bible.  At the conclusion of his Gospel, John writes: “These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”  That is the primary purpose and message of the Bible: “That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Back when the first “Da Vinci Code” movie came out, a film critic commented: “Why would people get so upset about a movie which says Jesus may have had a happy life, gotten married, and had children?  Why weren’t they upset like that about the movie ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ which showed all those tortures heaped upon him?”

But, you see, that is the very point of the Gospel.  On account of OUR SINS Jesus came into the world, for the very purpose of having tortures heaped upon him. The book of Isaiah actually says: “Who can speak of his descendants?  For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. . .  though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.  Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, [and] make his life an offering for sin . . . [he] will justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.”  Jesus himself put it this way: “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

“Now this is eternal life,” Jesus says in today’s Gospel Reading, “that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. . .  I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. . .  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

Through faith in Christ you are sanctified; that means you are made holy in the sight of God, your sins are all forgiven, because Jesus bore your iniquities and gave his life as a ransom, for you.  You trust God’s Word to be truth because by it you have been called to faith in Christ.  “I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.”

There are many good arguments for the authenticity of the Gospels and indeed the entire Bible.  But, even complete assurance that the Bible is based on authentic ancient documents, and is an accurate reporting of ancient events, would not in itself give faith in Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world.  For, the Gospels report that there were many who actually saw and heard in person Jesus preaching and teaching, and yet they did not believe what he claimed about himself.  As the Gospel of John reports: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”  Paul puts it this way in 1st Corinthians: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

The way to convince people about the truth of the Bible is the same way that you and I were convinced, by proclaiming the Bible’s message, of God’s Law, and the Good News of Christ crucified for the sins of the world.   Paul put it this way to Pastor Timothy: “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.  For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.  But you, be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist.”

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. . .  I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. . .  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

Amen.

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