Willing to die for a lie?

Who would die for a lie? I suppose it seems the obvious answer to say that noone would. However, as you glance at current events or history, it does not take long to figure out that someone is. Either it is the many Christians every day who are martyred for their faith like the man almost was recently in Afghanistan, or it is the muslim who tries avenging what he perceives as an attack on his people and his faith by committing suicide while in the act of inflicting harm on the enemy of the West or Israel. Perhaps we could go on for hours counting the numbers of people who are giving their lives for a person or a cause which may or may not be based on a lie.

However, there is an interesting difference to one small group of people that I would like to point out. You see all the people I have referred to have one thing in common which is that they are choosing to place their link of faith in the hands of someone or something. They may have decided to do this because of being submersed in a culture which essentially allows very few other competing beliefs. They may have chosen to lay it all on the line because they have confidence in the teachings of the person or belief system for which they die. Perhaps, it is vengence or perhaps they have a deep respect for others who follow the beliefs. However, the links of faith all trace back to a starting point, a beginning of the chain of faith, so to speak.

One of the more interesting facts about Christianity is where that chain begins. The first generation of believers in Christ were subject to quite a seemingly insurmountable gauntlet. On one side, the Roman government was the largest empire in the known world. Then you have the Jewish establishment which had a lockdown on local religious beliefs and a religious heritage that is unrivaled to this day. Finally, the Greeks were considered the intellectual giants of the day. This is obvious from the fact that the Greek greats are still studied to this day as being some of the cornerstones of western civilization.

In the midst of this arises a small group of believers. What is it that they believe? They believe that Jesus, though crucified by the Romans and the Jews, has risen from the dead. They claim not only to believe this as you and I must choose whether we believe it or not. They claim to have seen him on numerous occasions and to have talked with him at length and to have eaten with him and to have seen him be taken up into heaven. It is recorded that there were 120 people present in an upper room in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit came down on the people and gave them power to be witnesses to the people around them of the truth of their claims. All sorts of miracles are recorded during this time.

Yet these same people who claimed not to just believe but claim to have seen with their own eyes the Jesus that they worship did not ascend into a place of great power in this life. They faced terrible persecution. All of the original disciples were killed with the exception of John. Before they were killed, many were beaten many times and suffered many other pains for the sake of their unwillingness to recant their claims. It is one thing to be willing to die for a lie.... truthfully people are doing it every day. However, it is quite another to die for a lie that is your own lie, and that is what you would have to believe about the disciples and many of the first generation of believers if you are not at least willing to consider the veracity of their claims.