Why Didn't Jesus Prove It?
Wouldn't His critics have converted when they saw Him
February, 2020
This month, parts of the USA celebrate Groundhog Day. Traditionally, a celebrity groundhog is let out of his burrow, and his reaction supposedly predicts either an early or late Spring. A classic Sunday School joke involves a pre-school girl who explained Easter as "when Jesus comes out of the empty tomb…and if He sees His shadow, there's six more weeks of winter." Confusing those stories is adorable, from a toddler. Missing the actual meaning of Jesus' resurrection is understandable, from a child. But what about the men who ought to have known better: the priests, scribes, and leaders of first-century Israel? Why did they not understand the true meaning of the resurrection?
More importantly, why didn't Jesus directly appear to those critics? This month's spotlight verse (Acts 4:11) refers to Peter's indictment of these religious leaders. Reasonable people often read this passage and wonder: if Jesus would appear to the apostles, and to five hundred people, for forty days, why didn't He appear to those who rejected Him? The Bible doesn't say Jesus "did not appear," of course, but such an event seems like one Scripture would record if it had happened. Wouldn't those people have become believers when they saw Him?
The answer is "no," and Scripture explains why: it wouldn't have mattered. No evidence will ever convince those unwilling to believe. A person's intent is far more influential than any content we can give them. This overrides evidence, reason, experience, miracles, and so forth. Some people will literally never believe in God, or in Christ. Others may admit God exists, but will never submit to Him (James 2:19). These concepts are explicitly explained in Scripture:
•When Jesus told the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, He pointed out that those who reject the evidence of Scripture, like the Pharisees, would never believe, even if someone came back from the dead (Luke 16:30–31). That's literally the scenario some people expect—or demand—from Jesus: appear to those who doubt! But, according to the Bible, that wouldn't have mattered.
•John 7:17 says a person's willingness to obey determines whether they will understand spiritual truths. The first-century Pharisees didn't want to believe.
•Jesus made it clear that His critics had already heard from other people (John 5:32–33), seen His miracles (John 5:36), and had the evidence from their own Scripture pointing to Him (John 5:39). The problem was not a lack of knowledge, but a refusal to believe (John 5:40).
•Since arguments and evidence, let alone miracles, are wasted on those who refuse to believe, there is no reason to offer them to the unwilling (Matthew 7:6). Those who insist on supernatural proof before they will believe are being obstinate, not honest (Matthew 16:1–4).
•The Bible makes a distinction between "belief," in the sense of something intellectual, and "faith," in the sense of submission and trust. Demons know God exists, but do not worship Him (James 2:19). Judas saw all there was to see of Jesus' divinity, but rejected Him (Matthew 26:24–25). Israel saw the power of God during the Exodus and still disobeyed (Numbers 14:20–23; Nehemiah 9:16–17; Psalm 78:11–12). Simply noticing a miraculous event will not generate faith in those who are hardened against God.
Christ had already provided all the evidence the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and priests needed. They had more than enough proof before His resurrection to make the right choice. Those who harden themselves to "normal" evidence aren't going to change in the face of extraordinary evidence. They'll just buckle down even harder.
This is how God interacts with all of us, to some extent (Romans 1:18–20). The evidence is there; people will either willingly follow it where it leads, or stubbornly refuse to see the truth. When a person has their hands clamped over their eyes, there is no reason to offer more evidence. Jesus could have appeared to these men, and it still would not have changed their minds. The same is true of the modern hyper-skeptic who "only" demands to see a miracle before they'll believe (Romans 1:18–20; Psalm 19:1).
Seeing the risen Jesus, to the men who crucified Him, would be as meaningless as a groundhog seeing his own shadow. And not nearly as cute.
-- Editor
