Theologian Tim Keller, in his new book Hope in Times of Fear, points out that when English translations of the Bible talk about hope, the word doesn’t do justice to the Greek word being used, elpida. A better choice would be “profound certainty.” Christians have profound certainty in the resurrection — the only event in human history that profoundly changes a person when they accept it as a true, historic event.
Today, we focus on the cross. But many, many people died on crosses in the Roman Empire. We don’t focus on those crosses and crucifixions. We focus on this one cross today not because of what happened this day around 1,988 years ago, but because of what happened the third day after Christ died.
The modern world has no appetite for the supernatural. The events of Good Friday and Easter, however, are frequently listed by secular histories as the most important in human history.
Today, almost two thousand years ago in Jerusalem, the second person of the trinity died a gruesome death. The sky went black. The temple curtain tore. And the world would never be the same.
I spent some time with Tim Keller to talk about his new book and the meaning and historicity of the resurrection. We also touched on the current social justice movement in America and how it lacks the hope of the Civil Rights movement. It lacks the language of grace and reconciliation.
Keller is battling pancreatic cancer. He understands his mortality. We talked about that mortality as it relates to the resurrection.
One note here for you all. This is Good Friday. I normally write at length and I do a special Good Friday program. This is the first time I’ve set aside time for an interview like this. I appreciate your prayers as I will now step behind the microphone this morning to focus on the events of the day talking about them through the perspective of Easter.
You can get the music I played on my Good Friday Show by clicking here.
Hope In Times of Fear