“Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus whom Paul claimed was alive.”(Acts 25:19)
There is a film titled The Case for Christ (2017, directed by Jon Gunn), based on the book written by Lee Strobel, who in the early 1980s became the youngest reporter hired by the Chicago Tribune. Recognized for his talent, he quickly rose through the ranks. The movie follows Strobel’s journey from atheism to faith, the healing of his strained relationship with his wife Leslie, and ultimately his salvation.
Lee Strobel embarks on this spiritual journey by rigorously cross-examining scholars in the fields of history, archaeology, and textual studies—beginning with an “objective stance,” much like the tone of the accusation laid before Festus regarding Paul. His pursuit begins not with theology, but with a simple incident at home. During a family dinner, his daughter is miraculously saved from a life-threatening emergency through the prayer of a Christian stranger. This event leads his wife onto a path of faith.
But Strobel, a committed atheist who valued facts and rationality, firmly rejected both God’s existence and his wife’s newfound faith. His conviction was: “Only facts lead to truth.” Like Thomas who doubted the resurrection, Strobel insisted that only what can be seen is real. His investigation begins with the desire—perhaps even the determination—to dismantle what he believed was the “empty faith” of Christians.
He pursues evidence with relentless tenacity:
“Is there credible proof that Jesus of Nazareth is truly the Son of God?”
“How reliable is the New Testament?”
“Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm Jesus’ existence?”
“Is there reasonable cause to believe the resurrection actually happened?”
Armed with his Yale Law School–sharpened mind, Strobel launches into tough, penetrating questions. Yet as he encounters the wrongful conviction of an innocent man—the Hicks case, triggered by one of his own articles—he finds himself wrestling between fact and belief.
Eventually, he confronts the astonishing evidence that Jesus’ resurrection is not merely a matter of faith but a historically grounded event. His journalistic skepticism melts beneath the sheer weight of historical truth. His long-held atheism collapses because no alternative explanation could account for the facts as coherently as the conclusion that Jesus truly is the only begotten Son of God.
After more than 600 days of investigation, Strobel’s conclusion becomes undeniable. And sitting quietly at his desk, he realizes that intellectual assent is not enough. With a sincere prayer, he receives the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. This is the moment when a dead faith becomes a living faith—a faith that trusts the God who is risen and alive today. Not merely a belief held in the mind, but one embraced with the heart.
The Case for Christ is not fiction. It is the honest spiritual journey of a seeker trying to uncover the truth behind the most significant event in human history—the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Unyielding Heart: A Warning From Acts 24–25
Between Acts 24 and 25 lies a two-year gap. But despite the passage of time, the Jewish leaders’ determination to kill Paul remains unchanged—no shift in emotion, no softening of attitude. Their zeal to destroy Paul remains as fierce as ever.
For two years they continued offering sacrifices, observing festivals, praying at appointed hours, fasting, and teaching about God’s mercy and compassion. And yet, with the same anger, hatred, and bitterness as before, they sought Paul’s death. Nothing had changed.
How could this be? How could men who worshiped daily, who praised God’s goodness, who fasted and confessed their sins—remain exactly as they were?
But this is not only their story.
It is also ours.
If our Bible studies and worship do not transform us, then we are merely producing more “dead faith.” A living faith is one through which the risen Christ continues to change us. A faith without change is simply the ongoing march of a dead religion.
If our reading of Scripture stays only at a literal or moral level—without allowing it to reshape our perceptions—we will remain unchanged. We will continue loving only those we like, and refusing to forgive those we dislike. This is because intellectual knowledge alone cannot lead us to Christ. And because we fail to recognize that the living Christ stands between us and the people whom we struggle to embrace.
An intellectual Christianity cannot carry the cross.
True Christian study leads us to the resurrection—enabling us to endure the present because of the glory to come. It produces real transformation, bearing fruit through the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, who died and rose for us.
At the heart of this transformation lies the change of our emotions. Jesus declared that those who believe without seeing are blessed—because faith in the resurrection, applied to our suffering through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence, gives us strength to endure all things. Shalom.
Heavenly Father,
Help us to embrace the glory of the resurrection with our hearts each day.
Grant that we may always remember that present sufferings cannot compare with the glory that will be revealed.
Lead us from a dead faith to a living faith.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
