Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Cleverly Invented Stories


(Audio Version; Music: "Air I Breathe"--by Marie Barnett--WorshipMob--Real Live Worship)



Introduction

            The Watergate Scandal from the early 70’s is understood by many as the high-water mark of political corruption. The political intrigue of Watergate has been the subject of countless books, documentaries, and dramatic motion picture productions. Criminal activity, conspiracy, corruption, greed, pride, deceit, and the general depravity by a group of twelve of the most powerful men in our country eventually led to the humiliation and forced resignation of the President of the United States. For those of you who have forgotten the details or maybe don’t know the story of Watergate, here’s a brief summary of the events surrounding the scandal:

“Mr. Colson was a 38-year-old Washington lawyer when he joined the Nixon White House as a special counsel in November 1969. He quickly caught the president’s eye. His ‘instinct for the political jugular and his ability to get things done made him a lightning rod for my own frustrations,’ Nixon wrote in his memoir, In 1970, the president made him his ‘political point man’ for ‘imaginative dirty tricks.’

‘When I complained to Colson, I felt confident that something would be done,’ Nixon wrote. ‘I was rarely disappointed.’

Mr. Colson and his colleagues ‘started vying for favor on Nixon’s dark side,’ Bryce N. Harlow, a former counselor to the president, said in an oral history. ‘Colson started talking about trampling his grandmother’s grave for Nixon and showing he was as mean as they come.’

As the president’s re-election campaign geared up in 1971, ‘everybody went macho,’ Mr. Harlow said. ‘It was the ‘in’ thing to swagger and threaten.’
Few played political hardball more fiercely than Mr. Colson. When a deluded janitor from Milwaukee shot Gov. George C. Wallace of Alabama on the presidential campaign trail in Maryland in May 1972, Nixon asked about the suspect’s politics. Mr. Colson replied, ‘Well, he’s going to be a left-winger by the time we get through.’ He proposed a political frame-up: planting leftist pamphlets in the would-be killer’s apartment. ‘Good,’ the president said, as recorded on a White House tape. ‘Keep at that.’

Mr. Colson hired E. Howard Hunt, a veteran covert operator for the Central Intelligence Agency, to spy on the president’s opponents. Their plots became part of the cascade of high crimes and misdemeanors known as the Watergate affair.

Their efforts began to unravel after Mr. Hunt and five other C.I.A. and F.B.I. veterans were arrested after a botched burglary and wiretapping operation at Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington. To this day, no one knows whether Nixon authorized the break-in or precisely what the burglars wanted.

‘When I write my memoirs,’ Mr. Colson told Mr. Hunt in a November 1972 telephone conversation, ‘I’m going to say that the Watergate was brilliantly conceived as an escapade that would divert the Democrats’ attention from the real issues, and therefore permit us to win a landslide that we probably wouldn’t have won otherwise.’ The two men laughed.

That month, Nixon won that landslide. On election night, the president watched the returns with Mr. Colson and the White House chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman. ‘I couldn’t feel any sense of jubilation,’ Mr. Colson said in a 1992 television interview. ‘Here we were, supposedly winning, and it was more like we’d lost.’

‘The attitude was, ‘Well, we showed them, we got even with our enemies and we beat them,’ instead of ‘We’ve been given a wonderful mandate to rule over the next four years,’’ he said. ‘We were reduced to our petty worst on the night of what should have been our greatest triumph.’

The Watergate operation and the dirty tricks campaign surrounding it led to the criminal indictments and convictions of most of Nixon’s closest aides. On June 21, 1974, Mr. Colson was sentenced to prison and fined $5,000. Nixon resigned seven weeks later after one of his secretly recorded White House tapes made clear that he had tried to use the C.I.A. to obstruct the federal investigation of the break-in.

Mr. Colson served seven months after pleading guilty to obstructing justice in the case of Daniel Ellsberg, a former National Security Council consultant who leaked the Pentagon Papers, a secret history of the Vietnam War, to The New York Times. In July 1971, a few weeks after the papers were published, Mr. Colson approved Mr. Hunt’s proposal to steal files from the office of Mr. Ellsberg’s psychiatrist. The aim was ‘to destroy his public image and credibility,’ Mr. Hunt wrote.

‘I went to prison, voluntarily,’ Mr. Colson said in 2005. ‘I deserved it.’”[1]

            Colson tells the story of his spiritual struggle during the years before he entered prison and how he accepted Christ before he began his first day in prison. Aside from his involvement in the Watergate scandal, Colson is most well know for his Christian conversion and his subsequently creation of Prison Fellowship ministries. I’ve listened to Colson speak and I’ve read a number of his books and he was a passionate evangelist and apologist for the truth of the Gospel message. Colson’s life experience gave him a unique perspective and witness on the truth of the Gospel. In one of my favorite quotes from Colson he says:

            “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”

            From the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection, unbelievers have tried their best to contradict or disprove the witness of Jesus’ disciples. The only problem was that the disciples spent three years with Jesus, saw Him crucified and die on a Roman cross, participated in preparing His body for burial and were there when they laid Him in a tomb, they watched as a large stone was rolled across the opening of the tomb, they ran to inspect the tomb after three days when they were told that it was empty when some of the women in their group told them that Jesus had risen from the dead, they were in the locked upper room when Jesus appeared to them and ate with them, they inspected the wounds caused by the nails driven through His hands and feet, they put their hands in His side where He was pierced by a Roman spear, they spent forty days with Him between the time He rose from the dead and ascended back to heaven. The disciples knew what they knew and saw what they saw. They had no reason to lie about what they had witnessed. In fact, given the persecution they endured because of their witness, they had every reason to deny what they knew to be true. Instead, as Colson said, those twelve men and countless millions since have gone to their death proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ as witness to a true story—none had to rely on Cleverly Invented Stories. This is the message that Peter conveyed to the Church during his day and to us today as well.

Subject Text

2 Peter 1:12-21

            12So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. 16We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 19And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Context

            This was the last book of the Bible that was admitted to the official canon of the New Testament. It is likely that Peter wrote this letter from Rome around 67 A.D. which would have been very near the time of his death at the hands of Nero during the Neronic persecution of Christians. There are a couple of important details to remember about Peter’s witness. Peter wasn’t just one of Jesus’ disciples, he was one of the three disciples among Jesus’ inner circle of disciples that also included the brothers James and John. The three in Jesus’ inner circle were witnesses to events that Jesus instructed them to keep to themselves until after He had gone. It is also important to remember that even though Peter was witness to countless miracles and was even the instrument of miracles when Jesus sent the twelve out in His name to announce the coming of the kingdom, to heal the sick, to cast out demons, and to raise the dead, he was also the one who denied Jesus three times after Jesus was arrested. So we know that it isn’t beyond Peter’s character to lie in order to save his own skin especially during the days of Nero’s brutal persecution of Christians. Nevertheless, Peter would allow himself to be crucified by Nero all the while proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ. Peter was done lying; done trying to save his own skin. Peter witnessed to what he saw and knew—there was no need for Cleverly Invented Stories.

Text Analysis

            One of the things you will notice about people who are coming to the end of their lives and who are still able to think and communicate clearly, they want to make sure that certain things are clear and understood in the minds of those left behind. Peter is no different in vv. 12-15 when he tells his readers that he wants to reiterate once again the message that I have no doubt he told them countless times. By this time it has been more than thirty years since Jesus’ ascension to heaven—certainly enough time for them to have heard the Gospel message from Peter more than once. Although we can’t be certain, it seems clear that Peter believes his time on earth is short as he talks about the time following his “departure.” This is the transformed Peter. At Jesus’ arrest and trial, Peter couldn’t distance himself from Jesus quickly enough. However, trying to deny the truth that he witnessed himself is now pointless even in the face of death—it’s hard to unknow the truth when you’ve witnessed it for yourself. “Jewish writers generally believed  that the righteous often were warned of the impending death in advance. In ancient Jewish stories, heroes often gave final exhortations to their heirs in ‘testaments’ as their death approached. By announcing his imminent death (undoubtedly his execution in Rome), Peter informs his readers: There are my final instructions to you, so play close attention.”[2]

            Peter says that they [meaning him and the other disciples] weren’t tricked into believing that Jesus was divine because of some Cleverly Invented Stories in v. 16. Instead, they [this time probably meaning him, James, and John] saw with their own eyes the majesty of Jesus. It is pretty obvious that Peter is referring to Jesus’ transfiguration in vv. 17-18 recorded in the Gospels:

            “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. ‘Get up,’ he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, ‘Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’” (Mt 17:1-9)

            While Paul was known as the apostle to the Gentiles, Peter was known as the apostle to the Jews (Gal 2:8). Consequently Peter has a Jewish perspective in his interpretation of God’s prophetic revelation of the kingdom as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. “[Peter] understands the transfiguration story to signal God’s investment of Jesus with the special ‘honor and glory,’ a phrase that suggests the author has connected the transfiguration with Psalm 8:5-6: ‘You…crown him with glory and majesty [honor]…You have put all things under his feet.’ Although the psalm originally expressed God’s privileging of human beings over creation, early Christians read its words about ‘the son of man’ as a testimony about Jesus, the Son of Man (as in Heb 2:5-9). God’s pronouncement at this event that Jesus was God’s Son, moreover, connects the event with Psalm 2:7. Originally a ‘royal psalm’ expressing the divine favor enjoyed by the Davidic king, Psalm 2 came to be read as an oracle about the ultimate Davidic monarch, the Messiah. As Son, Jesus would inherit the nations and ‘break’ them ‘with a rod of iron’ (Ps 2:8-9)—an oracle pointing forward to the return of Christ to usher in his kingdom. The transfiguration event, therefore, becomes historical proof of the fact that Christ would return as ruler and judge.”[3]

            After reading v. 12-18, v. 19 seems like a non-sequitur. However, there are three key elements to help us navigate the verse. “The word of the prophets” refers to the many Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The “light shining in a dark place” probably refers to the truth of God’s Word to guide them along the path of their faith as expressed in Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” And the “morning star” that rises is clearly a reference to Jesus Christ and His return according to John’s Revelation: “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star (Rev 22:16).” In one verse Peter describes the beginning, middle, and end of the Christian faith. “The word of the prophets refers to the writings of the entire Old Testament, not simply the prophets. In making reference to this, Peter expressed his complete confidence in the Old Testament Scriptures. Peter has just described his incredible experience of seeing Jesus Christ in all of his glory on the mountain of transfiguration. The experience was a preview of what it will be like to see Chris at his second coming. Yet here, when Peter notes that we have the word of the prophets made more certain, he essentially says to his readers: ‘You do not have to rely only on my experience. We have another source of assurance about Christ that is even more reliable—the Scriptures.’ So confident was Peter of the reliability and authority of the Scriptures that he counseled us to use the Scriptures as our guide until the Second Coming of Christ. Until the day dawns refers to the day of the Second Coming. The morning star is a picture of Jesus Christ at his Second Coming. We are to walk by the torchlight of Scripture until the second coming of Jesus…‘We are on a pilgrimage throughout our lives in this dark world. God has graciously provided us with a lamp—the Scriptures. If we pay attention to them for correction, warning, guidance and encouragement, we shall walk safely. If we neglect them, we shall be engulfed in darkness.’ Until we see Christ face-to-face, we have an authoritative source of spiritual truth. Scripture introduces us to God and a way of life that honors him.”[4]

            Peter comes back to the point of our lesson in vv. 20-21 that the revelation of Jesus Christ proved that the Old Testament prophecies were not Cleverly Invented Stories. Likewise, the disciples’ eyewitness testimony of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that they passed along to others were not Cleverly Invented Stories. Instead, the New Testament authors like Old Testament prophets speak and act according to the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God used the talents and experiences of the various writers of the Scriptures to hand down a message to us that is not just historically reliable but divinely inspired—there’s nothing invented about it. “The words of Scripture throughout bear the imprint of the human authors: in style, background, imagery, genre, etc. Scripture is, at the same time, the product both of human beings and of God…God prepared specific human beings, through birth, environment, etc., to communicate his word. These human beings genuinely spoke their own words. But the words they used were also just those words that God wanted them to use. Imbalance on this point is fatal. To deny the human element in Scripture is to ignore the reality of the individual personalities, writing styles, situations, etc., that make up much of the richness of God’s Word. But to deny the divine element or to reduce it simply to a vague influence is to deprive the words of Scripture of their truthfulness and, therefore, ultimately, of their authority.”[5]

Application

            If you’ve never had the chance to read Lee Strobel’s book, The Case For Christ, you’re missing out on an exceptional resource. If you’re already a Christian, Strobel’s book will put some real muscle in your faith. It will also arm you with some valuable tools to defend your faith to explain why you believe what you believe. Strobel is the former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune whose job it was to investigate, review and report on complex and often public legal trials and investigations. Strobel is a critical thinker with the mind and determination of the most committed criminal investigator. The Case For Christ documents Stobel’s attempt to disprove the claims of Christianity. Stobel writes:

            “For much of my life I was a skeptic. In fact, I considered myself an atheist. To me, there was far to much evidence that God was merely a product of wishful thinking, of ancient mythology, of primitive superstition. How could there be a loving God if he consigned people to hell just for not believing in him? How could miracles contravene the basic laws of nature? Didn’t evolution satisfactorily explain how life originated? Doesn’t scientific reasoning dispel belief in the supernatural?
            As for Jesus, didn’t you know that he never claimed to be God? He was a revolutionary, a sage, an iconoclastic Jew—but God? No, that thought never occurred to him! I could point you to plenty of university professors who said so—and certainly they could be trusted, couldn’t they? Let’s face it: even a cursory examination of the evidence demonstrates convincingly that Jesus had only been a human being just like you and me, although with unusual gifts of kindness and wisdom.
            But that’s all I had ever really given the evidence: a cursory look. I had read just enough philosophy and history to find support for my skepticism—a fact here, a scientific theory there, a pithy quote, a clever argument. Sure, I could see some gaps and inconsistencies, but I had a strong motivation to ignore them: a self-serving and immoral lifestyle that I would be compelled to abandon if I were ever to change my views and become a follower of Jesus.
            As far as I was concerned, the case was closed. There was enough proof for me to rest easy with the conclusion that the divinity of Jesus was nothing more than a fanciful invention of superstitious people.
            Or so I thought.”[6]

            Strobel believed what so many people believe about Christianity in general and about Jesus Christ specifically—he called it “a fanciful invention of superstitious people.” Peter refuted this claim when he said that his message was not one of Cleverly Invented Stories. Instead, what he was proclaiming was precisely what he witnessed and knew to be the truth—nothing clever, nothing invented, not stories, just the message that Jesus was the promised Messiah who came from God, who lived, died, rose to life again, ascended to heaven right before their eyes with the promise that He will one day return. Peter, couldn’t unknow what he knew to be true because he was right there when it happened. It wasn’t quite as easy for Strobel since he wasn’t there. So here’s what Strobel determined examining the evidence for The Case For Christ: “After a personal investigation that spanned more than six hundred days and countless hours, my own verdict in the case for Christ was clear…As someone educated in journalism and law, I was trained to respond to the facts, where they lead. For me, the data demonstrated convincingly that Jesus is the Son of God who died as my substitute to pay the penalty I deserved for the wrongdoing I had committed.”[7]

            What would it take for you to believe the Good News of Jesus Christ? If you already believe, what would it take to erase any doubt you may have that the Good News of Jesus Christ is based on the faithful witness provided for us in the Scriptures and not some Cleverly Invented Stories? Lee Strobel went through great pains to investigate Christianity’s claims to find the truth. Chuck Colson went through great pains to hide the truth of his sins and ran headlong into the truth of Jesus Christ and ironically was set free by the Gospel message on his way to prison. The men of Watergate devised Cleverly Invented Stories to hide their criminal activities. Yet twelve of the most powerful men in government with only the treat of a little prison time couldn’t stick to their invented stories for three weeks—three lousy weeks! With the exception of John who was exiled to the prison island of Patmos, the other eleven disciples endured beatings, torture, and eventually execution but maintained the same Gospel message for more than 40 years for some of them. They were witnesses to the truth and they couldn’t just unknow what they knew to be true because their message wasn’t based on Cleverly Invented Stories. This is the foundation upon which our own faith is built. We can share the message of Jesus Christ with anyone and everyone without the fear that it might not be true. Unfortunately, there is no argument or proof that guarantees belief—I wish there was. Consider how many people knew that Jesus died on the cross and knew that His tomb was empty yet still refused to believe in Him. We can engage in a meticulous investigation of the evidence 2,000 years after the events the way Strobel did but in the end, we must still take it on faith that the Gospel message is true. Nevertheless, for those of you who believe, you can’t unknow what you know to be true in your heart. You believe the truth that has been faithfully handed down through the Scriptures authored by men, yes, but guided by the Holy Spirit. The message that Jesus Christ is fully man and fully God, died for our sins, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and will one day return to judge the living and the dead—a message that is based on teachings by faithful witnesses and given to us through divinely inspired Scriptures not some Cleverly Invented Stories.





[1] Tim Weiner, “Charles Colson, 80, Watergate Felon Who Became Evangelical Leader, Dies,” New York Times, April 21, 2012, p. A22.
[2] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), p. 727.
[3] David A. deSilva, An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004P, p. 881.
[4] David Walls and Max Anders, I & II Peter, I, II, III John, Jude—Holman New Testament Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1999), p. 113.
[5] Douglas J. Moo, 2 Peter, Jude—The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), pp. 85-86.
[6] Lee Strobel, The Case For Christ, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998), p. 13.
[7] Ibid., pp. 267-268.

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