Day 26 - Planting Evidence
Scripture Passage: 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Focal Verses: If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:13-14 (CSB)
A few entries past, I talked about O.J. Simpson and his murder trial. I talked about certain issues that arose regarding the handling of evidence in that case that ultimately led to Simpson’s acquittal. There was another issue regarding evidence in that trial that I didn’t mention because it’s honestly a touchy subject with me because I’m rather pro-law enforcement and dislike dwelling on things that make officers look bad. But I guess it’s time to bring up Mark Furhman, one of the key detectives in the case who was not only accused of being a racist and having a vendetta against Simpson, but also planting a bloody glove to frame the former football player of the murder.
Let’s set the record straight, this is not about O.J. Simpson or Mark Furhman. It’s not about whether Furhman perjured himself about being racist or if he planted evidence. It’s about the consequences such actions (or mere allegations) bring to the testimony of the person.
See, in this trial, Simpson’s lawyers accused Furhman of being a racist and using racist language on the job. The detective denied it. The defense provided a recording of an interview in which Furhman used racial slurs to describe African American people. And therefore, the defense motioned that Furhman’s testimony in the O.J. Simpson case could not be trusted because he’d perjured himself about the racial comments.
As for whether he planted the glove or not, it was never proven one way or another. When pressed by the court, under oath (but without the jury being present) about whether he had planted the evidence, he pled the fifth and refused to answer, certainly making himself look guilty. And Furhman’s career went quickly down the drain afterwards.
Whether we want to admit it or not (irrespective of whether Furhman was guilty or not), there are some bad cops out there. There are some out there who might lie under oath. They might plant evidence. And if they get caught, their testimony and evidence will be thrown out and a killer might very well walk free. If this happens, the investigation and the arrest of the suspect are ‘empty’. They’re worthless. They’re nothing but wasted effort. And justice cannot be carried out as it was intended.
Carrying on his discussion of the validity of the resurrection with the congregation of Corinth, Paul wants to put to bed yet another issue that was causing divide among them. The controversy? Whether a bodily resurrection from the dead was even possible. The Sadducees of Jesus’s time, of course, didn’t believe in a resurrection. They didn’t even believe in any kind of afterlife whatsoever. And I guess some of this attitude carried over among the followers of Christ in Corinth.
In today’s passage, Paul continues to address this issue by (as we discussed in our last post) reiterating that he and the other Apostles, having witnessed a bodily resurrection of Christ, would be liars if they kept telling people that Christ rose from the dead. After all, if there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead, then even Jesus couldn’t have risen from the dead. And if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, the Apostle’s testimony about it would be a lie.
In essence, Paul goes on to say, that the Corinthians’ faith would be completely ‘empty’ (the word translated ‘vain’ in the focal verse literally translates to ‘empty’.). Their faith would be worthless. After all, if they lied about Jesus’s resurrection, then there would be no hope in Christ, who’s resurrection was a demonstration of His defeating Death (the consequence of Sin) once and for all. Paul was saying that without the resurrection of Christ, they would all still be enslaved to Sin. There would be no redemption. No reconciliation to God. If they perjured themselves or planted evidence of Christ raising from the death, justice would not have been carried out through His sacrifice on the cross and we would all be doomed.
I’ve never understood those liberal ministers or theologians who claim to believe in Christ and yet deny His miraculous nature, including his resurrection. Seriously, what’s the point of being a Christian if it’s all just a big lie or a product of imaginative storytelling or planted evidence?
Fortunately, earlier in the chapter, Paul shares the fact that there were well over 500 people who saw the resurrected Christ! More than enough eye-witness testimony to prove that it happened. So, if you ever find yourself doubting, remember those 500 people. Remember those Apostles who gave up their lives for Christ’s sake and ask yourself, would they have held so fast to a lie? I don’t think Mark Furhman would have given up his life for any lie or evidence tampering. Very few people would. So take heart! Christ lives! Even today, He lives. And so too, will we!
Father God, thank you for the resurrection of Jesus Christ which is testimony to us that we, too, will one day be resurrected. That Sin has been conquered. We have been redeemed. And some time soon, we will reside with You for all eternity. I ask that you help comfort us when doubt raises its ugly face in our thoughts. Give us strength to know our faith is not empty.