Josephus does not tell us that Christianity is true, and Christians do not need Josephus to tell them that Christ is risen. But Christianity makes claims about things that happened in public history under identifiable rulers, priests, and governors. For that reason, testimony from outside the church matters.
Today, the longing for cultural Christianity on both the left and the right hearkens back to an older version of Christendom that was a mixed blessing for the church in the western world. The cultural mediation of Christian views on created order has certainly benefitted the civilization we’ve inherited. But the gospel itself isn’t something that can be reduced to cultural mediation either. Instead, the gospel as a message stands apart from all human accomplishments and achievements, no matter how beneficial they might be.
The student of Scripture should always have a map open next to their Bible as they read. If possible, they should also travel to Israel, not to make a pilgrimage, but to see the context of the land in which these stories took place. These are not fairy tales made up about fictional fantasy lands; these are stories about real people in real places interacting with a real God.

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The biblical shepherd leads his sheep. He provides for their needs. He protects them from enemies, and he does not leave his sheep unattended.
Resurrection life is not something cast into the future. The future is now.
He continues to gather other sheep in, and He does it through the selfless serving and the gracious speaking of His people.
Preaching is the vehicle of salvation because God engages in self-giving through the heralding of His Word.
After more than a year of facing our collective mortality as a species, the promise of a physical resurrection is welcome news.
Preachers are called to consider how the resurrection reverberates in the present but also the future.
The Light of the LORD, Jesus Christ, has risen upon us and set us apart as the chosen people of God.
Trusting in Christ’s promise of new life and deliverance pours patience and hope into the way we think and the way we experience life.
The promise you will make, which brings about the presence of Christ and creates rejoicing, is the peace Jesus brought to the disciples that night behind locked doors.
In the next three weeks, Saint John will explore some of the implications of the resurrection, especially for Christians as they consider how to live in the present and what is in store for us in the future.
God has created perfectly. God is in the house and all is right with the world!
Tomorrow Jesus will laugh his way out of the tomb, spit in the face of death, and kick the devil in the throat as he dances to the clapping glee of angelic masses. But today he just rests.