Do you enjoy watching courtroom shows on TV? I do. I sometimes watch real life court cases on Court TV, along with old-time fictional shows like Boston Legal, Matlock, and even going way back to shows like Perry Mason. One thing common among all of these shows is that both sides, the prosecution and the defense, have to have good witnesses and solid evidence to back up their case. Without either of these, a case is not easily won in court. Today, as we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, we look at the Biblical account of that event in Scripture, and see that very few believed that it would happen before that morning. It took some convincing for the disciples to accept, and with others, particularly the religious leaders, they went so far as to refute that claim, stating that it never happened. So we have the religious leaders, claiming someone stole the Body of Jesus, versus the disciples, with the Scripture account as their defense for the Resurrection. Let’s look into this.
As our Scripture opens, we observe several women coming to the grave site of Jesus, bringing spices and other ointments in order to anoint the Body of Jesus, and complete all burial traditions that couldn’t be done earlier due to the Sabbath. The word “they” in verse 1 refers back to the end of chapter 23, where several women helped Joseph of Arimathea bury Jesus, noting where the tomb was (Luke 23:55-56). Now, on the third day following the crucifixion, these women, along with a few more came to the tomb to finish a proper burial for Jesus.
Here we come to the first piece of evidence, that being that the stone over the entrance to the tomb was rolled away (vs 2). The Jewish religious leaders had insisted that Pilate seal the tomb and set guards there, which was done. Now the guards are gone and the stone rolled away. The stone was a large, very heavy, disc-shaped rock, easily weighing close to 2 tons (4,000 lbs.). A bit of a depression would have been dug right at the entrance, which the stone lay in, making it so that if one wanted to move the stone, it would have to be rolled up a slight incline, making it even more difficult to move. This would have been impossible for women to move. Even the religious leaders would have had a very difficult time moving the stone.
Another bit of evidence would be the Roman guards. Something extraordinary would have had to happen for them to leave, as abandoning a post assigned by superiors, especially the Roman governor himself, would likely bring the death penalty back then. And they certainly were not friends with the disciples, nor likely to do favors for these women.
Then we have eyewitness testimony. These women all testified the same thing, that they saw the empty tomb, and each saw and heard the same message from the angels (vs. 3-7). A shared hallucination? That is unlikely. How likely is it to happen that different people have the exact same hallucination and hear the exact same words? Not likely! The prosecution could use that argument if it was just one woman who went there. They could say she was drunk, on drugs, or whatever, but not three or more women. And then Peter and John went to the tomb, as well, and did not find a body (John 20:3-8). Later that evening the apostles saw and talked to Jesus, along with the two on the road to Emmaus. And another time before His Ascension over 500 disciples saw Him (I Corinthians 15:6).
We also must remember that the band of now eleven apostles, along with other faithful disciples, were afraid for their lives. They saw what the religious leaders did to Jesus, and feared that this would happen to them, as well. Most of the disciples fled when the Temple guards came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter followed behind, and lingered in the courtyard of the High Priest to hear the outcome of His “trial”. However we know he lost his nerve and ended up denying Jesus out of fear, and then fled. John came to the cross, but later left and also hid. What is the likelihood that these deathly frightened men would knock out several Roman guards, move a 4,000 lbs. stone, and steal a dead body, carrying it around Jerusalem, when likely they are being watched by spies for the High Priest? Yet after the Resurrection, these same men and women become bold witnesses for Jesus and His Gospel. They are no longer afraid, and are even willing to lay down their life for the Gospel. Would they likely do that if in reality the Body of Jesus was really just lying hidden in one of their closets or basement?!
Now the defense attorney, the one defending the apostles and other believers, must challenge the prosecuting attorney, the side of the unbelieving religious leaders, to bring proof that the Body of Jesus was stolen, and He didn’t rise from the dead. From that day till today, no one has come forth with a body, or today bones, of what they claim is Jesus. These religious leaders had the power and authority to go into any of their homes to search for a body. They were a very powerful group. In the decades that followed the High Priest and Pharisees had the opportunity to try and find Jesus’ Body, and then produce it. If they were so sure that it was all a lie made up by the disciples, then produce the body and end, once and for all, the new Christian faith that they so hated! But they had no stolen dead Body of Jesus because He was no longer dead. He arose, just as He said He would. He arose because He was and is the Messiah, the Son of God!
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