Pints With Aquinas - 202: 5 Reasons Christ Rose From the Dead (+ 3 HUGE Announcements)

Episode Date: April 21, 2020

Aquinas gives 5 reasons Christ rose from the dead. We'll look at each of them in today's episode and then look at 5 reasons Christ rose with his wounds. PLUS I'll share 3 exciting things we're doing here at Pints With Aquinas. Please support us at https://www.patreon.com/mattfradd

G'day guys, welcome to Pints with Aquinas. My name is Matt Fradd. Happy Easter. Look, if you could sit down over a pint of beer and a basket of chocolate eggs with Thomas Aquinas and ask him any one question, what would it be? In today's episode, we are going to talk to Aquinas about the resurrection. And we're going to learn from him the five reasons Christ rose from the dead and five reasons that Christ still has his wounds in his glorified body. Don't you just love how Thomas Aquinas loves lists? Five and five. Also, at the end of the episode, please stick around.

I want to share with you three really exciting things that we're doing here at Pints with Aquinas. And when I say really exciting, I actually mean really exciting. That's not just a way to keep you listening through the end. Although, you know, two things can be true at once. Here's the show. All right. Welcome back to Pints with Aquinas, the show where you and I pull up a barstool next to the angelic doctor to discuss theology and philosophy.

How you going, you little rascals? Happy Easter. This has been a crazy time. My wife and I have been through the ringer, as many of you have known about. Thank you for praying for us. Maybe we'll kind of give you guys more of an update. But as of now, things are looking less terrible. So there you are.

Let's jump into this, all right? Five reasons Christ rose from the dead. And I just love... Two things I want to tell you that I love. Number one, that Aquinas keeps using the word behooved. I feel like you and I need to bring that back into sort of modern parlance. It behooved me to do this or that. So that's the first thing. Secondly, on a more serious note, I love how scriptural Thomas Aquinas is. You know, if you see the name of a Dominican written out in a kind of formal way, OP is always written after the name.

So I wrote a book with Father Gregory Pine on Marian consecration with Aquinas, and his name, Father Gregory Pine, OP. OP stands for Order of Preachers. And I interviewed Dr. Scott Hahn a couple of years ago, and I remember he said something that really struck me. He said his fear is that sometimes the order of preachers are becoming the order of philosophers. Now, he didn't say that to denigrate philosophy, obviously, but rather to show the preeminence that scripture ought to have in, well, the Dominican order and in the life of just Christians. And you really do see that when you read Thomas Aquinas.

In fact, I mean, one just sort of litmus test to see how Aquinas puts Scripture over the wisdom of the saints and over philosophy, right, just per se, is that he quotes Scripture first. If you read the Summa Theologiae, Scripture is quoted above all else. Then it's Augustine. Then it's Aristotle, which I think is really illustrative. So just notice as we go through these five reasons, and then we'll look at the five reasons Christ still has his wounds in heaven. He cannot get through a sentence without backing it up through sacred scripture. So that should help us, you know, remind us why scripture is so important.

You know, I've said this before, as great as the Summa Theologiae is, and as much as it helps us understand our faith, helps us understand scripture. If Aquinas knew that you read him, but you really never really read the Bible, he wouldn't be thrilled with you. So I think you and I have to kind of rededicate ourselves to the business of Bible reading. And sometimes that's really difficult. My wife and I are currently going through a Bible study on Ephesians. We're doing it through Ascension Press. Jeff Cavins leads the course. Maybe you're familiar with it. And this is sort of our attempt to kind of get back into scripture. Because if you're like me, sometimes you pick up the scriptures and you wish you found them more exciting than you did. And you're not sure what to do with that fact. The fact that you don't actually enjoy reading scripture. Now, maybe

there's some of you out there and you'll have no idea what I'm talking about. Good for you. Keep doing it. That's great. But I think for some of us, maybe many of us at times, scripture can feel really dry and the temptation can be to put it away and to pick up something that's more entertaining or more stimulating. But we have to always go back to scripture as Aquinas does. So it behooved Christ to rise again for five reasons, says Thomas. First, for the commendation of divine justice. So here, Aquinas is going to say that, you know, in scripture, we read that the God exalts the humble, right? He exalts the humble. We read that in Luke 1.52, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, he's exalted the humble. He hath put down the mighty from their thrones.

He has exalted the humble. When you consider who Christ was, not merely a good man, not merely a prophet God is going to exalt him in a, what do you say, preeminent or spectacular fashion. Aquinas says, consequently, because Christ humbled himself even to the death of the cross from love and obedience to God, it behooved him to be uplifted by God to a glorious resurrection. Hence, it is said in his person, Psalm 138, 2, thou hast known, that is approved, my sitting down, that is my humiliation and passion, and my rising up, that is my glorification in the resurrection. and my rising up, that is my glorification in the resurrection. Notice how Aquinas looks, he reads the entire scripture through a Christocentric lens. Everything gets filtered through the fulfillment of scripture, which is Christ. So even when he reads the Psalms

and later on, you're going to see how he reads, he's going to do this with Job as well. He's reading it all through the lens of Christ. Something very important for us to do. Here's the second reason Christ rose from the dead, and that's for our instruction in the faith. Aquinas is going to say here that, look, Jesus Christ said many things about himself that are rather shocking. You know, you have heard, but I say those sorts of things. Or when he says, and imagine how shocking this must have been, that he was Lord of the Sabbath. He said things like, unless, you know, you lose your life, you know, unless you're persecuted, unless you love me. That's crazy.

Unless you love me more than your mother and father and so on. Said a lot of shocking things. Had these sort of radical beliefs about himself, being an exorcist, a miracle worker and these sorts of things. sorts of things. And so Aquinas is going to say that the reason he rose from the dead was to instruct us in our faith because it is that in God raising Christ from the dead, God has vindicated the claims, the ministry of Jesus Christ. So there you are. He says, since our belief in Christ, Godhead is confirmed by his rising again, because according to 2 Corinthians 13, 4, although he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. And therefore it is written in 1 Corinthians 15, 14, if Christ be not risen again, then our preaching is in vain and our faith is also vain. And Psalm 29, 10, what profit is there in my blood, that is in the

shedding of my blood, while I go down as by various degrees of evil into corruption, as though he were to answer, this is Aquinas saying, as though he looks at this statement from the psalmist, who says, what profit is there in my blood, in my going down? And that's a question, right? The psalmist is asking, and then Aquinas is like, it's as if he's saying, there's none. For if I do not at once rise again, but my body be corrupted, I shall preach to no one, I shall gain no one. Here's the third reason. For the raising of our hope since through Christ who is our head. If he is our head, what are we? We are the body.

If he is our head, who is our head? Rise again. We hope that we likewise shall rise again. Hence it is written in 1 Corinthians 15, 12. Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how does some of you say that there's no resurrection of the dead? preached that he rose from the dead. How does some of you say that there's no resurrection of the dead? And so hope, hope, hope, hope that we too will rise like our head has risen. The body will rise as well in a similar fashion. And here, look, he quotes Job. And again, I love this. It's so Christocentric. He reads the Old Testament through the lens of Christ.

Here's the quote. I know, that's what Job says, and then Aquinas says what I know means. I know that is, says Aquinas, with certainty of faith, and then he goes back to Job, that my Redeemer, and then Aquinas says, he means Christ, liveth, and by that he means having risen from the dead. It's so beautiful. This might be a little difficult unless you're reading this. So feel free to check it out in the Tertia Pars. That's the third part of the Summa Theologiae. Question 53, Article 1.

That's, man, totally fascinating. And therefore, in the last day, I shall rise out of the earth. This my hope is laid up in my bosom. Here's the fourth reason Christ rose from the dead. To set in order the lives of the earth. This my hope is laid up in my bosom. Here's the fourth reason Christ rose from the dead, to set in order the lives of the faithful. According to Romans 6, 4, as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life. And further on, Christ rising from the dead dieth now no more. So do you also reckon that you are dead to sin, but alive to God? Here's the final reason, in order to complete the work of our salvation.

Because just as for this reason did he endure evil things in dying, that he might deliver us from evil. So as he glorified in rising again in order to advance us toward good things, according to Romans 4.25. He was delivered up for our sins and rose again for our justification. So those are the five reasons. Before we look at the five reasons Christ maintains his wounds in heaven, I want to quickly look at this very interesting tidbit here in article two of the same question as to whether or not it was fitting that Christ should rise on the third day.

And he says something that I'd actually never thought about before. And I found it really interesting. I think you might too. Basically, he's going to say that, you know, we need not only to believe that Jesus Christ was God, we also have to believe that he's man, right? And sometimes people might believe one or the other, you know, that he was God, but my goodness gracious, he wasn't man. Or someone will say, well, he's a man, but you shouldn't say that he's God, but my goodness gracious, he wasn't man. Or someone will say, well, he's a man, but you shouldn't say that he's God. But of course, the Christian faith teaches that Jesus Christ is 100% man, 100% God. And so we need to believe both of those things. And Aquinas says that in rising on the third day, that this helps us have faith both in the humanity of Christ and in the Godhead.

Okay. So here we go. Aquinas says, consequently, in order that our faith in the truth of his Godhead might be confirmed, it was necessary that he should rise speedily and that his resurrection should not be deferred until the end of the world. But, okay, so let's just pause there for a moment. Okay, so let's just pause there for a moment. So if the apostle said that Jesus Christ was God and he hadn't risen from the dead, but they assured us that he would rise at the end of the world, it might be a little difficult to swallow.

We might say, well, that might be true, but okay, I guess I have to just believe you, but there's not really kind of proof, right, that he's God. So that's the first point. But Aquinas says, to confirm our faith regarding the truth of his humanity and death, it was needful that there should be some interval between his death and rising. For if he had risen directly after death, like he dies, they take him off the cross, and he's like, hey, or something much cooler than, hey. If that had happened, Aquinas says, it might seem that his death was not genuine, and consequently neither would his resurrection be true. But to establish the truth of Christ's death, it was

enough for his rising to be deferred until the third day. For within that time, some signs of life always appear in one who appears to be dead while he's alive. And then this is also interesting, maybe even more interesting, but more esoteric. And just, I don't know, see what you think about this. Aquinas says, here's the other reason he rose on the third day. And he says, because three is the perfect number. Because, and here he's going to quote Aristotle from his work on the heavens. He's going to say, look, three is commended.

It's the number of everything because it has a beginning, a middle and an end. Okay. I don't know what I think about that, but there you are. He says, again, in the mystical sense, we are taught that Christ by his one death, which was light by reason of his righteousness, destroyed our two deaths, which are darkness on account of sin. Consequently, he remained in death for one day and two nights, as Augustine observes. All right, let's look at the five reasons that Christ still has his scars. Here's what we'll do. We'll look at an objection and a response, and then the five reasons. So you could see somebody saying this, look, it would seem that Christ's body shouldn't have risen with its scars. Because in 1 Corinthians 15 and 52, we read that the dead

shall rise incorrupt, but scars and wounds imply corruption and defect. Therefore, it was not fitting that Christ, who is the author of the resurrection, should rise again with his scars. that Christ, who is the author of the resurrection, should rise again with his scars. That's a pretty good argument. Aquinas is going to say in response to this in one sentence, the scars that remained in Christ's body belong neither to corruption nor defect, but to the great increase of glory in as much as they are the trophies of his power. And a special comeliness will appear in the places scarred by the wounds. That's an interesting line there. A special comeliness will appear in the places scarred by his wounds. He doesn't explain what he means. Augustine is going to say something similar

regarding the scars that may be present on the martyrs in the heavens. So we'll look at that now, but let's look at these five reasons. Let's see. These are all quite quick. And the first reason that Christ has his scars, it's for his own glory. He kept his scars, not from an inability to heal them, like he was able to fix everything else, but my goodness, these bloody scars, I just can't figure them out, but to wear them as an everlasting trophy of his victory. There you are. So the next time you see a painting of Christ or a statue of Christ, and it has the wounds in his hands, from now on, see them as trophies, trophies of his

victory. And here's an interesting point from augustine he says that perhaps in that kingdom we shall see on the bodies of the martyrs the traces of the wounds which they bore for christ's name all right now keep in mind augustine begins with perhaps he's not saying this is definitely the case and he's also not saying that there's going to be big gaping wounds in their head or you know like arms lopped off and things like this he's saying that there's going to be big gaping wounds in their head or, you know, like arms lopped off and things like this. He's saying traces. There's going to be traces. Perhaps that's a possibility because that will not be a deformity.

It'll be a dignity in them and a certain kind of beauty will shine in them. And that's something similar to what Aquinas just said about the comeliness in Christ's wounds. Here's the second reason. Christ kept his scars to confirm the hearts of the disciples as to the faith in his resurrection, right? This is actually Christ who rose from the dead, not someone who looks like Christ. And we can tell because we can put our finger in through his hands, into his side and so on. Thirdly, here's the third reason, that when he pleads for us with the Father, he may always show the manner of death he endured for us. Fourthly, that he may convince those redeemed in his blood

how mercifully they have been helped, as he exposes before them the traces of the same death. Here's the final reason. That in the judgment day, he may upbraid them with their just condemnation. So Augustine says that Christ knew why he kept the scars in his body. For as he showed them to Thomas, who would not believe except he handled and saw them, so he will show his wounds to his enemies, so that he who is the truth may convict them, saying, Behold the man whom you crucified. See the wounds you inflicted. Recognize the side you pierced,

since it was opened by you and for you, yet you would not enter. All right. Oh, that's very, very powerful. These wounds were opened for you, right? Almost like the wounds are the gateways into heaven. And Aquinas is saying that, you know, he's quoting Augustine, that look, you open these wounds and they were open for you in a sense, but you won't enter them. Like you're not going to be in heaven. And we could imagine Christ saying that to those who physically inflicted the wounds upon Christ. But we can also imagine this happening to those who blaspheme Christ and reject him and mock him and they die. And suppose these people are damned, that Christ will hold his wounds before them and say,

essentially, this was the gate to heaven. This is what I wanted for you, but you don't want it. Fair enough. Now you'll spend eternity in hell. So there you are. Those are the five reasons Christ rose from the dead and five reasons Christ kept his scars. Now I want to share with you three really exciting things we're doing here at Pints with Aquinas. Okay, so the first exciting thing is we have just released our brand new, spanking, awesomely wonderful website, pintswithaquinas.com. We've spent a lot of time and frankly, you know, a good bit of money in creating this so that it would not only look beautiful and be easy

to navigate, but so that would also give us higher rankings on Google so that people who are typing different things in are more likely to find us. So that's really exciting. Check it out, pintswithaquinas.com if you haven't. It's very mobile friendly. I actually think so mobile friendly that we may not even need an app, but you can be the judge of that. Check it out. The second exciting thing is we at Pines with Aquinas have just hired a marketing firm to do a lot of stuff, frankly. So I think hopefully you're going to see a lot more advertisements for Pines with Aquinas, even if you're on places like CNN, Sports Illustrated. Obviously, we're going to be promoting stuff on YouTube.

I get to sit back and do none of this while this kind of expert firm take care of all this. They're also doing all of our emailing. They're posting all of our episodes to YouTube and things like this. They're creating the new thumbnails. They're also kind of doing this like lead marketing nurturing, so like getting people into Pints with Aquinas. If they've never kind of encountered it before or if they have, you get different advertisements depending on your interaction up until that point. With Pints with Aquinas, that's really exciting because I think it's going to take us to the next level. It's definitely not cheap, but we have thought about it and prayed about it at great length, and we're really excited about that. And here's the third exciting thing. We are looking to create a Pints with Aquinas Español channel.

When you look at the demographics of Hispanic Catholics in the United States, and I know, of course, that Pints with Aquinas is listened to all over the world, but many people in the United States listen. Perhaps the majority of our listeners come from the United States. perhaps the majority of our listeners come from the United States, many, and maybe soon to be the majority of Catholics in the United States are going to be Hispanic, or at least are going to be equal. And it really bothers me that we're not reaching out to our Hispanic brothers and sisters, especially because, look, as a Catholic who's trying to talk to people about the Catholic faith, many people who come from, say, Mexico are faithful Catholics. And it would be a sad thing if we didn't love on them, we didn't help evangelize them, but our Protestant brothers and sisters did and drew them out of the church. I think that would be a great shame.

So here's what we're doing. When I say we're creating a Espanol channel, what I don't mean is we're just going to take clips from Pints with Aquinas and put little subtitles beneath them. I mean, we are looking to have them professionally dubbed. Professionally dubbed. So if we post a clip of me interviewing Trent Horn, say, about why we can believe the New Testament to be reliable. We're going to have two voice actors, not just one, but two. If I am interviewing a woman, we're going to find a female voice actor. So I think it's going to be done really well, and I'm really excited about it. This as well, obviously, when you're doing voice acting and not just dubbing, sorry, not dubbing, not just text beneath, is expensive, but these are three things that we're really excited

about. We haven't rolled out the Espanol thing yet. The other two we have, we're looking to do that. One way you could really help us if you believe in the work that we're doing is by supporting us, quite honestly, at patreon.com slash mattfradd, patreon.com slash mattfradd. You get a ton of free things in return, like signed books, stickers, beer steins sent to your door. You'll get access to these online courses we've started doing for our patrons. So we're just beginning to do this course on the great books of Western literature. It's a seven-part video series from teacher Steven Rummelsberg, who's been on the Matt Fradd Show back in the day. And he's in the comment section responding to all of your questions. He helps you

begin to read the great books of the Western canon. We're looking to have a study on Augustine's Confessions later on in the year, but we've just done one on Dante. I think it was like a 21-part series. We just did a seven-part video series on Flannery O'Connor and you kind of get reading assignments. It's really quite well done and the feedback we're getting has been absolutely amazing. So when you become a patron, it's not just like charity, although it is that. It's not just that. It's not just you helping us with these projects. We're giving you a ton of stuff in return. So if you're only following me on Twitter and Facebook and things, you're not getting the full Pints with Aquinas experience. So if you want to, and you want to help out this important work that we want to do,

and obviously it's difficult to afford, especially with people dropping out during the coronavirus thing, which I completely understand. But if you can support us, go to patreon.com slash Matt Fradd, even a dollar a month, $5 a month, $10 a month, whatever you can reasonably afford would benefit this work. So that's that, three exciting exciting things thank you very much for listening and i hope you have a beautiful easter if you haven't yet subscribe to our youtube channel be sure to do that because we're putting a lot more videos out there lately and then also if you haven't reviewed us on itunes that would really help us out sound good god bless you have a bloody lovely day and a lovely easter season chat with you soon