Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - MYSTERY

 

MYSTERY

In 1st Corinthians 15, Paul wrote these words:

Behold, I tell you a mystery:

We shall not all sleep,

but we shall all be changed-

 (1 Corinthians 15:51)

From the number of books sold, most people are intrigued by, and enjoy reading about, a mystery. But also, people wish for that mystery to be concluded in a reasonable and logical manner. After all, does not science and logic indicate that any unexplained event (i.e.: mystery) has either a scientific or logical conclusion.

There is really no book that contains more mystery than the Bible. There certainly is that element through all of scripture and probably nowhere more than in the coming of God to this world in the form of Christ. There are many reasons given in the Bible but even with these there remains a question in the minds of many; is it all really true?

Did God really come to earth in human form to reconcile Himself with mankind and did He really go to the cross, dying in our place and taking upon Himself the sin of all humanity in the process? If you consider it from a logical point of view, it is hard to understand why the creator of this vast universe would do this for peons such as ourselves. Did He really die on that cross, was He really buried in a borrowed tomb and did He really emerge from that tomb again on the third day, alive but changed as the Bible states?

It tends to go against human logic to conceive that the above really happened as the Bible relates, but therein is the mystery. Logic tries to convince us that God would not do what the Bible states happened, and many people refuse to accept who Christ really was, or that He did go to the cross, actually die there and was afterward buried only to be resurrected again on the third day. And because it goes against human reasoning and logic, many people, especially those whose immediate needs are met by society, reject the Biblical narrative and the gospel. Others, those whose needs are not met at present, are more willing to believe completely or reject even more fully.

The Bible states that Christ was crucified for our sin, was buried and rose again on the third day to become the firstborn of the dead and to give to those who truly believe in Him  everlasting life. Not logical from a human point of view and not scientific either, but did it happen? Those innumerable reports of near death experiences that people relate are not really scientific either but exist and are too numerous to ignore. I guess that’s the reason why faith is so important and why the Bible states that:

…the just shall live by faith…

…[for] without faith it is impossible to please Him…

(Hebrews 10:38 & 11:6)

The Bible also states that we were given “infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3), so science may yet have something to say about what, for many, remains a mystery.

Paul stated that he and the apostles preached “…Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). And still this event remains to many, either a stumbling block or foolishness. It remains a mystery; outside the realm of human logic and awareness, an event many are unable to accept even by faith. But we have to be willing to accept that perhaps we don’t have all the answers yet either by logic or science. Shakespeare may have put it best when he suggested that human knowledge was limited with Hamlet’s statement that:

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,

      Than are dreamt of in your philosophy*

In many ways, the events Christians recall this time of year are a mystery; as is:

• the mystery of His will (Ephesians 1:9)
• the mystery of the gospel (Ephesians 6:19)
• the mystery of God (Colossians 2:2) 

As well as many others.

The Bible is a book full of mystery and the need for faith. 

It is truly something we need to think seriously about.    

   

*Hamlet, Act 1.5. 165-6