Trilemma



Matthew 27:57-66
57When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.
58He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
59And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud
60and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.
61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
62The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate
63and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’
64Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”
65Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.”
66So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

The Pharisees have gotten what they wanted. Jesus is dead. One of Jesus’ followers, Joseph of Arimathea, asks Pilate for the body and buries Jesus in the tomb he had made for his own family. The women who were numbered among Jesus’ followers faithfully remain by the tomb and watch the burial. They sit vigil for as long as Jewish laws allow being forced to return home before dark because it was the Sabbath. The Pharisees, in the meantime, continue their obsession with Jesus and ask Pilate to seal the tomb and place a guard. Pilate makes them do it themselves. I think he’s done with these guys and their persistent need to deal with this Jesus.

Many have speculated throughout the last 2,000 years that Jesus and His disciples perpetrated a huge ruse and faked His death and resurrection. The person most recently famous to do that was Hugh Schonfield in his book The Passover Plot. He speculates that Jesus purposely, throughout His life, sought to make it look like He was fulfilling Old Testament prophecy so that it would look like He was the Messiah. For Schonfield, Jesus was the master deceiver. Schonfield has been discredited although there are still many who see him as a genius. He is certainly not the first to posit such a theory. As we can see from our reading for today, the Pharisees were already afraid of that possibility and sought to make sure no such deception could be happening to them. The word “impostor” in verse 63 gives them away.

Jesus was not an impostor. C.S. Lewis first offered up what he called a “trilemma”. Jesus was a lunatic, a liar, or Lord. He could not be all three. Only a lunatic would allow himself to be treated the way Jesus was treated. It would be insane to allow yourself to be tortured and crucified just for fun. No one would follow such a person; at least not for long. Only a liar would perpetrate such an outlandish ruse just to make a point. No one would follow such a person; at least not for long. Only a Lord could suffer and die after fulfilling all of the Old Testament prophecies thus securing our salvation for eternity. Millions have followed Him for over 2,000 years. Which of the three choices do you find most appealing?

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